Apartment Grow Q's

[F0iL]

I plan on doing one of my first grows and its going to be in an apartment. I plan on using a 400 watt lighting system, but my concern is if the apartment complex pays for my electricity, does using that much power seem suspicious? I am just trying to get some opinions and suggestions on if its a good idea to be running something like this in my apartment (studio) and if it would be a problem running a 400watt. I am trying to basically do a 4 plant dwc stealth grow with carbon scrubber and 400watt digi ballast. Any help would be appreciated... I might just use a 250watt system if its a safer route to go...

 

[Guest]

It'll use about the same power as leaving on a large tv for 12 hours a day. It could be a problem if your landlord checks your usage charts from the power company and sees the obvious 12 on 12 off red flag, but i doubt they do that.

if you go 250w, i seriously dout anyone would ever notice the power usage.

 

[F0iL]

thanks for the input, i think i might just go 250watt for now until i move to a different place.

 

[highbrid]

your cool bro

your cool bro

simply put .... I veg with a 400 and 5 floros and flower 20-25 big girls under a 1000w. Plus ac.... As you said its a studio. People really have studios in those types of housing, and they pump mega watts using all that musical gear they cram into those spots.. You should be way cool with just a 400.

 

[Guest]

does your landlord pay for that electricity?...he should be cool with the 400 but nothing more

simply put .... I veg with a 400 and 5 floros and flower 20-25 big girls under a 1000w. Plus ac.... As you said its a studio. People really have studios in those types of housing, and they pump mega watts using all that musical gear they cram into those spots.. You should be way cool with just a 400.

 

[dj digigrow]

use 2- 400's on a flip/flop... you could run 2 rooms with only 400 watts, 24hrs a day so it wont seem suspect..

 

[Guest]

ok lets squash this shit now if you have a digital meeter for your electricity than they know when you use what...but if you have a meeter with a wheal they no nothing but the reading in a month(no breakdown)........they check them every 30 to 45 days...

 

[weightlifter]

ok lets squash this shit now if you have a digital meeter for your electricity than they know when you use what...but if you have a meeter with a wheal they no nothing but the reading in a month(no breakdown)........they check them every 30 to 45 days...

there are digital LED meters that do not track usage beyond kwh... recording total usage. not all digital or LED screen meters are smart meters.

 

[Guest]

Personally, I'd be more concerned with the free ability the landlord has to enter the apartment... 250, 400 or 1000 wont matter at that point.

I'd keep shit as stealthy as possible... a 250, though low, would allow such a setup without even the whir of a large fan.

 

[TGT]

Smart meters that track what time hydro is used are not very common at all. Actually in Toronto and Hamilton the meters I have seen have all been the old analog meters. Nothing about time is recorded, only total kilowatt used. I believe by 2010 around the golden horseshoe area they are going to be mandatory, but this is three years away - and even then I am sure they will be late to install because of the cost issue. Now is the time to grow - in the future we are going to have to think of a better method of hiding our electrical consumption.

TGT

 

[F0iL]

thank you all for your input... I dont know what kind of meter the building has and I dont know whether or not my landlord will be coming by.. if it makes any difference it is an off-campus apartment complex near a university... Ok so if using a 250 or a 400 watt light won't matter.. I guess i am now more concerned with the amount of noise coming from a carbon scrubber and fans. I am most likely going to try and do a wardrobe grow with a small carbon scrubber and I am going to decide on a 250 or 400watt system when it comes to deciding. I am also concerned with the RF signals coming from a digital ballast. I want to make sure i dont get an interference when using one. Can anyone suggest a good digi ballast thats reliable and that doesnt give off any interference.

- Thanks

P.S. would bumping up from a 250watt to a 400watt make a big difference in the out come of the plant?

 

[F0iL]

by the way ill just add this in this thread instead of making a new one. But i was wondering where I could find a cheap simple white wardrobe closet. Something similiar to this:

- Thanks

 

[confused]

my first grow was a 400 hps in an apartment complex. i did it BECAUSE they paid for utilities. no one ever notice, just do a cab like you pictured. you should be able to find one at homedepot... check out the mills pride thread on the forum.

 

[Guest]

Foil I lived in an apartment with electricity included, let me make a list of the electric devices I had...

Computer=400 watts
Electric Grill=1600 watts
TV=250 watts
Grow=750 watts (including fans etc)
HEPA Filters (2)=300 Watts

As you can see there are lots of other things that use a lot of electricity, stereos too. Just don't seem suspicious and make it stealthy and they cant really do anything.

And if you want to feel really safe, find something almost the same watts as your lights and run it when your lights are off so there's not a 12/12 time frame of 400 watts, like a TV or something

P.S.

If the apartment has electricity included, 99% of the time it means the landlord doesn't have seperate electricity meters for each apartment, there's only 1 meter for the house or complex. Which means there's no way they can tell which apartment is using what electricity, he can only see the total for the house/complex. You think landlords like including electricity? No they can easily get screwed. It's because the investment in installing a meter for every apartment is too expensive, and the house/complex is already setup for a single meter, not multiple.

 

[green_grow]

wardrobes are available everywhere ... china-mart, home depot, even the local sally-ann may have one or two used ones to choose from (thats where i got mine ... cheap).

take klutters note to heart. landlords can, and sometimes DO enter rental properties on the sly . it's totally illegal but that doesnt help you much. remove the lock(s) , take it to a locksmith, and have the key changed so that the landlord cant get in without your permission. it doesnt cost a lot to get this done.

 

[F0iL]

wow.. i feel alot better knowing that it wont be a problem running a 400watt, because I really didn't want to run a 250watt. Thank you all for your awsome input and making me feel alot better about doing my first grow... Yeah i just hope my landlord doesn't come by and ever check my apartment. Well im def. going to get a 400watt now and make sure i keep it quite and smell free. Also I will probably be leaving my computer(desktop) which uses a 350watt power supply and a latptop on.

- Thanks for all the info and help all... I really appreciate it and once i start my grow I will def. post up updates for all you guys to enjoy.

 

[Guest]

looking forward to seeing your grow my friend...peace

 

[steve green]

hey dude ..gl and dont stress..i live in a small apt. and still have no shame,i fill my cab with as much light as i can control.. you have nothing to worryabout even with a 400 watter..i would be more concerned with smell ,and just in general looking like a sketchball.

im thinking of doing an apt room grow,maybe like 2000 watts
now that ive done a couple cab crows with using up to 700 watts .
and i feel better knowing if u just pay your bill they dont ask q's.
and if the electric company did..just think of all the things u could claim your using...for example: ac's in summer,,,and electric heaters in winter.
People use these all the time and they use more electricty then some lights u need to grow with . Remember we dont really have to explain how we use electricity,just that we have to pay for what we use. Hope to hear about your grow..GL

 

[F0iL]

ic yeah from what you all are saying i really dont think electricity is a big issue. Cause the apartment building is paying for it anyways. Also i just found out my apartment has its own breaker box in my studio(unit) so I think thats a plus. I am just concerned now that what if the maintenance guy, has some reason for coming in or what if my something breaks in my place and I cant fix it. I am going to be really sketched out when he comes in and my cab is going and he can hear my fans going and what not. I just hope i never encounter anything like that.

Also this is off-topic but i have a little fire sprinkler in my studio. I was wondering if thats going to be a problem with me smoking in my apartment. I also like to smoke alot of hookah.