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

Electrical set up:
How does a newbie plug in all his stuff. No one mentions that you NEED to hire an electrician to come in so that you can run 3-6 1000w lights, plugs for the water,fans,etc. This is what I want to know. I tried to explain to an electrician that I was a pottery buff and needed more power, but he was either so dumb and just didnt understand I wanted more power(WIRES)or he was too lazy to do it or quote me. So how does one set up the ELECTRICITY needed for a proper 1000w/light x 6 grow and all the electricals for accessories without getn nailed.??
 
Hi, I have 100 amp service and want to know if all my grow equipment, lights, fans, A/C etc... totals
80 amps is this ok. Right now it is 70 but I want to add 4 more lights. I do not use too many of the household appliances during lights on. Mostly during lights on it is just the basic household stuff. Also the 70 amps I use right now is not all at once. A/C and exhaust fans do not always run and 20 amps of lights are on 12/12 and the other 10 amps of light are on 18/6. Thanks in advance
 
Can you get sick having a 600w ballast and or not properly venting your tent in your room?

I have a digital HTG 600w MH/HPS. The ballast sits at the end of my bed and my tent has a fan that blows the heat out the bottom of the tent and then into my room. But there's no ducting, my fan in my window just pulls out the heat in the room.

Thanks.
 
JuniorDavis said:
Can you get sick having a 600w ballast and or not properly venting your tent in your room?

I have a digital HTG 600w MH/HPS. The ballast sits at the end of my bed and my tent has a fan that blows the heat out the bottom of the tent and then into my room. But there's no ducting, my fan in my window just pulls out the heat in the room.

Thanks.
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from the ballast no, from the increased humidity levels in your room yes!
thats the type of things that lead to molding!
 
oakley1984 said:
from the ballast no, from the increased humidity levels in your room yes!
thats the type of things that lead to molding!
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What if the ballast makes a noise?

Also my tent is open. I just keep it zipped up enough so light doesn't leak out that much. I only have it on for 10 hours. But I was smelling Ozone on day when I walked into the room. But I don't know where it came from. My pc is in my room too. But I never smelled it until I hooked up this 600w. It's used and there's no plastic on the reflector.

Small hum from the ballast every once and a while.

If the tent and ballast vent to the room with the window fan venting out. You would say there's no problems with this?

If not cool and I'll just buy some ducting some time.

I also don't really have any humidity issues, I dry in the closet in my room too and it gets too dry. Id say around 20-30 humidity.

Thanks.
 
bluejuice said:
Electrical set up:
How does a newbie plug in all his stuff. No one mentions that you NEED to hire an electrician to come in so that you can run 3-6 1000w lights, plugs for the water,fans,etc. This is what I want to know. I tried to explain to an electrician that I was a pottery buff and needed more power, but he was either so dumb and just didnt understand I wanted more power(WIRES)or he was too lazy to do it or quote me. So how does one set up the ELECTRICITY needed for a proper 1000w/light x 6 grow and all the electricals for accessories without getn nailed.??
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this place has some decent shit for that you can plug them into your dryer outlet or you can hard wire them to your breaker box http://www.dxsoundco.com/ you can do it cheaper yourself but these are all set to go and cheaper and safer then electricions.
 
JuniorDavis said:
What if the ballast makes a noise?

Also my tent is open. I just keep it zipped up enough so light doesn't leak out that much. I only have it on for 10 hours. But I was smelling Ozone on day when I walked into the room. But I don't know where it came from. My pc is in my room too. But I never smelled it until I hooked up this 600w. It's used and there's no plastic on the reflector.

Small hum from the ballast every once and a while.

If the tent and ballast vent to the room with the window fan venting out. You would say there's no problems with this?

If not cool and I'll just buy some ducting some time.

I also don't really have any humidity issues, I dry in the closet in my room too and it gets too dry. Id say around 20-30 humidity.

Thanks.
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magnetic ballasts hum its normal. but ozone generators are really bad for you you need them going straight outside through your duct. you should not be breathing the air coming off those things. if you want to keep the heat in the house from your grow you should have a carbon filter.
 
bluntmassa1 said:
magnetic ballasts hum its normal. but ozone generators are really bad for you you need them going straight outside through your duct. you should not be breathing the air coming off those things. if you want to keep the heat in the house from your grow you should have a carbon filter.
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I heard magnetic ballast can cause Sick Building Syndrome. However I have a 600w Greenhouse digital electronic. It's just like a capacitor kinda noise, Constant Electronic. Kinda high pitched. Nothing happens if I move the plugs or wires. So it's coming from inside the ballast.

I don't have an Ozone generator either. I meant I smelled an electronic kinda smell which smelled much like Ozone. Kinda like what you smell out of the back of a PC.

Other than that it's just a reflector and 600w bulb in a 3.5x3.5x7 openly vented tent, in our bedroom.
 
I'm sure this or something similar has been asked but is there any specific amount of kwh used per day that is going to appear suspicious even if paid?
 
I just ran a subpanel using some existing wires. 2 of the wires were 6 gauge, 1 was 10 gauge and there were 3 12 gauge wires. There were ran about 70 feet to a junction box where I spliced them all (done properly) to 8 gauge wire which ran the remaining 10 feet to the subpanel.

Now for the hots, I used the 6 gauge. But then that left the ground and the common. For the ground I used the 10 gauge and a 12 gauge together. For the common I used the remaining two 12 gauge wires.

So to be clear, that is 2 cables 6gauge to 8 gauge for the hots, a 10 gauge and a 12 gauge spliced to 8 gauge for the ground, and 2- 12 gauge wires spliced to 8 gauge for the common. I put this all behind a 30 amp two pole circuit breaker. Am I crazy?

Now the reason I thought that this would be OK is that there is one other subpanel in my house. That subpanel is being fed off of two 12-2 romex cables. The two blacks supply the power to the panel, the two whites go to the ground bus and the 2 bare coppers go to the common bus. That is supplying power for a refridgerator circuit and 3 lighting and outlet circuits. That is all behind a 30 amp circuit as well.

Current equipment is 2 water pumps, 3 airpumps, 3 fans, 10,000 btu window fan, 600w HPS, 4 bulb T5 light, 8" can fan, 6" can fan, 2x 6" inline fans.

To be added in near future: 6" can fan w/ carbon filter, water pump, air pump, 6 bulb T5 light fixture, additional 600w HPS, a couple circulating fans, 3 ton mini-split.
 
Quick question for Electric vets:

I am setting up a grow with 2 x 1000w (from what I understand, ~9amps each) and 1 x 400w (~3.3amps) so I'm going to be at about ~22-23amps total, way over the 15 amps the room is wired for.

I have two questions:

1) Is my best option running a second line to the room from the breaker (through the attic), preferably a 20amp (12 gauge wire)?

2) Is it possible to run power from a second bedroom (only uses a computer for power currently) through the wall to the next room, assuming it also is wired for 15 amps?

I suppose no matter what I have to get an electrician because I don't feel confident doing it myself, but I'd like honest opinions of what I should/need to do before hiring someone to upcharge me. The breaker on my house is pretty loaded and there is only one empty spot available, so I hope a 20 amp circuit is even a possibility. Does everyone running 2 x 1000w in their homes deal with this kind of setup? I know it's important, but I rarely hear anyone talk about it!

Thanks in advance for the help!
 
JGF said:
Quick question for Electric vets:

I am setting up a grow with 2 x 1000w (from what I understand, ~9amps each) and 1 x 400w (~3.3amps) so I'm going to be at about ~22-23amps total, way over the 15 amps the room is wired for.

I have two questions:

1) Is my best option running a second line to the room from the breaker (through the attic), preferably a 20amp (12 gauge wire)?

2) Is it possible to run power from a second bedroom (only uses a computer for power currently) through the wall to the next room, assuming it also is wired for 15 amps?

I suppose no matter what I have to get an electrician because I don't feel confident doing it myself, but I'd like honest opinions of what I should/need to do before hiring someone to upcharge me. The breaker on my house is pretty loaded and there is only one empty spot available, so I hope a 20 amp circuit is even a possibility. Does everyone running 2 x 1000w in their homes deal with this kind of setup? I know it's important, but I rarely hear anyone talk about it!

Thanks in advance for the help!
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chances are better than not that both bedrooms share the same electrical circut.
dedicated lines are best choice for high amperage loads.
 
oakley1984 said:
chances are better than not that both bedrooms share the same electrical circut.
dedicated lines are best choice for high amperage loads.
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I figured as much. Thanks for the input, I think the only way I'll feel comfortable running that high of an amperage load is running it's own line. I'll just run both the 1000w's on the new 20amp line, and leave the rest for what the room is already wired for.
 
JGF said:
I figured as much. Thanks for the input, I think the only way I'll feel comfortable running that high of an amperage load is running it's own line. I'll just run both the 1000w's on the new 20amp line, and leave the rest for what the room is already wired for.
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if you are running those 1000w lights on 120v then run a 30amp breaker and #10 wire. you shouldn't run anymore than 75% of the rated load on a circuit. so, running 18-20amps on a 20amp circuit is not a good idea; can cause overheating and other issues. also, most outlets are only rated for 15amps so you want to look for a higher rated outlet or run each light on it's own outlet that you have pigtailed of eachother.
 
ScoobyDoobyDoo said:
most outlets are only rated for 15amps so you want to look for a higher rated outlet or run each light on it's own outlet that you have pigtailed of eachother.
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What do you mean pigtailed of each other? I think I am going to just run a 30amp line like you mentioned and run the 2 1000w's off that to keep it safe. Thanks for the advice!
 
JGF said:
What do you mean pigtailed of each other? I think I am going to just run a 30amp line like you mentioned and run the 2 1000w's off that to keep it safe. Thanks for the advice!
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the plain outlets you see on the wall around your house are rated for 15amps usually. if you plug 2 1000w lights into it then they won't run because you are pulling 20amps. creates safety issues.
 
You also have use the continiuos load multiplier of 1.25.

For example:
6 -1000w HPS @ 240v = 25a
Then since its a continious load you must multiply it by 1.25

25a x 1.25 = 31.25 which rounds up to 40a breaker
 
MisterSosa said:
You also have use the continiuos load multiplier of 1.25.

For example:
6 -1000w HPS @ 240v = 25a
Then since its a continious load you must multiply it by 1.25

25a x 1.25 = 31.25 which rounds up to 40a breaker
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never heard that before in my life. plus, grow lights aren't continuos loads anyway. and who said anything about running the lights at 240v or 6000w of lighting.
 
Can anyone help me?

I setup a 3000w grow room in a spare bedroom, I have three 1000w ballast, now there is 2 outlets in the room, I plugged the first light in to the first outlet and it worked fine, I plugged the second 1000w into the same first outlet and about 5 seconds later, all the lights went off in the house (breaker flipped) Im guessing because Two 1000w in the same outlet = not smart, I did'nt try plugging the 2nd light in the 2nd outlet, because I think these 2 outlets in the room, are pigtailed

Now i went and looked in my breaker box, I have 4 more slots for other circuit breakers that I could plug in, I dont know much about electrical, should I run a dedicated line JUST for the three 1000w ballasts? and if so, how? its a GE panelboard or whatever,

also

What If I made 3 outlets by pigtailing off the one outlet ? but that wouldnt work because it would still be the same line/amp max right?

I need help!

I can get pics of my breaker box and outlet wiring if needed, thanks!!
 
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