A Bored Electrician to Answer Your Questions

Good afternoon!

I think it's great you are taking the time to help everyone out with their electrical questions. I did some searching, but I am having a hard time finding much information on this.

I have an inline fan that I would like to connect to a temperature controller and a timer. I would like so that if either controller turns on the fan also powers on.

I know I need a relay to accomplish this, however I am not sure which type.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

EDIT:

Figured it out.... I have the CAP AIR-2 and the Sentinel MDT-1. Both of these devices have relays built into them so I will just wire two power cables to my S&P 200 then plug one in the timer and one in the temperature controller.

hello , i bought a cfl 43 watt equivalant to a 200 watt , i plugged it into 3 areas and it just wont turn on... i read somebody elses page and they had the same problem..what is wrong with this light? or do i need a new plug in thing i dont get it

bohicular said:

I am hoping you can help with a ballast problem I'm having. This ballast i wired together will start up the 150w HPS light, run for about 10 mins, completely turn off, and do this over again - it can't seem to stay on for over 10 mins. Its a 127v ballast with a capacitor, so i think it could run on 240v, but the outlet I'm trying to use it on is rated at 110v, and i tested it, and I was seeing 98-110 volts coming thru. Also, I haven't wired a grounded plug on the box, these tests were with an ungrounded plug to the power source.
much appreciation, b
View attachment 1189420

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Can I just eliminate the capacitor all together? I dont know exactly what would change if I did that, but the ballast i'm using now doesn't have a capacitor and seems to be doing ok. Could anyone explain the difference, please?

Hey thanks for offering to help

We currently are running 4 x 1000w lights this grow but are thinking about expanding to 2 more 1000's with another 600 on the side for vegging. This would be a total of 7 lights @ 6600w. I am wondering if we can handle the power in the garage. I have pics and my grow is in my comment or the album of pics. Thanks for any help!


We currently have this controller setup



This is our breaker box.



This is our ballast setups.

Hiya quick question for you if you wouldnt mind helping, ive got some light bulb holders/sockets (3 wire) and im trying to wore them in series and it just isnt working....ive got live wire from plug into + terminal of first socket then -terminal of 1st socket to +terminal of 2nd socketand so on around the series then last socket is -terminal to -terminal in plug and earth terminal in plug to every earth terminal in series(if this is too confusing to understand ill draw a picture lol)

hey i was wondering if I could possibly upgrade my electrical to support my electrical needs.

I would like to, ideally, run 4 1000w lights... if this is not possible without like rewiring the house then ill scrap the idea but if it is something I can DIY then I will attempt it.



The room I want to use is on a 15AMP circuit, From what I understand each 1000w light requires 9 amps so im guessing if i can install 2 20amp circuits into this then I am golden.

I know it may not be as simple as that so I am asking for your help!



The room in question is the below the 50amp circuitlabed BEDROOM

If anyone with experience with 240v electricity could help me diagnose a subpanel wiring issue that'd be fantastic!

https://www.rollitup.org/grow-journals/388778-kittys-commercial-grow-op-bigger-4.html#post5030813

That's a link directly to post #122 where the pictures and details are....... After that post there's a few howto guides that people tried to help with, but they didnt read it was 240v so please remember 240v all teh way no 120v anywhere on it.

Thanks!

Kitty

I have a question. To start this is for a pc grow. I have 3 light sockets with cfl bulbs and this fan (Dayton ac axial fan 3VU63 230V 26watt) all running parallel from a 2 prong cord. I realized today that I should have the fan grounded. Can I change the 2 prong cord I have coming in with a 3 prong cord and attach the ground wire from the new cord to the fan and continue to run the fan and all 3 lights parallel? Thanks in advance.

yes you can. ground wires have no current, so theres really no risk involved. the ground is for safety, provides an direct path to ground in the event of an energized component.. (we call em ground faults)

I have a question about wiring a ballast cord. I have attached 2 pictures of the ballast. So what I did was I cut the end off and now I want to put the following end on it:

http://www.innovativelights.com/ss-903090.html

If i connect the blue to blue, black to black, white to white will this work??? I am not to familiar with wiring. Any help would be appreciated! Thanks!

If I want to put in a subpanel from the main to run about 8-10 1000 watt lights what size of wire should I run from the main and how would I hook it up in the main and subpanel. Is there some rule that you use to determine the size of wire going to the subpanel from the main?
Also what's the deal with using 240 volt circuits? I mean every light I see has 3 prongs and plugs into 120 volt normal house outlets. Do people just put in 20 amp breakers, one for each 1000 watt light and run one wire per light from the panel? Or is there a way to "juice up" the lights with 240 volt power. Or similarly, is there a way to take a 240 volt circuit (I've never wired one so keep that in mind) and break it into 2 120 volt circuits. I've heard of people doing that (I think) but don't know how it's done.
I hope these questions aren't too stupid. They all could be for all I know (which isn't much but I'm fascinated by electricians and their skill).
Thanks a million for your help. We need more people like you.

circuit breaker need to be replaced can i do this myself? is it hard to do, i went to lowes and found one for 59$. i dont want to break down the grow to have it done can anyone help?

I have some 80 mm fans I want to run. They are brand new (http://www.masscool.com/product_detail.php?pid=125&id=56). I was going to use an old pc power supply but was wondering if there is a more simple way to power several of these 12volt fans? The pc power supply box is bulky and overkill for 4 of these little fans. What can I use instead? I want something small, quiet, and simple. I understand electricity fairly well and thought I might find a small 12 volt battery charger (1-3 amp) but am not sure if the frequency plays a large part in it? I do have a 1.5 amp 12volt battery charger/maintainer I bought for $20 that I use on my batteries in my boat and thought this might work fine but I don't need any fires. Any thoughts or help would be greatly appreciated thanks!!

Stonethrower said:

I have some 80 mm fans I want to run. They are brand new (http://www.masscool.com/product_detail.php?pid=125&id=56). I was going to use an old pc power supply but was wondering if there is a more simple way to power several of these 12volt fans? The pc power supply box is bulky and overkill for 4 of these little fans. What can I use instead? I want something small, quiet, and simple. I understand electricity fairly well and thought I might find a small 12 volt battery charger (1-3 amp) but am not sure if the frequency plays a large part in it? I do have a 1.5 amp 12volt battery charger/maintainer I bought for $20 that I use on my batteries in my boat and thought this might work fine but I don't need any fires. Any thoughts or help would be greatly appreciated thanks!!

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here's his answer on PC fans. Those are .15 A so for 4 is .6 A x 120% = .72 A. A 12v power supply over .75 A is easy to find. Correct me if I missed something IAm5toned.
Those battery chargers are loud and inefficient.

IAm5toned said:

here's how you find out-

on the fan, somewhere, on the fan, there will be a stamp, label, or embossed lettering that says the voltage, and the power consumption. looks like this-

12vdc 12w or 12vdc 500ma

what you need is the wattage, or milliamps of the fans.

add them all up (the wattage, or mA) , then multiply by 120%....

example-
3 fans, 500mA (6w)
500ma
x 3
1500ma
x 120%
1800mA

or-
6w
x 3
18w
x 120%
21.6 w

or-
.18 amps
x 3
.54
x 120%
.648 amps
your power supply, needs to be big enough for 1800mA, or, .648 amps @ 12vdc, or 21.6w @ 12vdc


just change the mA, or wattage, or amps, to match the power requirements of the fans you have.

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Stonethrower said:

Thank you Danielsgb. I know what you said is true and I understand it completely but, the 1.5 amp charger/maintainer I have has no fan and is 100% silent and I mean 100% silent. No vibrations or nothing. (http://www.batterychargers.com/SearchResults.aspx?SearchCriteria=sem-1562a).

1.5 amp
x 12 volt
= 18 watts x 120% = 21.6 watts

so I can only run 3 fans on it it seems.
I already have the charger/maint. but it only costs like $20.
Also when I put it on a low 12 volt battery it never heats up when there is a max draw. No heat and no sound makes this an optimal choice if it will work. Do you think it will work (with only 3 fans)?

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I think you missed something. a 12v with 1.5 A means you can use 1.2 A safely or 8 fans using .15 A

Why use that? I get a power supply from the Rescue Mission for $1 or $2.


Even a new one is less than $25
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3807944&numProdsPerPage=60

The 120% is so you aren't stressing it. They last longer when they are using 80% continuously. Like a car runs at 75 mph for 100k, but 130 mph for 20k if that makes sense.
You can find one with .75 A to 1 A easy if you go to Goodwill or somewhere like that.
Hope that helps.
Daniels

Thank you again Danielsgb for quick reply! I have many of those adapters laying around. You are right, I don't want to max out my charger/maint. I just wanted to know if there was anything I was missing. I tested a fan on it and it worked fine but I will leave it n the boat battery.

Wait, I'm stoned, for some reason I thought you said I would need 1.8 amps but you said 1800mA. I must be getting my conversion wrong. Doesn't 1500mA convert to .15 amps? and 4 x .15 = .6 x 120% = .72 amps? and my 1.5 amp charger.... .72/1.5=.48=close half the max?

I am still going with your idea. Thanks again. I will stay off here so I don't confuse myself even more lol.

Stonethrower said:

Thank you again Danielsgb for quick reply! I have many of those adapters laying around. You are right, I don't want to max out my charger/maint. I just wanted to know if there was anything I was missing. I tested a fan on it and it worked fine but I will leave it n the boat battery.

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I had a feeling searching the garage would find some. They connect to a timer nice and easily. Cleaner set up than that battery charger.

Quick Question for you. Can the power company see what times you are using power. Can they look at their system and tell that im using close to the same amount of power every day. This is my only concern for growing. If they can spot sonsumption patterns that match that of growers, maybe its not such a good idea.

jason21alex said:

Quick Question for you. Can the power company see what times you are using power. Can they look at their system and tell that im using close to the same amount of power every day. This is my only concern for growing. If they can spot sonsumption patterns that match that of growers, maybe its not such a good idea.

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All they care about is getting paid. If you don't try to skip the meter and steal it you'll be fine. If you are going to run a dozen 1000W lights and all that goes with it then maybe be concerned. A $50 to $100 spike in a bill is nothing to them.
They run no software that would key to a 12/12 cycle I've ever heard about.