Experienced Electrician! Here to Answer Any and All Growroom Electrical Questions

serialkiller

Active Member
I gotta question about this 65watt CFL I just got. I have a mogul base socket on a cord but I dont know if just that would work cause on the box it says its un-ballasted and it wont work in a regular mogul base socket, only in the fixture its a replacement for.

So is that true? And if so is there a 65 watt ballast I could buy and wire up?
 

BigBudBalls

Well-Known Member
I gotta question about this 65watt CFL I just got. I have a mogul base socket on a cord but I dont know if just that would work cause on the box it says its un-ballasted and it wont work in a regular mogul base socket, only in the fixture its a replacement for.

So is that true? And if so is there a 65 watt ballast I could buy and wire up?
Sounds like you need a ballast. Might be better off returning and getting the whole kit-n-kaboodle. You can use the wire/socket to you have to make it a remote ballast.
 

serialkiller

Active Member
Thats what I was thinking, about getting a ballast for a regular shop light and wiring it. This was going to be suppliment lighting for my non MJ indoor garden but I just picked up a 400W MH for it for $50, figured I couldnt make this work for that cheap even if I could it would be shit compared to the MH.

thanks anyway.
 
kind of a stupid question but im curious, would it be possible to run a 400w hps or hid bulb off of a 250w ballast and just get the 250watts?
 

mrmadcow

Well-Known Member
Thats what I was thinking, about getting a ballast for a regular shop light and wiring it. This was going to be suppliment lighting for my non MJ indoor garden but I just picked up a 400W MH for it for $50, figured I couldnt make this work for that cheap even if I could it would be shit compared to the MH.

thanks anyway.
the ballast has to be made for the light.stick w/ the 400 mh
 

mmaaddmmaann

Active Member
Hey there Bricktown, Nice work on the thread. I'v been tearing thru the thread in search of some PLC related information and didn't find any, thou I didn't look at every page. I'm in the process of learning to use my new Click PLC in conjunction with cheap CO2, temp Humidity, light and water timing all on the one unit. I was wondering if I throw a few schematics your way if you could look at them and see if things look ok. I'm not sure if you have experience with lov voltage (resistors op amps, ect,) but if you do I would love a bit of a hand. My plan is to do up a bad ass tutorial for a fully controllable computer system thats affordable for the home grower. Cheers,
mmaaddmmaann
 

BigBudBalls

Well-Known Member
Hey there Bricktown, Nice work on the thread. I'v been tearing thru the thread in search of some PLC related information and didn't find any, thou I didn't look at every page. I'm in the process of learning to use my new Click PLC in conjunction with cheap CO2, temp Humidity, light and water timing all on the one unit. I was wondering if I throw a few schematics your way if you could look at them and see if things look ok. I'm not sure if you have experience with lov voltage (resistors op amps, ect,) but if you do I would love a bit of a hand. My plan is to do up a bad ass tutorial for a fully controllable computer system thats affordable for the home grower. Cheers,
mmaaddmmaann
bricktown seems to be long gone.

Got your sensor? The clicks look ok ( though I disgregaurded them for some reason)
 

Lo'pan

Member
No and no. Its been said that a MH in a HPS ballast should work. THe HPS has an igniter, the MH doesn't. Seems to be the only diff.

Using a different wattage bulb is also frowned upon. The ballast is a current limiting device, keeps the bulb's draw in check.

Hey Bigbud... I was wondering about this a while back. I thought about wiring a bypass for the ingniter on an hps so i could throw in a MH lamp. Any thoughts on this idea? Do you think its possible?
 

Aussie Grown

Active Member
Hi i was wondering if u had or knew off where i could get some in depth intel about these new gen smart meters, and wether or not the could help narrow down power taps, as well as how the networking side of the unit operates and just what information it transmits, apart from meter readout tahnks any intel would be marvelous thanks
 

city2city

Member
hey!

i was wondering if you could direct me to a link or any info that would help me wire some new lines to my room in one of my houses... right now 3 (1000w HPS) lights is on along with other fans, o2 pumps, water pumps, timers.. 1st 1000w is powered from an extension cord from another room. and the other 2 are from the 2 sockets in the room.. different circuits im assuming... the circuits in the breaker box are 15 amps... is there any possible way to wire up a couple more 1000w from other rooms without using all these extension cords?
 

Lo'pan

Member
hey!

i was wondering if you could direct me to a link or any info that would help me wire some new lines to my room in one of my houses... right now 3 (1000w HPS) lights is on along with other fans, o2 pumps, water pumps, timers.. 1st 1000w is powered from an extension cord from another room. and the other 2 are from the 2 sockets in the room.. different circuits im assuming... the circuits in the breaker box are 15 amps... is there any possible way to wire up a couple more 1000w from other rooms without using all these extension cords?
There are a couple of things you can do... First of you have to find out what size wire is run to the plugs in your grow room. If it is 12 gauge wire then you can easily replace the ckt breaker with a 20 amp. It is possible to do this with 14 gauge wire, but you if you pull close to 18 amps it will cause the wire to heat up due to resistance and that can obviousely lead to trouble.

You could run another circuit to the bedroom from your breaker panel but that be a real pain depending on what kind of house/apt you have.

That being said, if you dont have a working knowledge of residential electricity, I strongly suggest you consult a professional before you do anything. You dont want to burn the house down cuz you were trying to eliminate a couple of extension cords....

I might be able to give you a few suggestions if you can elaborate a little more on your situation. PM me if you want.
 

BigBudBalls

Well-Known Member
Hey Bigbud... I was wondering about this a while back. I thought about wiring a bypass for the ingniter on an hps so i could throw in a MH lamp. Any thoughts on this idea? Do you think its possible?
Its been done (and even here; theres a post or two). I can't verify how 'correct' it is. The ballast may be different. I haven't put a meter on the coils of a MH & HPS to see if they are diff.
 

BigBudBalls

Well-Known Member
Hi i was wondering if u had or knew off where i could get some in depth intel about these new gen smart meters, and wether or not the could help narrow down power taps, as well as how the networking side of the unit operates and just what information it transmits, apart from meter readout tahnks any intel would be marvelous thanks
Basically they will report back usage/demand and times of day. They can't tell the living room is using 500W and the bathroom is using 5000W. But they can tell per phase. They send info back via a signal on top of the AC power. (much like the power line networking or the speakers you plug into the wall, the signal is running with the AC)

They *should* block the signal from entering your home, as not to interfere with the above mentioned items. You can toss a o'scope on it and see whats going on.
 

BigBudBalls

Well-Known Member
hey!

i was wondering if you could direct me to a link or any info that would help me wire some new lines to my room in one of my houses... right now 3 (1000w HPS) lights is on along with other fans, o2 pumps, water pumps, timers.. 1st 1000w is powered from an extension cord from another room. and the other 2 are from the 2 sockets in the room.. different circuits im assuming... the circuits in the breaker box are 15 amps... is there any possible way to wire up a couple more 1000w from other rooms without using all these extension cords?
Hire an electrician. Too many flags in this post for a DIY.
 

curioushiker

Active Member
Basically they will report back usage/demand and times of day. They can't tell the living room is using 500W and the bathroom is using 5000W. But they can tell per phase. They send info back via a signal on top of the AC power. (much like the power line networking or the speakers you plug into the wall, the signal is running with the AC)

They *should* block the signal from entering your home, as not to interfere with the above mentioned items. You can toss a o'scope on it and see whats going on.
Please forgive my ignorance on the subject. I have asked this question but have not gotten an answer for whatever reason.
If a grow is legal (medicinal use) why the parranoina about electricity use and the ability to track it?
 

Weedhopper

Active Member
Please forgive my ignorance on the subject. I have asked this question but have not gotten an answer for whatever reason.
If a grow is legal (medicinal use) why the parranoina about electricity use and the ability to track it?
I am a Medical Marihuana caregiver and see no need to monitor energy usage. There are meters available to monitor usage, nice if you want to cost out production.

Remember though we only have a handful of states that allow this situation. http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=4516
 
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