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

In my neck of the woods LEo aint a whole lot concerned about growers with cards. I know of One case where LEO's csme to my friends house because of a complaint, unrelated to his grow and discovered that he had about 200 more plants than he was allowed. All they did was reduce the number to his limit and told him to have a nice day. No charges of any kind to date.
Keep in mind this is in the states so your milage may vary

wyteboi said:

i dont think YOU can upgrade to 200 with a 200 main , but u can go 125.
The less resistance , the lower the bill .
this is very hard to explain but here goes:

IF u were to use every other breaker in the box , then u would be putting all your load on one phase of the power .... which puts a huge load on your neutral wire. so if one of your phases is only using 2 amps and the other one is using 40 amps then the load on the neutral should be 38 amps. which will make your bill alot higher then, say one phase is using 20 amps and the other phase is using 22 amps that means the load on your neutral is only 2 amps. thats alot less resistance which means a little less bill. (disclaimer: i am not a "master" i am just a residential electrician so i still have alot to learn , so im sorry if my info is hard to understand or if i am not 100% right )
maybe roland/bigballs can help me here.....

Click to expand...

Makes sense to me. In fact perfect sense for some reason.
But what I dont understand is how the 25 extra amps at the sub makes any difference.
For example. My 100 amp sub has Eight spaces, Seven of which are used right now. One curcuit is used for Two small water pumps. The other Two 120v curcuits are for outlets, half the outlets to One the other half to the other curcuit. Then there are the Two 220 curcuits.
If I am correct the feed wire is rated to 125 amps (#2 copper) so I guess I could upgrade if needed but I figured I would rather have my breakers be the week link versus the wire?
Man if I let the stuff get away from me it can get real confusing.

is it possible to splice a computer fan to run off ac power its an old school windows 95 fan 12v 0.35 a brushless fan it has 3 cords so im kinda confuzzled a bit but i wanna splice it so i can use it as a vent in my stealth grow box dresser so i need it to run at 0 sound is his possible ? o and could i splice it to a adapter that runs 12v 1.5 a with 100-240v input :S

haikubutthead said:

I use a UPS battery backup for my 396gph pumps in case of electrical outage. It is now time to replace the batteries. It take two small (motorcycle battery size) batteries, 12V, 7amp. Can I somehow use a big RV deep cycle battery instead? Longer life, etc.

Click to expand...

One RV battery is cheaper than replacing the two smaller batteries. Anyone?

haikubutthead said:

One RV battery is cheaper than replacing the two smaller batteries. Anyone?

Click to expand...

i am really not sure but i dont think its that easy.

curioushiker said:

Makes sense to me. In fact perfect sense for some reason.
But what I dont understand is how the 25 extra amps at the sub makes any difference.
For example. My 100 amp sub has Eight spaces, Seven of which are used right now. One curcuit is used for Two small water pumps. The other Two 120v curcuits are for outlets, half the outlets to One the other half to the other curcuit. Then there are the Two 220 curcuits.
If I am correct the feed wire is rated to 125 amps (#2 copper) so I guess I could upgrade if needed but I figured I would rather have my breakers be the week link versus the wire?
Man if I let the stuff get away from me it can get real confusing.

Click to expand...

u do not need to do anything, u are fine the way u are. if i knew i was going to be running 80 CONSTANT then i would go with a 125 , but thats just me.... your setup is "safe" (as long as everything is hooked up right)

not entirely true. newer digital meters can record usage trends.

wyteboi said:

the only thing they can read is how much power u use every month not every "spike"
the only time one worries about the power company is when u have had a very consistent small bill (for years) and then it jumps up to alot (lets say from 50 to 180)
then they might call you and ask you if u know why ur bill is so high . (just to let u know that it is way above normal)
now if your bill is 50 then 150 then 70 then 210 an so on, then they might tip the police that something aint right.
Most of the time when someone gets busted from the power company then it is because they are trying to steal power or do somthing plain stupid. (one example of stupid would be : if they do call and ask u if u know why ur bill is higher then normal , then u say "i leave my lights on at night" or "yea i got 5 computers running" ....... thats just not enough to raise it so then they know ur hiding somthing.
(i know i didnt really answer the question but thats my 1.5 cents on it

Click to expand...

wyteboi said:

u do not need to do anything, u are fine the way u are. if i knew i was going to be running 80 CONSTANT then i would go with a 125 , but thats just me.... your setup is "safe" (as long as everything is hooked up right)

Click to expand...

I got ya. You were referring to overall load vs sub panel rating. Yeah, I know when I figured my amps I was very liberal in the numbers being that there are some variables, like the circulating fans that I wll run, how many ets etc.
I know things always change. If I need to change my sub I can do that easy enough.
Can you tell me what is the physical difference between a 100 and 125 amp sub panel? Are the lugs and buses bigger?

I have tested and the red one going into my 100amp pony box is dead while the black is the usual 120.

I am going to post some pics tomorrow so you can see.

My system has:

1. Meter with lead cap from utility company

2. a big main breaker with two 100amp fuses inside (scary looking)

then it runs to a few 30amp old school fuse boxes and my pony panel.

Any thoughts on next steps?

wyteboi said:

sorry it took so long , but u have "blew" one phase of your panel . If u were to test the main breaker , only one side is gonna be putting out 120 volts, the other side will be "dead" or not reading right.
To fix we must have a tester (that reads how many volts) i need to know where exactly we "lost" the second phase?
First with leather or rubber gloves , turn main breaker off and then back on ...... the movement might be enough to turn it back on, or the main breaker might just be bad.
cause when one side of a 2 pole breaker "pops" then both sides should "pop".
Is this 100 amp panel a sub ? (coming off another panel)... if so we want to check the breaker feeding your 100 and the big wires going to/from the 100. usally if u look close enough u will find the problem. now if this is your only panel in the house then the problem may be in the meter base outside ? come back when u have a tester.........
(dont forget the big wires feeding your 100 amp panel are hot no matter if u shut off the 100 amp breaker)

Click to expand...

Hi

I have aquired 2x 250W HPS flood lights with asymmetrical mirrors and im wondering how best to utilize them.

They came with MH bulbs so the first question is, can they take the HPS bulbs i intend to buy?

On the Ballast, it says 250w, i assume that is the max the ballast can handle and trying to put a bigger bulb in would not work or damage the ballast.

Since those lamps are quite heavy im wondering if it is all right to remove all electronics from the lamp and rewire the connection from ballast to bulb to increase lenght of wires and allow for cooltube setup.

How can i tell if the ballast is 'Electronic' or the old type (whatever that is called).

How can i tell if the ballast is HO (High Output) and so determine if a HO bulb would be an improvement.

Thanks for the help, greatly appreciated.

GreenX

bmiquet said:

I have tested and the red one going into my 100amp pony box is dead while the black is the usual 120.

I am going to post some pics tomorrow so you can see.

My system has:

1. Meter with lead cap from utility company

2. a big main breaker with two 100amp fuses inside (scary looking)

then it runs to a few 30amp old school fuse boxes and my pony panel.

Any thoughts on next steps?

Click to expand...

so you have a 200 amp fuse box running the 100amp ?
you checked the main wire going into the 100amp breaker .... did u test the same wire in the 200 amp fuse box?
Are all ur other plugs/lights (from the 200) working ?
you need to test both of those 100amp fuses first....... one of them is proly old and burnt up..? IF u have the full amount of juice coming out of both phases of the 200 the the problem HAS to be in between the 200 and the 100 (in the wire) ..... but i bet its somthing IN that 200 and not a wire?
thats ur next step..........

"1. Meter with lead cap from utility company" <----what does this mean?

greenx said:

Hi

I have aquired 2x 250W HPS flood lights with asymmetrical mirrors and im wondering how best to utilize them.

They came with MH bulbs so the first question is, can they take the HPS bulbs i intend to buy?

Click to expand...

If you know its a hps ballast then yes the 250hps bulb will work fine.

greenx said:

On the Ballast, it says 250w, i assume that is the max the ballast can handle and trying to put a bigger bulb in would not work or damage the ballast.

Click to expand...

yea you want to stick with a 250

greenx said:

Since those lamps are quite heavy im wondering if it is all right to remove all electronics from the lamp and rewire the connection from ballast to bulb to increase lenght of wires and allow for cooltube setup.

Click to expand...

Yes thats the best way to do it

greenx said:

How can i tell if the ballast is 'Electronic' or the old type (whatever that is called).

How can i tell if the ballast is HO (High Output) and so determine if a HO bulb would be an improvement.

Thanks for the help, greatly appreciated.

GreenX

Click to expand...

i have never owned a digital ballast so i dont know much about them ..... if the bulbs fires up very fast then it is digital.... a old magnetic ballast will "warm up" the bulb first.... ( it keeps gettin brighter until fully lit up) also a HO bulb can be used in any ballast . (if its a 250 HO then it will work fine in a 250 ballast) i am not sure i have ever seen a bulb claim "HO" but i believe ya. (except floro's and cfl's )

wyteboi said:

If you know its a hps ballast then yes the 250hps bulb will work fine.

Click to expand...

Therein lies the dilemma, i have absolutely no idea what kind of ballast it is but the lights did have MH bulbs in them when aquired. How can i discover this ?

wyteboi said:

yea you want to stick with a 250


Yes thats the best way to do it



i have never owned a digital ballast so i dont know much about them ..... if the bulbs fires up very fast then it is digital.... a old magnetic ballast will "warm up" the bulb first.... ( it keeps gettin brighter until fully lit up) also a HO bulb can be used in any ballast . (if its a 250 HO then it will work fine in a 250 ballast) i am not sure i have ever seen a bulb claim "HO" but i believe ya. (except floro's and cfl's )

Click to expand...

HO bulbs are a bit more expensive but according to research ive read up on claim from 13-18% more lumens per watt than standard HPS and only work to their full potential with digital/electronic ballasts.

[An magnetic ballast uses 2 hours worth of electricity to start the bulb when a digital/electronic one only uses 1/50 of that]
(Totally unconfirmed but from a pretty reliable electrician i know).

Ive read HO on a bulb and read the small piece of paper that came with it, putting an HO bulb in a magnetic ballast lamp is just waste, u don´t get the extra 13-18% (claimed) output.

Sry for being so long but to recap.
How can i determine what kind of ballast i have and if it will in fact take HPS bulbs as well as those MH that came with it.

Thanks in advance

GreenX ala Islandia

EDIT : missed that part where u explain about the bulb 'warming up' and hence an magnetic ballast, putting this to the test right now.... will put another edit in a few min.

EDIT NEW : Magnetic, but then the only question remains, how to determine if it takes HPS bulbs.

wow... nice setup, I'd like to see the babies they control..........

greenx said:

[An magnetic ballast uses 2 hours worth of electricity to start the bulb when a digital/electronic one only uses 1/50 of that]
(Totally unconfirmed but from a pretty reliable electrician i know).

Click to expand...

i am positive that is exaggerating a lil bit.
it does take more amps on "startup" on a magnetic, just not 2 hours worth. but the lifespan of a magnetic is WAY longer then digital and they have WAY less problems.

greenx said:

EDIT : missed that part where u explain about the bulb 'warming up' and hence an magnetic ballast, putting this to the test right now.... will put another edit in a few min.

EDIT NEW : Magnetic, but then the only question remains, how to determine if it takes HPS bulbs.

Click to expand...

can u take the ballast apart ? if u tell me what it looks like inside , i could tell u .....
does it have a name brand on it? or model #'s ?
a hps ballast will fire up a mh bulb , but i am not sure that a mh ballast will fire up a hps bulb....

wyteboi said:

i am positive that is exaggerating a lil bit.
it does take more amps on "startup" on a magnetic, just not 2 hours worth. but the lifespan of a magnetic is WAY longer then digital and they have WAY less problems.

Click to expand...

Yeah, probably more then a lil bit

wyteboi said:

can u take the ballast apart ? if u tell me what it looks like inside , i could tell u .....
does it have a name brand on it? or model #'s ?
a hps ballast will fire up a mh bulb , but i am not sure that a mh ballast will fire up a hps bulb....

Click to expand...

Brand is SBP and the pictures say it all i think and i believe i got my answer

Seems like it does take HPS, wheee....

I notice on the ignitor that is says 400W for some reason, is it possible i could put 400W bulbs into it ???

Anyways, thanks for all the help.....very much appreciated.

GreenX

That appears to be a 250w digital HPS ballast.

(i am not sure but i dont think that one can be wired up at 110v ?)

wyteboi said:

That appears to be a 250w digital HPS ballast.

(i am not sure but i dont think that one can be wired up at 110v ?)

Click to expand...

We have 240v here in Iceland so i´m good, thanks again.

I asked a question about building a panel with timer and breaker sub panel but now I can't find it. I looked all over the place but nothing. I am however getting answers from someone asking about other topics. I will include them later as I can't go back without loosing this message.
I don't know how this happened.

Diablo69

Can i use a 150 watt workmans hanging halide light for my growroom? please help lol