Chronicknowledge42o
Active Member
* awaits his response, lol
Under Current 16 plant 2400w Canadian medical grow Journal
- Thread starter Chronicknowledge42o
- Start date
^Slanty
Active Member
Yes, you would need to upgrade your wire in order to run higher amp circuit.
Chronicknowledge42o
Active Member
so I could replace the 15 amp circuit for that room with a 40 amp as long as i replace the wire that runs to that room with the propper gauge wire to handle the upgrade ? Then also I can add in my 240v box off another 40 amp circuit I add into my circuit breaker giving that room 2 40 amp circuits, Correct ?
^Slanty
Active Member
Correct. Do you have a 100amp service or 200amp service? That is going to be the next limiting factor. For what you are talking about doing though, if it is a 200 amp service, you would be better off running new wire to a sub panel in your room and then you will have lots of options.
Chronicknowledge42o
Active Member
Thanks slanty so much for clearing this all up and taking the time to walk me through this both you & legallyflying have helped a lot. My house is 100 amp service
Chronicknowledge42o
Active Member
Little treat here are some pics of the ladies lights just came on, Did some heavy removal of lower branching on all the plants was a lot of work ! Wish I had of gotten to them earlier lol, Buds are forming up nicely by next sunday when the next video goes up should be some nice little nugs in it 
This crop is exciting me ! Should be a fair yield all things considered. I cant believe how healthy these are, No purple stems any ware.
Anybody want to throw out some early guess's ?
This crop is exciting me ! Should be a fair yield all things considered. I cant believe how healthy these are, No purple stems any ware.Anybody want to throw out some early guess's ?
sheik yerbouti
Active Member
You get your electrical sorted out? I'm an electrical apprentice with a fair amount of grow room set-up knowledge. Ask me anything (pm me if you want)
Chronicknowledge42o
Active Member
Yup thanks to a couple good people on this site I should be all set & taken care of. We will be doing it ourselfs ASAP. Most likely once this harvest is down, Maybe sooner within a couple weeks it all depends on my free time. But it will be done before the next grow takes off.
^Slanty
Active Member
You need to figure out how many lights etc you are going to run and how many amps. By having a 100 amp service, you would probably be best to run a 60amp sub panel. You won't want to be loading that up completely though, as you may draw more than your 100 amps if you are running stove/cloths dryer/etc at the same time. With a 60 amp sub panel though, you should be able to run just about anything you would need I would think.
Chronicknowledge42o
Active Member
Would the level of difficulty be the same for installation ? What about cost ? I will be running 6 lights in the end all 1k hps. a 13 amp A/C and then all the other fans & pumps.
I figured since this is my first DIY electric work id keep it simple by swaping the exsiting circuit out replacing the exsisting wire to that room & adding in a new 40 amp fuse for my 240v box. That would give that room up to 80 amps of current wouldnt it ?
legallyflying
Well-Known Member
If you have a 40 amp breaker... you get 40 amps of service, not 80.
NEVER, EVER, FUCKING NEVER change a breaker to get more juice to an existing line, that is how fires start!!! (not saying you were going to do that, this is more to stop some complete dumb ass from doing it).
In your case, your going to want to put a 60amp 2 pole breaker in your main panel and then run the appropriate wire which if the run is less than 100', is going to be #6 THNN copper (get your wallet out) for the hots (2) and neutral (1) and #8 for the ground to a small service panel (they are cheap $30-40). This will give you 50 amps of continuous load to tap into.
At the new service panel you can run whatever circuits you want. single pole 15 amp breaker and 14/2 wire for fans and pumps and what not and 2 pole breakers for other accessories. I would put the AC unit and lights on a seperate breaker.
With 6 1k bulbs, your actual draw is going to be about 6600 watts or 27.5 amps. You are REALLY close to the limit of a 30amp pool timer but since its just a simple switch you should be fine. So get a 40 amp 2 pole breaker and use 8/2 rommex to run a wire to your pool timer and then to a bank of 6 outlets. After about the 2 outlet in the series you can drop down to 10/ wire gauge. make sure to not wire the receptacles in "series" where the wire hot wire goes in one side of the receptacle and then you use the other side to run the wire to the next receptacle.. put all the wires (going in and coming out) on the same side of the receptacle. The power will flow through the wires that way and not through the receptacles which are not rated for that much amprage. Get your 220 receptacles on e-bay they are $4 instead of like $10. I believe the name is 6-15r receptacle.
Don't get high before doing these things, and triple check your work.
NEVER, EVER, FUCKING NEVER change a breaker to get more juice to an existing line, that is how fires start!!! (not saying you were going to do that, this is more to stop some complete dumb ass from doing it).
In your case, your going to want to put a 60amp 2 pole breaker in your main panel and then run the appropriate wire which if the run is less than 100', is going to be #6 THNN copper (get your wallet out) for the hots (2) and neutral (1) and #8 for the ground to a small service panel (they are cheap $30-40). This will give you 50 amps of continuous load to tap into.
At the new service panel you can run whatever circuits you want. single pole 15 amp breaker and 14/2 wire for fans and pumps and what not and 2 pole breakers for other accessories. I would put the AC unit and lights on a seperate breaker.
With 6 1k bulbs, your actual draw is going to be about 6600 watts or 27.5 amps. You are REALLY close to the limit of a 30amp pool timer but since its just a simple switch you should be fine. So get a 40 amp 2 pole breaker and use 8/2 rommex to run a wire to your pool timer and then to a bank of 6 outlets. After about the 2 outlet in the series you can drop down to 10/ wire gauge. make sure to not wire the receptacles in "series" where the wire hot wire goes in one side of the receptacle and then you use the other side to run the wire to the next receptacle.. put all the wires (going in and coming out) on the same side of the receptacle. The power will flow through the wires that way and not through the receptacles which are not rated for that much amprage. Get your 220 receptacles on e-bay they are $4 instead of like $10. I believe the name is 6-15r receptacle.
Don't get high before doing these things, and triple check your work.
Chronicknowledge42o
Active Member
Yeah, What I wanted to do was replace the line & 15 amp breaker for that room with the appropriate line & 2 pole 40 amp breaker essentially beefing up that rooms current outlets, Is that ok to do ? Then add in another 2 pole 40 amp breaker & run another line to my timed 240v box in that room. Wouldn't that give me a beefed up electrical system out of the standard outlets in the room + the added in 240v box ? Just seems simpler for somebody who has no experience in this area like me.
So again id be replacing the existing line from the 15 amp breaker to a thicker line to support a 2 pole 40 amp breaker, Then also adding in a second 2 pole 40 amp breaker to run the 240v timed box I have, This to me sounds easier & less expensive am I missing somthing ?
sheik yerbouti
Active Member
Do not connect the 40a wire and breaker to your existing outlets. If you do that the 14gauge wire that is rated to 15amps that connects the outlets together could potentially be carrying up to 40 amps and would melt in your walls and cause a fire. You would have to link each outlet with #8 if you wanted to do that.
Your best bet is to do what legally flying is saying. Put a 60a breaker in your panel with the appropriate wire gauge, you can get aluminum wire at this size that is the same price as the wire you'd run for 40amps so you'll get more amperage for the same price. Put in a small subpanel and you'll be able to run all your lights and a/c off of that. You'll probably have to extend your lamp lines but thats just what we all have to do.
Go to your local hardware store and pick up a red book called "Canadian electrical code simplified" its $20 and the best way to do any sort of electrical work on your own, it explains things very well.
Chronicknowledge42o
Active Member
Ah ok thanks man for clearing that up ! I knew I must have been missing somthing. There are only 3 outlets in that room though so I might consider it. But I will probably end up doing the sub pannel. So that would basically be in short, Add a 60 amp circuit to my exsiting breaker, Run the required line to my grow room to a sub-pannel & run say a 2 pole 40 amp fuse from my sub pannel to my 240v timed box that will be in the grow room ?
sheik yerbouti
Active Member
Make sure you put the 60a breaker in your main panel as well. Whats the make and model of your 240v timed box? You might be able to direct feed that from your panel and not have to install a sub-panel and while that is doable for someone without experience it would be difficult.
I'm thinking to keep it simple you might actually be able to run your A/C unit off your current outlets and your lights and fans off the timed box. Check on your a/c unit to see if its 120v or 240v as well.
I'm thinking to keep it simple you might actually be able to run your A/C unit off your current outlets and your lights and fans off the timed box. Check on your a/c unit to see if its 120v or 240v as well.
Chronicknowledge42o
Active Member
I will get some pics of it when my lights turn on, But basically that is what the grow shop I bought it from told me to do & not to bother with an electrician that I could save money because it is fairly easy to do on my own. They said to just use the appropriate wire & add in another 40-60 amp circuit in my circuit breaker box & run line to my grow room & connect the timed box. It has 4x 240v timed outlets & 2x 120v non timed outlets.
This is my A/C http://www.haieramerica.com/small-space-living/air-conditioners/cpn14xc9
voltage : 115v
sheik yerbouti
Active Member
Ya, I'm assuming the timer box you got is rated to a certain amperage and you can then run the appropriate gauge wire to the box from your panel, all you'll need to do is install the right size 2 pole breaker into your main the run your wire to your control box. This along with your existing 15a outlets should be sufficient for your lights, a/c unit and fans.
Chronicknowledge42o
Active Member
I already bought a 2 pole 40 amp breaker awhile ago when we got the box, Do you think that would be big enough ?
sheik yerbouti
Active Member
Yep, 40amps is good for 8 1000w lights. With your existing 15a outlets and your timer box at 40a you'll have room to spare. Send me a pic of your timer box or the make and model and I'll try and walk you through hooking it up if your not confident. Your A/C unit is rated to run off regular 15a outlets so whatever is convenient for you in terms of plugging it in to your 120v plugs at your timer box or your wall outlets is good. I'd just avoid plugging your fans and A/C unit into your wall plugs at the same time.
Chronicknowledge42o
Active Member
Thanks for being a true bro
I Will post up a pic here as soon as the lights are on at 6pm my time. If you wouldnt mind posting the steps in this thread so others could read it that would be great man id really appreciate a little walk through. We will be doing it likely in the next couple weeks since we have everything except the wire.I will probably run my lights from the 240v box the a/c from the rooms outlets & fans & pumps from the 2 untimed 120v outlets on the 240v box.