Experienced Electrician here, ask me anything

bricktown73

bricktown73

Well-Known Member
Hi there fellow RIU'ers... Over and over again I continualy see new threads and posts about electrical work question and thought I would post a couple threads to help you guys the same way all of you done a great job having helped me... So, Do you have a grow room question about how to wire something up, or what are the safest ways of doing things? The most important one I see alot is running lights and fans off power chords... I have wired my own grow room and will post an example of my work.

Please, if you have any questions and are unsure of what to do, PLEASE! ask me first if you are even a tad bit unsure. I would hate to have anyone have an electrical fire because they didn't quite know what they were doing.. I will do my best to point you in the right direction.

If you want to do some wiring your self, I will either let you know if your project is too complicated if your not handy with electrical, or, IF YOU ASK, I will walk you thru your project step by step.

So please, ASK AWAY!!!
 

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bmoore93

bmoore93

Active Member
That has to be the most professional wiring I've ever seen put into a grow room. Kudos and you get repped.
 
DubRules

DubRules

Well-Known Member
how would one learn the basics of electricity and how to work with it? i am scared to death of wiring stuff as i have been shocked by poorly wired amplifiers (and the amps fried) in the past. i dont necessarily want any certification (although that would be a plus..) but would love to learn the basics. can you recommend any specific classes i should take or any types of specific circuitry i should learn? im probably being lazy and should just check the course listing at the local community college, but thought i would run it by you first. also, i live in the US so any schooling i get would most likely be at 110. (right..?) i want to live in the third world where any available electricity would be 220. is it all the same principles or will i need to take classes specific to 220..? thanks!
 
RollinStoned

RollinStoned

Active Member
A quick basic rundown on the process of converting a room to 220. No experience when it comes to to this stuff, I am getting ready to convert my room (by a professional) and just want to know what to expect i.e.- length of time it should take? Cost? Or is it something I could do by myself? Btw............. absolutely wonderful you down to just inform and teach>>> +rep
 
bricktown73

bricktown73

Well-Known Member
1kooguy said:
So how much wattage can your room take?
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I'm not sure what your asking me just queit. But here is what I think you are asking me...
I am running (2) 12 gauge wires, 20 amps per circuits. Whichs translates to a Total wattage cappacity of:
Amps (2x20) 40 x Volts 120v = Watts (4,800)
I run (4) 600w HPS Eletronic Ballst and bulb. a 4 lamp 96w T5 (clones) 2 large stand alone fans, (2) 300 CFM inlince fans (attached to (2) large carrbon filters (2) Large wattage Sump Pumps. And its runs with no problem
Any, my room can take as much that is left open in the panel.

BigBlood said:
Im tryin to build the most energy efficient growroom i kan where do i start
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Well, I would need to know if you have a budget. If not, it is difficult to say what are musts to have and what kind of growing system are you using. Cfl lighint is good for saving energy. Usually you need a few hunderd watts for the CFLs, and maybe 300w for a fan system, if your using a pump for ex. Ebb and flow needs from 100w to 250w.

DubRules said:
how would one learn the basics of electricity and how to work with it? i am scared to death of wiring stuff as i have been shocked by poorly wired amplifiers (and the amps fried) in the past. i dont necessarily want any certification (although that would be a plus..) but would love to learn the basics. can you recommend any specific classes i should take or any types of specific circuitry i should learn? im probably being lazy and should just check the course listing at the local community college, but thought i would run it by you first. also, i live in the US so any schooling i get would most likely be at 110. (right..?) i want to live in the third world where any available electricity would be 220. is it all the same principles or will i need to take classes specific to 220..? thanks!
Click to expand...
houses run from 110v to 120v single phase. Yes, check the college courses, my JC has some good beginner courses, also there are trade schools that teach residential and commcial wiring. For taking a class to understand 220v, you can i guess, but all you need to know about 220v is what epuitment needs 220v, and that on a single phase system, 1 of the hots is 110v and the other hot is the other 110v that makes ut the 220v.
 
bricktown73

bricktown73

Well-Known Member
RollinStoned said:
A quick basic rundown on the process of converting a room to 220. No experience when it comes to to this stuff, I am getting ready to convert my room (by a professional) and just want to know what to expect i.e.- length of time it should take? Cost? Or is it something I could do by myself? Btw............. absolutely wonderful you down to just inform and teach>>> +rep
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relaxalot said:
Yep, thats a very nice electrical center... Great job!:bigjoint:
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Thanks relax and Rollinstoned I would need to see a pic or some dimesions of your room to give an accurate assment of time, cost and what kind of a difficulty this could be. And thanks for the rep and comment
 
phreakygoat

phreakygoat

Well-Known Member
a few question oh master of lightning -
-is it dangerous to have a 600w window AC unit plugged in using an extension cord (didn't come w/ manual)
-do i really need a surge protector for my HIDs? (one 400, one 600, both on one circuit)
 
G

grow1620

Well-Known Member
I have a question about 12v dc stuffs..I run 2 12v pc fans off an old 12v dc nintendo adapter..I was wondering if I can use a digital house thermostat to put the fan on a timer..or to run other 12v dc things on a timer..cuz they are hard to find for cheep. would the 12v dc current be ok to run through it? or do they only run ac?

It's a small setup and there's not room for a big bulky ac timer on the other side of the dc adapter.

Thank you for offering your knowledge and time to us
 
bricktown73

bricktown73

Well-Known Member
phreakygoat said:
a few question oh master of lightning -
-is it dangerous to have a 600w window AC unit plugged in using an extension cord (didn't come w/ manual)
-do i really need a surge protector for my HIDs? (one 400, one 600, both on one circuit)
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Residential house plugs are usually 15amps unless in maybe a kitchen or garage. Up scale homes may have nothing but 20amp plugs all the way around the house. you should be fine at 1000w but your getting close to max if you are plugged into a 15amp plug and I wouldn't put much more on that to be safe. This is hoping your using a 14 gauge extension chord, a 16 or smaller chord would be way too close to max if not tripping. Think of surge protectors as insurance, they maybe pay for itself one day if there is a large voltage spike. Your call.
 
BigBlood

BigBlood

Active Member
I tryin to spend a kouple grand on my setup til after my first harvest i kan grow 96 plants, wht do u suggest i guess with and how do u feel about lights tht have built in reflectors plz hit me back with a solution im tryin to get started by May
 
bricktown73

bricktown73

Well-Known Member
BigBlood said:
I tryin to spend a kouple grand on my setup til after my first harvest i kan grow 96 plants, wht do u suggest i guess with and how do u feel about lights tht have built in reflectors plz hit me back with a solution im tryin to get started by May
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U can use any HID light for that many plants. I would suggest HPS lighting just becuase of the massive amounts of lumens it puts out. Some ppl go with refelctors and some ppl don't. I believe its just personal preference. If I were growing 96 plants I would definately go 600-1000w HPS. The amount of lighting depends on what style of growing your going to do. If it is a sea of green or screen of green you can go with less lights because you are not growing your plants very tall.
 
Feldmeister

Feldmeister

Well-Known Member
How many CFL's "the twist bulbs" can i have running and fans and DWC systems on a standard house socket? If that doesnt make sense basically how much would a Closet DWC system containing maybe 3 DWC Systems and circulating fans with the CFL bulbs pull on a standard house socket? am i in the blowing fuse stage or no?
 
OregonMeds

OregonMeds

Well-Known Member
I do some electical work myself and have an electronics degree too though it's been 20 years ago so Iam sure I've forgotten most of it by now. But I can handle this, I need just a little help since I'm getting into some new territory with lighting contactors and never used them before.

Background: I'm trying to build a reasonably large grow for myself using bare minimum all around. Used and surplus stuff and none of the overbuilding I typically do.

What do you know about lighting contactors, their types, the types of boxes they fit in? What do you know about completely wiring up a timer controlled pair of contactor boxes running 5 lights ea, is there a way to link two boxes so that if one is on the other must be off or would I have to hack that?

I'm starting with 10kw of lights and from what I can tell they take a max of 5 amps ea on startup, so that's 25 amps per side x two contactor boxes. I normally overbuild everything and use crazy fat wire and etc, but what is the MINIMUM wire guage to handle 25 amps at 240v to go from the main panel to the sub panels (contactor boxes)? And what is the minimum wire for ea light to the contactor boxes?

Then to save money again I'm thinking it may be cheaper to run individual lines from ea light straight into the contactor box with no plugs, just hard wired into the contactors. Any problem with that I'm unaware of?

If I'm off track on accomplishing this the cheapest way, let me know. I had planned to find what I need on ebay and just go for the best bargain, but if there is a prebuilt lighting controller that can be had cheaper, or whatever, steer me right please.

thanks in advance
 
OregonMeds

OregonMeds

Well-Known Member
Oh yea, forgot to mention the other option I was thinking of was running the ballasts 24/7 without a timer, but having relays on timers which switched the output of the ballast between two sets of lights in two different rooms. (So I'd only need to run 5 ballasts to do 10kw worth of damage).

The question I have on that option is the restrike time. Restrike only has to do with a hot lamp correct? Doesn't matter if the ballast was on and hot right? If I switch the output off a running bulb to a cold one it will it fire the second light ok? Right?

And any hints on cheap relays able to handle the 5kw probe start and whatever the operating voltage is of a 1kw Hid (both hps and halides) or any other cheap ways to do this... It's all about cheap. Cheap is key because I will end up doing a how to journal on this whole setup once it's worked out.

And no, this is not one of those ideas that people don't follow through on. I've already purchased the ballasts and bulbs and alot of other stuff. Most of it isn't here yet, but will be soon, so I need to figure this out quick.
 
bricktown73

bricktown73

Well-Known Member
OregonMeds said:
Oh yea, forgot to mention the other option I was thinking of was running the ballasts 24/7 without a timer, but having relays on timers which switched the output of the ballast between two sets of lights in two different rooms. (So I'd only need to run 5 ballasts to do 10kw worth of damage).

The question I have on that option is the restrike time. Restrike only has to do with a hot lamp correct? Doesn't matter if the ballast was on and hot right? If I switch the output off a running bulb to a cold one it will it fire the second light ok? Right?

And any hints on cheap relays able to handle the 5kw probe start and whatever the operating voltage is of a 1kw Hid (both hps and halides) or any other cheap ways to do this... It's all about cheap. Cheap is key because I will end up doing a how to journal on this whole setup once it's worked out.

And no, this is not one of those ideas that people don't follow through on. I've already purchased the ballasts and bulbs and alot of other stuff. Most of it isn't here yet, but will be soon, so I need to figure this out quick.
Click to expand...
OregonMeds said:
I do some electical work myself and have an electronics degree too though it's been 20 years ago so Iam sure I've forgotten most of it by now. But I can handle this, I need just a little help since I'm getting into some new territory with lighting contactors and never used them before.

Background: I'm trying to build a reasonably large grow for myself using bare minimum all around. Used and surplus stuff and none of the overbuilding I typically do.

What do you know about lighting contactors, their types, the types of boxes they fit in? What do you know about completely wiring up a timer controlled pair of contactor boxes running 5 lights ea, is there a way to link two boxes so that if one is on the other must be off or would I have to hack that?

I'm starting with 10kw of lights and from what I can tell they take a max of 5 amps ea on startup, so that's 25 amps per side x two contactor boxes. I normally overbuild everything and use crazy fat wire and etc, but what is the MINIMUM wire guage to handle 25 amps at 240v to go from the main panel to the sub panels (contactor boxes)? And what is the minimum wire for ea light to the contactor boxes?

Then to save money again I'm thinking it may be cheaper to run individual lines from ea light straight into the contactor box with no plugs, just hard wired into the contactors. Any problem with that I'm unaware of?

If I'm off track on accomplishing this the cheapest way, let me know. I had planned to find what I need on ebay and just go for the best bargain, but if there is a prebuilt lighting controller that can be had cheaper, or whatever, steer me right please.

thanks in advance
Click to expand...
If you want to have 2 or more circuits on at the same time, you can either get a 2 circuit time clock (like the one I have in my pic) that will throw on 2 circuits at 1 time. Other wise you will need lighting contacters. Basically, add up your wattage and figure the amperage, then figure how many 20 amp circuits to run and look online for a contacter for that many circuits. Example:

Watts to amp conversion- watts / voltage= amps

You have 10 1000w HPS and you want all of them to come on and turn off at the same time. Well, 10 x 1000 = 10,000w
Now, 10,000w / 120v = 83 amps
83 amps equalls (5) 20 amp circuits. So, go on ebay and look for a 5 circuit lighting contacter and your set. That is the best way to do it. Your time clock will tell the contacter when to turn on and off. Hope this helps.

Feldmeister said:
How many CFL's "the twist bulbs" can i have running and fans and DWC systems on a standard house socket? If that doesnt make sense basically how much would a Closet DWC system containing maybe 3 DWC Systems and circulating fans with the CFL bulbs pull on a standard house socket? am i in the blowing fuse stage or no?
Click to expand...
I cannot answer this completely becuase I need to know the wattage of your equiptment. Here is the basic rule of thumb: add up all your equiptment wattage and for every 100w is equall to 1 amp. A tipicall middle class home outlet is 15 amps. So, you can run up to 1500w on a single outlet assuming there is no other load other then your grow room equiptment.
 
H

highwayman

Well-Known Member
would i be able to run 6 4ft floro dual bulb fixtures and a regular circulation fan off of one power bar....... and also how could i hook my inlet and outlet fans to a manual wall thermometer (turn dial) in order to keep the temperature at the desired level?
 
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