Experienced Electrician! Here to Answer Any and All Growroom Electrical Questions

hiitsbob said:

making sure this is correct. for parallel wiring cfl lights. 12 23w cfl at most 23w x 12 bulbs = 276w i will say 300w for safety. 300w/120v= 2.5 amps which i will call 3 amps for safety.
will be running 12g wire approx 10 feet. there is no ground? will be wiring to a surge protector just want to be safe. so i need a 12/2 wire?
i do not need pig tails i can go black to black to black and red to ted to red?

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yeah you could get away with a 14 or even 16 ga wire if its just running those lights.

hiitsbob said:

making sure this is correct. for parallel wiring cfl lights. 12 23w cfl at most 23w x 12 bulbs = 276w i will say 300w for safety. 300w/120v= 2.5 amps which i will call 3 amps for safety.
will be running 12g wire approx 10 feet. there is no ground? will be wiring to a surge protector just want to be safe. so i need a 12/2 wire?
i do not need pig tails i can go black to black to black and red to ted to red?

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12g wiring is more than enough to wire in 300 watts of cfls. although cfls are horrible wasters of power for the penetration. you may be better off just packing a 250 mh or even a 400 mh in your space. they both have great penetration compared to the cfls and are relatively cheap. also you can wire them that way yes. i had a box with like 20 cfls in it at one point. lmao.

heres a few options to look at. all are 250watts also 400 watts wouldnt cost but a few bucks more.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/250w-Dimmable-Ballast-6-Air-Cool-Tube-Reflector-250-Watt-HPS-MH-Grow-Light-Kit-/140897376591?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item20ce23594f

http://www.ebay.com/itm/250-Watts-Digital-HPS-MH-Grow-Light-Giant-Hood-Sun-Lamp-Reflector-Ballast-250W-/140914005056?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item20cf211440

http://www.ebay.com/itm/iPower-250w-250-watt-HPS-MH-Grow-Light-System-Set-Kit-cheaper-than-400w-400-watt-/160660676488?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&var=&hash=item25681f5f88

i know everybody keeps saying but i have around $40 in all my lights had some sitting around and what not.
had to go cheap so the cost of whole setup is similar to just the light.
eventually yes i will get those lights but for now its learn and get best bud possible.
plus to be honest i think i will have good yeilds. will have around 30,000 lumens for a 4 sqft space.
let time be the judge of this we will see. you are right less screwing around with mh lights. but would like to learn a bit first.
by the way ended up with 14g wire. yes it will be just the lights.
thanks
bob

wheels619 said:

wattage is 600+ 115 or so for each fan + 30 watts or so for the smaller fans to be generous. so 600+115+115+30+30=890 total wattage. 890watts/110volts= 8.09 amps. your well under the load your outlet can handle my friend. your wall outlet should at least be rated for at least 10 amps of power. its normally 15 amps on newer houses and apartments. also make sure your surge protector is rated for 15 amps. most are unless you have the cheap Walmart 3 dollar one.

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ok sweet thanks bro! i started getting nervous reading some of the posts on here ha

when they built my new house I had them upgrade to a 200amp from a 100amp and if I'm not mistaken you have to get your local electrical company involved because they may have to but in a different transformer that feeds your building and that gets expensive but I live in the country so it may be different,For mine they had to but in a bigger transformer and obviously a bigger line, I would just call your local electrician and they could tell you better

Lucius Vorenus said:

Anyone know what it costs to turn a 2 phase electric panel outside a commercial location into a 3 phase? we currently have only 200amps coming into our space and we really need 400 for summer when we add a couple more AC units.

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steve28 said:

ok sweet thanks bro! i started getting nervous reading some of the posts on here ha

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nothing to worry about. just make sure that you are aware how many outlets are on that one 15 amp breaker. some of the older places wired 2-3 bedrooms up on one 15 amp sometimes which could be an issue. but i doubt it. just make sure that you dont run a bunch of electronics in the same room. most rooms are on the same breaker also it honestly depends on when your house was built and what the building and electrical code might have been at the time. just be aware. your breaker should trip before anything bad actually happens and if it does you may have too much hooked up in another room thats on the same breaker. also a little food for thought. an average desktop comp has a 400 watt power supply on it. lol. enough to run one 400 watt hps instead. lol.

Shawns said:

when they built my new house I had them upgrade to a 200amp from a 100amp and if I'm not mistaken you have to get your local electrical company involved because they may have to but in a different transformer that feeds your building and that gets expensive but I live in the country so it may be different,For mine they had to but in a bigger transformer and obviously a bigger line, I would just call your local electrician and they could tell you better

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yeah the power company would have to come out if you installed a 200 amp breaker. they have to do some shit in the box to give you that much accessible juice. as to what tit is that they do. im not sure since ive never had to do it before. but had a buddy that did and he said it was a hassle setting up everything with the electrician and the power company at the same time to get the work done faster and so they had no down time. he had to wait a few days for the power company.

Hey man, thanks a lot for this thread it's really helpful... When I get up and running again, my peak wattage use may go up to 7150 for the period that my flowering room and veg room overlap... can a typical basement handle this? I'm completely ignorant to this stuff, but I do understand that my outlets are gonna be 15amps... so does it mean that so long as I have about 5-7 outlets, that I'll be alright.

legaleyes13 said:

Hey man, thanks a lot for this thread it's really helpful... When I get up and running again, my peak wattage use may go up to 7150 for the period that my flowering room and veg room overlap... can a typical basement handle this? I'm completely ignorant to this stuff, but I do understand that my outlets are gonna be 15amps... so does it mean that so long as I have about 5-7 outlets, that I'll be alright.

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If thats one 15 amp circuit in the basement you arent even close. Using a 85% load for safety you are looking at 5 individual 15 amp circuits. 7150 watts is 65 amps at 110. You could get by with 4 20 amp circuits, might want to run 220 for the lighting and use the 110 for the accessories.

@supchucka - I don't know what any of that means... I'm really ignorant to this electrical stuff. I do know that I've run about 5000 watts in a single basement before, so is 2000 more watts really that much of a difference? If it isn't too much to ask could you walk me through what it would mean to get all of that stuff installed? I'm renting the home, but my landlord wouldn't notice...Will a home in the US, support 220 without any extra installation?

^^^ similar situation ..

But I'm only gonna run 1800 watts I wanna kno if I can... (If I can run more Im going 2)

Can I use the the light controller and 30 amp relay that goes with it and run it like that 220v ballast ..it's a building so idk the amp breaker ....I kno people that have washing machines in there apartment kitchen so I kno it's possible ..and they did no extra work

15-20 amp breaker (let's say 15)
2.7 amps x 3= 8.1
85% load is 12.75 amps ..
Ac 4.5 amps + 8.1(summer time)
= 12.60 amps a lil less than 85% load

Total watts 2300 is that to much ? It's only gonna be at 23 for 2-3 months but rest of the yr 2000 tops ..I would isolate the circuit so there's nothing else on it ..

Also I don't wanna spend to much and keep it simple but still fully controllable ..I'm looking ah the MDT 1 + the HPH 4 30 amp relay is that good ?

I don't understand the math in your 3rd paragraph. What is the 2.7x3 in regards to? Are you running 3 items that have 2.7 amps? I'd take a meter and check an outlet to be positive what it is from 110-120v multiply that by the amps of the breaker and that's the total wattage. Then take 85% of the total and that's the max you should run on that circuit.

At 110v it's 1650 at 120v it's 1800. That's before taking off 15% of either.

legaleyes13 said:

Hey man, thanks a lot for this thread it's really helpful... When I get up and running again, my peak wattage use may go up to 7150 for the period that my flowering room and veg room overlap... can a typical basement handle this? I'm completely ignorant to this stuff, but I do understand that my outlets are gonna be 15amps... so does it mean that so long as I have about 5-7 outlets, that I'll be alright.

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at 220 volts your amperage will be roughly 32.5 amps. at 120 or 110 its going to be double that. may i make a suggestion? get a light controller for a couple hundred bucks off of ebay and run 6 gauge cable from a 240 volt breaker. it you grab an 8 light controller you can run all 8 lights on it. or you can get 2 4 light lighting controllers hooked up with a few 30 amp breakers. which is the easiest to consider. look up lighting controllers on ebay. they have all sorts from 100 bucks up to 600+ so they should have something in the range you are looking for. if you wire in 120v outlets it will take 5+ 15 amps to run the voltage and amperage you would want to achieve safely. it will only take one if you run 240 and you can run just about your whole op on the one controller if you get big enough. might i suggest sunlight supplies 50 amp 240 lighting controller. it doesnt look all fancy but its cheap and gets the job done correctly and if something dies parts are easily replaceable and you only have to install and run one set of cables and one breaker instead of 5. also the cabling looks expensive for a single run of 6/3 cable or romex but trust me its cheaper than running 5-6 120 volt cables with 5-6 15 amp breakers installed. also you might want to concider running another 30 amp lighting controller if you have a shit ton of lights. in my instance im going to use a titan helios 4 lighting controller for flower and im going to use another eventually for veg. both running on their own 30 amp breakers. one for flower with 4 1000s in flower and the other in veg with 4 600s or so.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/50-Amp-Light-Controller-120-240v-24-hrs-Timer-Box-Bulb-/290532368204?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item43a5141f4c

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Autopilot-High-Power-8-Light-HID-Controller-8000W-120-240V-50A-/251074069684?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a752e44b4

http://www.ebay.com/itm/C-A-P-4-Light-Master-Lighting-Controller-MLC-4x-/280536980173?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item41514e9acd

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-C-A-P-MLC-8X-8-HID-Grow-Light-Master-Lighting-Controller-Ballast-120v-240v-/281041289930?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item416f5dc2ca

hers a few options on lighting controllers if this is the route u decide to take. also your dryer line is a 30 amp dedicated circuit. or at least should be. its what my lighting controller is running on now. lol.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/HELIOS-8-8-LIGHT-240V-CONTROLLER-WITH-/110963318212?pt=Planters_Pots&hash=item19d5edddc4

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Titan-Controls-Helios-12-8-Light-240v-Light-Controller-hydroponic-timer-120v-/130603683402?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1e68960e4a

http://www.ebay.com/itm/TITAN-CONTROLS-HELIOS-4-4-LIGHT-240V-CONTROL-W-TRIG-/360375537632?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item53e80e4fe0

silverhazefiend said:

^^^ similar situation ..

But I'm only gonna run 1800 watts I wanna kno if I can... (If I can run more Im going 2)

Can I use the the light controller and 30 amp relay that goes with it and run it like that 220v ballast ..it's a building so idk the amp breaker ....I kno people that have washing machines in there apartment kitchen so I kno it's possible ..and they did no extra work

15-20 amp breaker (let's say 15)
2.7 amps x 3= 8.1
85% load is 12.75 amps ..
Ac 4.5 amps + 8.1(summer time)
= 12.60 amps a lil less than 85% load

Total watts 2300 is that to much ? It's only gonna be at 23 for 2-3 months but rest of the yr 2000 tops ..I would isolate the circuit so there's nothing else on it ..

Also I don't wanna spend to much and keep it simple but still fully controllable ..I'm looking ah the MDT 1 + the HPH 4 30 amp relay is that good ?

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how many lights are you running? if you are running 3 400s then run them off of one wall outlet with a timer. its still pulling less than recommended on the outlet and you dont have to spend money on costly items like lighting controllers and all that jazz. and run the fans off another outlet with an extension cord. becuz even with a 30 amp dryer outlet already installed it will cost you about 60-120 bucks for the cables and then another 15 for the dryer adapter for the cables and at least another 100 bucks on a controller. also you may need to buy 240 wiring to power your ballasts at about 10 bucks a piece if you dont already have them. its not a simple switch at all. unless you wanted to run it off of a 120v lighting controller and if thats the case can i say just buy a 10 dollar power strip from walmart. lol. but seriously how many watts and amps and ballasts are you running?

wheels619 said:

how many lights are you running? if you are running 3 400s then run them off of one wall outlet with a timer. its still pulling less than recommended on the outlet and you dont have to spend money on costly items like lighting controllers and all that jazz. and run the fans off another outlet with an extension cord. becuz even with a 30 amp dryer outlet already installed it will cost you about 60-120 bucks for the cables and then another 15 for the dryer adapter for the cables and at least another 100 bucks on a controller. also you may need to buy 240 wiring to power your ballasts at about 10 bucks a piece if you dont already have them. its not a simple switch at all. unless you wanted to run it off of a 120v lighting controller and if thats the case can i say just buy a 10 dollar power strip from walmart. lol. but seriously how many watts and amps and ballasts are you running?

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i need a little more info to get a better picture. total wattage amount of ballasts to figure out the right amp breakers and what wattage your ballasts wattages actually are. 400 600 1000 and if you are planning a veg area.

wheels619 said:

also a little food for thought. an average desktop comp has a 400 watt power supply on it. lol. enough to run one 400 watt hps instead. lol.

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Modern computer power supplies only pull enough current to provide energy required by the components. In other words, your PC isn't drawing 400w while you dick around on RIU and check your email. The graphics card draws the most power of all the components, but it needs to be under load from playing a video game or rendering video or something to reach your PSU's capacity limit (in most cases). Additionally... many components implement energy saving features, such as the CPU and GPU underclocking when not under load.

So you can't really compare the energy use of computer PSUs to HID lighting.

My home desktop has a 750w Corsair PSU with a single 12v rail at 62 amps... just a fun fact.

Sorry for being so vague

Gavita pro 600s only run on 240v
I wanna run 3 of them ..
There rated at 2.7 amps

I also wanna run a 500 watt ac rated at 4.1 amps ..this I can run from a wall outlet + fans etc ..I'm good on this part

My question is can I run these off a lighting controller or a step up /step down transformer ..I've seen transformer that are built for continuous power usage and can handle big loads ..

Gavita pros ONLY RUN ON 240v our outlets are rated at 110 ..do u see my issue ?

I wanted a veg area in that room 250 watts or less should do it ..but I can find another spot for that if I have to

@wheels619 - Thanks for all of your help... you too supchucka... but again, I know nothing about this electrical stuff. Is running this 6 gauge cable gonna require an electrician... and will I have to install this 240v breaker or is it something that comes with the home... I'm sure I sound like a newbie to you guys... I'm not, I've been growing for some time, but never had to deal with electrical issues. If you could walk me through this as if I was deaf, blind and dumb... I would really appreciate it... For the record it's 4000watts of light in flower, and 525watts of light in veg/clone, along with AC, dehum, CO2 gen, and misc... Thanks again fellas, I really appreciate all of your help...(And for the record the "Reply with Quote" button isn't working for me for some reason... sorry about the format)

Malevolence said:

Modern computer power supplies only pull enough current to provide energy required by the components. In other words, your PC isn't drawing 400w while you dick around on RIU and check your email. The graphics card draws the most power of all the components, but it needs to be under load from playing a video game or rendering video or something to reach your PSU's capacity limit (in most cases). Additionally... many components implement energy saving features, such as the CPU and GPU underclocking when not under load.

So you can't really compare the energy use of computer PSUs to HID lighting.

My home desktop has a 750w Corsair PSU with a single 12v rail at 62 amps... just a fun fact.

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again ridiculousness. lol. my older power supply was actually pulling 400 watts. lmao. i only know this becuz of the load the breaker had tripped at. point being a desktop computer is capable of pulling a a lot more wattage than you think.