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

my question is about CFLs and wiring them to regular lamp cords you get in a lamp repair kit.. im sorry if this was asked already but the thread is very large

how many Twin lamp holders can be wired to one lamp cord?, ill be using 42 watt CFL bulbs.

i would like to wire 4 twin lamp holders to hold a total of 8 42 w bulbs, is this safe? should i use 2 wires?
its not about buying more lamp cords.. i have excess they were on sale at the depot.. normally 9.99 i got em for 2$ so i bought all they had(like 7- since it came with everything and some hanging chains, mainly i would like to use fewer wires to save space and make it neat but not at the cost of safety.

quick question....i have a thousand watt light....ok i live where its real hot in the summer....want to know if i can put my ballast outside my room in attic....temps will prolly get around 140 in attic in the hot summer.....will ballast be ok???
?

Polecat said:

Your socket is probaly not isolated. meaning other sockets in your house might be on the same breaker

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Thats dedicated, not isolated. Isolated would have the power going through a 1:1 transformer.

But otherwise good info.

Its all in the wire gauge.
8*42 = 336 watts
336 watts @120 VAC = 2.8 amps

(never memorized amps per gauge, so give a looksee But I'd think 14 or even possibly 16ga would work)

Got Dank said:

my question is about CFLs and wiring them to regular lamp cords you get in a lamp repair kit.. im sorry if this was asked already but the thread is very large

how many Twin lamp holders can be wired to one lamp cord?, ill be using 42 watt CFL bulbs.

i would like to wire 4 twin lamp holders to hold a total of 8 42 w bulbs, is this safe? should i use 2 wires?
its not about buying more lamp cords.. i have excess they were on sale at the depot.. normally 9.99 i got em for 2$ so i bought all they had(like 7- since it came with everything and some hanging chains, mainly i would like to use fewer wires to save space and make it neat but not at the cost of safety.

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stickyburke said:

quick question....i have a thousand watt light....ok i live where its real hot in the summer....want to know if i can put my ballast outside my room in attic....temps will prolly get around 140 in attic in the hot summer.....will ballast be ok???
?

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My ballast is a class h Rated 4 180C. My capicator is only rated 90c or 194f.
you should be fine. But heat is a ballasts worst enemy the cooler you keep it the longer it will prob. last.
Elec. ballasts my have a cooler rating.
the best thing for you to do is to go to your light manufactors web sight and look it up in the specs so you can be 100% sure.

sorry I seen that after i typed it. Figured he would get the point.

not trying to overrun your site. Just figured I would try to give advice on some of the simpliar points that dont take much research.
Thanks for the correction.

BigBudBalls said:

Its all in the wire gauge.
8*42 = 336 watts
336 watts @120 VAC = 2.8 amps

(never memorized amps per gauge, so give a looksee But I'd think 14 or even possibly 16ga would work)

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thanks for the info man much appreciated

in searching I found a chart with the information, figured i would share it.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Don't use that chart!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That chart is not up to code. The code is what keeps you from burning your house down.
The ampacities of that chart or not the ones you use in your house. I did not read what that chart was for. Since the name of site is power stream leads me to believe they are talking about copper condutors, uninsulated, in open air. Power lines maybe.
I know that #10 wire goes on 30 amp breaker.

I will show you the charts you need to look at. If I can't find a link I will copy it from a book I got.

This link may not be for houses. But is with in code. Use this chart to stay safe.
pay attenion to the * for breaker size. Like the 14 is 20 amps but can only go on a 15 amp breaker.


http://www.westernextralite.com/resources.asp?key=23

i removed the link so noone gets any flase info, thanks for noticing ^^ although the numbers were fairly close to your original suggestions..

your new chart is very hard to decipher its got to many abbreviations.. ill try to find info on insulated wires though. ty

What's up all? Really cool thread got me thinking about my stuff.. here's my question.. My dryer sits downstairs directly below my room and I'm wondering if I can tap that 220 outlet to power 2 1000W lights instead of my overtaxed wall outlets. I think that my ballasts will take 220, but I'm thinking it would be better to get a 'step-down transformer' and supply 110V to them instead? Seems easier than converting the plugs on the ballasts? Do I have that right? What I am picturing is the transformer sitting on a shelf next to the 220 socket feeding an electical cord upstairs through the floor, and supplying the ballasts.

I'm scared everytime I plug anything else in up there that I'm going to trip a breaker. And I keep buying and adding shit. I have power strips on just about every outlet and am feeding all the needs of a 2 X 1000W, + two closets, hydro grow + ventilation + fans, heat mat, etc. all off of the wall outlets. If I can tap the 220 and run the lights on that circuit it would help wouldn't it? Please let me know where I'm effed up or if this sounds doable. I probably need a scolding for letting this electrical stuff get out of hand - I just didn't plan for it when I started with a little soil grow and 1 light. Do I need to really look at what I'm doing here? - I just took the pics lol. Give it to me straight. Thx

I am an electricain for over 25 years now! I am a specailty systems person. So grow rooms are right up my alley since we have been doing enviromental alarms and systems for years already. I have done room for 4 years now, and with all the good news coming down in Cali I will be doing custom room installs! from electronics to the construction as I am a General Contractor as well... Shoot me a PM for any info... Now with that said when I saw the panel board I cringed!! If you are going to use the power strips get the good one's not the 5 dollar ones... serious! send the money on the electrical side if this!!! No reason to put anyone in any harm making a mistake and reliying on the breaker to pop!!! Yes you can tap the 220 for the 2 1000 lights...

13grower said:

Now with that said when I saw the panel board I cringed!! If you are going to use the power strips get the good one's not the 5 dollar ones... serious! send the money on the electrical side if this!!! No reason to put anyone in any harm making a mistake and reliying on the breaker to pop!!! Yes you can tap the 220 for the 2 1000 lights...

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What are the good ones????

The $5 ones and the $50 ones both rely on a $1 MOV for the surge suppression so its pointless to buy a high dollar one. MOVs fail *without* warning. and typically last 6 months to a year.

And saying its OK to tap the 220 dryer outlet for the lights is NOT a great idea if they still use the dryer. The poster didn't say if the still used the dryer or not.

(gotta be careful here handing out advice. Need to look deeper. Don't just look to see if it can work, but also look for why it can't. The mark of a good engineer)

hey thx to both - i've seen a lot of your posts bigbud and appreciate your time. I still use the dryer, but it's just me and it looks to be as simple as switching plugs when I want the dryer. I'm more concerned about how it will look having that cord running up into the ceiling because the house is rented and I have annual inspections to get through - I guess I'll try to incorprate a way to take it down or hide it somehow too. I'm stoked it can be done it though. I guess the next question is.. is it worth it? Do I need to quit loading up the plugs in the room? I guess maybe when I do trip a breaker I'll have my answer. My grow room is not detectable to visitors in the downstairs of my home but this would change that. Look pretty funky anyway to anybody who noticed.
Also I have a ballast kit for a 400W MH and am wondering what to put under it as the thing gets HOT. Too hot to sit on top of the plywood box. Would a baking sheet would work?

Hang a fake plant, and coil the cord up in the pot for it. Hidden.
Have access to the breaker panel? If so, find out which outlets are used by which breakers. (you can get one of those tracers, plug it in to an outlet then use the wand on the panel to locate its breaker. They work fairly OK)
Then start adding up how much is being used. Remember 75-80% max for full time use.

jestermite said:

hey thx to both - i've seen a lot of your posts bigbud and appreciate your time. I still use the dryer, but it's just me and it looks to be as simple as switching plugs when I want the dryer. I'm more concerned about how it will look having that cord running up into the ceiling because the house is rented and I have annual inspections to get through - I guess I'll try to incorprate a way to take it down or hide it somehow too. I'm stoked it can be done it though. I guess the next question is.. is it worth it? Do I need to quit loading up the plugs in the room? I guess maybe when I do trip a breaker I'll have my answer. My grow room is not detectable to visitors in the downstairs of my home but this would change that. Look pretty funky anyway to anybody who noticed.
Also I have a ballast kit for a 400W MH and am wondering what to put under it as the thing gets HOT. Too hot to sit on top of the plywood box. Would a baking sheet would work?

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A fake plant! that's perfect. I should have mapped out the circuits long ago so i'm gonna get on that too. Thanks brotha

just to refresh my memory. Is the wire rated 125% of the breaker size?

My code book is at work and i'm on vacation.

Sorry that this has probably been asked before but I've tried searching and can't find the answer.
I have heard that a MH ballast is just an HPS ballast without the ignitor. So does this mean I can take my 400W HPS ballast (which was an HPS you-wire ballast kit from my local electrical supply store) and cut the ignitor out of the circuit to use it with a metal halide bulb? (400W) Or even better, install a dual pole switch and make it a switchable ballast? What is the difference between pulse start MH and non pulse start?
Also, I want to run 1400W from a single 120V outlet on a 15A breaker with nothing else on that circuit. That is 12hrs a day at 77% of max load, is it safe? What about 1500W? which is 88%... I think too much for the sake of safety but what do you think? Thanks

I have a 120mm Comp radio shack fan.Thermaltake 120mm Fan (Black/Red)

Model: A2368 | Catalog #: 28-1108


Its says 6V/7V Max Started Voltage Rated Current .38A Power Input 4.56W
I wired it to a power supply that has an output of 4.5W and .4A
That will be the right match correct? the started Voltage threw me but it says max and i used 4.5W so I'm good right?