Grow Room Electrical

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Purp Nugs

Purp Nugs

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"Purp Nugs, post: QUESTION HERE:
I have a 1000w 2 way ballast by SunLeaves.com & when I plug it in it hums and all but doesn't turn on my bulb. I took the front plate off thinking it may be the capacitor but then I seen this (photos attached). I have a friend who's a master electrician but he's out of town as my luck would have it.

https://www.sunlightsupply.com/page/technical-information-guide

TROUBLESHOOTING… IF YOUR FIXTURE DOES NOT WORK:
  1. CHECK YOUR ELECTRICAL SOURCE: Make sure the unit is plugged in properly and that the breaker is not tripped or fuse blown.
  2. CHECK THE LAMP: Make sure the lamp is screwed in all the way.
  3. FOR T5 FLUORESCENT FIXTURES: Check to ensure lamps are properly locked into place. This is accomplished by turning the lamps ¼ turn in either direction.
  4. Try a different lamp if you have one available. Make sure unit is unplugged when changing lamps.
  5. Make sure you have the correct lamp for your ballast, i.e. an HPS lamp will not ignite with a MH ballast.
  6. MVPâ„¢ (Multi Volt PowerCord): When using a MVPâ„¢ plug, only use the one distributed with the unit or purchased at one of our Authorized Retailers. DO NOT make any changes to the Power Cord. This will VOID the warranty.
FAQ’s
Symptom:
My ballast is humming but the light isn’t coming on.

Solution: There may be a couple of reasons for this: 1) the lamp is not screwed in tight enough, or 2) the lamp is defective. Please allow 5 - 10 minutes for lamps to initially ignite. If this does not solve the problem, return the unit to the dealer for testing.

Symptom:My ballast makes an excessive amount of noise.

Solution: Keep in mind that the higher the wattage, the louder the humming noise emitted. However, if the noise level is extreme, the transformer may have come loose. In this case, the ballast unit should be returned to Sunlight Supply®, Inc. for repair if it is still under warranty and has been used under normal operating conditions.

Symptom: Every time I turn on the light fixture, the circuit breaker trips.

Solution: You may have too many appliances on this circuit. A normal home’s circuit has only 15 amps available. These H.I.D. lights use up to 10 amps per unit. Please make sure you are not overloading the circuit with too many appliances and/or lights. Note: The sticker on the ballast will state the number of amps required by that particular unit. If you do require more lights/appliances to all be run off the same circuit, you should consult an licensed Electrician.

Symptom: I turned off my HID light and now it won’t come back on.

Solution:Your lamp may take up to 20 minutes to cool down before it can be fired up again. Fluorescent lamps should be almost immediate.

Symptom: My lamp has small pieces of glass inside of it.

Solution:It is common for small pieces of glass to break loose inside the lamps; this will not affect the lamps output. If there is a crack or hole in the outer glass, it should be replaced.

IF NONE OF THE ABOVE PROCEDURES HELP, PLEASE CONTACT THE RETAIL STORE WHERE YOU PURCHASED THE UNIT.
How do I know my lamps are functioning normally?



have you checked to make sure your BULB is good??
sometimes even new bulbs can be a bad batch
Pretty sure that switch just switches on and off the ignitor which is required for HPS and not mh. What kind of bulb were you trying to fire? HPS or mh? Try both an mh and HPS and maybe two of each to ensure it’s not the ignitor or a faulty bulb. Hard to tell from pic but it almost looks like the toggle switch wasn’t switched left or right just kind of in the middle? Lol. Of course you made sure you had the switch going the right way for your bulb right? Capacitors will swell up on the top usually before they go. It swollen at all? How old is ballast? Capacitor going bad is super common. It’s not a bad idea to switch em out regardless every couple years anyhow to ensure maximum brightness. It makes a BIG difference, as much as a new bulb if not more


Brand new 1000w HPS bulb (I'm getting ready for 12/12 in a week & a half so I'm trouble shooting now)

I checked everything you said, No bulge in the cap, checked the connections, now I'm going to do the "wait a few minutes" advice. I'll update as soon as I try everything & some.

THANK YOU ALL SOOOOOOO MUCH!!!! I love this place!!!!
 
Dan789

Dan789

2,954
263
QUESTION HERE:

I have a 1000w 2 way ballast by SunLeaves.com & when I plug it in it hums and all but doesn't turn on my bulb. I took the front plate off thinking it may be the capacitor but then I seen this (photos attached). I have a friend who's a master electrician but he's out of town as my luck would have it.

Should there be something plugged into the empty ends?


THANK YOU FOR ALL IN ADVANCE WHO CAN HELP OR ADVISE
View attachment 791321 View attachment 791322
Hey @Purp Nugs I'm looking at the position of the/your switch, I'm thinking that it's in the middle or null position, where nothing will happen. That said please flip it to the appropriate direction to facilitate the starting of your light. Hope this helps.
 
hubcap

hubcap

1,189
48
TWO PRONG OUTLETS!! (grrrrr)
OK...gimme the abridged version.
I have two prong outlets.
OK to use 2-3prong adapter with the ground lug/screw? (box appears grounded, because another device, a shop light, is hard wired inside the box, and the box itself, has a green wire attached to the conduit feeding it.)

I swear people in the 70s needed an outlet......just run random wiring. fuck code. man, what a pain, to translate dumbass. At this point I want to gut the whole house back to the breaker panel, but, thats an even BIGGER, and more expensive pain. I have an outlet I can use...in a good spot....just 2 prong.
OK to run a 600W and a small fan on it? (all breakers are at least 15A and Id prefer not to rewire in a GFCI outlet. If Im doing that...ill just go over to normal 3 prongers.)


THOUGHTS? ADVICE?
 
Dan789

Dan789

2,954
263
You're problem is exacerbated by exactly what you've encountered, that not many homeowners cares or has the knowledge or understanding to do electrical installations right. Though a two prong outlet was perfectly legal when it was installed to the present time. Newer Electrical codes have upgraded the safety of the homeowner with various safety items like GFI's and the even newer AFC breakers and plugs.
That said you'll be able like you've insinuated to utilize a grounded two prong adapter, what many miss though is the connection of the grounding jumper to the center screw of the receptacle cover. That screw should connect and bond to the romex cable coming from the panel, thus hopefully the grounding path for the appliance being connected will be established. If the wire coming from the panel doesn't have any bonding to the junction box, or yoke of the receptacle that thought and potential protection goes out the window. Just trying to inform you of what is supposed to happen, and probably what can go wrong to make your solution unsafe. As every situation is or can be unique, it's impossible to suggest any solution without an examination by a licensed professional.

Any time you're using electricity in and around situations where water is present, it ups the ante to maintain personal safety. If in doubt about anything I've tried to explain, check with licensed electrician before attempting any remedy.
If in place of those two prong receptacles, you had an licensed Electrician or Electrical contractor install correctly a GFCI receptacle, these can detect any imbalance of "stray current" from between the "Hot and neutral wire", and if sensed (imbalance) will interrupt the power. Providing some degree of safety where that ground terminal (third prong) may or may not be connected or present. Hope this makes sense but it's as basic as it can be explained.
 
McNaughty

McNaughty

87
33
Hoping someone can help me figure out which wire is positive and negative..?

Im planning on using it power a 12 volt computer fan.
Cheers
20180815 145006
20180815 144246
 
Dan789

Dan789

2,954
263
Use a tester to make sure, stripe negative. That way, you’ll learn to rely on what you can verify yourself. Use red lead to solid, Black to negative, you’ll measure +12 volts, if probes reversed, you’ll read -12 volts. Cheers
 
McNaughty

McNaughty

87
33
Use a tester to make sure, stripe negative. That way, you’ll learn to rely on what you can verify yourself. Use red lead to solid, Black to negative, you’ll measure +12 volts, if probes reversed, you’ll read -12 volts. Cheers

Thanks for the reply Dan, just popped over to the old mans to borrow his tester, really need to grab myself one.. All wired up and running now. Let the seedlings breathe haha
 
Dan789

Dan789

2,954
263
No, Max
I am running 12 gavita 750w lights. Can I wire 4 sets of 3 lights with 12/3, 30 ft run on 4-20a breakers? They are 240v lights.
[/QUOTE
Seems Ok, basically you've got four circuits, with three 750 watt loads connected together on each of the four. So four circuits @ 2250 watts each, the max allowable constant load on a 20/2 cb would be 3840 watts (20*240*.8= 3840 watts. (For these 20/2 c/b's make sure they've got a "UL489" rating). The twelve three is a problem unless it has a ground wire, you're missing the most important conductor... If it does have a ground wire, then it would be OK. Most of the time it's denoted at 12/3 with ground...
One problem you may have is inrush current tripping the c/b as ballasts have inrush current over and above what the normal load is. We could get into trip curves, but that's not something a layman would readily understand...
 
JDerek

JDerek

12
3
Thanks for the reply. Since I already bought the wire (has a white, black, and green) I think I may just run 2 lights per 20a circuit to accomodate the trip curve/inrush current.
 
W

Wardawg

21
3
will a digi ballast that has been on 120 for 6 months, then put on 240. fry in one night?
It will only fry if it’s not wired up to run at 240 and plugged in to 240 if plug anything that’s wired120 to 240 it’s going to fry it
 
needshelpguy

needshelpguy

690
93
Every one in industrys doin it to heat there familys n shit why cant me girls live rent free ;) Haven't done it n years since my house now has difficult set up :( just wondering what % of growers do it hahah few years ago everyone i knew that had a grow did it changing now that leds coming out
 

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