What's new
  • ICMag with help from Landrace Warden and The Vault is running a NEW contest in November! You can check it here. Prizes are seeds & forum premium access. Come join in!

running elecricity to growroom help,4000k.

chongsbuddy

chongsbuddy

Active member
Veteran
i am setting up a 2600 k grow room or about 35 amps.the room wiil not handle that load,can someone tell me what kind of wire i need to run from the main breaker box to the growroom,and is 35 amps enough for 2600 watts plus fans and pumps and whatnot.what type of breaker do i need for the main box to hook the wire up?do i need to put a subpanel in the grow room,or something else.I CANNOT hire someone nor do i trust anyone to do the work for me,i have to do it myself,thats why i need some real technical support here guys!
 
T

TwinTurboGuy

It is fairly easy to wire a timer to your room. However, if you still have doubts about the task, I'd let someone experienced do it for you. Even one volt can stop a delicate human heart especially if you are a medical patient.

What you do need is a 30amp light timer that can accommodate 240 volt outlets. You can purchase 30amp light timers online or at your local hydroponic shop.

You then will need a double pole 30 amp breaker connected to the panel and wired with a 10/3 gauge wire (10 AWG) at the proper length. Keep in mind that you must not have long length from the breaker to the timer. At lower gauge wire (bigger), it shouldn't matter as much, but you're only talking 30 amps here. Try your best to keep it short.

When dealing with electricity, keep it safe as possible! Be sure you turn off the main panel by switching off the power source. I'm being very brief and not very detailed just to lead you in the right way. It's up to you to seek more details and work with it at your own risk! I will help you answer your questions.

Please be safe!
 
chongsbuddy

chongsbuddy

Active member
Veteran
i dont want to run at 240,i want t ogo at 120.i just want to know the guage of wire to use from the breaker box to the sub panel,and the type of breaker to buy.and then how to hook the wire safely up to the breaker box.
 
T

TwinTurboGuy

You HAVE to run your ballast at 240 volts if you plan on running on 30amps. (30 amps X 120 Volts = 3600 watts) Even if you run 35 amps (They don't even sell 35 amp breakers or timers, and if they do, its very uncommon), you still won't be able to run 4000 watts safely because you need atleast 20-30% slack left on the breaker and wire to avoid a fire hazard.

Another thing is, how do you run all the lights timed at the correct 12/12 without a timer box? The only way you can do this without a box is to run 15 amp breakers to each light and set them on 120 volt timers individually. I'm not saying it's impossble, but this is very inefficient and causes fire hazards.

As for the wire, you will need a 10/3 awg wire to run a 30amp breaker. My question to you is, after you wire that breaker, where would you wire it to since you didn't mention using a timer box?

Also, I didn't catch the other question completely. Are you planning on wiring a new sub panel as well? Or are you running the breaker on that sub panel and towards your grow room?
 
P

PharmaCan

Active member
Veteran
This might help you some:

http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=88896

If you need 35 amps then run a 40 amp sub-panel. If you are in the USA 240 volts is actually 2 x 120 volts. So, you use a 240 breaker in your main and run 240 volts to your sub-panel but it's actually 2 x 120 volts so you have the 120v in your sub-panel and you can wire everything in the room for 120v.

I'll let TwinTurboGuy help you with the rest of your questions. Frankly, this seems to be way over your head and my best advice to you is to get an electrician to do the work.

PC
 
E

Eminem

how far from the main breaker box is the grow?

You dont need to add a sub panel, I just think it makes things neater and easier to manage. If your main box is close to the grow, you can just add breakers to the main panel to empty spots, or make some empty spots by using slimline breakers.

Use 2 20 amp breakers and #12 wire. You can use Romex but if you plan on putting it in conduit, you should use individual wires, not Romex

put 1000 on 1 20amp and 1600 on the other 20. 1600 on the 20 is close to the limit but you should be OK


By running 240, it would be simpler. Run one Douple Pole 30 amp breaker, #10 wire. You probably could run a 20 amp and #12 wire if my math is right. Then run that from the breaker to a hot water heater timer. Then connect your lights to the timer, or add some outlets after the timer.


Theres different ways to do this safely, just depends on what you want to do
 
chongsbuddy

chongsbuddy

Active member
Veteran
thanks for the comments guys,i am over my head,but do not trust anyone doing that wiring in my home,not at all!!!the main breaker box is like 25 feet from the grow area,if that.I want to run 2 1000 watt ballasts hopefully with the option of a 3rd(on 120 because thats what they are wired for)and a 600 watt for veg,plus 600 cfm fan,timers,pumps etc.if someone explained it to me im sure i could do it myself.i like the idea of the 240 turning into 2 120's ,could you explain that a little more,i would like a subpanel just to make it safe and neat.
 
P

PharmaCan

Active member
Veteran
chongsbuddy said:
thanks for the comments guys,i am over my head,but do not trust anyone doing that wiring in my home,not at all!!!the main breaker box is like 25 feet from the grow area,if that.I want to run 2 1000 watt ballasts hopefully with the option of a 3rd(on 120 because thats what they are wired for)and a 600 watt for veg,plus 600 cfm fan,timers,pumps etc.if someone explained it to me im sure i could do it myself.i like the idea of the 240 turning into 2 120's ,could you explain that a little more,i would like a subpanel just to make it safe and neat.
Click to expand...

You're not turning 240v into two 120v's - you combine two 120v's to make 240v.

If you insist on doing this yourself, your best bet would probably be to buy a wiring book from a home improvement store. Then, you'll not only have step-by-step instructions, but your heirs will have someone to sue when you fry your ass. I'm not trying to rain on your parade, it's just that you want to do something that is inherently dangerous. The main problem is that your main panel is going to remain energized even if you have a main breaker and turn it off. Have you ever seen what happens to a screwdriver or wire when you direct short it in a panel? It explodes, with hot (molten) metal shooting everywhere. If it gets in your eyes, you'll be in a world of hurt and possibly blinded. To turn the power to your panel all the way off, you need to get the PowCo to remove the meter, and they'll want to see a finaled permit before they turn it back on.

You'll be whole lot better off to clean your room of any grow gear and get an electrician to make the run from the main to the sub. Once the sub-panel is installed, you can do the rest of the wiring yourself, if you want.

You might be able to do this yourself without any accidents, but probably no one who is really qualified to tell you how is going to because they realize the danger involved.

PC
 
chongsbuddy

chongsbuddy

Active member
Veteran
ok,what if i hook everything up except not hooking it to the main box,just run the wire to the sub panel.look,im a smart guy.i only want to know how to do it,not how im going to kill myself!!all i want to know is this and this only,what would be the thickness of the wire that i run from the breaker box to the grow room,what will i have to run into the room if i want to use 4000 watts of power continuosly,what size breaker do i need for the main breaker box,and what kind of subpanel do i need to handle the 4000k load.i am willing to install more than 1 breaker.can i run a 240 into the subpanel and change it to 120?
 
E

Eminem

chongsbuddy said:
.can i run a 240 into the subpanel and change it to 120?
Click to expand...

Sorry but that shows you dont have a basic understanding of electricity. Theres nothing wrong with not knowing

Its electricity, not plumbing. If you make a mistake here, its not just a little water.


PC is right, get an electrician to install the sub panel.


PC why is it you cant power down the main panel? I have a 200 amp breaker next to my meter and that killed my panel. Or are you saying there is still a live branch? Or some houses dont have that breaker?
 
P

PharmaCan

Active member
Veteran
Eminem - When the main breaker is a part of the main panel, there are lugs/wires/bars inside the panel that are still hot and completely unfused, even after switching off the main breaker. If you have a set-up where you have meter -> main breaker in its own box or in meter base -> wires -> main panel. then you can turn the main panel off completely with your main breaker. But that wouldn't be a standard installation. Much more common is having the main breaker as an integral part of the main panel. In that situation, all the stuff on the meter side of the main breaker is still hot - and fairly easy to inadvertently bump into.

Then there are lots of houses that don't even have main breakers. Most of the stuff built during the post-war housing boom of the 1950's only have 100 amp panels with no main breaker.

PC
 
P.D.S

P.D.S

Member
Be safe man, I hate to see people get hurt because of an over estimation of their own prowess , Im an electrician and ive seen people do some stupid shit when they don't understand how electricity works, again be safe and watch your hands in a live panel
 
D

deepforest

be safe . buy the do it yourself book at home depot. best 20 bucks i ever spent on anything grow related...
 
D

deepforest

PharmaCan said:
Eminem - When the main breaker is a part of the main panel, there are lugs/wires/bars inside the panel that are still hot and completely unfused, even after switching off the main breaker. If you have a set-up where you have meter -> main breaker in its own box or in meter base -> wires -> main panel. then you can turn the main panel off completely with your main breaker. But that wouldn't be a standard installation. Much more common is having the main breaker as an integral part of the main panel. In that situation, all the stuff on the meter side of the main breaker is still hot - and fairly easy to inadvertently bump into.

Then there are lots of houses that don't even have main breakers. Most of the stuff built during the post-war housing boom of the 1950's only have 100 amp panels with no main breaker.

PC
Click to expand...

i may be misunderstanding this... ok, this is my main panel: up in the left corner is a 100amp main breaker, and then below it are all the breakers controlling the different circuits. when i take off the breaker panel , i can only access the lower area to remove and work on the breakers controlling the different circuits. i would have to unscrew another panel to access the main breaker which i would never do because i have no reason to.

i must totally be misunderstanding you, because when i flip off the 100amp main breaker, it de-energizes the panel with the individual circuit breakers right? you are saying that it doesn't???? if thats true how come i dont die everytime i put in a new breaker and circuit?? i know im misunderstanding you!!! please clarify
 
T

TwinTurboGuy

Look man, the more simple you want it, the more money you can put into it. A timer box that can accommodate 30 amps worth of electrical equipment is the easiest route to go. The box can either have 120v or 240v outlets, its totally up to you. As I noted before, they can be purchased online or at a hydroponic shop. You cannot go wrong with it at all and spending the extra cash would make it WORTH IT in terms of safety and simplicity.

All you need to do is slap on a double pole breaker onto the main panel, wire it with the proper size/gauge wire, then just run it to your timer box. Then bam, you're done.

Also, you can run #12 wire on 30 amps, however, at 25 feet, the thicker wire is recommended (#10).
 
E

Eminem

deepforest said:
i may be misunderstanding this... ok, this is my main panel: up in the left corner is a 100amp main breaker, and then below it are all the breakers controlling the different circuits. when i take off the breaker panel , i can only access the lower area to remove and work on the breakers controlling the different circuits. i would have to unscrew another panel to access the main breaker which i would never do because i have no reason to.

i must totally be misunderstanding you, because when i flip off the 100amp main breaker, it de-energizes the panel with the individual circuit breakers right? you are saying that it doesn't???? if thats true how come i dont die everytime i put in a new breaker and circuit?? i know im misunderstanding you!!! please clarify
Click to expand...

I have seen several panels with the main breaker at the top. However they all have had just one cover. So to work on the circuits, you still need to remove the whole cover, exposing certain points which would be live. I think your panel is uncommon with two covers

PC, thanks for the explanation. I figured something like that
 
P

PharmaCan

Active member
Veteran
deepforest said:
i may be misunderstanding this... ok, this is my main panel: up in the left corner is a 100amp main breaker, and then below it are all the breakers controlling the different circuits. when i take off the breaker panel , i can only access the lower area to remove and work on the breakers controlling the different circuits. i would have to unscrew another panel to access the main breaker which i would never do because i have no reason to.

i must totally be misunderstanding you, because when i flip off the 100amp main breaker, it de-energizes the panel with the individual circuit breakers right? you are saying that it doesn't???? if thats true how come i dont die everytime i put in a new breaker and circuit?? i know im misunderstanding you!!! please clarify
Click to expand...

The main part of your panel is de-energized, meaning all the part you can see. But up in the left hand corner, behind and above the main breaker, you still have some parts that are energized. Understand?

PC
 
madpenguin

madpenguin

Member
TwinTurboGuy said:
Also, you can run #12 wire on 30 amps....
Click to expand...

That statement will get people into trouble. #12 is only good for 20A non-continuous or 16A continuous load. The only time you can apply 30A to #12 is if they are individual conductors rated for 90 C and are tap conductors....

To the OP, make sure you understand everything before you start. You are making me a little nervous with your previous posts as well as others. This would be a good thread to read. The information you seek is contained therein.

https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=117867
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Latest posts

Top