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

Well watts are a derivative of ampsXvolts. So if you multiply 12X.38 you get 4.56watts. This 6/7V max start doesn't make since to me. But the math tells me u need 12V's and the .4 amp should work

I have many to pick from. Gotta love the Rescue Mission. Which would be the best? I keep thinking I got it, but want to check. The started voltage I didn't recognize.
Thanks
Daniels

i looked at the manufacturers website and it didnt say 12volt either. but it is a PC fan, and uses a 4 pin molex, which really does make it 12 volt. that 6V/7V must mean it needs at a minimum that much voltage. 12 volts would be best because it would give 12 volts would be best because it would give you full CFM. you can run it at 6 volts, but it will basically be half power. dont go over 12 volts, my recommendation is 12volts & no more than .4 amps.

The 6V/7V Max Started Voltage made me think i needed lower. I wanted the 12V for full power. I have a 12VAC 833mA : 12V DC 500mA : 12VAC 300mA
So the 12VAC 300mA would be the best one?
Thanks again in advance.
Daniels

That's what I would use until you could get one that is closer to .4 amps. The 500 mA may work, but I would worry it would burn it up. If you don't have much money in it and can get another on the cheap, go with the 500mA.

Well I'm stopping by the Rescue Mission on the way to Walmart later I guess. Might as well get the best one for it. I got them for $1.29 each and grabbed quite a few last time. Thanks
Daniels

it means the fan wont start untill you apply 6-7v dc....

It stops different than some others too. Think that will cool the ballast enough? It's 78 CFM. The holes in the bottom should cool it.
Daniels

i think you will be very happy with the results

that little fan in the dual remote ballast seems to work so far.
Daniels

can I hook up clf with cardboard box or is that a fire waitin to happen?

420fishin said:

can I hook up clf with cardboard box or is that a fire waitin to happen?

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Don't let the light touch the box. If you can touch the light it probaly won't set nothing on fire.

what do you fish for. Just bass

Bass,catfish,Crappie and of course a woman or 2 (when the ol' lady isn't around LOL)

gumball said:

That's what I would use until you could get one that is closer to .4 amps. The 500 mA may work, but I would worry it would burn it up. If you don't have much money in it and can get another on the cheap, go with the 500mA.

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I got a 11VDC 350mA today, but they didn't have 12V .4A
So would the 12VAC 300mA be better for the extra V but 50 mA less? I'd want the 1V for it to run at full speed right?
Daniels

I think in that case you would want more amps (current). So let's see, 11v x .35mA=3.85 watts & 12v x .30mA=3.6watts. So that tells us the 11v should feed more current.

Please correct me if I am wrong fellow RIU'ers

I got a little electrical problem..
Here goes:
I grow in my garage.
I have (2) 10amp breakers and 2 lines going out to the garage. Within the finished walls in the garage, I lose it from there. I believe all my grow equipt is run on 1 of these lines/breakers. I run (2) 400w hps/mh lights, (1) 270cfm exaust fan and (1) circulation fan. Its recently been warming up here so I installed a window unit Air Conditioner (5100btu/h - 565watts)
Heres whats now happening.... I have the AC unit set to turn on 3 times a day.. When it does, my hps light goes out. (nothing else)... When it turns back off, the hps then fires back up. If just the fan in the AC unit turns on, this dont happen. If the whole thing, condenser(or whatever you call it) and all turn on.. The hps goes out.
My question.. Can I update my breakers to 10amp or 20 amp. Which would be better? And am I asking for more fire hazards?

Tomorrow, at the begining of the light cycle I plan on moving some plugs around and flipping some breakers to check what breakers control what plugs and see if I can split the power up for both breakers to run the setup.

gumball said:

I think in that case you would want more amps (current). So let's see, 11v x .35mA=3.85 watts & 12v x .30mA=3.6watts. So that tells us the 11v should feed more current.

Please correct me if I am wrong fellow RIU'ers

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I got it wired and it's kicking out some good airflow thanks
Daniels

No prob, glad I could help

Motobomb62 said:

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?

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NO they are different,it may work short term but I would not trust it.they use different ansi codes for each type of ballast (400w mh uses a m59 ballast & hps uses a S51 ballast) & each has different electrical characteristics. also the cap is different

Motobomb62 said:

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

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1400 watts would be OK but I assume you mean a couple different lights,I would put them on seperate timers & start them a minute or more apart. when a HPS ballast first fires,it draws double or more the rated current for a few milliseconds- not long enough to trip a breaker but if you are firing a 1000 and a 400 at the same time,it might overload

Danielsgb said:

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?

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Danielsgb said:

The 6V/7V Max Started Voltage made me think i needed lower. I wanted the 12V for full power. I have a 12VAC 833mA : 12V DC 500mA : 12VAC 300mA
So the 12VAC 300mA would be the best one?
Thanks again in advance.
Daniels

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the transformers that say 12vac are not DC current so would not be my first pick,when it comes to the amps a transformer puts out, they list the max it can produce,it will only produce as much as is being drawn from it. if your fan draws .4 amps at 12vdc, you could use a transformer rated for 10 amps at 12vdc w/out a problem,in fact it would be better than using 1 rated at the .4 amps your fan draws because it would not be running at max output.I try to keep the draw to about 1/2 of what the transformer is rated for.