Electricity: voltage, amps and circuits...

[Sanifsan]

Hello,

I have a question about lighting but it's not about cops, I need use more than 15 amps at times and as most of you know ordinary house circuits can handle about 15 amps and if more, the breaker trips off. What can i do about this, call a electrician? I"ll be using 1000w for budding and 1000w for vegging... two different tents the clones are going to be under 150 w florecent.

Thanx

 

[MightyBuddha]

If you are fairly handy then go to home depot and buy the book on wiring/electrical. Read the section on adding a new circuit. Then just run line from that circuit to the grow and install some outlets. Now just split your load between two seperate circuits.

 

[babygro]

I have a question about lighting but it's not about cops, I need use more than 15 amps at times and as most of you know ordinary house circuits can handle about 15 amps and if more, the breaker trips off. What can i do about this, call a electrician?

Reassess your lighting requirements.

For small/medium sized grows there's no need to use 2 x 1000w HIDs. 1000w HIDs are extremely innefficient in terms of lumens per watt, mostly due to the excessive heat they give off and having to have them so far away from the plant tops.

For example. One 1000w MH HID gives out 120,000 lumens and should light an area of about 6ft x 6ft (36 sqft) and uses on average 9.5 amps on a 120v circuit.

Two 400w MH HIDs give out about 55,000 lumens each, and should light an area of 4ft x 4ft (16sq ft x 2 = 32 sq ft) but because the 400w HIDs don't give off as much heat as a 1000w HID you can get them closer to the plant tops thus giving them more light at the plants tops than the 1000w would. The 2 x 400w HIDS would output less amps as well on average 3.8 x 2 = 7.6amps on a 120v circuit.

Yes, the initial purchase price of 2 x 400w systems is going to be more than 1 x 1000w system, but due to the fact that the 2 x 400w systems use 1.9amps less per hour (228watts) which is equivalent to $0.41 a day (asssuming a cost of $0.10 per kilowatt hour and 18 hour days) you'd save $36.90 on a typical 90 day cycle.

This is just an example, I don't know your exact situation but you need to think very carefully about your lighting requirements, area and running costs before automatically getting the biggest one available. You also need to bear in mind that if you have separate vegging and flowering areas, plants in vegetative growth require 1/4 of the light plants require in flowering, so you'd need less lumens for the vegging area than the flowering area and thus a smaller light.

 

[Sanifsan]

I understand what you're saying but i'm planing to fit 36 containers in there, hence 36 plants in 12in containers. So I assume there has to be a lot of light for so many plants....

 

[babygro]

I understand what you're saying but i'm planing to fit 36 containers in there, hence 36 plants in 12in containers. So I assume there has to be a lot of light for so many plants....

You don't appear to be too hot at math do you?

36 plants in 12" containers is equivalent to an area of 6ft x 6ft = 36sq ft, or 9ft x 4ft = 36sq ft. 2 x 400w systems will light 2, 4 x 4ft areas or 32sqft or use 2 x 600w systems. Either way 2 x 400 will use 2 x 3.8 amps = 7.6 amps or 2 x 600w = 11.4 amps. This is for flowering, you need a 1/4 of that light for vegging.

By growing so many plants you need to be quite careful about the amperage draw which could alert inquisitive electricity companies. To help offset your increased amperage, you need to start thinking in ways of reducing down electricity useages elsewhere, such as switching all your incandescent bulbs over to low energy bulbs, not using tumble driers to dry clothes etc. Just switching one single 100w incandescent over to a 20w low energy bulb will save you 0.66 amps every time you switch it on. 5 of them on at the same time switched over to low energy flourescents will save you 3 amps!

 

[Sanifsan]

I know the exact area and that is why I'm choosing to go with a 1000w light because it should cover a 6x6 area, as one of my videos say. Also they say that more light means more bud so that is why I'm thinking about using 1000w for both vegging and budding...My vidoes are on front page of newbie section, the title is videos!!! and the first one is relevent to this topic, lighting....

 

[Sanifsan]

I plane to have a exhaust fan and a dehumidifier connected to Air con-2 which will moniter both the temperature and humidity indepently. so i'm not worried about heat as a 6 in inline fan should easly move stale air in less than five minutes if it gets too hot...

 

[dankciti]

look i have 4 1kw hps and i would prefer 6 400 watters in contrast i will run a comparison between my current and new room next cycle. preferably i would like to balance 2 1kw hps and 4 400w hps per room about 120 square feet per room. if your only doing that small spaceconsider that you will have to space the pots as the plants grow.... youll need an addition 30-50 percent more space unless you get some males..

 

[Sanifsan]

and the amperage draw that your talking about, well 2x 1000w lamps plus let's say another 1000w for fans, dehumidifiers and flourecent for the clones, etc that is 3000w for everything and we are pretty energy-conciounce so may be 4000w altogether for everything...I had asked if i should worry about my elec. meter and penguine answered this question already on another thread...

 

[Sanifsan]

yea the video, duch growing, says that one foot of space should be enough...using 12" pots will automaticall distance the plants 1 foot apart from each other as there will be 6" from one plant and another 6" from the other plant assuming both are planted in the center... remember the pots that i'm using are 12" in diameter....

 

[dankciti]

look run HEAVY DUTY extension cords from another breaker circuit.

 

[Sanifsan]

thanx...some times i think inside the box

 

[babygro]

I know the exact area and that is why I'm choosing to go with a 1000w light because it should cover a 6x6 area, as one of my videos say. Also they say that more light means more bud so that is why I'm thinking about using 1000w for both vegging and budding...My vidoes are on front page of newbie section, the title is videos!!! and the first one is relevent to this topic, lighting....

Yeah, but you don't know what the fck you're doing dude. The 1000w HID is the least efficient of any of the grow lights in terms of watts per lumen. Not only are you going to be drawing more amps than you need to, you'll be paying more bucks to run it than than you need to. 1000w for vegging?

--Laugh--

What part of vegging requires 1/4 of the light than flowering requires didn't you understand?

However, at the end of the day, your money, your choice.

 

[Sanifsan]

1/4 of lighting is not the answer that i'm looking for... How many watts would be required for a area of 6x6 when i'm vegging?...I only want the best for my babies and i'm willing to pay the price as i have already calculated it and altogether at the maximus is going to be $500 for the whole three months which is something i'm willing to pay....besides i'm getting a deal on the lights so both the mh and hps are coming together and can be changed to use the same ballist....

 

[babygro]

1/4 of lighting is not the answer that i'm looking for... How many watts would be required for a area of 6x6 when i'm vegging?...I only want the best for my babies

You keep ignoring everything I tell you, why should I bother helping you any more?

 

[Sanifsan]

This kid seems to be much more concerned about efficiency than bud production...to me money is not an object because i will get much more in return. my tents are 6x6 and an instructional video says that 1000w will cover this area very well. so i'm not going to change my plan to get 2, 3 or whatever # of light to be more efficient... infact i'd rather pay more because it's just so much easier to do the math when it comes to calculating your electric bill since your lamp is a 1000w and the colst is in kilowatts (1000w)...I'm not good in doing fractions...lol. Also i'm planing to leave the light about 18" away from the plant...can it be any closer to a seedling if I"m using a 1000w?

 

[Sanifsan]

If you have any suggestions in regards to my original question and any tips about how much you think it would cost to get an electrician to add more circuits to my garage i would greatly appreciate it...remember i DON'T CARE MUCH ABOUT LIGHT EFFICIENCY...and i'm not going to use any othe light than a 1000w so just save the preaching because i'm still going to need more circuits to cover my op.

 

[Sanifsan]

thanx to one of the guys on this forum i found what i was looking for. I guess i'll be doing this my self after all. if anyone runs throught the same problem they are going to need this...here's a site: Ancor Double Pole 50Amp Breaker Blk: Compare Prices, View Price History and Read Reviews at NexTag





for only 50 bucks you can solve this problem


Ancor Double Pole 50Amp Breaker Blk



Provide reliable automatic circuit protection, power switching, and circuit control. Designed to ignore nuisance trips, provide a trip-free safety mechanism which cannot be held closed during overcurrent or fault conditions. Constructed with the highest grade stainless steel springs and specially plated sub-components. Magnetic actuator provides much greater reliability than thermal actuators. Provides over 10,000 switching cycles. Weather resistant construction passes 100 hour salt spray tests. 552050 Sh. Wt. 1 lb. 50 Amps Qty/Pkg 1

 

[babygro]

Also i'm planing to leave the light about 18" away from the plant...can it be any closer to a seedling if I"m using a 1000w?

If you put a 1000w HID closer than 18 inches to a seedling it'll be burnt to a crisp in seconds. 1000w HIDs output so much heat you have to use them at least 2-3 feet above the plant tops (further for clones and seedlings and smaller plants) because of the high heat they output, you also need to use fan venting to cool them down even then. This is why they're not very efficient in terms of the lumen per watt they outout. The advantages of smaller HID systems such as 400w and 600w is that you can get them closer to the plant tops. Closer to the plant tops = more available intense light, and they're also cheaper to operate, however, I'm not going into all that again. You seem determined to do whatever you want to do without having the slightest clue about light outputs, heat outputs and how it affects plants.

Ring up an electrican and ask him how much he'd charge you to put in an extra 20 amp circuit into a garage because you want to use an arc welder on your car.

 

[dankciti]

If you put a 1000w HID closer than 18 inches to a seedling it'll be burnt to a crisp in seconds. 1000w HIDs output so much heat you have to use them at least 2-3 feet above the plant tops (further for clones and seedlings and smaller plants) because of the high heat they output, you also need to use fan venting to cool them down even then. This is why they're not very efficient in terms of the lumen per watt they outout. The advantages of smaller HID systems such as 400w and 600w is that you can get them closer to the plant tops. Closer to the plant tops = more available intense light, and they're also cheaper to operate, however, I'm not going into all that again. You seem determined to do whatever you want to do without having the slightest clue about light outputs, heat outputs and how it affects plants.

Ring up an electrican and ask him how much he'd charge you to put in an extra 20 amp circuit into a garage because you want to use an arc welder on your car.

just brun 220v it will require 30% less electricity kiddo. and your 1kw will run much more efficiently as well. so believe me i use 1000s and more than you could store in you closet. 400w & 600 are much more efficiently overall in fact 1000 produce more heat versus lumen per watt and amp that have a diferent overal setup so they are good for me where as add 2 more lights and having them be all 600w would produce even more than now it would (for me)

a) be a mess to add more crap in that room!

b) be inconvenient i am lazy.

c) cooling hoods are expensive and idont really want to add another tract of inline fans to support the excess hoods andhoses (FANS LOSE EFFICIENCY OVER DISTANCE)


other wise right on with the 1kw sanisfans right tho about all that crap its true.

the guy in the video isnt umm how do i put this. sober concious? hes pretty good but i think i am much better and more though out (cocky huh?)

neways you need more than 3 feet for babies. clones etc ... just stick the light as high as possible for like 10 days if they dont burn the first day than on day 10 drop the light to like 4 ft and let the plants climb up to it the raise it as they grow from there.