power box dpc 7500

[noone88]

I think i'll stick to my Sentinel HPH-8's with timers...

No idea how someone can miswire hot and ground from the factory.

 

[cheech]

my powerbox is still working fine. i have shit electrical skills but it didn't take much reading to learn how to install a FORTY amps 240 volt breaker. then it was as simple as running 8 ga wire from the breaker to a 40 amp receptacle. plug it in and your set. i did replace the male end of the powerbox cord to fit a 40 amp female end though.

Olyver how much would you charge for your version of the powerbox? that would be the deciding factor for most growers. if you can make one at the same cost then i'd bet most would come to you. i kind of assumed that yours would be double the cost since it's custom.

When i need another 6 light timer i'll just purchase a 40+ amp dpst relay and make the thing myself.

but yea if your power box is all 240 volt receptacles then just ground the bare and ground wire to the bus bar and stick the black and red wire into the breaker.

 

[Olyver]

A 6 light timer for 240V style receptacles with a built in AUBE digital timer would be $400.

 

[dxco]

CHEECH / POWERBOX & Melted Receptacle

Heat generated at an outlet is caused by excessive resistance in the circuit & not neccessarily at the outlet. Whatever the problem is, it could get worse with disastrous results! That's probably the reason you bought the powerbox in the first place -to get rid of all of those dangerous timers & power strips & make your garden safe.
I would venture to say that the reason that the outlet is hot is because of a loose connection or the wiring between the outlet & the main panel is under-sized -The box is pulling too much power for the circuit.
OR: you just have a cheap outlet that isn't making a good, solid connection> Needless to say, replace the outlet (if it's a three-prong try NEMA 10-50R; if it's a four-prong NEMA 14-50R
Could also be a defective breaker but more likely the wiring or outlet. Personally, I would nix the plug & receptacle & direct-wire the box with a new 50A circuit.
Here's a link to a llisting if different plugs & receptacles with pictures & part numbers:

Make sure the wire is 6ga. copper THHN/THWN is preferred because of it's high tempurature rating.


Here's a 240v wiring tutorial too:


Good luck with that. PowerBox makes a good product -I hate to say that because they are my competition.

If anybody is in the market for a lighting controller please check out www.dxsoundco.com -If you need a different configuration send me an email. All of our controllers are custom built to your exact requirements. At the present time we are offering wholesale prices to everybody but that won't last forever!
High temp cut-offs; onboard ammeter/power meter; HVAC control & custom dosing systems also available.

I have worked on dozens of greenhouse electrical projects & have worked in the electrical & electronic industries since the 80's.

Dan Weddle
DXCO, Des Moines, IA

little update on the powerbox.. yesterday i saw that the 30 amp female plug that the powerbox male end was plugged into was melting. i went to home depot and tried to find another female end that was rated at 40 amps but there were none.

i'm going to do some web browsing and see if i can find a 40 amp plug that matches up with the male end of the powerbox, but i have a feeling i'm not going to find one.... if that is the case then shame on powerbox for wiring there 40 amp unit to a male end plug that can only be plugged into a socket rated at 30 amps.... at least the powerbox cord is 8 amp.

i replaced the 30 amp male end with a 40/50 amp male end so i could plug it into the new 40/50 amp female plug i bought.

the 40/50 amp female plug i bought looks exactly like the 30 amp female plug except the it has 3 straight metal pieces and one U shaped piece.. the 30 amp had 2 straight metal pieces a u shaped and a L shaped.

anyone know what makes a plug 30 or 50 amps??? it's not like there's any wire.. just metal that allows electricity to transfer from one wire to another. maybe the 50 amp peaces of the plug are slightly larger then the 30 amp, but if they were i couldn't tell.

 

[Bobby Smith]

Just looked at your page, Dan - nice looking setups you've got there and the prices look to be very, very competitive.

Best of luck to you.

 

[dxco]

Even the Sun System 30A controller (which has a 120v outlet) comes with a three-prong cord -Looks like a NEMA 10-30P. That is entirely wrong & could no way have UL approval -120V must have a neutral. You cannot use the frickin' ground as a current-carrying conductor! They obviously have the neutral buss bonded to ground inside the box which is not right. If this were a direct wire unit, a sub panel -which is basically what it is, you cannot bond the neutral. A 120/240 system must have a neutral AND a ground. I can't believe they are selling this unit -Hasn't anybody said anything?
At least powerbox has the sense to use a neutral!
OLYVER: Are powerbox products really designed by a real estate agent? Or was that just a generalization of people who don't know what they are doing building products that your life might depend on being built right? (Like the powerbox employee telling cheech to hook his 30A device to a 40A circuit -and then wonders why it's running hot)
Dan

 

[Olyver]

OLYVER: Are powerbox products really designed by a real estate agent? Or was that just a generalization of people who don't know what they are doing building products that your life might depend on being built right? (Like the powerbox employee telling cheech to hook his 30A device to a 40A circuit -and then wonders why it's running hot)
Dan[/QUOTE]

Yes, the owner is a real estate agent. His real estate home page has been changed to a pic of a BMW to hide his picture. Would you want to buy something from a realtor or an electrician?

Best Regards

Olyver.

 

[brookstown]

hehehhe..hahahahh..







heheheheh... still laughing.. heheheh

lol....

 

[Emithsuk]

I'm tempted to try their flip boxes all the diys I come across make me feel nervous about the quality idk if I should buy a 10 light flip or make my own. What do you guys think now that you've had more time to test the flip boxes? Any really solid flip diy tutorials out there?

 

[ProdigyGrower]

I have the same model I only run 4k and it works amazing I have a 30amp breaker like they said to use I guess if I want to run 6k I would up it to a 40amp but the most I plan on running is 5k and a 30amp should work fine imop these are the best timers on The market the timer is awesome.

 

[cheech]

The light controllers I will vouch for. Great heavy duty controller. It's kind of bull shit that I had to drill into mine so I could get a screwdriver in there to tighten down my own cable. They give you a short 6' cord and expect you to be ok with that, as if you're going to wire up a subpannel for it or something...

With that said, my cap controllers are great too, and are half the price. Plus they allow you to open their box up to wire it to your own cable. Powerbox wants you to use their male end plug or their 6' hardwired cable as mentioned above.


But their flip box should be good quality. Or build your own. I just got my 6 relays back in action... Flipping 6k right now. I have a tutorial thread that's easy to follow.

 

[fishwhistle]

no problems with powerbox here.

 

[Thdaoub]

Get new knowledge from such thread. hahaha.

 

[ttystikk]

FWIW; When I upgraded to 8 magnetic ballasts I bought a Sentinel HPH-8 'high power controller' with a built-in trigger cord. It's built like a tank, doesn't buzz, get warm or do anything except transfer power- and give a nice, satisfying 'thunk' when the trigger cord activates the relay. And the price was right.

I Installed a 50 amp breaker and ran 6 gauge wire to a 50 amp 4 wire surface mount box, the pigtail from the Sentinel plugged right in, no problems with install in any way. Nothing even gets warm.

I know, I know, my 8 magnetic ballasts are 'old school' and I'm supposed to upgrade to the latest shiny anodized extruded digital box, but dammit if the tech. isn't broke- and it tolerates a flipbox with no issues- why 'fix' it?

Power- and water under pressure- are the two things I don't take chances with in my setups. Long ago I had a fire (unrelated to this industry) and I disovered I'm allergic to seeing my house burn down, lol.

 

[cheech]

There's the thread. My 1k's are magnetic. I'm not turning them off for the flip. Their just running 24/7.

 

[Aqua farmer]

I run a 7600-240vt for 5 years now. It's on a 50amp breaker with huge range cable. It handles 6 , 1000s flawless. Yes 80% applies, but It was existing wiring so....over kill. Now that the unit is going to handle the growers choice 630s?....even safer. These lower power models don't have breakers. That starts at the 12000 I believe.

i'm now under the impression that the powerbox itself doesn't have a breaker like some other timers, which is why they want it setup to a 40 amp breaker.

schultz i think you were assuming that i had been running the powerbox with all six ballasts running continuously for the past 6 months. the powerbox isn't installed, and i'm currently only running three ballasts 24/7.... it's ok.. i forgive you. :) no need for you to respond.

anyone out there run one of these?

0vt