Diy flip flop relay

[cheech]

SUPER EASY.

If not running sun light supply ballasts/reflectors then just switch the male/female and cords to the hydrofarm type.


Supply list is for 1 relay which will divert the path of electricity from 1 ballast; flip/flop between 2 lights!

DPDT Relays. Get them here! I keep an extra one as spare in case one goes bad. Hasn't happened yet after 12 months.

2 Sunlight Supply Female Lamp Cord Receptacle... These are what your two lights will plug into.

1 Sunlight Supply Lamp Cord. Make sure it only has the male component that plugs into the ballast. We will hook the other end to the relay.

1 electrical cord that only has the male end. you will plug this into your timer which you will have activated for 12 hours. 12 hours on will keep power going to one light, then the 12 hours off will keep power going to the other light. ballast itself always runs.

ok.. let me go get pictures so you can see how easy this is. 15 minute install at most!.... i only use mine when i have both my rooms flowering.. if one room is flowering and one room is vegging, then it is as easy as removing the cord from the ballast to the relays, and plugging then lights directly into the ballasts themselves.

 

[cheech]

4 of the 10 or so relays i have made.. they are not being used at the moment, because one room has another week to veg.

 

[cheech]

close up of 1 relay.

 

[cheech]

This is where your lamp cord will be wired. it supplies the juice from the ballast to the relay.. the relay just diverts that juice/power between the lights the way the tracks are switched for trains.

 

[cheech]

this is where you wire the ends of your male end cord. it is what gives the charge to the relay that activates the magnet which diverts the power from one light to another.

you can buy one anywhere, or do what i did and cut the cord off of an appliance that you no longer need and plan on trashing anyways.. now i always cut the cords off of electronics before i take them to the curb.

 

[cheech]

these last two spots on the relay are for the 2 Sunlight Supply Female Lamp Cord Receptacle. Your reflectors/bulb cords will plug into these.

 

[cheech]

this is how the relay actually operates. when the timer activates, the relay is magnetically pulled to one light extension... when the power to the relay goes out, the magnetic connection ends, and springs bring the connection to the other set of lights.

since i am not using mine right now and didn't want to plug the cords into the timer, i am showing you how the relay moves itself with my own manly finger force.

 

[cheech]

and that is how it is done boys and girls.

about 30 per relay after shipping.
about 10 for the two female ends
about 3 for the male end cord.. free usually
about 16 for the lamp cord

that's just shy of 60 bucks. doesn't seem like much when you consider a 1000 watt mag ballast cost 150... the reason to fuck with relays in my opinion is to get the most out of your electrical panel.

example. you can run 8 1000 watters at 40 amps with a 3 ton ac at 20 amps. that's 70 amps on a 100 amp panel. guess you won't be living there!

OR. you can run 4 1000 watt lights that flip back and forth giving you your 8k in flower and run 2 wall bangers bring you to a total of 44 amps!(12 per wall banger and 20 for the 4 ballasts) now you can grow and do your laundry and watch tv at the same time! all on 1 100 amp panel.

 

[Tobor the 8th Man]

That is great Cheech! Thanks for posting that. I think being able to get double duty out of a ballast is a great idea.

You rock the DIY.

 

[cheech]

thanks hommie. there is a diagram on the internet that really shows the connections well to the same relay i use and almost all others, but now when i google 'dpdt relay marijuana' i get pictures of michale phelps instead, go figure.

 

[Tobor the 8th Man]

LOL at Phelps google result.

 

[CannabisJohn]

Like the tutorial except for one thing. All of that exposed wire is dangerous. Do you have a non-metallic cover for ur relays?

 

[cheech]

Like the tutorial except for one thing. All of that exposed wire is dangerous. Do you have a non-metallic cover for ur relays?

no, they are screwed into a 2x4 :). i'm no dummy cj, and know exactly what you mean.. i'd be thinking the same thing if i saw this myself and it wasn't my own work... in fact, i'm surprised it wasn't the first comment made.

i also keep the whole front plate of my electrical panel off, because the house is a rental and i had to add breakers, but didn't want to pry the breaker notches off the panel board. a whole lot of wires, but i keep my distance, and it hasn't been a problem.

the relays i could very easily put in a plastic electrical casing, but i didn't because i don't plan on walking up to them well they are active to french kiss them :makeup.

if i were to make one for a friend, who said he was interested, i was planning on putting them in a plastic electrical box, and i would have used ring terminals instead of just screwing into the wire.

running 12 months long friends!

 

[Tobor the 8th Man]

Heck there are lots of people doing safe grows with the ballast kits mounted to boards and hung on the wall. A box would be to my liking but that is the easy part.

 

[cheech]

yea i saw a sweet setup made by that dude, forget his name, that use to be on the boards pushing his light controllers. he had all the ballast kits sitting on some sort of plank below the light controller and said it was good to have them out of an enclosure to keep them from getting too hot.

but for some people leaving these relays out in the open would be asking for trouble.

 

[lazarus718]

^^^^^^^
Like the sign man!!! Good shit dude, always nice to seem some advice on how to save the current. That makeshift relay is a smart invention, know what you mean 'bout having the exposed terminals, guess if you were really anal you could place a plastic case over it all, but like you said, it's just yours so if anyone stumbles across it they shouldn't have been there in the 1st place.

 

[cheech]

thanks. i had gotten the whole design from the kung pow flip flop diy at icmag.. i had to read it a dozen times before it made sense to me. i personally think this diy is much easier to understand :)

 

[moneyorlove]

thanks

thank you i've been looking for a flip flop diy for a long time, this site is amazing :)

 

[CannabisJohn]

no, they are screwed into a 2x4 :). i'm no dummy cj, and know exactly what you mean.. i'd be thinking the same thing if i saw this myself and it wasn't my own work... in fact, i'm surprised it wasn't the first comment made.

i also keep the whole front plate of my electrical panel off, because the house is a rental and i had to add breakers, but didn't want to pry the breaker notches off the panel board. a whole lot of wires, but i keep my distance, and it hasn't been a problem.

the relays i could very easily put in a plastic electrical casing, but i didn't because i don't plan on walking up to them well they are active to french kiss them :makeup.

if i were to make one for a friend, who said he was interested, i was planning on putting them in a plastic electrical box, and i would have used ring terminals instead of just screwing into the wire.

running 12 months long friends!

I figured you knew what you were doing. I guess my comment was for the less informed. I would be more worried about a fire than someone touching by accident.

 

[Str8Dank]

i fucking love you! i have seen many DIY's but they always show a picture of the damn relay with all the specs but i can never find the exact one they have in the pics! i've been planning on building one for a while now and i think i'll be ordering in the stuff to build this by next week! nice thing is each ballast is separate so as long as i get a box big enough to house more in expanding this is simple!