A Bored Electrician to Answer Your Questions

i have a 2x4ft 6 bulb fixture. i want to run either 2/4 or 6 bulbs. using 2 switches. left switch on gives 2 lights. left off, right on, gives 4 lights. both on gives 6 lights. is it possible, and if so can ya send a drawing? i'm sure 14/3 wire goes from fixture to switches, 14/2 wire goes from switches to 100 amp service. it will have its own should it be 15a or 20a breaker.
 
rural hick said:
test: why is the beach always next to the water?
test: on a 110v that goes to a elec motor and i want an indicator light that is on when the elec motor/pump is on and run it on ONE circuit say the cheap indoor romex, but if the light fails the elec motor will still run?? can't be done huh? i will have to have a separate circuit from the elec mtr for the indicator light correct?
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no, you can do it just like this:
bongsmilie

Untitled-2.jpg
 
cloned said:
i have a 2x4ft 6 bulb fixture. i want to run either 2/4 or 6 bulbs. using 2 switches. left switch on gives 2 lights. left off, right on, gives 4 lights. both on gives 6 lights. is it possible, and if so can ya send a drawing? i'm sure 14/3 wire goes from fixture to switches, 14/2 wire goes from switches to 100 amp service. it will have its own should it be 15a or 20a breaker.
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it is possible but i need to know if it is a one ballast, 2 ballast, etc fixture, what type of ballasts they are, and what type of lamps
 
friedrice22 said:
my ballast comes 120v and 240v which one should i use?
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most household only have 120v....
240v is when u have two hots on your panel... touching one breaker.....
Alot of industrial or commercial run 240 in order to save watts......
since 0hms law states.... volts times amps = watts....
so the more volts u use the less amps youll need .....
or something like that ......

I think that you might not have any 240 outlets...
So you may be forced into 120v.....
which most low budget growers use....
like me .......
lright stoned????
 
friedrice22 said:
my ballast comes 120v and 240v which one should i use?
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depends on what you have available to plug into... 120v is the most common voltage available at wall outlets. you can tell by the orientation of the plug you want to plug it into, 2 vertical slots = 120v. 2 horizontal slots = 240v. it is more efficient to use 240v, but since 240v is not commonly available in wall outlets, your probably going to be stuck with 120v.

323cheezy said:
most household only have 120v....
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not so accurate... most househholds have 120/240. as a matter of fact, i have never seen one that doesnt. even the 100amp temporary services used for construction have 120/240....
it would be better to say most households do not have 240v receptacles where you need them.
 
Hey bro; just wanted to say thanks again. I accidentily put a drywall screw through my frickin Romex man. Bummer, well this cut off all power to my bonus room. It tripped the breaker and turned off thank goodness and I didn't receieve any shock. It was a very surreal feeling, and I didn't turn the circuit breaker back on from fear of fire, but I need some recommendations as to what to do to restore power to my bonus room 100% without re-running a new electrical line to the breaker.
 
hwy420 said:
Hey bro; just wanted to say thanks again. I accidentily put a drywall screw through my frickin Romex man. Bummer, well this cut off all power to my bonus room. It tripped the breaker and turned off thank goodness and I didn't receieve any shock. It was a very surreal feeling, and I didn't turn the circuit breaker back on from fear of fire, but I need some recommendations as to what to do to restore power to my bonus room 100% without re-running a new electrical line to the breaker.
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well first of all back the screw out with the power off. might have to cut a hole in the sheetrock if u cant access the wire.

pull the slack out of the wire to expose where you hit it wit the screw. often all you need is to remove the outer jacket and do a quick patch job with some electrical tape. however if the actual copper is blown to hell or obviously damaged (pitting, scarring,melted, welds) you have to remove the burned section. just make sure the splice is on a device or in an outletbox, ie- that can be a great spot for a new plug... or a outlet box with a blank cover.
 
IAm5toned said:
well first of all back the screw out with the power off. might have to cut a hole in the sheetrock if u cant access the wire.

pull the slack out of the wire to expose where you hit it wit the screw. often all you need is to remove the outer jacket and do a quick patch job with some electrical tape. however if the actual copper is blown to hell or obviously damaged (pitting, scarring,melted, welds) you have to remove the burned section. just make sure the splice is on a device or in an outletbox, ie- that can be a great spot for a new plug... or a outlet box with a blank cover.
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Yeap, it's cut to hell, almost in half, and right in the center of the copper. It looks like all the wires are severed entirely.
But, I think your idea is awesome, b/c well I kinda wanted to bring the bonus room power circuit into the new room, so it's kinda a mixed blessing to have damaged it.

So all I need to do is get a Romex 14/2 NMb splice from a hardware/electrical store and put it in a Junction box and put myself a new outlet in the plastic Junction box?
 
hwy420 said:
Yeap, it's cut to hell, almost in half, and right in the center of the copper. It looks like all the wires are severed entirely.
But, I think your idea is awesome, b/c well I kinda wanted to bring the bonus room power circuit into the new room, so it's kinda a mixed blessing to have damaged it.

So all I need to do is get a Romex 14/2 NMb splice from a hardware/electrical store and put it in a Junction box and put myself a new outlet in the plastic Junction box?
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if theres enough slack in the wire you wont need to splice it... but if you have to some wirenuts and a short peice of nmb will work just fine. just make sure the splices are good and tight under the wirenuts. always twist to the right untill the nut stops spinning on the wire
 
Whats the deal with wire tuts? Sometimes when im tightening them they just break off the wire at the insulation. Am I just being to cautious by tightening them to tight or should they just be snug? I have a fear they will fall apart if i dont get them nice and tight.
 
IAm5toned said:
depends on what you have available to plug into... 120v is the most common voltage available at wall outlets. you can tell by the orientation of the plug you want to plug it into, 2 vertical slots = 120v. 2 horizontal slots = 240v. it is more efficient to use 240v, but since 240v is not commonly available in wall outlets, your probably going to be stuck with 120v.

not so accurate... most househholds have 120/240. as a matter of fact, i have never seen one that doesnt. even the 100amp temporary services used for construction have 120/240....
it would be better to say most households do not have 240v receptacles where you need them.
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very true ....
most housholds can and may have 240.....
but for the most part ...... they dont have 240v receptacles.....
my house doesnt .....
and fror the most part i havent seen em much when i did my freelance work.....
but alot of newwer instillations should have a couple....
i know a/c are good to hook to 240v....
 
doctorD said:
Whats the deal with wire tuts? Sometimes when im tightening them they just break off the wire at the insulation. Am I just being to cautious by tightening them to tight or should they just be snug? I have a fear they will fall apart if i dont get them nice and tight.
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well lots of things can cause a wire to snap of @ the insulation. you may be overtightening the twist; when turning the wirenut onto the wire, you should stop 3 full turns AFTER the wirenut stops spinning free on the wires and the whole bundle of wires starts to turn. there is such a thing as overtightening the wirenut!
also when working on old wires/junctions, the old exposed copper should be cutoff and the wire restripped, because a wire that has sat 'twisted' under a wirenut for several years will lose its ductility (flexability) and become brittle due to the mechanical pressure of the wirenut itself and the constant vibration of current through the wire (yes, a/c current makes wire vibrate, even though the vibrations are very small themselves, it does happen. that is why tight strong connections with plenty of slack is always stressed so strongly, the wire will literally work itself loose due to these vibrations)
another thing is your wire may be old and brittle, or the tool you are using to strip the wire maybe cutting through the insulation and into the copper, which will cause the wire to snap off at the insulation...
make sure your using the proper size and type of wirenut as well, and always twist to the right, never to the left.
a technique that helps when using wirenuts is to 'pre twist' the wires together using a pair of sturdy pliers or side cutting pliers (kleins). that way you have a good strong joint before you ever start put the wirenut on... this is actually the preferred method taught to apprentices in the field
 
i dunno.
but if you have ever seen those brown square commercial parking lot light fixtures? some have a decal 25x and some have a decal 40x. i suppose the 25x is 250 watts. i can get all them fixtures i want to carry off. the regional electric utility sometimes they just throw the fixture away, with out any troubleshooting them at all.
those are HPS (high pressure sodium) correct?
and if a guy got several out of the dumpster, maybe luck would befell him and he would have a johnny cash HPS?
what usually goes bad in those fixtures? bulb only or bulb and something else? i just wonder why would they come down off the pole to be replaced by a newer unit?
 
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