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

vapor85 said:
hey brick...could you explain to me what (if anything) is better about digital ballasts as compared to magnetic ones?? And whether I should shell out the extra 200 bucks for a Lumatek over the cheaper kind of ballast.....Thanks :peace:
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Why choose Electronic Ballasts?

More lumen output up to 30% more lumens output than some old style magnetic ballasts ... More light equals more yield. Test this yourself with a good quality light meter. Also check how much power the ballast is using with an ammeter as many so called 600w magnetic ballasts now draw up to 750w as standard to try to keep up with electronic ballasts lumen output.
More lumens generated per watt of electricity consumed electronic ballast have increased efficacy over magnetic ballasts. They lose fewer watts from the power supply to the lamp. The high frequency output results in low power loss at the cathodes in addition to better overall power management.
Fast start-up It reaches full brightness in less than one minute; magnetic ballasts typically take about twenty minutes.
Completely silent No noise or vibration of any kind
Small compact design 600watt 120v ballast weighs less than 4.5 kilos compared to almost 20 kilos for magnetic ballasts.
Produce less heat Less heat generated by the ballasts allows cooler running of the environment
Cut-off circuitry Cuts off when a short is detected. For safety.
Longer bulb life Lumen output loss over time, with the correct lamp, is dramatically less than with magnetic ballasts.
Interchangeable electronic ballasts can light both HPS and MH bulbs.

This link from Lumatek answers FAQ and includes a great explanation as to why electronic ballast can be up to 30% brighter.
 
i have a ballast question for Fluorescent bulbs. I have a Fulham Workhorse 7 ballast, rated for 220w. I have 2 55w T5 HO bulbs plugged into it now (110w used). I want to know if I can plug in a 100w Fluorex CFL to it also. The 100w bulb does not have a ballast built in like many do. It uses a mogul socket, which I can wire to the chain... I just don't want to blow anything up
 
Ok so i finally found an electrician. I am certain my answer is yes but i wanted to make sure. I want 2 220v receptacles off 1 line in. Cant i just jumper over off the first receptacle and add my new. I would be using a total of 7.5 out of 15 amp breaker?
 
chasdabigone said:
i have a ballast question for Fluorescent bulbs. I have a Fulham Workhorse 7 ballast, rated for 220w. I have 2 55w T5 HO bulbs plugged into it now (110w used). I want to know if I can plug in a 100w Fluorex CFL to it also. The 100w bulb does not have a ballast built in like many do. It uses a mogul socket, which I can wire to the chain... I just don't want to blow anything up
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Got any pictures?? VV:confused:
 
SHOTTY6868 said:
Ok so i finally found an electrician. I am certain my answer is yes but i wanted to make sure. I want 2 220v receptacles off 1 line in. Cant i just jumper over off the first receptacle and add my new. I would be using a total of 7.5 out of 15 amp breaker?
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Yes you can, I would be inclined to install a work box, the deep one. and do a pigtail drop to the 2 receptacles. Gives you more room to tie things together, you could add a 3 and 4th later if you decided to. I haven't seen many 15 amp 220 breakers, this must be from a 'window air conditioner? VV
 
No its just an old ass house that hasnt had a upgrade in a while. There is 2x10amp 220v breakers, 2x 15 amps 240 and 2 20 amp 240
 
the first pic is the ballast info sticker, the second one is how i hope i can wire up the lights. That is how the wiring diagram says to string them together, I just don't know if the mogul socket/light is able to be powered by this ballast. The ballast is rated for 220w, and with the 2 T5's and the mogul, it comes to 210w
 

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chasdabigone said:
the first pic is the ballast info sticker, the second one is how i hope i can wire up the lights. That is how the wiring diagram says to string them together, I just don't know if the mogul socket/light is able to be powered by this ballast. The ballast is rated for 220w, and with the 2 T5's and the mogul, it comes to 210w
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The base of that bulb is the ballast. No additional ballast is needed, just screw it into a mogul base and plug it in. VV:twisted:
 
i have a 175 watt lamp and ballast it has a metal halide bulb and puts out 14,000 lumen what can i do with this? ( i found it in a closet and repaired then did an experiment and had nice results with a 6000 lumen bulb) now i have a nice room with proper ventilation and drip irrigation feeding system co2 all the bullshit... im kinda a newbie i have only attempted once now... with proper results.
 
chasdabigone said:
the base of this bulb is NOT the ballast, it is an unballasted CFL
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Thats funny, I have one of those bulbs in a light on the side of my garage, there is no ballast added. The ballast of the 13 watt cfl's is in the base. Prove me wrong, wire the mogul base, screw the bulb in and plug it in. VV:twisted:
 
VictorVIcious said:
Thats funny, I have one of those bulbs in a light on the side of my garage, there is no ballast added. The ballast of the 13 watt cfl's is in the base. Prove me wrong, wire the mogul base, screw the bulb in and plug it in. VV:twisted:
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that was the first thing i tried, didn't work... this is a 100w replacement CFL that does not have a ballast in it... it is not a 13w CFL, it actually uses 100w
 
chasdabigone said:
that was the first thing i tried, didn't work... this is a 100w replacement CFL that does not have a ballast in it... it is not a 13w CFL, it actually uses 100w
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so i just tried to plug it into the ballast... when i connect both wires, it causes sparks, but when i attach just one hot lead wire from the ballast, it lights up a small part on the light. I tried to take a picture of it, but it is hard to see. Only the top little part of the light is lit. Does this mean I need a different ballast?
 

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How many HID's can run on a 20amp breaker. 2K of light? but then u gotta figure ur fans / humidifiers out and exhaust right? 2 outlets in garage on a 20amper. breaker box is like 3 feet from the grow in the garage tho. wuts the best to do. put a bigger breaker in w/ beefy romax wire runnin to some new outlets? right now im runnin a 600 and a 400, but i wanna add a/c and another HID, where does that put me?
 
tilemaster said:
How many HID's can run on a 20amp breaker. 2K of light? but then u gotta figure ur fans / humidifiers out and exhaust right? 2 outlets in garage on a 20amper. breaker box is like 3 feet from the grow in the garage tho. wuts the best to do. put a bigger breaker in w/ beefy romax wire runnin to some new outlets? right now im runnin a 600 and a 400, but i wanna add a/c and another HID, where does that put me?
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IF...this mean you have a satellite box in your garage that is powered using a 20 amp breaker from your main panel.... then it would not come close to being enough available power for a decent op. ELSE....IF you mean your main service panel is three feet from the garage, then you need to examine and report on that panel.
Start with the Main Switch, how many amps is that?? Are there any empty spaces (places where a switch could go) in the service panel??
The best solution is dependent on what exist there now. In my case, I had to upgrade my main service. This made it a project instead of a job, yours could be a simple as running a few new circuits, about an hour long job, and no it doesn't require any beefy romex, 12-3 will power 20 amp circuits, no problem. VV
 
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