whats the difference between 120v and 240v
- Thread starter panta
- Start date
mr.bowlsworth
Member
if u know nothing on electricity,i would suggest staying away from it or learn about it,dont expect ppl to spoon feed you information.If you really want to know something,you need to go about it in the right way.It sounds like u need a lot of learning b/f u grow anything indoors,hope this helps.
kho20
Well-Known Member
amps are the killers IT TAKES ONLY ONE AMP TO KILL YOU.... it doesnt matter how many volts it is
with that said do research on any subject before attempting it especially if it can kill you google can be your friend when you dont kno how to do something
120v is a basically ur standard house hold plugs and switches
240v is for like dryers, air conditioners, welders etc.
AND NO THEY DO NOT INTERCHANGE WITHOUT A TRANSFORMER
look on the item ur pluging in in america the manufacturer has to place a ul listing on the product stating the correct voltage for the device
with that said do research on any subject before attempting it especially if it can kill you google can be your friend when you dont kno how to do something
120v is a basically ur standard house hold plugs and switches
240v is for like dryers, air conditioners, welders etc.
AND NO THEY DO NOT INTERCHANGE WITHOUT A TRANSFORMER
look on the item ur pluging in in america the manufacturer has to place a ul listing on the product stating the correct voltage for the device
Infamous Zero
Active Member
Actually, if you do some research you will find that 5 MILLI amps is enough to kill you... thats why GFCI receptacles are designed to kick out at 3 milliamps. Due to mass men typically can handle up to 9 milliamps before your heart goes into cardiac arrest, and on a general basis women can handle about 6, please remember this isn't sexist, it has nothing to do with gender, rather it is entirely based on your mass and abillity to pass an electrical current. Otherwise known as conductivity 
kho20
Well-Known Member
wow i alway heard it was one amp but i learn somethin new every day lol but either way the principals the same dont fuck with electricityActually, if you do some research you will find that 5 MILLI amps is enough to kill you... thats why GFCI receptacles are designed to kick out at 3 milliamps. Due to mass men typically can handle up to 9 milliamps before your heart goes into cardiac arrest, and on a general basis women can handle about 6, please remember this isn't sexist, it has nothing to do with gender, rather it is entirely based on your mass and abillity to pass an electrical current. Otherwise known as conductivity
I get a good laugh out of how people make shit so difficult. 120 and 240 are the same FUCKIN thing. PERIOD......................................... Most ballast have internal wiring for 240 or 120 even if it says it doesnt! If it doesnt have multiple taps coming out of the coil then you have a very cheap ballast.
Heres how it works. Think of your house wiring as 3 individual wires. One is -120 and one is +120 and the other is 0. So you take one 120 and the 0 and you get? 120!!! you take the other 120 and the 0 and you get 120! You take both 120's and you get 240!!!!! omg! 120 or 240 doesnt matter, its the same amount of danger.
THE ONLY THING 240 BENIFITS US IS THAT IT BALANCES THE LOAD ON THE WIRE!!!!!!! We typically run 1000watt lights ect.. That is around 10amps at 120. So it has to draw ALL 10 amps through one 120 leg. Now if you get a 240v ballast it draws 5amps on one leg and 5amps on the other. So it balances the load, it works the wire less. Most 12-2 wire is only capable of carrying 10amps for short periods of time then it heats up. When it heats up you add resistance. Resistance causes more current to have to pass through the wire to do the same work. Soooooo, A 1000watt 120v ballast may draw 11amps or so after the wires heat up. The SAME 240v ballast would set at around 10amps because it run the lines UNDER their rated load, which = less resistance.
Now... If you didnt already know this then dont fuck with it. PERIOD!
Heres how it works. Think of your house wiring as 3 individual wires. One is -120 and one is +120 and the other is 0. So you take one 120 and the 0 and you get? 120!!! you take the other 120 and the 0 and you get 120! You take both 120's and you get 240!!!!! omg! 120 or 240 doesnt matter, its the same amount of danger.
THE ONLY THING 240 BENIFITS US IS THAT IT BALANCES THE LOAD ON THE WIRE!!!!!!! We typically run 1000watt lights ect.. That is around 10amps at 120. So it has to draw ALL 10 amps through one 120 leg. Now if you get a 240v ballast it draws 5amps on one leg and 5amps on the other. So it balances the load, it works the wire less. Most 12-2 wire is only capable of carrying 10amps for short periods of time then it heats up. When it heats up you add resistance. Resistance causes more current to have to pass through the wire to do the same work. Soooooo, A 1000watt 120v ballast may draw 11amps or so after the wires heat up. The SAME 240v ballast would set at around 10amps because it run the lines UNDER their rated load, which = less resistance.
Now... If you didnt already know this then dont fuck with it. PERIOD!
kho20
Well-Known Member
dude im not gonna argue with you but 120 and 240 is NOT the same thing other than yes they are both electricity and they have a plug ,,, given most ballast do have the equipment to run both but the plug on the wall hes talkin about to much for anything classified as 120 he should wire it for 120 if thats what he wants to run and skip the headache jus tryin to keep people from being killed dude
Infamous Zero
Active Member
The advantages continue past this explanation, it also means running less wires. If you bring 240 volts to your grow room, and run your ballasts on 240 volts s0high's explanation is correct... to take greater advantage of 240, you can split the 240 and use each 120 volt line individually, and if you balance the load on each line, your neutral will carry almost ZERO current. This is because the current from each line is 180 degrees out of phase and effectively cancels out the other lines current through the neutral conductor. Example, if one line is carry 10 amps to neutral, and the other is carry 8, the neutral conductor is only tasked with carry 2 amps back to the service panel. Now lets say you want to run a full 20 amps on each leg, (which 12 awg is rated for), the neutral isn't forced to carry the 20 amps from each side totaling 40 amps... it simply carries the difference.