Serious power issue!!

i need some advise very badly. since the inception of my grow, iv been plagued by the fucking circuit breakers always tripping! i did several combinations of equipment on different breakers, but to no avail. it seems like i cant find a solution. i don't know much about circuit breakers or residential electricity at all. what i do know is this. im running a total of 2800 watts (approximately). (4) 400 watt HID's (1) 1000w AC (1) circulating fan (1) small in-line. one circuit breaker is a total bitch, lets say thats circuit A. circuit B is alot more hearty, however most of the appartment is connected to this breaker. My apartment is a one bedroom, with kichen and living room. circuit A has almost all the outlets in the bedroom, including the closet and bathroom lights+outlets (before grow, I had between 0-60 watts running through A at any given time) . Circuit B has everything else in the house, including the kitchen lights+outlets, the living room lights+outlets, and ONE SINGLE outlet in the BR that has so far saved my ass (between 400-1150 watts at any giving time on all those, including about 650 watts in the BR from my computer). you think i would be able to use A to power a substantial amount of my needs...not so. i cant even put the AC and 1 light on that circuit before it trips!! thats roughly 1440 watts. for about 10 days now, putting the AC and 1 light on A worked perfectly, and putting 3 lights connected to B (on the same outlet as the computer) worked awesome aswell, EVEN with the TV, computer and a few lights in the living room ALL ON! today though, is another story. THE LITTLE BITCH BREAKER, A, IS TRIPPING AGAIN for no apparent reason! is there anything i can do?? HELP!!

Put a bigger amperage breaker in they work the same way as the old fuses did.

you are way to overloadfed man... im a certified electrician and do a lot of residential... let me ask you a few questions....

do you live alone?
do you have easy access to your breaker box?
are you the only one who has access to this breaker box?
is the box full with just 2 breakers ( is there no more space for another breaker?)

Whats up bro! I've got two suggestions for you but they both have pro's and con's.

1. Try converting your ballast to 220 instead on 120, that way they'll run on half the amps but then you've got to get a 220 source that you can plug into because they won't work on regular outlets anymore.

2. Run a power supply straight from the main in your breaker box and make a new breaker box. Its a little expensive but then you can combine suggestion 1. with this and really lower the amps your pulling but it all depends on the service coming to your box. If its an apartment then its probably 120, but that depends on where you live.

Hope this helps! Good luck.

66 north said:

Put a bigger amperage breaker in they work the same way as the old fuses did.

Click to expand...

hell no, lol... dont do that... lol... you will definately burn the place down... upping the breaker size will do nothing but let more power flow through and overheat the wires fitted for the breakers in the box now. thats a big BIG no no....

since your not answering my questions and im getting off here soon... heres what I will suggest...
Im assuming there 20 amp breakers and your box is full.... if so go to your nearest electrical supply store and pick up a (roll or however many ft. you will need) of 12-2 with ground and ask for 2 20 amp micro breakers... a micro breaker is a breaker that is half the size of a standard breaker, so you can fit 2 breakers in the slot where there use to be just one... disconnect which ever breaker you chose and replace with the micro...
now you should have an empty slot for the other breaker to make dedicated for your grow... if you have no kids and live alone just run the cable through your living area... no need to try and conceal it since its temporary anyway... hook up however many outlets you need to this... there you go ...problem solved...

make sure you shut the POWER OFF before doing this... and DO NOT TOUCH the 2 main lines coming in because their still hot even though you shut it off....good luck ... I hope this helps.... if you need help with wireing let me no..

captain792000 said:

you are way to overloadfed man... im a certified electrician and do a lot of residential... let me ask you a few questions....

do you live alone?
do you have easy access to your breaker box?
are you the only one who has access to this breaker box?
is the box full with just 2 breakers ( is there no more space for another breaker?)

Click to expand...

ok. you seem like the man to talk to.

no, i live with my wife.
yes. the breaker box is right in the bedroom.
yes. i believe so. unless the manager of the appts want to come in and see it. she has a key.
i dont think there is anymore space for any breakers. heres a picture.

just to let you know, the last breaker on the bottom right hand side rated at 20 amps DOES NOTHING when i turn it on and off. i dont think it is connected to anything??

alright cool man, easy fix...
those last 2 breakers on the bottom right are what I was talking about, their micro breakers.. was the last one off all the time? if so theres probably nothing on it.. can you take the cover off and see if theres any wires attached? maybe take a pic to so I can see..

no it wasnt off, but iv turned on all the lights in the house and when i flip that one off, nothing turns off.

ill try the cover, iv never done this before. wish me luck!! if you dont hear from me i must have gotten shocked and died.

ok. i got the cover off, and i do see a single black wire connected to both micro breakers. pic in just one min...

Bagelthief said:

ill try the cover, iv never done this before. wish me luck!! if you dont hear from me i must have gotten shocked and died.

Click to expand...

lol...not funny man...lol... just dont stick your hands in there and you'll be fine...

ok... how many apartments are in your building also?? its not running something in another apartment is it?? it shouldnt be but it could be...lol

ok. here are the pics.

there are maybe 12-18 units or so in my building? hmm i havent ever really counted...

the big Breaker on the bottom left, thats "Circuit B", the one with the living room, kitchen, and single bedroom outlet.

ok... this is very easy... are you somewhat mechanicaly inclined? for example can you use a screwdriver and a pair of wire strippers? im serious... some people just cant...lol

the one next to it, in the middle, is circuit A, the bedroom and bathroom. the ones up top control stupid shit like the garbage disposal, and the dishwasher. we dont even use the dishwasher, is there any way i can use current from that breaker?

yes, i definitely can. i wired all of my ballasts myself. and i totally understand why you ask. no worries.

this is very informative if you guys continue on with this.