Thermostatic Cut off Switch

I

Infadel

Member
I am sad to say my extraction fan failed yesterday and my 2x400w HPS lights cooked my little beauties and by the time I got there the heat was ridiculous and a serious fire hazard. A very close shave one might say but I did have an automatic fire extinguisher rigged up just in case... I am now in the process of fitting a Thermostatic Cut off Switch to my lights: RS PRO SPDT 16 A Adjustable Capillary Thermostat, Manual Reset

This switch is a manual setup and reset and can carry up to 3800 watts= 16amps ... where there's a will... just in case anyone asks in the future... there are different makes and models but I would not risk running my system without one from now on and that's the second time I've had an extraction fan failure but this time it was the fan controller that gave up the ghost. I hope this might help someone before their house burns down.:fire:

RS PRO Adjustable Capillary Thermostat, Opens at +310°C, Closes at +50°C, +330°C Max, SPDT, Automatic Reset, Panel Mount | RS

uk.rs-online.com uk.rs-online.com
 
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myke

myke

Well-Known Member
I dont understand?your vent fan quit?What does the swirch do turn off your lights?
 
I

Infadel

Member
myke said:
I dont understand?your vent fan quit?What does the swirch do turn off your lights?
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myke said:
I dont understand?your vent fan quit?What does the swirch do turn off your lights?
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Yeah should my extractor/vent fan fail again the lights will switch themselves off before cooking my plants and causing a fire hazard. I will then manually reset the switch to turn the lights back on again once the extractor/vent fan is back up and running cooling the lights.
 
I

Infadel

Member
myke said:
ok i see,so 2x400 how big of space do you grow in?
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2m square roughly it's an awkward space like a big Wardrobe...in fact not as big as that I've forgotten the size exactly it's enough for 4x plants in a row with around 60cm2 per plant about 2ft square with 2 big doors that open up to let me work. The lights are on a rail in case you are wondering
1577748338697.png
 
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S

spek9

Well-Known Member
myke said:
ok i see,so 2x400 how big of space do you grow in?
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Note that I'm not the original poster, so I don't know what size of space the two 400s are for.

I personally clone in a 2x3x3' tent with a 240W Blackstar LED, a 2x4x4' tent with a 400W MH for veg, and a 4x4x6.5' tent with a 1000W HPS for flowering.

I wouldn't go anything larger than 9 sq feet (3x3') per each 400W.
 
myke

myke

Well-Known Member
spek9 said:
Note that I'm not the original poster, so I don't know what size of space the two 400s are for.

I personally clone in a 2x3x3' tent with a 240W Blackstar LED, a 2x4x4' tent with a 400W MH for veg, and a 4x4x6.5' tent with a 1000W HPS for flowering.

I wouldn't go anything larger than 9 sq feet (3x3') per each 400W.
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Yes I noticed that thx,hard to believe you could cook your plaants that easily.My vent fan runs on low 24/7 ..I should try a test and see what happens.
To the OP thx for the heads up.
 
S

spek9

Well-Known Member
myke said:
Yes I noticed that thx,hard to believe you could cook your plaants that easily.My vent fan runs on low 24/7 ..I should try a test and see what happens.
To the OP thx for the heads up.
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2x400W lamps running with no exhaust fan can run the temps well over 100F very quickly, depending on the space itself. Not only that, it'll evaporate any humidity as well. Extremely bad environment if left for any length of time.
 
I

Infadel

Member
myke said:
Yes I noticed that thx,hard to believe you could cook your plaants that easily.My vent fan runs on low 24/7 ..I should try a test and see what happens.
To the OP thx for the heads up.
[/QUOTE
spek9 said:
2x400W lamps running with no exhaust fan can run the temps well over 100F very quickly, depending on the space itself. Not only that, it'll evaporate any humidity as well. Extremely bad environment if left for any length of time.
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Exactly what happened...the temp was 137f when I opened the doors everything was cooking but as far as I can see there was no real damage other than the plants. My extraction unit does a good job I've sometimes got to cover those vents you see in the pics to stay in the low 70's in the winter and I upgrade in the summer to a second fan pulling air in.... and my fans do run 24/7
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I

Infadel

Member
myke said:
Yes I noticed that thx,hard to believe you could cook your plaants that easily.My vent fan runs on low 24/7 ..I should try a test and see what happens.
To the OP thx for the heads up.
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No problem... I would definitely do a wee test I think you'll be surprised at the rise in temperature... it's not such a problem if you check regularly but if you are away for any length of time it could start a fire quite easily. The guy who got me the switch is an Electrician by trade and he's now installing one in his grow room and even the guy in the grow shop was asking what switch to use, I was giving him a hard time about his fan controller failing...
 
Airwalker16

Airwalker16

Well-Known Member
Infadel said:
Yeah HPS 2x 400 on a light rail although, I'm considering LED's after cooking my girls but they are not cheap.
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That's I was gonna say. This wouldn't have happened if leds were at play. Damn man, I'm sorry.
Leds are not expensive any more if you need to replace 2 400w hps, it's doable for less than $350-400.
 
I

Infadel

Member
Airwalker16 said:
That's I was gonna say. This wouldn't have happened if leds were at play. Damn man, I'm sorry.
Leds are not expensive any more if you need to replace 2 400w hps, it's doable for less than $350-400.
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Yeah LED's after the next grow I think but here in the UK they are not cheap top of the range will set you back around $6oo =£500 and I am not sure if they can out perform the HPS
 
TintEastwood

TintEastwood

Well-Known Member
Glad you are on the road to recovery.
You are not alone - intake was recently blocked (by me, doh) causing temps to skyrocket.

Fortunately, my Ecowitt dealio alerted me via email. I was able to resolve the issue and get things back on track.
This is what I use, I assume there are other similar devices.

ECOWITT GW1000 Wi-Fi Gateway - Flippin sweet

Awesome little device. About the size of a matchbox. Free web based anytime anywhere access, and free history data. Cheaper than many decent temp/humidity gauges! This app/view limited to devices on same network the GW1000 is connected to. Web. Anytime anywhere. Showing sensor 1.
www.rollitup.org
 
Airwalker16

Airwalker16

Well-Known Member
Infadel said:
Yeah LED's after the next grow I think but here in the UK they are not cheap top of the range will set you back around $6oo =£500 and I am not sure if they can out perform the HPS
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Buy your boards from China, your drivers in the UK, some angle aluminum, wagos, wire and thermal paste/tape on eb4y and build your light's homie.
 
I

Infadel

Member
TintEastwood said:
Glad you are on the road to recovery.
You are not alone - intake was recently blocked (by me, doh) causing temps to skyrocket.

Fortunately, my Ecowitt dealio alerted me via email. I was able to resolve the issue and get things back on track.
This is what I use, I assume there are other similar devices.

ECOWITT GW1000 Wi-Fi Gateway - Flippin sweet

Awesome little device. About the size of a matchbox. Free web based anytime anywhere access, and free history data. Cheaper than many decent temp/humidity gauges! This app/view limited to devices on same network the GW1000 is connected to. Web. Anytime anywhere. Showing sensor 1.
www.rollitup.org
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That looks the business... I'm going to get that device or something similar thanks for that you can't have too much peace of mind when you are not there...8-)
 
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