touch fuse nd it warm ?

[Growops]

hey ive been reading some electrical info here and i decided to post . running on 100 amp panel fuses. using h.i.d 6 light timer plugs into dryer and gives 120v, each plug on timer has its own 15amp breaker switch . im using 5x1000w (it says its for 6)when i added up numbers it didt makes sense so i called the store who sold me timer they said well each leg is 30 amps so if u cut 240 in half for 120 u get 60amps , anyhow this has worked for over a year , but i wonder now nd then i go and feel wires nd when i feel the dryers fuse case its warm not hot but warm nd so is the plug . i know heat means resestance but is this safe ? should the fuse not be warm but cold instead? does this mean also i can run 6 light on the dryer and 8 more on the stove because they have their own leg?

 

[Underground]

Being warm is no big deal. You should check the amperage draw on it, that's where your concern should be. Unless it's excessively hot. With any constant load, you don't want to be more than 80% of the circuit ampacity.
Multiply your breaker x .8 to give you max load. If you know your load and want to figure out a circuit size, multiply your load by 1.25. Don't forget your power factor when adding your load. A 1000 watt ballast actually pulls about 1100 watts.
100Amp breaker x .8 = 80 amps max on a hundred amp breaker.

If you know your load multiply it by 1.25 to get your circuit size.
80Amp load x 1.25 = 100Amp breaker.


If you are under 80% and getting hot spots, those hot spots are most likely loose connections.

All you ballasts should be individually fused too. If a transformer internally shorts it will trip the circuit and all lighting on that circuit. If you have them individually fused, it will only kill that light.

 

[hiboy]

hey ive been reading some electrical info here and i decided to post . running on 100 amp panel fuses. using h.i.d 6 light timer plugs into dryer and gives 120v, each plug on timer has its own 15amp breaker switch . im using 5x1000w (it says its for 6)when i added up numbers it didt makes sense so i called the store who sold me timer they said well each leg is 30 amps so if u cut 240 in half for 120 u get 60amps , anyhow this has worked for over a year , but i wonder now nd then i go and feel wires nd when i feel the dryers fuse case its warm not hot but warm nd so is the plug . i know heat means resestance but is this safe ? should the fuse not be warm but cold instead? does this mean also i can run 6 light on the dryer and 8 more on the stove because they have their own leg?

Nice explanations UG.
Check this out, Normally dryer plugs are 3 wire meaning no neutral. So if this dryer plug timer conv. box plugs in and is outputting 120v... that means that they are using the ground from the main as a neutral. I rarely see 4 wire dryer plugs. Ive even used the ground before to carry a neutral but i knew it wasnt right, and it was outside and buried. Seems kinda krazy with all that load.
hiboy

 

[Growops]

ok thanks for responses. my box says 100 amp is that 100a@240v ? is there a diffenerce ? like i mean is it 100a@240v and 200a@120v im just confused . im not going to be pushing my limit anymore then i already am but sometyhing is telling me ive herd this rule b4 . like going from 120 to 240 cut amp in half

 

[Underground]

A hundred amp breaker is a hundred amp breaker whether it is single pole, two pole/phase, or three pole/phase. The only time it adds is if it's the same pole or phase. And you rarely see that. The only time I can even think of parrallel breakers off the top of my head is the main on some GE residential panels. But you do gain the added wattage for each pole/phase.

100 amps at 120volts = 12K volt amps (watts basically)
100 amps at 240volts = 24K volt amps

An electrical device run at twice the voltage will draw half the amperage, but the power consumption (wattage) will remain the same.

The amperage and voltage are inversely proportionate. Meaning that when one goes down the other goes up equally. But the wattage is the wattage. The benefit of running 240 is that you can run smaller wire and run more lights per circuit. Just make sure you fuse them separately. When a transformer shorts it trips the entire circuit if they are not individually fused.

 

[iscrog4food]

Are you saying that you wired a dryer cord to your box and are plugging into the dryer outlet that way? If so a dryer receptacle is only rated to 30 amps if it is a 3 wire. If you are running digis then you can get 5 on a dryer line at 240 but not at 120. SOrry if I misread your original post but I thought I would chime in. If you hardwired your box to the dryer circut breaker then ignore this post.

 

[CAPO]

are you using magnetic or digital ballasts?

 

[Underground]

The amperage rating of a breaker is the amperage that it will generally trip at. No matter how many poles you have it's only 100 amps. Your wattage does add, but your amperage does not because it's a rating at which the breaker trips not a measure of available power. That's like saying two cars driving next to each at 60mph other equals 120mph.

 

[Growops]

hey just came back to read this , btw heres the timer board im using im confused