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

BigBudBalls said:

Doubt you are running too much power. just watch the extension cord gauge.

How big CFLs? NOT the equivalent light but real watts.

Add up all the real watts of everything divide by 120 and thats your amp draw.

Click to expand...

Hey bubs! lol each cfl 26 watts, pc fans are in milli amps, biggest is .20

im thinking im ok, i thought i seen on the power bar it was rated for 1800watts?
1.2 amps alone on the cfls

Can you guys tell me if this is safe. I am making a short extension cord, less than Three feet in length. The cord is 12/2 and the connector size are stamped 14-16 guage wire.
Now, I had to remove a few strands of wire from each color to (Green, Black and White) make them fit.
Will there be an issue with overheating the connections?

hey brick,

got a quick question for ya: I've heard of using a PC fans for extracting air from a small closet growing area (4 x 4).....how do I wire it up so that the PC fan accepts regular 120V...something like a 12v or 6v adapter (depending on fan)?

curioushiker said:

Can you guys tell me if this is safe. I am making a short extension cord, less than Three feet in length. The cord is 12/2 and the connector size are stamped 14-16 guage wire.
Now, I had to remove a few strands of wire from each color to (Green, Black and White) make them fit.
Will there be an issue with overheating the connections?

Click to expand...

Just make sure those connectors are nice and tight and you should be fine, but i would defiantly recommend not using the connectors at all, or use the right size. i am all for geto work but those connectors might heat up if more then 11 or 12 amps is constantly running through them.
I have a feeling your not gonna try to run that much power through them plugs, thats why i said make sure its nice and tight......but if you ever think you are gonna run the full potential of a 20amp circuit then do not use those connectors.

faded4life said:

hey brick,

got a quick question for ya: I've heard of using a PC fans for extracting air from a small closet growing area (4 x 4).....how do I wire it up so that the PC fan accepts regular 120V...something like a 12v or 6v adapter (depending on fan)?

Click to expand...

yes a 12 volt adapter is needed. (or 6v) just depends on the fan. I would use a cheap inline booster fan before i would try and "exhaust" with computer fans. A good cheap one is less then 30 bucks.

chiefbootknocker said:

yup. 120vac won't kill ya..just a mild zap. Try with big boy voltage.

Click to expand...

you have no idea the meaning of "big boy voltage".
Like Bubbz stated , it really has nothing to do with 120v..... try 120 covered in sweat ....or ... never mind . You just be careful bigboy.

Say i want to wire in serie 4 lamp socket, i need to split my socket wire in two so i can wire it the next lamp and to the electrical source right ? ( i do that with the blakc and the white wire ) ? sorry for my poor language

Can u please walk me through how to run a dedicated line from my breaker to my grow room? I'm not sure I have any more circuts available in my breaker box but I'd imagin I could tie into one other than the ones their on the help spread the strain around yeah? My problem is my breaker box is on the opposite side of the house. :/

Note the other side of my house is onlt 20 feet lol so that length shouldn't be any concern as for as amp drop?

Brick! Can I use a 8' (x2) flo tube ballast on 4' flo tubes(x4)?? I tried it but when I turned it on, one of the 4' slightly sparked and hissed . Dont know if that was just an arc because I had exposed wire wrapped around the flo tube end terminal. Or I had it wired wrong ,I had a straight wire running down each terminal ,hard to describe but basically I wired 4 like I would wire one.<test run .I am a pro handyman and extreme safe . Thats why Im so happy to see a pro electrician in a grow forum!
And what is your opinion on t12 vs. t8 vs. t5 flotubes in grow? THANKS !!!!

ScHiZoTyPaL said:

looking to set up a separate meter with a separate bill for grow op.

want to know wut needs to be done (with cost) including inspection before the good ol electric co will come out and install the meter and turn on the power.

here's pics of existing....from my understanding so far:

old needs replacing
before the meter 200 amp service needs to be split into (2) 100 amp and prepared for a two meter device
second box installed

is that all?? been quoted at 2.5k over the phone. i know this can be A LOT cheaper, just need to know wut needs to be done for inspection

Click to expand...

so far what i'm thinking is i need a 200A meter split into (2) 100A breakers, proper grounding for inspection, discard old.

where could I get a decent, inexpensive inline booster fan (in USA) to use for exhaust?

faded4life said:

where could I get a decent, inexpensive inline booster fan (in USA) to use for exhaust?

Click to expand...

i like these folks they are always cheapest on grow supplies. http://www.plantlightinghydroponics.com/duct-booster-fans-c-76_117.html

here is a cheaper one... they are pretty much the same, just look at the "cfm" output to compare...

http://www.comfortgurus.com/product_info.php/products_id/563

romano said:

Brick! Can I use a 8' (x2) flo tube ballast on 4' flo tubes(x4)?? I tried it but when I turned it on, one of the 4' slightly sparked and hissed . Dont know if that was just an arc because I had exposed wire wrapped around the flo tube end terminal. Or I had it wired wrong ,I had a straight wire running down each terminal ,hard to describe but basically I wired 4 like I would wire one.<test run .I am a pro handyman and extreme safe . Thats why Im so happy to see a pro electrician in a grow forum!
And what is your opinion on t12 vs. t8 vs. t5 flotubes in grow? THANKS !!!!

Click to expand...

i dont think a 8' ballast will work for your 4 footers.
T5's are high output and the most energy efficient , thats about the only difference in the 3. (there are plenty of differences , just none i thought were relevant..)
here is a good article :http://www.oikos.com/library/energy_outlet/tubular_fluorescents.html

first of all thx for the help ahead of time.... searching on this forum is a nightmare.

when i get some $$ going soon, i plan on switching from 4ft flouro tubes to cfl's.

id like to have a setup where i have 4 y adapters, 8 bulbs total. im thinking on using 100W cfl's too. would i need a new source to wire those into? or could i use a normal outlet to plug them into?

a friend of mine suggested putting a new line in to a junction box and going from there so i dont have too much power going thru one receptical, and one extention cord.

also... am i going a lil extreme wanting 8 100w cfl's? im just frustrated and want better yields if im gonna take the risk. i have a 600w hps, but, the eletrical in the house is so damn shitty i think its messing up the bulbs.... ive blown 2 $100 bulbs trying to use it. they didnt last more than a week, and i noticed they were flickering a bit before blowing.
thx ahead of time! i have some more questions... ill save for next time.

Just a FYI:
Actually sweaty/salty skin is best. (if things go south) It will go over th surface of your skin instead of through your body. Path of least resistance; over the skin or through the body, take your pick

wyteboi said:

you have no idea the meaning of "big boy voltage".
Like Bubbz stated , it really has nothing to do with 120v..... try 120 covered in sweat ....or ... never mind . You just be careful bigboy.

Click to expand...

The inline boosters, I feel , are less then worthless. They are not for pulling static air, but to increase already moving air.

I've tried them and felt they did next to nothing.

PC fans are even behind them.

Add a binch of either and it will work, but like CFLs vs HID, there is a point when doing it right the first round is the way to go.

Like Fram's old slogan:
Pay me now or pay me later.

And the 1800W is for a resistive load. CFLs, HID, wallwart/computer power supplies are all inductive. Shave 20% off for the inductive loads.

BigBudBalls said:

Just a FYI:
Actually sweaty/salty skin is best. (if things go south) It will go over th surface of your skin instead of through your body. Path of least resistance; over the skin or through the body, take your pick

Click to expand...

in all my years as an electrician, getting lit up whilst sweaty is worse than having dry skin. stings more too. 120 that is

I know some people are going to say that these won't be enough but I'm going to try them and see what happens. They were only $5 each so it won't kill my budget too much. My box is going in a cold closet so the temps should stay pretty low. I'm also running CFL's (either 4 or 6) so that should keep the heat down too.

Here's my question:

How do I rig up these PC fans to work with my 120V outlets? I've heard that I can get a standard 12V DC adapter (such as what you'd use to charge a cell phone or run a modem or etc...), splice the ends, and hook them up to the fan +/- wires. Is this legit or am I missing a step or 2? The other convenient thing is that these fans have speed settings for L-M-H so I can control the CFM a little better and the noise. Here are a few pictures of the fan wiring if it would help you help me (I'm a visual learner).

Thanks for any input/advice.

BigBudBalls said:

50ma across the heart is enough to kill ya.
been tagged by 480 and 230.
Also work, daily, with 25K of DC at over an amp (it will hold you. Whats black and crispy and hang out the back of a HV cab? )

Click to expand...

before you even wrote that I knew you were going to write that It is all about current