-
As of today ICMag has his own Discord server. In this Discord server you can chat, talk with eachother, listen to music, share stories and pictures...and much more. Join now and let's grow together! Join ICMag Discord here! More details in this thread here: here.
150w HPS Club and Resource Guide......
- Thread starter Pipedream
- Start date
papertime - What everyone is saying about the benefits of having a remote ballast are very true. However, with every grow the first thing that should be considered is safety. The safety of the growroom, and the safety of the grower. That being said, If you are not comfortable modifying the fixture, don't do it. It can be safely used exactlty as it is with just the addition of a heavy-duty powercord. And, it wil grow fine bud with a little practice. Once you've got a bit more experience and knowledge under your belt, you can always go back and revisit the remote option. Regardless of your decision, you will need a timer when it comes to flowering your plants. A simple plug-in mechanical will do the trick and can be had for well under ten bucks USD. Just make sure that it will accept a grounded plug and not just a two-prong model.
Of course all of this is JMHO. There are lots of smart & helpful folks here in the 150 Club with tons of knowledge to share. Just be sure you fully understand what you are doing before you attempt it.
Welcome aboard, Grow Smart & Grow Safe! PD
Last edited:
ty for the reassurance pipedream, now speaking on finding a timer that will accept a grounded plug, what if i put a 2 pronged adapter on the grounded plug, could it then be plugged into a normal timer? im probly being a little over cautious but i got to get to sleep tonight y'know.
Just make sure your timer is rated to handle the wattage or amperage draw of your lamp. Also, to properly use the 2 to 3 wire atapter, the green wire from the adapter is supposed to be connected to the screw in the center of the wall outlet cover. If you need a pic let me know and I'll post one in the AM.
Dude, you are only using a single 150 watt light. Most folks have brighter bulbs in their reading lamps. Even run 24x7 it will make little difference in the electricity usage. even a 400 or 600 would surely go unnoticed. The ones that get pcked up for excessive electrical demand are grows that use multiple 1000w fixtures.
papertime ... the light you have purchased is perfectly safe and, as pipedream has said, can be used, as-is, for your grow. you just need a timer and some ventilation . i'm not sure what you are saying about timers ... you can find one at lowes that accepts the 3 prong plug . no need to use a 2-prong with adaptor. once you have that light running in your grow-box you will then be able to see what kind of temps you have to deal with. it looks like you are putting safety first; i always like to see that . welcome to the club, by the way !
a question of my own : it looks like my little grow is easily going to out-pace my consumption, so i have the luxury of putting some herb into a long-term cure . should i just keep it in mason jars in a cool-dark spot, or should i freeze it ?
a question of my own : it looks like my little grow is easily going to out-pace my consumption, so i have the luxury of putting some herb into a long-term cure . should i just keep it in mason jars in a cool-dark spot, or should i freeze it ?
green - I have been putting my stash in long-term storage in Mason jars since I can remember. Some of the stuff I have squirreled away is over 6 years old and smokes and tastes great. I use a Pump-N-Seal to put a vacuum on the jars and keep them in a totally dark, cool, dry place. The cure does improve with time. The dryer when you start the better it is for storage. You can always rehydrade it when you are ready to break it out.
rasta - I forget what type of bulb you are growing with. However, if you can easily touch it, I'll bet its fluoro. In that case, move those girls right up next to it. Just be sure they aren't causing major shadows on the rest of the plants. When I use fluoros, the plants often rest right on areas of the bulbs. For any other type bulb, just remember that if the back of your hand is comfortable to stay for a while, your plants will be too.
Last edited:
Hey guys
Papertime, DO NOT USE 2 PRONG PLUG EVER! That 3rd prong is there to save your life. Don't mess with 2 prong - 3 prong adapters. Wire your heavy duty cord in (16 ga or a lower number and shortest length you need - don't buy 100 footer!), match the colours (black-black, white-white and green to a green ground screw) Hook up your green first, then your whites, then blacks.
Definite advantages to remote ballast. It's better to not have the heat near your grow rather than trying to suck it away with fans after the fact.
Get a heavy duty timer rated for 15amps 3 prong. like this one: http://www.intermatic.com/Default.asp?action=prod&pid=201&did=3&cid=43&sid=113
Don't cheap out when it comes to electricity. There are ratings on everything for a reason.
The capacitor/condenser/igniter (all the same thing) is used to store a large burst of electricity for the initial startup of the bulb. It kinda of shocks the bulb to life and gets it 'excited' so that the solid sodium in the bulb vapourizes and can conduct electricity and glow that familiar orange glow. Some electric motors use the same principal to start up. The extra power helps it start from a stop, to overcome the inertia, then the capacitor is kicked out of the circuit and the motor can run on a regular 'flow' of electricity. Car guys will put em across their sub woofer amp power terminals (in parallel, i believe) to provide more momentary energy for a high power amplifier to draw from. Bass uses large amounts of 'burst/peak power' to drive large speaker cones associated with bass frequencies, and also uses big power to damp, or put the brakes on that speaker cone. When it gets pushed out, the amp also has to magnetically stop it from going too far, and return it back ready for the next forward pulse. This takes the load off the car battery and the wiring between. Understand?
Suga, nothing can draw power that it doesn't use. It all goes somewhere, motion, light, heat, vibration.....The fundamental law of electricity is that all the voltage is used by the end of the circuit and a circuit can only draw what it uses, it's load.
I will agree with the others, there is NO CHANCE anyone can detect your 150 watts burning in your house. This is such a miniscule amount of power, that it will not be noticed. My house is a 200 amp service and your light draws 1.25 amps (approx), so there is lots of room to expand. Hell, your toaster oven will draw much more. A hair dryer can draw 1500 watts, so that's 10 of your grow lights. I have two outdoor 250 watt merc vap lamps over the road that go on a dusk and off at dawn and no one has ever come asking where is that power going?
The best plan is to build the cab, run it empty, dial it in and improve, then put plants in. Your time will be spent enough tending the plants and problems that may come up there, you don't want the complications of tweaking your cab as well.
rasta, put that bulb as close as you can but watch those plant tips for any sign of yellowing, bleaching, turning away, etc. Any sign like that and raise the bulb a bit and look again. You'll find the spot. Just don't move it and go drinking for 3 days without checking
Papertime, DO NOT USE 2 PRONG PLUG EVER! That 3rd prong is there to save your life. Don't mess with 2 prong - 3 prong adapters. Wire your heavy duty cord in (16 ga or a lower number and shortest length you need - don't buy 100 footer!), match the colours (black-black, white-white and green to a green ground screw) Hook up your green first, then your whites, then blacks.
Definite advantages to remote ballast. It's better to not have the heat near your grow rather than trying to suck it away with fans after the fact.
Get a heavy duty timer rated for 15amps 3 prong. like this one: http://www.intermatic.com/Default.asp?action=prod&pid=201&did=3&cid=43&sid=113
Don't cheap out when it comes to electricity. There are ratings on everything for a reason.
The capacitor/condenser/igniter (all the same thing) is used to store a large burst of electricity for the initial startup of the bulb. It kinda of shocks the bulb to life and gets it 'excited' so that the solid sodium in the bulb vapourizes and can conduct electricity and glow that familiar orange glow. Some electric motors use the same principal to start up. The extra power helps it start from a stop, to overcome the inertia, then the capacitor is kicked out of the circuit and the motor can run on a regular 'flow' of electricity. Car guys will put em across their sub woofer amp power terminals (in parallel, i believe) to provide more momentary energy for a high power amplifier to draw from. Bass uses large amounts of 'burst/peak power' to drive large speaker cones associated with bass frequencies, and also uses big power to damp, or put the brakes on that speaker cone. When it gets pushed out, the amp also has to magnetically stop it from going too far, and return it back ready for the next forward pulse. This takes the load off the car battery and the wiring between. Understand?
Suga, nothing can draw power that it doesn't use. It all goes somewhere, motion, light, heat, vibration.....The fundamental law of electricity is that all the voltage is used by the end of the circuit and a circuit can only draw what it uses, it's load.
I will agree with the others, there is NO CHANCE anyone can detect your 150 watts burning in your house. This is such a miniscule amount of power, that it will not be noticed. My house is a 200 amp service and your light draws 1.25 amps (approx), so there is lots of room to expand. Hell, your toaster oven will draw much more. A hair dryer can draw 1500 watts, so that's 10 of your grow lights. I have two outdoor 250 watt merc vap lamps over the road that go on a dusk and off at dawn and no one has ever come asking where is that power going?
The best plan is to build the cab, run it empty, dial it in and improve, then put plants in. Your time will be spent enough tending the plants and problems that may come up there, you don't want the complications of tweaking your cab as well.
rasta, put that bulb as close as you can but watch those plant tips for any sign of yellowing, bleaching, turning away, etc. Any sign like that and raise the bulb a bit and look again. You'll find the spot. Just don't move it and go drinking for 3 days without checking
Last edited:
puff puff eer!
Hey bro, how many of us decided we would 'grow' by throwing some bagseed in a pot under a flourescent and then have to build everything for that growing plant while it grows? No fun playing catchup. If you are serious, do it right, set it up, tweak, and enjoy.
Good to see you man, and thanks for the kind words.
Hey bro, how many of us decided we would 'grow' by throwing some bagseed in a pot under a flourescent and then have to build everything for that growing plant while it grows? No fun playing catchup. If you are serious, do it right, set it up, tweak, and enjoy.
Good to see you man, and thanks for the kind words.
captainkronic
New member
hello Pipedream and everyone else . I was wondering if I could join 150 watt club? I don't have a grow going but i have read enough that when I finally can I think 150 small cab is definately the way to. I am a newby I posted my first post yesterday and I have been lurking for some time so as to absorb as much info as I can so when I convince my wife to let me I can set up a nice box I have a few ideas I would like to discuss when I get some time to draw them out if you all don't mind
Cheers
Cheers
pete - let me clarify - a non capacitor 150 pulls more current through the circuit especially at start up than is actually used - key word being through the circuit - ie from plug through lamp and back into the wall. while there is some danger that many of these lamps could be noticed by the power company since they have such a low power factor the main concern is blowing the fuse because more power is flowing through the circuit then you planned for. the original og post which i reposted here showed that a 150 was pulling through as much current as a 400 - now you'd think twice about plugging three 400s into one socket - so you need to be aware of the extra load the non capacited lamp will put on the circuit is my point.
Hey Suga, I understand what you are saying. I didn't realize there were non-capacitor hps lights. MH lamps have the capacitor built into the bulb, correct? The rule of thumb is plan for 80% capacity of your rated amperage on any one circuit. This leaves room for surges and spikes and will not trip your breaker.
Welcome Cap't! You just hang out here and learn and when you start to build there will be plenty of good peeps here to help you along the way. Enjoy!
Welcome Cap't! You just hang out here and learn and when you start to build there will be plenty of good peeps here to help you along the way. Enjoy!
Last edited:
captainkronic
New member
thank you Heady Pete I know there are tones of very knowleble people around . I can't wait till then the magical time when I get my own space when we move I told my wife she could decorate the house in any fashion she so desires just stay out of my garage she laughs when i say that but it's true
Good deal, gotta keep the wife happy. Fortunately mine was like, "you are gonna grow cuz I know you're sick of driving and us paying for it!"
I still am not quite there with my new house and it's killing me too, bro. I have a 150 magic box (in my gallery at the beginning) that I will start with, but my plans will be for a 400 hps room with a veg chamber and mother/clone chamber in about a 7'x7'x7' space.
Soon......
I still am not quite there with my new house and it's killing me too, bro. I have a 150 magic box (in my gallery at the beginning) that I will start with, but my plans will be for a 400 hps room with a veg chamber and mother/clone chamber in about a 7'x7'x7' space.
Soon......
