1200 watts one circuit too much?

[crankndapot]

i have a 600w hps with a couple fans currently in one outlet.. if i add my other 600 to the same outlet, is the circuit goin to flip on me? does it even matter if i use the outlet across the room cuz its all on the same circuit anyway right? im in a duplex, would rather not have any electrical issues.
thanks

 

[sparkjumper]

when sizing loads in reference to wire size,never use the wattage of an appliance always use nameplate amperage.On a 14 wire 15 amp circuit you can draw 12 amps.On a 12 wire 20 amp circuit you can draw 16 amps.Add the amperage of all loads to be used

 

[Luther Budbank]

watts/volts=amps 1200/120=10 You can check your breakers, but you should have a 15 amp breaker, at least. It's good to have an amp cushion.

 

[crankndapot]

o ya, so thats like 5 amps per light given 120v.. and the fans, pushing 12 probly for the room..looks like id be close to overloadin it especially when it spikes on startup.. 40a breaker id assume in a 2br/1bath apt. landlord got my maintenance room locked for some reason, otherwise id check it out.

 

[sparkjumper]

What does your 600W fixture says it draws in amps?Ohms law was never intended for sizing loads but if you prefer using it its normally close.

 

[gdawg]

do not run 2 600s and some fans on 1 15 amp circuit. you're askin for problems.

 

[Bozo]

If I was the landlord I would wanna know why it overloaded.Rooms is locked yer gonna have to call him to reset it.Run a high quality extention cord from next closest circuit.Gonna suck to have to have to tear down to get a breaker reset!

 

[PharmaCan]

Crankndapot - what you are asking here is something equivalent to, "How long is a short rope?" Any answers are going to be only speculation unless you supply more facts. You need to have access to your breaker panel. Aside from the fact that it's the law in most places, common sense dictates that you should be able to reset a tripped breaker without having to call your landlord.

A properly installed circuit can draw whatever it is rated for. However, it is recommended that you not exceed 80% of that rating to account for startup surge, etc. The 80% includes not just what is in your growroom, but anything else in the apartment that is also on the same circuit. Typically, 15 amp breakers w/ #14 wire are reserved for lighting circuits; receptacles would usually be a 20 amp circuit w/ #12 wire. But, again, you don't really know until you look at your breaker panel.

Once you get access to the breaker panel, turn off the breaker to your growroom then check to see what else in the apartment is not energized, then determine the load on that circuit. Until you know what you are working with as far as circuit size and load go, you might as well flip a coin to get the answer to your question.

PC

 

[cocktail frank]

u should be ok as long as you dont run anything else on that circuit.
80% of 15amps is 12 amps.
that is your safe draw on that circuit.
assuming its a 15a cir. if its 20a, your good for 16a safe.

 

[Lune TNS]

Ive been running 2 600s on one 15A for some time now, never had a problem in any of the palces that Ive done it. Find a different circuit for the fans and what not, your lights should be fine though.

 

[B00st3d]

why not just run the 2 lights from that room and then your fan(s) on an extension cord from another room thats on a seperate breaker. Problem is that since you cant see the box, you dont know what rooms are linked on the same 15 amp breaker. How many fans you need anyways for 1200 watts? You should only need one 6 inch inline fan to suck the heat out of the reflectors and one 12 inch fan for air circulation and that draws maybe 1 amp. You should also be running a dehumidifier at night every night but that can be timed to come on a few mins after the lights go off so no worries. A high output 6 inch fan draws about 1-1.5 amps at the very most. So assuming you have digi ballasts that draw 5 amps a piece then you should be ok. 10 amps from the lights and lets say 1.5 from the inline fan and your safe for sure. I use to run three 600's off a 15 amp breaker, did it for 2 crops. Granted I melted timers and could have killed myself. I dont do it anymore, this was years ago when I didnt really know what I was doing. You can always stagger the 2 ballasts so they come on a few minutes apart to be on the safe side. Thats pretty fucked up that he has the breaker box locked up, what if you had a power outage in the middle of the night, he'd have to come over at 3 am or something. Sounds like you got a jackass for a landlord.

 

[sparkjumper]

cocktail frank I'm glad you're still around bro.You didn't use the word "wattage" when referring to load calculations which is refreshing to hardheads like myself lol.

 

[PharmaCan]

I'm curious about something.

I started wiring in 1971 on a mobile home assembly line. The only 14AWG wire we ever used was for light circuits. I've refurbished/remodeled hundreds upon hundreds of 1950's era and up houses, as well as a few old knob and tube installations. I'd very seldom see receptacle circuits with #14 wire. So I'm just wondering, in what part of the country are 15 amp, 14AWG wired receptacle circuits so prevalent? When was the housing built? Using such small wire for a receptacle circuit just seems so uncivilized.

PC

 

[sparkjumper]

No bro what was uncivilized was the way they used to put power and lighting on the same circuit.If you were a porn star shaving down yonder and the electric shaver suddenly dimmed the lights you could sustain a career ending injury.

 

[cocktail frank]

14awg (15amp) wiring is only in residential setups (plus motor control circuits) and still used today.
anything not appliance, kitchen counters, bath counters and garage power can be 15a.
general power and lighting can be 14awg.

some states do have seperate codes (aside from NEC) that require 20a(min) everywhere.

 

[crankndapot]

the maintenance room is a seperated room from my apt. just outside my door basically. never been locked once before til now. i dont think id have to tear down if i overloaded it but they would sure wonder how i did it.

id rather keep everything in that room also, i dont want extension cords running across my apt ya know. so you guys are sayin its most likely a 15a circuit? so i should be ok, but i still have time before i will turn the lights on so i WILL find out for sure what im working with.

ya and i was thinking about staggering the ballasts anyway on startup, good idea.

thanks for the support everyone.

 

[Tokin_Jo]

Out in the shed we ran two 1000's off one 20amp for 2yrs without an issue. Probably not the wisest thing to do

 

[gdawg]

dude you shop plug enough shit into your kitchen to pop the breaker a couple times then tell your landlord what an inconvenience it is to not have access to the panel. (and unsafe)

 

[crankndapot]

yea it is a safety hazard isnt it..