Proper size generator

J

JCS77

Member
Anyone have any idea on how I can go about figuring the proper sized generator I will need for 8x 1000 watt lights with switchable 120/240v ballasts? They are not the good electronic kind... Also. If you know of a good quiet brand that would be very heplful.
I am too afraid of throwing up any red flags by using the power to the house.
Thanks for your help, and any other ideas would be greatly appreciated.
 
Seen the price of Diesel lately?

I'd wire that to the house and pay the bill.

Yer in Michigan.

The cost of running a diesel genny is gonna be way high. I have one wired in for emergencies.

The power company could give a rats ass as long as you pay the bill.

I'm filling every spare fuel bladder, drum and the boats fuel tanks and the trucks.

They shut down the Suez and you'll see oil over 200.00 a barrel.

And with Egypt falling that's all the fuel the speculators need to drive it up.

Look at the spot metals today.

Buckle up and get ready for a ride, grab St. Christopher and kiss yer ass bye bye, Mr. and Mrs. American Pie
 
No, I'm not in MI, or any other friendly state. That's the problem. I came from Cali where I didnt have a problem, but here I don't want to leave any traces. I have been debating the cost of the generator versus the cost of 4 of the 740w (maybe 760w...can't remember...) LEDs and was wondering if the price of them would be worth it since they cost around the same as the generator. I'd just sell my 1000w's then...
 
Sorry, thought you were in Michigan.

Just made the last run to fuel up the dually.

$3.63 per gallon!

$70.00 for about 20 gallons.

Yesterday I filled some bladders at $3.51 a gal.

I'm with Palin on the "Drill Baby, Drill"
 
yeah 3.30 here for diesel also

If you run 8kW generator, 12 hours a day for 9 weeks, comes out to be about 1500$ in diesel costs. Not to mention maintenance or oil changes on the generator, if that applies
(the link i gave you has a fuel consumption calculator)

figure 1500$ can equate to much more than that but will require quite a large space to put all those lights to use but im sure this is not news to you

best of luck, stay stealth and share the results with us!!!
 
Thanks Cereall, will do! I was running 20 out in Cali, but all I had to do there was pay an electric bill. No problems at all. Where I'm at now, there's no way I'd do that number, even if I could afford a generator that could handle it. People here are telling me to just run 6-8 and just pay the bill, but I don't know... Seems a little risky to me. That's why I'm thinking about the generator, or switching to the LEDs. Have you had any experience with them?
 
I am currently running leds, just starting up my LED grow as ive been a HPS grower before, 600w's (4 of them)

Currently i am just vegging and using hydroponicshut.com lights, running their 260w model

there are so many different LEDs out there, and quality name one i feel is reliable and good item

I think 2, 260w LEDs replace 1 600w HPS with Magnum xxxl hoods

Some people use HPS to coincide with their LEDs and have amazing looking product. I am doing a 100% led grow from start to finish and then probably going to mix everything together if im not thoroughly impressed with the LEDs
 
Yeah, I've been reading up on them myself. The ones I mentioned above, 740w +/-, are supposed to be as powerful as 2600w hps's...so the say on their site anyways. Good luck with them! I'm going to keep reading before I make a commitment as to which way I'm gonna go...
 
I had a large panel one, 550w model

It was nice but doesnt cover a large area so i decided to go with 4 260w models which actually only use and draw 160w...

If you want to go on budget, look into gotham hydro and their blackstar line... very low price for the watts but they seem a little cheaper made. But again, you are doing your research and have obviously done this before so im sure you wont jump into something cheap or poor quality

and from everything i have seen, LEDs go pretty much watt for watt with HPS... at least in my experiences Just run a lot cooler and no need to ever replace bulbs
 
Not sure where I got the 2600w from... Must have read it on a different site. I'm a little concerned with the coverage though, as I've read that these lights pretty much just go straight down. I'm wanting to run 4x 4x8 tables, so the 360w may be a better fit with 2 per table. It's gonna be kind of a shame if I switch though. Since I've got so much invested in the others (21 1000w's, 3 HP chillking chiller w/blower, t5s, portable acs, etc...). Where I live, it's kinda hard to unload this stuff since it's so hush hush here...
 
That is one hell of a light
740 ACTUAL WATTS that is huge, that means it has a max of like at least 1400 watts which is one of the biggest i have seen for LEDs

core coverage says 4.5 x 5.5 so that is pretty dam big, might be able to direct replace a 1kW'er
I have been following quite a few grow journals and it seems a few guys that got big lights up front, are slowly switchin to a larger quantity of smaller wattage to cover the space and are growing better.

Thats a ton of money though, For that you could get 10 blackstars with 3W leds, I could buy 6 of my lights which would cover at least a 12x12 area. Or could buy 5 ISIS FX1 which is another great lower wattage light that would cover a larger area and a little better quality i would honestly say. Hard to trust that much money with a company with no warranty info or product reviews
 
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