fire hazard?

kyran

kyran

Active Member
ok so, i got a stealth pc grow under my bed, its hard to explain exactly how and where it is but its hidden under my bed. right now i have 2 65000k cfl lights on 2 plants. now heres the thing, i have no fan or anything under there and the general area is a little warm and im a little worried that there could be a fire hazard. could anyone help me out and tell me if this is safe or not?
 
Green Cross

Green Cross

Well-Known Member
kyran said:
ok so, i got a stealth pc grow under my bed, its hard to explain exactly how and where it is but its hidden under my bed. right now i have 2 65000k cfl lights on 2 plants. now heres the thing, i have no fan or anything under there and the general area is a little warm and im a little worried that there could be a fire hazard. could anyone help me out and tell me if this is safe or not?
Click to expand...
have you ever heard of a CFL bulb starting a fire? :fire:

me neither
 
kyran

kyran

Active Member
haha short simple and sweet, thank man.

ok another thing im worried about is my power bill. do i have anything to worry about there?
 
KaleoXxX

KaleoXxX

Well-Known Member
a cfl might not cause a fire but a socket could, im not so sure about how your setup works, having not seen it, but id take the utmost care when watering. and you really do need some kind of fan in there to circulate some air


and 1 question? are you growing in moms house?
 
kyran

kyran

Active Member
KaleoXxX said:
a cfl might not cause a fire but a socket could, im not so sure about how your setup works, having not seen it, but id take the utmost care when watering. and you really do need some kind of fan in there to circulate some air


and 1 question? are you growing in moms house?
Click to expand...

haha nono, i would definitely not do that. my setup consists of a pc grow box, and power strip, duct tape taping the strip to the top, 2 sockets and 2 65000k cfls.
 
F

Fastillion

Member
I'm uh...actually...a firefighter...so...
Shhh.
>.>
But no, its not too much of a firehazrd. What are your lights set to?
Also, make sure that your light socket, your power strip, and anything else that runs juice through it, is rated for at the minimum, the wattage and amperage you're flowing through it.
I like to go double that rating, as it leaves room for expansion if need be, but whatevs.
 
kyran

kyran

Active Member
haha, yeah i have roommates, but where i have it is more secluded than my closet would be. i just now put a fan down there, and the light wattage is 26watts equilivant to a 100watt regular light.

so im using 2 26watt 65000k cfls, one fan, one power strip (surge protector), 2 light sockets and a computer case.
 
F

Fastillion

Member
You should be fine. :)
Good luck with the grow man. Just remember to make sure your heat doesnt get hot, and to check your cable temps and your socket faceplate temps. One common thing I've seen in electrical fires is people who buy high rated wires or pig strips but use them in low rated faceplates or dont know the amp rating of the cabling in their walls, creating the common 'brown plate' syndrome, where your wall socket is scorched a bit.
 
kyran

kyran

Active Member
Fastillion said:
You should be fine. :)
Good luck with the grow man. Just remember to make sure your heat doesnt get hot, and to check your cable temps and your socket faceplate temps. One common thing I've seen in electrical fires is people who buy high rated wires or pig strips but use them in low rated faceplates or dont know the amp rating of the cabling in their walls, creating the common 'brown plate' syndrome, where your wall socket is scorched a bit.
Click to expand...
right on man, thanks. now i have one more worry, how do you think those 2 26 watt 65000k cfls and fan are gonna do on my power bill? im currently living in a apartment and not a house.
 
F

Fastillion

Member
It wont honestly make too much a difference. Its only about a 100 extra watts which, really in the long run, is not a very noticeable spike.
If they ask (Which they likely wont for just 100 watts or so), be honest- tell them you got a new fan and a couple of new replacement bulbs that are a bit stronger then the old ones you had.
:)
 
H

Hilltop112

Well-Known Member
Just for a comparison i had 1 42w and 4 26 w Cfl's with 2 120MM Pc fans in a rubbermaid growboz and it made my electric bill about 5 bucks more a month
, Id say your's will raise about 2 bucks if that, Good luck with your grow
 
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