40A Range Outlet - Electrician Help Please, +rep for help

BCcannabis

BCcannabis

Well-Known Member
Ok so I have a question for my 40A range outlet.
I am growing in my garage and had a range outlet that was not being used in my basement. The line was going right though my garage so I cut the line and wired in a range outlet. I then got a 40A range chord and connected this to my 40A timer. I gues I should also mention that this is a 4 wire system.
From my timer i have 4 240V timed outlets and 4 120V outlets with constant power (see picture). I am only running 1 1000w hps @ 240, 1500w heater at times, and fans.
I will be adding another 2-4 600w soon and I know I have more than enough power with 40 A. (also have another 20A circuit in the garage)
So here are my questions.
1. What if my fan, or light or anything fails? This is a 40A breaker so wont trip until 40A is reached, is this dangerous? I dont want to cut any corners or do anything that is not 200% safe. I would rather be on the safe side of things.
2. Would installing a subpanel help with the issues in question 1?
3. The range outlet i wired is only 15ft from the breaker box and in the same room would i be better off to just run 2 20A circuits from the breaker. Or should I install a subpanel where my range outlet is?
4.Or is my setup fine as it is?

Thanks for your help. i have included a couple pictures to help show my setup. I appreciate all help and will add rep to those that do.

IMG_6074.JPGIMG_6071.JPG
 
sleeperls93

sleeperls93

Active Member
The set-up you currently have look ok; as long as the heater and hid are on seperate 220vollt circuits, it should be fine; Your fortunate to have access to your panel, since it's in your garage, if you ever need to upgrade your grow all the power is already there...
 
sleeperls93

sleeperls93

Active Member
The only thing that concerns me is the 40amp breaker, it may be best to wire in a sub-panel, and come out of the sub with a 20 amp circuit for each light, and heater... You want a breaker to do it's job before things may go wrong, that 40 amp circuit is intended for a heavy duty dryer, I'm sure it will work fine, but you want a breaker to have low tolerance for heat, the higher the amperage, the higher it's tolerance to heat... I'm sure other electricianswill chime in soon enough; the subpanel may be the best route... or you could completely eliminate that dryer circuit from the main panel, and run whatever circuits you ned dirctly.... What size is that wire for the dryer, is it a 6-3 awg??
 
BCcannabis

BCcannabis

Well-Known Member
sleeperls93 said:
The set-up you currently have look ok; as long as the heater and hid are on seperate 220vollt circuits, it should be fine; Your fortunate to have access to your panel, since it's in your garage, if you ever need to upgrade your grow all the power is already there...
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Thanks for the reply, + rep
The heater is running on 120V being pulled off the range outlet, (you can see in the picture a chord into the 120V side, thats the heater). So I think I am running them on the same circuit, isnt that ok if I have 40A to use? Also, If I got a few more lights can I just plug them in to my 240 timer board drawing off my 40A circuit? I really appreciate the help.
 
hoagtech

hoagtech

Well-Known Member
Following on sleepers advice. I would install a high temp shutdown on the Hid circuit so if your lights ever fail They shut down and your fans and pumps don't. Its about 50 bucks for HT shutdown controller. You should be fine with 40A breaker if its all grounded properly. your ballasts themselves don't power on if the capacitors are overloaded. And any surges should be handled by your ground. Your setup is fine and considered safe already. Theres always upgrades though.
 
BCcannabis

BCcannabis

Well-Known Member
sleeperls93 said:
The only thing that concerns me is the 40amp breaker, it may be best to wire in a sub-panel, and come out of the sub with a 20 amp circuit for each light, and heater... You want a breaker to do it's job before things may go wrong, that 40 amp circuit is intended for a heavy duty dryer, I'm sure it will work fine, but you want a breaker to have low tolerance for heat, the higher the amperage, the higher it's tolerance to heat... I'm sure other electricianswill chime in soon enough; the subpanel may be the best route... or you could completely eliminate that dryer circuit from the main panel, and run whatever circuits you ned dirctly.... What size is that wire for the dryer, is it a 6-3 awg??
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It wasnt for a dryer it was for a range, (electric stove). Im pretty sure its an 8/3 wire. This was my concern too, that 40amp circuit might not give me enough protection should somthing go wrong.
If I did run 2 20 amp circuits would I still be able to have one of them as 240V? Like I said before,eventually I would like to run up to around 3000-4000 watts of lighting. and it would be nice to be on the same circuit and run through the same timer.
 
BCcannabis

BCcannabis

Well-Known Member
hoagtech said:
Following on sleepers advice. I would install a high temp shutdown on the Hid circuit so if your lights ever fail They shut down and your fans and pumps don't. Its about 50 bucks for HT shutdown controller. You should be fine with 40A breaker if its all grounded properly. your ballasts themselves don't power on if the capacitors are overloaded. And any surges should be handled by your ground. Your setup is fine and considered safe already. Theres always upgrades though.
Click to expand...
i really appreciate everyones advice, I just want to be extra safe when it comes to electrical. i like the idea of the high temp shutdown, is this wired directly into the circuitry or do the ballasts plug into them. +rep
 
cannatari

cannatari

Well-Known Member
You really should add a sub-panel because your 110v 20 amp devices will 'explode' before they short that 40 amp circuit-breaker.
 
BCcannabis

BCcannabis

Well-Known Member
cannatari said:
You really should add a sub-panel because your 110v 20 amp devices will 'explode' before they short that 40 amp circuit-breaker.
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This is what I was thinking but dont have enough knowledge to know if its safe or not. I know my wiring is good and all grounds are good. +rep

Anyone else feel this way?
 
sleeperls93

sleeperls93

Active Member
BCcannabis said:
It wasnt for a dryer it was for a range, (electric stove). Im pretty sure its an 8/3 wire. This was my concern too, that 40amp circuit might not give me enough protection should somthing go wrong.
If I did run 2 20 amp circuits would I still be able to have one of them as 240V? Like I said before,eventually I would like to run up to around 3000-4000 watts of lighting.
Click to expand...
Of course Bc, all you need is a 20amp 220v breaker.... if you were to run it straight from the panel, all you would need is a two pole 20amp 220volt breaker and a 12/3 romex wire... you install the ground and the neutral of the 12-3 in the panel(bare copper, and white wire), then you install the black and red in each corresponing screw of the breaker... Then install a single220v outlet for whatever your running; i would use the single outlet , just so you to prevent from sharing that circuit... this would be the safest method,and your using the correct size breaker for your 1k ballast... hope this helps
 
BCcannabis

BCcannabis

Well-Known Member
sleeperls93 said:
Of course Bc, all you need is a 20amp 220v breaker.... if you were to run it straight from the panel, all you would need is a two pole 20amp 220volt breaker and a 12/3 romex wire... you install the ground and the neutral of the 12-3 in the panel(bare copper, and white wire), then you install the black and red in each corresponing screw of the breaker... Then install a single220v outlet for whatever your running; i would use the single outlet , just so you to prevent from sharing that circuit... this would be the safest method,and your using the correct size breaker for your 1k ballast... hope this helps
Click to expand...
Man this is great info, thank you.
i'm still a bit confused though, why would i install a single outlet, couldn't I run multiple lights off the same circuit at 240V?
 
sleeperls93

sleeperls93

Active Member
BCcannabis said:
This is what I was thinking but dont have enough knowledge to know if its safe or not. I know my wiring is good and all grounds are good. +rep

Anyone else feel this way?
Click to expand...
It's probably all good, and well wired, but an electrical inspector would frown upon it, and want it changed, people ignorantly do this in there homes sometimes, they'll have a 15 amp circuit tripping due to overload of that circuit, and what they do is install a bigger breaker, like a 20 amp, to prevent the circuit from trippingwhat they do or don't know is, they just raised the likelyhood of a fire... And then when the actual fire happens, they'll blame the electrician, when in reality it was the home owner who fucked up... The only good thing that 40amp breaker is good for at this point is a subpanel....
 
sleeperls93

sleeperls93

Active Member
BCcannabis said:
Man this is great info, thank you.
i'm still a bit confused though, why would i install a single outlet, couldn't I run multiple lights off the same circuit at 240V?
Click to expand...
I am an electrician; but not very experienced installing lights for grow-ops, lol... I believe a 1k ballast at 220 volts only draws 5amps of electricity, so you may be right, you should be able two run two 1k lamps at 220volts with a single 20amp circuit.. I would personally run a single outlet for that 1k light just to be on the extremely safe side... I know theres other electricians that will eventually post; I'm guessing that its ok two run 2k off one 220volt circuit... If you have alot of space in your main panel though, why not run dedicated circuits?
 
BCcannabis

BCcannabis

Well-Known Member
sleeperls93 said:
What size service you have at your house? Is it a 200 amp service??
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my main switch says 100, but there is also a subpanel. My house is pretty big, was built in 91, I would think it would be 200 but dont really know.
Not alot of room left in the main panel but the subpanel that the 40A circuit comes off has lots of room
 
sleeperls93

sleeperls93

Active Member
If your main says a 100, then its a 100 amp service... not very big; but if it's a crrent 100amp service, it should allow for many circuits; I'm assuming you dont have many high hats(recessed lights) in your home? A 200 amp service upgrade for a home could cost abywhere between 1500 and 3000 dollars...This is ideal if you have future remodeliong project for your home, plus grow....
 
hoagtech

hoagtech

Well-Known Member
BCcannabis said:
i really appreciate everyones advice, I just want to be extra safe when it comes to electrical. i like the idea of the high temp shutdown, is this wired directly into the circuitry or do the ballasts plug into them. +rep
Click to expand...
The ballasts plug into them. and are mostly made for 120v 15A purposes. a cheaper route might just be buying a fire extinguisher with high temp breaker in it. Just make sure its not one that goes off a low temperature or you could really be frustrated and want to slap yourself.
 
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