A Bored Electrician to Answer Your Questions

B

Bob Smith

Well-Known Member
IAmStoned, just wanted to thank you again for all your help - the electrician was just here, took a look at everything, and said that it'd be $300 for his time plus another $175 for supplies, and I locked him into $450.

He's gonna do it 8:00am Sunday morning, and there were actually a couple of unused circuits at the bottom of the panel, so I don't even need to cut into the shed's power - 60 amps all to me and my little old garage.

Anyways, just wanted to say "thanks".
 
IAm5toned

IAm5toned

Well-Known Member
Bob Smith said:
IAmStoned, just wanted to thank you again for all your help - the electrician was just here, took a look at everything, and said that it'd be $300 for his time plus another $175 for supplies, and I locked him into $450.

He's gonna do it 8:00am Sunday morning, and there were actually a couple of unused circuits at the bottom of the panel, so I don't even need to cut into the shed's power - 60 amps all to me and my little old garage.

Anyways, just wanted to say "thanks".
Click to expand...
anytime.. and im glad to see it worked out good for you.
gl with the tomatoes.. make me proud:blsmoke:
 
D

drnkrssn

Active Member
Wow, I didn't realize it would be that intensive or expensive. The longer post by skunkaroo claims he spent like $50. Are you saying that the setup he describes won't work or that it isn't ideal. I'm not doubting you, I just don't have any experience with this sort of thing. I'll hold off on the relay if it's going to run anywhere the price of buying new ballasts. Thanks
 
IAm5toned

IAm5toned

Well-Known Member
drnkrssn said:
Wow, I didn't realize it would be that intensive or expensive. The longer post by skunkaroo claims he spent like $50. Are you saying that the setup he describes won't work or that it isn't ideal. I'm not doubting you, I just don't have any experience with this sort of thing. I'll hold off on the relay if it's going to run anywhere the price of buying new ballasts. Thanks
Click to expand...
his set up may or may not have worked, honestly its hard to tell from the diagram.. the type of ballasts and relays used are a major factor
but i do know it wouldnt last long without the timer to restart the ballasts... the design i use will give you years of operation
 
LOG1CO

LOG1CO

Active Member
Alright I have a question good sir.

My mom just found my one plant in my closet. She made me "turn the light off", as her main concern was the fire hazard of a decently hot lamp, especially considering that its merely a 23w cfl, being in a closet full of clothing.

Regardless of that situation, it was only temporary and within a week or two I would have had a grow box made out of wood.

I did indeed stop the grow, w/e I fucked her up a little anyways, but here's my question: A) Is there really a fire hazard considering it was a 23w bulb in a regular lamp, plugged into an 8 outlet timer, which was plugged into the outlet outside my closet via extension cord?

B) The only way I'll be able to grow now is if I propose to her my box, but one that will be fire-hazard-free. Is this possible? How can I construct a box out of wood to ensure fire-proofness, and for there to be no electrical-fire-hazard once I have 4 or more CFL's in pairs via splitters all connected to my timer?

Please, I understand that your experience can result in answers that include terms such as "most likely" and "realistically", but I need the technicalities, and the real facts no matter how low the chances may be. On top of me needing to convince her, I would much rather prefer to in my own head have the security to not need to worry about any such hazard.

Any help would be great, thanks a lot.
 
IAm5toned

IAm5toned

Well-Known Member
LOG1CO said:
Alright I have a question good sir.

My mom just found my one plant in my closet. She made me "turn the light off", as her main concern was the fire hazard of a decently hot lamp, especially considering that its merely a 23w cfl, being in a closet full of clothing.

Regardless of that situation, it was only temporary and within a week or two I would have had a grow box made out of wood.

I did indeed stop the grow, w/e I fucked her up a little anyways, but here's my question: A) Is there really a fire hazard considering it was a 23w bulb in a regular lamp, plugged into an 8 outlet timer, which was plugged into the outlet outside my closet via extension cord?

B) The only way I'll be able to grow now is if I propose to her my box, but one that will be fire-hazard-free. Is this possible? How can I construct a box out of wood to ensure fire-proofness, and for there to be no electrical-fire-hazard once I have 4 or more CFL's in pairs via splitters all connected to my timer?

Please, I understand that your experience can result in answers that include terms such as "most likely" and "realistically", but I need the technicalities, and the real facts no matter how low the chances may be. On top of me needing to convince her, I would much rather prefer to in my own head have the security to not need to worry about any such hazard.

Any help would be great, thanks a lot.
Click to expand...
there is no way a cfl can generate enough to heat to cause combustion of anything you would find in a closet.. seriously.

as far as putting a bunch in a wooden box, the only dangers regarding fire hazard present are the chance you have a wiring issue that causes a spark. the likely hood of that is very slim if your using prefabbed parts like you would buy at a hardware store or whatever.
23w cfl =78.46 btu
60w a19 standard light bulb= 204.72 btu

you can see how a typical standard bulb generates nearly 3 times the amount of heat as its cfl equivalant. even if you had the cfl in a totally sealed wooden box with no ventilation whatsoever full of gasoline it could not get hot enough to cause a fire.....bongsmilie

the biggest risk there is too much heat for the ladies in the box....

you can safely plug in 1000w on just about any storebought extension cord.

ps- of course there is ALWAYS a danger of fire present when dealing with electricity, however as long as you dont try anything stupid or attempt to make your own parts without prior knowledge ( i went to school for 5 years) you should be good to go.

just stay away from the HID lighting for awhile ;)
 
brainkandi

brainkandi

New Member
hey i have a touchy question for an electrician. since it is illegal i want to know theoretically.

how do growers tap into the main power line before it connects to their meter....or in other words how do they steal electricity and get away with it. and how do they do it without getting shocked. there is obviously a way to do it, yet i can't find info on it.


thank you kindly
 
H

hanhsolo

Member


Hey, thanks for offering your advice. I was wondering if there's any wiring hazard with this 2 105 watt CFL set up. I used a heavy extension cord with 2 prongs to the first base and then used the extra connectors on the base to wire up light #2. It's plugged into a 2 prong timer to the wall.

thanks mate
 
IAm5toned

IAm5toned

Well-Known Member
brainkandi said:
hey i have a touchy question for an electrician. since it is illegal i want to know theoretically.

how do growers tap into the main power line before it connects to their meter....or in other words how do they steal electricity and get away with it. and how do they do it without getting shocked. there is obviously a way to do it, yet i can't find info on it.


thank you kindly
Click to expand...
let me put it too you like this.... and im not trying to be rude- but its the truth, and the reason why you wont find info on how to make an illegal tap anywhere online:

#1 if i tell you how to do something like that, and you get yourself or someone else injured or more likely killed following my instructions, then it makes me liable for both criminal charges and punitive damages. then there is also my own conscience to consider.

#2 Im not going to jail or paying for your wifes nails to be done for the rest of my life.

#3 illegal power taps are THE most common way to get busted by the power company.. duh, meter readers!!

find someone else, i cant be responsible for you loosing a hand or dying or whatever so you can save on average 100-150$ a month. if you cant afford to keep the lights on, perhaps you might want to get an outdoor crop going and use the loot from the harvest to get you set up..........

again man, im not being rude, but it is the cold hard truth, and sometimes the truth is not what people like to hear. good luck in your search ;)
 
IAm5toned

IAm5toned

Well-Known Member
hanhsolo said:


Hey, thanks for offering your advice. I was wondering if there's any wiring hazard with this 2 105 watt CFL set up. I used a heavy extension cord with 2 prongs to the first base and then used the extra connectors on the base to wire up light #2. It's plugged into a 2 prong timer to the wall.

thanks mate
Click to expand...
man, from that picture the only thing i can say is those blk and wht wires look a little too long for my taste... i like all my wires to be nice and concealed or tucked up and strapped down tight. reduces the odds of physical damage to the wires themselves, because if your a semi-clutz like me, accidents happen.. lol but besides that it looks good to mebongsmilie
 
brainkandi

brainkandi

New Member
thank you very much. i am a welder, i understand the dangers. my uncle is an electrician, he said mostly the same thing.


still, much respect. i appreciate your honesty.......

the brain
 
johndoe12345678

johndoe12345678

Well-Known Member
im using a trailer that has a 100amp box if i beef up my wire, get 200amp service, better box,and wire240 in every room can i succesfully run ten 1000watt lights 3 in two rooms and four in one plus have plenty power for ac/fans/timers/lightrails/pumps/co2. all im gonna run is the grow setup nothing else.
 
IAm5toned

IAm5toned

Well-Known Member
johndoe12345678 said:
im using a trailer that has a 100amp box if i beef up my wire, get 200amp service, better box,and wire240 in every room can i succesfully run ten 1000watt lights 3 in two rooms and four in one plus have plenty power for ac/fans/timers/lightrails/pumps/co2. all im gonna run is the grow setup nothing else.
Click to expand...
if your going to run 240 volt ballasts you dont need to change the can, the combined load of the lights and ballasts is less than 45 amps.. you just have to get the 240v where you want it. if you have 125amp panel you can run 100amps continuous duty

10500w/240v= 43.75 amps

6 lights on one circuit @240v =26.25 amps (30amp breaker, #10awg cable)

4 lights on one circuit @240v=17.5amps (20 amp breaker, #12 awg cable)
 
johndoe12345678

johndoe12345678

Well-Known Member
so can run 4 1000 watt lights , kwikool ac, 1000gph pump, light rail, mdt-1 timer, hph-8, co2 in one room and the two others rooms with 3 1000watt lights, 600gph pump, mdt-1 timer. hph-4, inline fans, and light rail both rooms have same equipment. so run 3 indepent 240 in each room and keep a couple 120s for everything else is these the best way to do all this, price dosent matter and safety is the biggest issue
 
johndoe12345678

johndoe12345678

Well-Known Member
im having a electrician wire all this for me i just dont want him to think im trying to power a meth lab so i want to have a good idea on what i want him to do.
 
IAm5toned

IAm5toned

Well-Known Member
lol electricians are not dumb ;)

tell him your making a workshop.. old lady needs the garage space.
but if your planning to use seperate air conditioners definitly get the 200amp panel, and have a dedicated circuit for each a/c unit... that way there is no chance of breakers tripping when all the equipment is up and running at the same time.
im jealous of your budget and space...lol. good luck, and hit me up if u need any helpbongsmilie
 
H

haggis1980

Member
hiya i was just wondering:
im using 250W HPS Ballast & 250 w Bulb, and my question is -and the question is :can i replace 250w bulb with 150w one for first week of veg,without changing the ballast? just to save money i quess:confused: cheers
 
IAm5toned

IAm5toned

Well-Known Member
haggis1980 said:
hiya i was just wondering:
im using 250W HPS Ballast & 250 w Bulb, and my question is -and the question is :can i replace 250w bulb with 150w one for first week of veg,without changing the ballast? just to save money i quess:confused: cheers
Click to expand...
sure can... but i think you would spend more money on the bulb than you would save by only running it for a weekbongsmilie
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top