Grow Room Electrical

[hiboy]

Hiboy,
Sorry to be a pain in the ass. I measured the wire with a caliper and it was 9.4 mm with the coating. From what ive read up that means its 1/0 and could handle 150 amp main fuses?
Thanks in advance

ur good with that wire
hb

 

[hiboy]

i have a 20 amp outlet with two 15 amp belkins power strips.over the past year ive been adding stuff to them(fans,lights,ect)i figured one of the breaker would trip when they got over loaded.well i noticed in the main panel the neutral(white) wire caught on fire and burnt 5 inches of the insulation.but the main 20 amp breaker never tripped (its a sub-panel thats not grounded). why ? took off a lot of the load from the power strips,plan to add a 30 amp 220 control box to handle the load.

a breaker should trip if there is an overload.
make sure ur breaker isnt stuck on,,,, ive seen it before.
also u have the possibility that ur panel is out of phase,,,,,which can heat ur neutral up.
say u have two lines off the A phase that are using one neutral... thats a big no no
hb

 

[fishwhistle]

Hiboy,when you say out of phase are you referring to the balance of the panel?how much your pulling off each leg?Is each of the power lines considered a phase?

 

[juggernaut]

I'm just getting ready to set everything up. The electrician was here a couple days ago and he called today to tell me that our 100Amp Panel will not be enough to support everything. He said he has to get a bigger panel but he had to check with the power company to see if we can do that.

Just one problem after another:(

Just wondering what I'm looking ay as far as cost, time and trouble.

Any advice is greatly appreciated

 

[el boyo]

i have a question about magnetic ballasts.. Is there any difference in the lumen output from the different magnetic ballasts out there, or is it all dependent on the type of bulb used? i am asking because i am going to be starting a larger setup and wanted to go with the cheapest ballast that will not sacrifice lumens.. also is building a ballast from parts from the electric supply house going to be cheaper than buying them from hydro companies?
thanks for any help hi boy

 

[GanjaAL]

Hey brother... have a question.

I live in an all electric 2 bedroom house that sits on an acre of land. This place even has the heating elements in the lid encased in the plaster. Pulled the nobs on those bad boys when I moved in as I did not want a 600-800 bill.

So with that... I will be running 2k for 4 wk veg and then bump up to 4k for flower... how much scrutiny will I get from the Electric company? Our bill right now is about 160-170 right now at about .19 so this has me a little concerned. Also I have a Mini split two ton at 18 seer. to keep things nice and cool.

Thanks

 

[fishwhistle]

Hiboy hasnt been on in a bit guys,hopefully all is well with him and he will be back very soon!
Al sent you a pm.

 

[jkbeing]

Hey brother... have a question.

I live in an all electric 2 bedroom house that sits on an acre of land. This place even has the heating elements in the lid encased in the plaster. Pulled the nobs on those bad boys when I moved in as I did not want a 600-800 bill.

So with that... I will be running 2k for 4 wk veg and then bump up to 4k for flower... how much scrutiny will I get from the Electric company? Our bill right now is about 160-170 right now at about .19 so this has me a little concerned. Also I have a Mini split two ton at 18 seer. to keep things nice and cool.

Thanks

Electric heating is the perfect excuse to give you power company. If you have homes around you with heat pumps, those are pulling alot more amps then you.

 

[GanjaAL]

No heat pumps brother... streight up heating coils incased in the plaster ceiling. The renter before us said his wife used it a few times to heat up the house and he ended up with a 600-800 dollar electric bill. I took those nobs off and lost them...LOL. I personally bought a pellet stove and it keeps the house nice and toasty for pennies on the dollar. Plastic on the drafty windows of course...ahahahaha. MOst houses around us are running upgraded propane forced air units. I don't rock the boat... hence the reason for my own pellet stove that I can take with me when we move.

 

[purpleberry]

GanjaAL you can air cool those light and dump the hot air into the house for heat, I use to do it with 2k in a small 2 bedroom and it helped alot, only had to run a little heat when the lights were out. 4K might heat the house to much not sure.

 

[ttystikk]

No heat pumps brother... streight up heating coils incased in the plaster ceiling. The renter before us said his wife used it a few times to heat up the house and he ended up with a 600-800 dollar electric bill. I took those nobs off and lost them...LOL. I personally bought a pellet stove and it keeps the house nice and toasty for pennies on the dollar. Plastic on the drafty windows of course...ahahahaha. MOst houses around us are running upgraded propane forced air units. I don't rock the boat... hence the reason for my own pellet stove that I can take with me when we move.

This isn't a question that requires specific electrician's expertise, only the willingness to go to your power company and ask for a billing/power usage history for your address. Then, you can see how much tenants before you have been paying for power and plan your op accordingly. One more thing to consider; many power companies have special rates for those living in all electric homes- ask, and see if you can get your rates reduced too!

Purpleberry has a point about using the heat from your op to heat the house; the electricity doesn't care if it passes through a bulb or heating element; it makes heat both ways.

 

[tattoojim]

This isn't a question that requires specific electrician's expertise, only the willingness to go to your power company and ask for a billing/power usage history for your address. Then, you can see how much tenants before you have been paying for power and plan your op accordingly. One more thing to consider; many power companies have special rates for those living in all electric homes- ask, and see if you can get your rates reduced too!

Purpleberry has a point about using the heat from your op to heat the house; the electricity doesn't care if it passes through a bulb or heating element; it makes heat both ways.

im glad i popped in to read your post man :D..i didnt know there were rates for all electric homes. gonna check into that ;) great post man

 

[ttystikk]

im glad i popped in to read your post man :D..i didnt know there were rates for all electric homes. gonna check into that ;) great post man

You're very welcome!

 

[Growops]

Hey brother... have a question.

I live in an all electric 2 bedroom house that sits on an acre of land. This place even has the heating elements in the lid encased in the plaster. Pulled the nobs on those bad boys when I moved in as I did not want a 600-800 bill.

So with that... I will be running 2k for 4 wk veg and then bump up to 4k for flower... how much scrutiny will I get from the Electric company? Our bill right now is about 160-170 right now at about .19 so this has me a little concerned. Also I have a Mini split two ton at 18 seer. to keep things nice and cool.

Thanks

scrutiny ? does anyone worry about their usage? i use to but now i believe they just want your business . im looking forward to running 8k this winter in my 1400 sq house

 

[Growops]

some running 20k in houses these days

 

[GanjaAL]

GanjaAL you can air cool those light and dump the hot air into the house for heat, I use to do it with 2k in a small 2 bedroom and it helped alot, only had to run a little heat when the lights were out. 4K might heat the house to much not sure.

Can't brother as I am using co2. Thought about it... but the decision to use co2 won...LOL. Also using the adjust a wings. I was just getting the jitters as it is getting close to running time.

 

[ttystikk]

Can't brother as I am using co2. Thought about it... but the decision to use co2 won...LOL. Also using the adjust a wings. I was just getting the jitters as it is getting close to running time.

Weeeellll... that ain't necessarily so...

If you're running tanks, there's no worries at all; run it right into the house. If you're running a burner for CO2, then the *possibility* exists that you'll have CO buildup somehow. This is a much bigger possibility with natural gas than propane. BUT in either case, you need to go to Home DePot and get a $40 carbon monoxide detector (a good one with a digital ppm readout!) no matter what- even if you just run a standard gas furnace to heat your home. If you're running a burner you MUST get one of these for your safety and that of the plants as CO isn't good for them, either.

For the air to get through your house, you'll need someplace to exhaust it from your place; choose some low spot, like a basement window or a cat door and place an exhaust fan there. This will both suck cold air out and help encourage the air from the hoods to pass through your home, warming it. To keep cold air from entering while the fan is off (like dark cycle), use a backdraft damper or just a flap over the opening to keep it closed. By the way, if the CO2 tank you may be running decides to suddenly empty, this low exit will suck the gas out of the house before it can build to toxic levels. Once it cools to room temprature, CO2 is heavier than air and will sink to the floor, like butane. CO2 is NOT flammable, just in case someone wondered!

Now, once you have a detector, you're clear to route air from outside through your hoods and into the house. This air is meant to remain separate from grow room air and thus should not pick up more than a tiny amount of air from the room on the way through. If you push the air through your ducts with a fan upstream of the hoods, you'll have no issue at all, but this will substantially reduce the efficiency of the hood cooling system.

One more issue to think about when routing outside air through your hoods; if your climate drops below freezing, you're likely to overcool your bulbs, which leads to them running too cool and changing their spectrum. To avoid this, use a thermostat and place the sensor in the ducting just downstream of the first hood in your chain. Set it to 70 degrees, and whenever the temp falls below that it will shut off, thereby allowing the bulb to stay warm. Only one thermostat is needed per circuit; you can run all your hood fans right through the thermostat.

 

[GanjaAL]

Way to much work and money brother. also to many variables to go wrong. Not worried about the co2... I have open hoods and kinda want to keep it that way... may be a fan boy of the the whole reduced spectrum caused by tubes... but hey... to each his own lol. My biggest worry was drawing attention for the added use of electricity. Not to worried now as I am legal beagal... but still do not want people in my business that do not have to be. Also with the heating coils in my lid... that is more than enough, I feel to keep them at bay. My highest tier is .19 cents a kw/h as we are low income... atleast until my benifits kick in... to which only God knows when that will happen. Again... not to worried about the money to pay the bill... just do not want people poken around.

 

[ttystikk]

If you have electrical coils in the freakin' ceiling to heat the place and you just repurpose the power to run lights, no one except your freezing wife will be the wiser, lol. I think I know someone who's gonna want an electric blanket AND a fur coat for Christmas!

I just figured out what really bugs me about heating coils in the ceiling; HEAT RISES! I mean, wtf were they thinking?

 

[GanjaAL]

Pellet stove brother... very cost effective and it only cost about the same to run as a small floor heater that only heated one room..LMAO. For that cost... my pellet stove keeps the whole house toasty. Hawaii shirts and umbrella drinks in shorts while it is 40 degrees outside and 80 F. inside... toasty baby!