A cure to paranoia??

[sir-smoke-alot]

SWIM has got a small Grow box currently running 3 CFL'S.
1(*23watt 1400 Lumen 4000K)
2(*20watt 1350 Lumen 2700K)

The lights run over night 18on & 6off so from 3 in the arvo until 9 the next morning.

They are positioned in a Ply wood box with foil walls - (was going to paint white but my baby's had to go in earlier than planned) They are fitted into 3 lamp cord fittings running into a power board.
A fan still needs to be added to the box which is tomorrow's job.

The thermometer says its around 20-23 Celsius (68 F) with light lights off. - when the lights are on its high 20's like 27-28 C (80.6 F) is there any danger of fire or electrical problems? what do you guys do to get some peace of mind? Thanks in advance!
Stay high...

 

[peacepipe2010]

Have any pictures? And as far as I read, you have a nice setup with no worries, I leave mine alone all day from 6 in the mornng till 4 in the afternoon.. Barely gives me enough time to check, water, and baby her. What type of fan do you have

Sent from my C6916 using Rollitup mobile app

 

[Sativied]

Those are the ideal temps I aim for.

The temps itself are not a hazard, but if you want to be sure, post some pics and show how you hooked things up.

 

[sir-smoke-alot]

Those are the ideal temps I aim for.

The temps itself are not a hazard, but if you want to be sure, post some pics and show how you hooked things up.

Gday, thanks for the reply illtry post some photo's asap but from what i've heard its not the best idea to be emailing yourself them from your phone etc... But last night (light on period) it got up to 30.C, I'm not sure if it got any hotter from that point on but it seems unlikely to me.

 

[Sand4x105]

Being concerned you may have a problem is a good thing....
Being paranoid that you might have a problem when you don't have one is a bad thing...
I am obsessed with doing the job correct and right the first time, so I never am paranoid...
So, why do you think you fucked it up?
Did you not understand which wire to cut [red or black... green or white... ???} and you flipped a coin?
Then you are not paranoid, you have a reason to be scared...
Your bad wiring will get hot...
The heat will after 50-60 days smolder the wood or other flame able materials...
Into a full blown fire and burn down of your flat....

Maybe go out and buy a Smoke Detector for good luck....

Some one said: "Buy a Smoke Detector and don't be paranoid of a fire...."

 

[sir-smoke-alot]

Being concerned you may have a problem is a good thing....
Being paranoid that you might have a problem when you don't have one is a bad thing...
I am obsessed with doing the job correct and right the first time, so I never am paranoid...
So, why do you think you fucked it up?
Did you not understand which wire to cut [red or black... green or white... ???} and you flipped a coin?
Then you are not paranoid, you have a reason to be scared...
Your bad wiring will get hot...
The heat will after 50-60 days smolder the wood or other flame able materials...
Into a full blown fire and burn down of your flat....

Maybe go out and buy a Smoke Detector for good luck....

Some one said: "Buy a Smoke Detector and don't be paranoid of a fire...."

I didn't cut anything i've simply got a power board the runs into a ply wood box with 3 lamps on timers pluged into it.
is there anything to be worryed about?
Thanks again! stay high

 

[droopy107]

No need to be paranoid about the heat from the bulbs causing a fire. If I remember correctly, wood ignites at somewhere around 500-600 degrees F. Unless a bulb is actually touching flammable objects you could rule that problem out, even if your fan fails and I doubt that cfl's would get a fire going anyhow, unless you used rice paper to line your box with.

Almost all electrical fires come from overloaded circuits that heat up over long run periods and turn the wire itself into a heating element.

There are other ways to cause an electrical fire and other ways to protect against them, but as far as heat from the number of cfl's you're running goes, save your paranoia for something else.

 

[Sand4x105]

If you have worked with electrical as I have, since I was 12 years... [dad was a contractor]...
You end up seeing a bunch of Micky Mouse installs....

You never let an electrical piece of equipment come in contact with anything flame able...
No socket/lamp touch wood/paper/wall board if you follow this simple rule, even if a piece of equipment [oh no I fukked up]...
Over heats... doesn't blow the breaker....Catches on fire... there will be nothing else to spark... get it?

 

[sir-smoke-alot]

No need to be paranoid about the heat from the bulbs causing a fire. If I remember correctly, wood ignites at somewhere around 500-600 degrees F. Unless a bulb is actually touching flammable objects you could rule that problem out, even if your fan fails and I doubt that cfl's would get a fire going anyhow, unless you used rice paper to line your box with.

Almost all electrical fires come from overloaded circuits that heat up over long run periods and turn the wire itself into a heating element.

There are other ways to cause an electrical fire and other ways to protect against them, but as far as heat from the number of cfl's you're running goes, save your paranoia for something else.

Gday thanks for the reply, would you be able to educate me a bit further on the whole electrical fire thing and what growers do to prevent it? I'm pretty new and need all the help I can get...

Much appreciated - Stay high

 

[sir-smoke-alot]

If you have worked with electrical as I have, since I was 12 years... [dad was a contractor]...
You end up seeing a bunch of Micky Mouse installs....

You never let an electrical piece of equipment come in contact with anything flame able...
No socket/lamp touch wood/paper/wall board if you follow this simple rule, even if a piece of equipment [oh no I fukked up]...
Over heats... doesn't blow the breaker....Catches on fire... there will be nothing else to spark... get it?

True this- thanks for the help... How do you recommend keeping two lamps of the ply wood floor?, and an extension board?

Cheers for the help boss - Stay high

 

[droopy107]

Sand said most of it, but something I would add is to use a GFCI breaker and have a good ground to the system. These are simple things that can cover more ass more than they cost. A GFCI won't cover all dead short possibilities, but it will eliminate some possible problems.

If you use extension cords, use the shortest length necessary to get the job done (length = resistance and resistance = heat) and always use a cord that is rated at a minimum 20% higher than the load passing through it.

 

[sir-smoke-alot]

Sand said most of it, but something I would add is to use a GFCI breaker and have a good ground to the system. These are simple things that can cover more ass more than they cost. A GFCI won't cover all dead short possibilities, but it will eliminate some possible problems.

If you use extension cords, use the shortest length necessary to get the job done (length = resistance and resistance = heat) and always use a cord that is rated at a minimum 20% higher than the load passing through it.

Good idea man thanks a bunch... could you explain what you mean by a good ground to the system?

 

[Sand4x105]

Good idea man thanks a bunch... could you explain what you mean by a good ground to the system?

All equipment is grounded... so, if a "Hot" wire [current carrying conductor] comes in contact with any part of your equipment [maybe the wire got nicked between fixture and housing]...then the breaker will always blow...
And in micro milla seconds if it's GFI protected...

 

[Commander Strax]

In the past SWIM has been a bit of a dick

 

[sir-smoke-alot]

In the past SWIM has been a bit of a dick

umm sorry? come again?

 

[sir-smoke-alot]

So the lights have changed- Were now running a 35 true watt cfl 6700k (lumens arn't stated) and a 23watt 4000k 1400lumen ALL CFL'S. Simply out of two desktop lamps theyre loving it.

 

[sir-smoke-alot]

Have any pictures? And as far as I read, you have a nice setup with no worries, I leave mine alone all day from 6 in the mornng till 4 in the afternoon.. Barely gives me enough time to check, water, and baby her. What type of fan do you have

Sent from my C6916 using Rollitup mobile app

I don't have the fan yet its been abit of a pickle because it's winter no one has em! i've tryed K-mart Target Harvey norman Asian electric store its bullshit we need dam fans...

Ive just left the lid open for 20 min intervals and fan with a calendar for abit when possible- its a right pain in the ass.

Cheers for the help

 

[droopy107]

Again, Sand Called it true on the ground explanation.

If the box has a lid why not prop it up a bit and see if convection will do the cooling job for free for you? My mother cabinet is 104 watts of CFL and just leaving the door open a couple of inches keeps the temps to within 5 degrees of the room temp. Might be worth a try.

 

[sir-smoke-alot]

Again, Sand Called it true on the ground explanation.

If the box has a lid why not prop it up a bit and see if convection will do the cooling job for free for you? My mother cabinet is 104 watts of CFL and just leaving the door open a couple of inches keeps the temps to within 5 degrees of the room temp. Might be worth a try.

I do that when I can but living with people it needs to be locked and bolted to the floor most of the day i've gotta find a better way to get the extention cord into it at the moment if thats abit sus

 

[growone]

very much empathize with the thrust of the thread
here's what i did, made a grow chamber out of non flammable materials
the chamber itself made out of aluminum flashing
CFL's mounted in porcelain sockets which are mounted in steel pizza 'fixture'
so it's metal and porcelain, stuff doesn't burn to readily
the electrical cords are more of a concern, been tough to find good flame resistant cord