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

Hairy Bob · Jul 25, 2009

Herbal Healing 420 said:
is it a problem to plug 1 power strip (surge protector) into a another one and possibly a 3rd? like a chain

As long as you don't exceed the current rating for any of the power strips or the outlet you are plugged into, no problem. I assume you are wanting to run lots of cfls around the room?
Don't try to daisy chain loads together into one long extension cord though, you end up getting a fair voltage drop at the end of the line.

I smoke · Jul 25, 2009

i have a pretty simple question pertaining to simple fans to keep some kind of air flow and circulation going..

i ripped out 2 lil fans

and i was wondering how i could ghetto rig these fans so that they get power.

i emptied out a Computer and im going to slap on reflective tape all on the inside, leaving the holes for wires/breathing/light fixture

So again, my question was just;

how can i ghetto rig (for now) these fans to get power?

Hairy Bob · Jul 26, 2009

Look on the fans, they should have a voltage and current printed on them. Find a cell phone charger with roughly the same values and join the wires together.

I smoke · Jul 26, 2009

Hairy Bob said:
Look on the fans, they should have a voltage and current printed on them. Find a cell phone charger with roughly the same values and join the wires together.

i ripped 1 charger apart and it only had copper wires .. i only have the lil' fan now

other one BLEW.. but the lil' one, it has the RED/WHITE/BLACK wire so its makin' things difficult for me..

AlphaMale706 · Jul 26, 2009

hello and thanks so much for your help.

Okay so i live in a house. Inside my master bed room there is a bathroom.Inside the bath there is a 7x7 walk in. There is no plug ins or anything. Also the outlet in the bathroom just doesnt work.

I have 2 questions. WOuld it be okay to just drill threw the wall and work from one or two extension cords with power strips?

Is there possibly a easy way to get power in there?

ALso the attic entrance is in the closet.

stumbler69 · Jul 26, 2009

AlphaMale706 said:
hello and thanks so much for your help.

Okay so i live in a house. Inside my master bed room there is a bathroom.Inside the bath there is a 7x7 walk in. There is no plug ins or anything. Also the outlet in the bathroom just doesnt work.

I have 2 questions. WOuld it be okay to just drill threw the wall and work from one or two extension cords with power strips?

Is there possibly a easy way to get power in there?

ALso the attic entrance is in the closet.

I would highly suggest you check the outlet that isnt working first, pull it out and check for a short or if its disconnected.

I would personally install another outlet or 2 into that closet espically with attic access, but it really depends on your skill level, dont do anything your not comfortable with and you wont burn your house down.

LogHead · Jul 28, 2009

hey, just came across this thread and had a quest. Okay, theres these 100w hps/mh bulbs that they sell at home depot. my question, can you use these in just a reg socket without a ballast? i've heard people say you can, but the bulbs lifespan will be shorter, is this true?

Hairy Bob · Jul 28, 2009

If it's an actual hps or mh, not some incandescent masquerading as a growlight, then you can't run it straight from the socket with no ballast, it will just trip the breaker, blow a fuse or melt a wire, whichever is the weakest link. These type of bulbs have a negative resistance characteristic, which will overload the circuit if there is no resistor or ballast to limit the current flow.
I have heard of smaller wattage hps being able to run with a simple resistor, but I've never seen such a thing and I don't even know how big a bulb would have to be before it required a ballast.
What's more, I've never seen or heard of a 100w hps or mh, they are usually 75 or 150w.
You got a link to this bulb?
edit: I found a 100w mh bulb on the home depot site, but it still requires a ballast.

LogHead · Jul 28, 2009

yeah, i thought so. i was just curious bc i've heard it could work and idk it sounded iffy and now i know for sure it is wrong. Thanks Bob! :peace:

Ax3 · Jul 29, 2009

Hey. This question might seem a bit stupid but here goes:
I want to create a powerpoint nearby my grow room (otherwise nearest access would be via an extension cord).

My grow room is right up against a crawl-space where there is several exposed electrical wires running. One of which runs out through a wall-vent (which i will actually be using for ventilation), and to an outside powerpoint.

Now is it possible to somehow disconnect this powerpoint from the outside, and pull the electrical cable back through the wall-vent for use as a powerpoint from the inside of the house?

Writing this up now it makes it sound like a huge fire hazard, but i'd appreciate it if you could get back to me

Hairy Bob · Jul 29, 2009

It is perfectly possible, but the fact that you have to ask suggests that maybe you aren't quite experienced enough to do the job yourself.
If you're going to do it, read up as much as you can on electrical safety before you start, I'd hate for you to get a nasty shock.
Always turn off the breaker and make sure the socket has stopped working before you start disconnecting anything, and make sure you know which wire is which before you unscrew the terminals.
If at all possible get a trustworthy friend who knows about electrics to help, or do it for you.

Boulderheads · Jul 30, 2009

Ok, so I think I have a pretty decent understanding of electrical currents and their properties. I have a switchable Sun System 1000watt ballast that can run on either 110 or 220. I understand that while the actual power consumption (watts) is unchanged from the current difference, the amount of amps the ballast uses is half on 220.(Makes perfect sense, double the current 1/2 the amps required). Point is... the only benefit of running 220 is drawing less amps on the ballast allowing for possibly more lights on a single circuit as long as you make sure not to overload by more then 75%. Can someone just verify if this is the only benefit to running 220 for a system such as this. Thanks in advance, such a great thread, glad people are trying to help in this area.

tat2ue · Jul 30, 2009

That is basically the only advantage of 240v circuit in a grow room type set up. A lot of people believe that their power consumption and cost is cut in half...NOT TRUE!!!You will basically draw the same ammt of energy to fire up a 1000w light on a 120 or 240v circuit, just your amp load is reduced.

Hairy Bob · Jul 31, 2009

Strictly speaking, the ballast will run slightly more efficiently at a higher voltage, as less current is passing through it. This makes it run slightly cooler and consumes slightly less electricity, although you are talking about pennies per week, it's by no means a reason to switch from 120 to 240, but if you have a spare 240 outlet and your ballast is designed to be able to run on it, you might as well utilise it, if only for the reason that the lights would be on a different circuit to the fans (and pumps if doing hydro) so if there was a problem with the lights and the breaker tripped, that would be the only thing that stopped working.

Boulderheads · Jul 31, 2009

Hairy Bob said:
Strictly speaking, the ballast will run slightly more efficiently at a higher voltage, as less current is passing through it. This makes it run slightly cooler and consumes slightly less electricity, although you are talking about pennies per week, it's by no means a reason to switch from 120 to 240, but if you have a spare 240 outlet and your ballast is designed to be able to run on it, you might as well utilise it, if only for the reason that the lights would be on a different circuit to the fans (and pumps if doing hydro) so if there was a problem with the lights and the breaker tripped, that would be the only thing that stopped working.

Thanks Bob, I thought that was the case. I ran a separate 20amp 110 circuit for my light and 3 fans. My ballast draws a little over 5 amps on 110. I have the ability to wire up a 220 circuit as my op is in my basement not even 10 feet from my panel. I would just have to order a separate power cord from Sunlight Systems. I thought it might run cooler, but if it is not significant, then I really don't see the benefit in running another circuit. Thanks for the great reply.

jus10pa2 · Jul 31, 2009

i have a question....how many 25W (100W equal) CFLs can run from one 15 amp circut breaker.... my current set up is 3 clamp reflecters with spliters in each so 4 25W daylight CFL and 2 25W warm light cfl. i have about 3.5 ft2. Im sure i need more but i was just wundering how much could i put on that one circut without burning my place down.

joehank7 · Jul 31, 2009

I really like that setup of how your ballasts are wired. Is that a mechanical timer box? Are you running 220 or 120? If 220, what size wire is going to your timer box, and what size breaker are you using? I would like to do the same thing with 4- 600w ballasts. I read what you said about no major advantage to running 220 over 120, but I am not sure which way to go on that

jberry · Jul 31, 2009

hello i was wondering if you have ever heard of the power company reporting people to the law for using suspicious amounts of power?

i know you may not know the answer to this ? but i didnt know where to ask without starting a new thread which i may still do.

nellyatcha · Jul 31, 2009

i dont know i heard some people using them damn things where you can plug the socket right into an outlet and use them like that and i didnt believe it but its floatong around in one of the threads

nellyatcha · Jul 31, 2009

jberry said:
hello i was wondering if you have ever heard of the power company reporting people to the law for using suspicious amounts of power?

i know you may not know the answer to this ? but i didnt know where to ask without starting a new thread which i may still do.

yes they do if you use over a certain amount and if you steal it as well thne you screwed lol, they will investigate it first to see whats going on and they ,meter it first and see the increase if its over a certain about of hours and watts kwh

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