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

schwa

schwa

Active Member
IAm5toned said:
that is a resin-encased ballast from an underground canister light. the ballast core has been encased in resin to protect it from ground moisture coming from conduit/cable entry points that condenses on the heat sinks of the core during the lights off period. ballasts get pretty hot, and a resin encased ballast gets a bit hotter than normal. it should be fine, but if you notice an increase in the heat, like it gets hotter than normal, you might want to check the cord connections on the ballast, and make sure there not loose.
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so theres no loose wires or wires showing for that matter. i dont know how hot the "ballast core" is supposed to get but mine get pretty damn hot. not hot enough to melt anything but hot enough that i cant put my hand on it for a complete second. I have been using them for 3 weeks now 24/7 and no fire yet....
 
IAm5toned

IAm5toned

Well-Known Member
schwa said:
so theres no loose wires or wires showing for that matter. i dont know how hot the "ballast core" is supposed to get but mine get pretty damn hot. not hot enough to melt anything but hot enough that i cant put my hand on it for a complete second. I have been using them for 3 weeks now 24/7 and no fire yet....
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you should shut them down for at least an hour per week, per manufacturers recommendations . some say for 15 mins every 24 hour period.
 
dtp5150

dtp5150

Well-Known Member
it might work....

but heres my question:

Will it work if I wire 220v Hot and Neutral to a 110v extension cord, and then take the 2nd 220v hot and neutral and wire that to another extension cord ( all sharing the ground), will that create two split phase 110v circuits utilizing both 20A breakers?
 
L

lahierba

Active Member
@anomolies it would be around 15A at 110V
@dtp5150 i really would like to help you, but i dont understand, what youre trying to do.
 
dtp5150

dtp5150

Well-Known Member
i'm trying to create two 110v circuits ( each on a different extension cord ) utilizing my 220v dryer socket. since the 220v is wired to two 20A breakers it will solve my power problems running on the 15A circuit.
 
L

lahierba

Active Member
well if its a two phase system (power on two wires which make 220V together) youll get 127V. its a little much i guess, your room could burn or your equipment could break. and beside youll need a neutral in awg 8.
 
dtp5150

dtp5150

Well-Known Member
why would it be 127 and not 120?

I just noticed, I thought my dryer outlet had 4 prongs but it only has 3. So, it has no ground, only neutral.

so if i use one leg of the 220v and the neutral, i'll get 127v to the cord? Also, can I use the other leg and tie into the same neutral, and this would be another 127v extension? And these would use the two 20A breakers separately for each cord? Can I connect the ground of the extension cord to the neutral?

I only have one 15A circuit in my garage and a dual 20A dryer outlet, how can i power the most watts without rewiring. I guess I could get correct 240v cords for my ballasts, and then i could get a dryer outlet Y. I'm thinkin that may be the safest bet?
 
IAm5toned

IAm5toned

Well-Known Member
dtp5150 said:
i'm trying to create two 110v circuits ( each on a different extension cord ) utilizing my 220v dryer socket. since the 220v is wired to two 20A breakers it will solve my power problems running on the 15A circuit.
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hire a pro, your missing the correct wiring to do that.....
 
IAm5toned

IAm5toned

Well-Known Member
lahierba said:
well if its a two phase system (power on two wires which make 220V together) youll get 127V. its a little much i guess, your room could burn or your equipment could break. and beside youll need a neutral in awg 8.
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127v nominal isnt going to hurt anything. ive seen line voltage as high as 134v with no issues on a single phase system.
 
IAm5toned

IAm5toned

Well-Known Member
happydude said:
Hello all I am going to be running 8000W and need to know how big of a breaker and line i should run. this is the timer i have http://www.stealthhydroponics.com/product.php?xProd=294&xSec=86 what shoud I use to run all at once
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8kw is a heavy load, you will need an entire subpanel to power it.... look to spend anywhere from 1.5k to 3k, depending on on your house is built, and the electrical service that is already servicing it.
alot of heavy mods need to be done to safely run 8kw continuous duty......
like a 100 amp dedicated service....
 
IAm5toned

IAm5toned

Well-Known Member
dtp5150 said:
why would it be 127 and not 120?

I just noticed, I thought my dryer outlet had 4 prongs but it only has 3. So, it has no ground, only neutral.

so if i use one leg of the 220v and the neutral, i'll get 127v to the cord? Also, can I use the other leg and tie into the same neutral, and this would be another 127v extension? And these would use the two 20A breakers separately for each cord? Can I connect the ground of the extension cord to the neutral?

I only have one 15A circuit in my garage and a dual 20A dryer outlet, how can i power the most watts without rewiring. I guess I could get correct 240v cords for my ballasts, and then i could get a dryer outlet Y. I'm thinkin that may be the safest bet?
Click to expand...
i dont know why it would be 127.... theres really no way to determine your line voltage without knowing quite a few things, without a multi meter.
 
IAm5toned

IAm5toned

Well-Known Member
dtp5150 said:
why would it be 127 and not 120?

I just noticed, I thought my dryer outlet had 4 prongs but it only has 3. So, it has no ground, only neutral.

so if i use one leg of the 220v and the neutral, i'll get 127v to the cord? Also, can I use the other leg and tie into the same neutral, and this would be another 127v extension? And these would use the two 20A breakers separately for each cord? Can I connect the ground of the extension cord to the neutral?

I only have one 15A circuit in my garage and a dual 20A dryer outlet, how can i power the most watts without rewiring. I guess I could get correct 240v cords for my ballasts, and then i could get a dryer outlet Y. I'm thinkin that may be the safest bet?
Click to expand...
like i said above, YOU DONT HAVE THE CORRECT WIRING, youll end up getting someone killed........ that extra wire is NOT a neutral, its a GROUND, and there is a BIG difference between the two. putting a neutral load, onto a grounded conductor, can, will, (and in the past) has gotten people killed. sometimes you dont even have to be in the same house, you could kill your neighbor when he tries to step into the shower.....
 
L

lahierba

Active Member
dtp5150 said:
why would it be 127 and not 120?
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its higher electrotechnics. but i can tell you if you have a two phase system, the voltage between two lines is (voltage to earth)*sqareroot of 3.
so if you have 220V between two lines youll get 220V/1,73=127,17V. if you want to be really safe buy equipment from europe. it runs on 220V to 240V.

I just noticed, I thought my dryer outlet had 4 prongs but it only has 3. So, it has no ground, only neutral.
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it should work to connect this line to socket and make a bridge from neutral to earth. but its dangerous (can become dangerous) without using a residual current device.

I only have one 15A circuit in my garage and a dual 20A dryer outlet, how can i power the most watts without rewiring. I guess I could get correct 240v cords for my ballasts, and then i could get a dryer outlet Y. I'm thinkin that may be the safest bet?
Click to expand...
you can put maximum 6050W on these socket: 1650W on 110V and 4400W on 220V.
 
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