3k in a 3 bedroom residential house?

[Konto]

I was wondering about some peoples experiences growing with 3k+ in lighting in a house, I don't want to be growing year round to keep up with my smoking so I've been thinking about getting 3k in lights to get a good yield then be done for a year, year and a half. (I currently use 1k) I want to be able to have people in my house again!

I know roughly how much it will cost monthly but when is it too much? (wattage) I've seen plenty of journals with 10k + in lighting but its in a med state, and all the appropriated people know about it. (Landlord, MMJ licensing etc. )

I do not live in a med state, which is another reason why I don't want to grow year round. Whats your guys thoughts on 3 1k hps for someone in my situation?

All insight is appreciated from people whom have grown with this amount or more

Konto

 

[Trillionsoatoms]

3k worth of lights is nothing! Don't worry about that bro!

 

[Trillionsoatoms]

If your REALLY noid you can - cut off the water heater if its electric when not in use, make sure to keep all non used areas to have lights turned off- dont forget! Use a gas grill and try not to use the stove or washing machiene etc run all the time, switch all lights to flourecents, turn off outside lights during day or don't leave them on unless you need them


Using power after 7pm in some areas (times might vary) is cheaper alot of times because its not "prime" time I guess u could call it....



Anyway, I wouldn't even worry.. Just pay your bill and don't try and "wheeze the juice" from them by bypassing the meter....

 

[Konto]

Not really too paranoid, I've just always wondered WHEN it starts to be TOO many 1ks. Smell is never an issue, I always go overboard with taking care of that and only myself and the old lady know of whats going on.

I suppose only someone whom has worked with the power company would really know i guess.

 

[Konto]

If your REALLY noid you can - cut off the water heater if its electric when not in use, make sure to keep all non used areas to have lights turned off- dont forget! Use a gas grill and try not to use the stove or washing machiene etc run all the time, switch all lights to flourecents, turn off outside lights during day or don't leave them on unless you need them


Using power after 7pm in some areas (times might vary) is cheaper alot of times because its not "prime" time I guess u could call it....



Anyway, I wouldn't even worry.. Just pay your bill and don't try and "wheeze the juice" from them by bypassing the meter....

how long have you been growing for?

 

[Trillionsoatoms]

I've been online for ten years sharing and caring, 12 total...



You would not believe how much power your utilities suck like the hot water heater just sitting there if its electric...

 

[Konto]

I've been online for ten years sharing and caring, 12 total...



You would not believe how much power your utilities suck like the hot water heater just sitting there if its electric...

Any tips or insight I should have jumping from 1k to 3k? Its going to be a stadium grow, I'm gonna try to barebulb it but don't know how difficult the heat will be.

 

[Trillionsoatoms]

Any tips or insight I should have jumping from 1k to 3k? Its going to be a stadium grow, I'm gonna try to barebulb it but don't know how difficult the heat will be.

As long as you don't overload one circuit your fine...

If your talking about cooling , suck all hot air out and use air cooled gods if possible.

If you need to add a window unit if u can.

If you bare bulb it just make sure your ventilation is up high to suck the hot air out. If you can cut a hole in a ceiling In a closet in the room and run an a/c duct will help.

How big is your room again?? Pics? Don't know if u have a setup running or not I'm pretty new here and haven't seen it.

 

[Konto]

I got a whole entire basement to play with, can put up sheetrock if need be etc etc. I don't move into the spot until first week August at the latest. I currently have a 1k cooltube set up in a 6x6x6 room, its been a little difficult since its a sauna room but I got the temps down to 85/86 co2 enriched.

How am I supposed to get 3k going on in a room all at once though? My 1k room right now I tried adding a ac unit but couldn't cause it kept blowing a fuse.

 

[Trillionsoatoms]

I got a whole entire basement to play with, can put up sheetrock if need be etc etc. I don't move into the spot until first week August at the latest. I currently have a 1k cooltube set up in a 6x6x6 room, its been a little difficult since its a sauna room but I got the temps down to 85/86 co2 enriched.

How am I supposed to get 3k going on in a room all at once though? My 1k room right now I tried adding a ac unit but couldn't cause it kept blowing a fuse.

You might have to wire in an independent breaker... Sorry if that's what you were directly asking I couldn't tell.

You handy? You can do it yourself if your inclined...

 

[Konto]

As long as its not too complex I could yeah.

 

[Trillionsoatoms]

As long as its not too complex I could yeah.

Might want to hunt around for a DIY , look at amperage per ballast your going to run and try and keep it under 80% capacity if you can.. If not... Wire in a few more!

You can run a 240 and use more ballasts per wire but no matter what they will still draw the same power...



I hate autocorrect!! Lol

 

[iscrog4food]

Personally I would recommend that if you plan is to grow all your meds for a year then stop after one grow you do it during the winter. Perhaps just run one light to get you through until temps get lower. That said 3k is no big deal but I would try to keep your plant numbers low if you are in a non med state. Also bare bulb may not be the best idea as aircooling will keep temps lower for cheaper than using AC to cool bare bulbs. Overengineer your filter and fan and dont forget the gospel: No Smell, No Sell, No Tell.

 

[Natural]

best to plan a dedicated 220v circuit and pick up a light controller with a trigger cord so you can time all 3 lights with ease...you can build one if you're inclined. If you do I suggest using relays instead of an Intermatic timer that would carry the load of all 3 lights.
peace

 

[Konto]

Personally I would recommend that if you plan is to grow all your meds for a year then stop after one grow you do it during the winter. Perhaps just run one light to get you through until temps get lower. That said 3k is no big deal but I would try to keep your plant numbers low if you are in a non med state. Also bare bulb may not be the best idea as aircooling will keep temps lower for cheaper than using AC to cool bare bulbs. Overengineer your filter and fan and dont forget the gospel: No Smell, No Sell, No Tell.

I would have no problem waiting but my old ladys grandparents are moving in with us in December (we don't want to put them in a retirement home, my girl was raised by them) and i don't want them to be around it at all. Do you know if there is any amount of lumen loss when using a cooltube vs barebulb?

The gospel lol I like that, only one that knows about this is my lady :)

 

[iscrog4food]

The gospel lol I like that, only one that knows about this is my lady :)[/quote]


Yeah you loose about 5% through the glass depending on how clean you keep it.

 

[Konto]

The gospel lol I like that, only one that knows about this is my lady :)

Yeah you loose about 5% through the glass depending on how clean you keep it.[/quote]


thats not bad at all, i thought it was more for some reason.

 

[Cort]

Most homes are wired at 15 amps. You can safely run a single 110volt 1k light, fans, pumps etc on a regular home fuze. AC, multi lights chillers or any combo you will need to have power ran.

 

[iscrog4food]

A good rule of thumb is that you don't want to use more than 75% of the amperage of any given circuit if you are running the load longer than 6 hours at a time. If you are running magnetic ballasts they use more amps than digitals. A good way to wire your lights is to use the dryer circuit which is 30 amps but at 240 volts you can run 5 digital ballasts or 3 magnetics (Obviously your ballasts must be compatible with 240 volts or you will make a light show). If you did this then you could use the 15 amp circuit in the room to run all of your fans, pumps, humidifier / dehumidifier. Then run an extension cord to run an A/C (Make sure you use the proper gauge cord). If you live in a cooler climate you may be able to get away with running 3 lights air-cooled with just an evaporative cooler if you don't have the power to run an AC. You should budget about 6000 btu per light if they are bare bulbs with no air cooling. Budget about 4000 btu per light air cooled (Note that portable A/C units are usually about 500 btus shy of their actual rating due to the inefficiency of the unit style)