Breaker box meltdown

[razor ridge]

.......tonight disaster strikes. Electrical melt down, I guess all the added wattage has blown my breaker box to hell. Black smoke, sparks flying, not a good scene for sure. Just as things are looking up, bam. Any suggestions on how to run 1550 watts off one timer? Thats 6 lights=1550 watts. It was too much for one circuit. I had a real bad set up to begin with. I grow in an ole military field office that is like a camper thing that sits in the back of a large truck. It was already wired so I just tied a suuply line into the existing breaker box. I was running off 1 30amp socket a 12 dollar Lowes intermatic timer, with an outlet cord hool to the timer, 4 sockets in the outlet strip hold the 4 150 watt lights and the fifth plug hold another outlet strip with the 600 and 430 watt lights in it. Sloppy and dangerous I know but what are the options? Im not rich and don't sell, so I can't afford a several hundred dollar contoller...HELP...any ideas greatly appreciated.......

 

[chuckyoufarley]

dude buy another timer for each light they arent that expensive.if your house burns down from your breaker box blowing and someone gets hurt or worse killed you will be in big trouble and it wont be the weed that will be your trouble

 

[PermaBuzz]

yeah good advice get another timer. those generic timers should be able to handle 800 watts or so but dont push em past that.

make sure the ext. cords you are using are 12 gauge min. There are some ext. cords with builtin overload breakers - use those if possible. !2 gauge romex is cheaper than any ext. cord but its a little more work.

A 20 amp breaker is better to feed off of instead of the 30 amper for the amount of wattage you have. Putting a new breaker is best (and usually cheap)

Having the wire inside metal conduit is a good idea - flex alum conduit is cheap.

And finally: Electrical connections loosen over time. When they get loose, they get hot and can eventually catch fire. 1. turn off all power 2. tighten ALL wire nuts and screws in the circuit breaker box. All wires, big and small, must be tight.

 

[roor smoker]

it's 20 bucks for a 1000 watt timer or something like that..i bought some last week man..

 

[Pipedream]

........4 sockets in the outlet strip hold the 4 150 watt lights and the fifth plug hold another outlet strip with the 600 and 430 watt lights in it.......Im not rich and don't sell, so I can't afford a several hundred dollar contoller.....

Duh, then why are you running so much lighting in the first place? Hell, I don't know anyone that can out-smoke a decent set-up with a single 150w HPS by themself.

 

[Hydro-Soil]

Duh, then why are you running so much lighting in the first place? Hell, I don't know anyone that can out-smoke a decent set-up with a single 150w HPS by themself.

I pulled over a quarter pound using scrog with two 150W HPS lamps on my first micro grow. Only had an aborted soil grow before that using HID.

Everyone IS different though.


Intermatic timers. Yep. About $18 for a 15A one. Spend the extra few dollars and get at least one 20Amp one, probably run you about $24. Never know when you might need the extra capacity.
They're METAL timers designed for high voltage applications. (unlike regular appliance timers)
See this link: Why has my timer switch failed and what should I do?

I'm glad you're not living where you're running that grow. Sometimes it's better to wait and tough it out until you have the right equipment. Personally I can't wait so I understand. I've been battling an F'd up setup for about 4 months now and am just about to turn the corner to Allrightsville.


I wish you insight to discover the solutions and the determination to complete your setup safely.

Stay Safe!

 

[Weedman Herb]

Stoner Math rules! 4 X 150 = 600 + 1030 (430 + 600) = 1630 burning watts (there's more wattage used than just your bulb rating... a 1000 actually pulls about 1100 watts). You're at least 80 watts shy on your Estimated Wattage and then you have to factor in the ventilation fans. Calculate an accurate wattage before you do anything else.

 

[badugi]

Duh, then why are you running so much lighting in the first place? Hell, I don't know anyone that can out-smoke a decent set-up with a single 150w HPS by themself.

Nice to meet you, Pipedream.

 

[razor ridge]

Ok got it figured out, First of all I don't grow in my house, I use surplus military com boxes that go onto the backs of trucks. I was using the built in breaker box that was already in this comm box, a field office type deal, so no telling how old it is. I'm gonna put in a new breaker box with 20 amp breakers, I found a heavy duty metal timer used to operate parking lot lights, you have to hard wire the timer from a breaker then I will hard wire enough outlets for my HID'S, plus add a few more breakers in the box for fans heater, and airconditioner. AS for the amount of wattage, more light=more weight, isn't that the rule? As for the outsmoking a 150, I havnt found a grower yet that could keep up with me and the wife, I average smoking an ounce every three days, the better it is the more I smoke. 25 years of daily smoking makes for quite a high tolorence.....Thanks for all your suggestions, I appreciate it

 

[badugi]

I havnt found a grower yet that could keep up with me and the wife, I average smoking an ounce every three days, the better it is the more I smoke. 25 years of daily smoking makes for quite a high tolorence

Gotta agree with that. I think most lightweights can't comprehend / grasp how much some of us smoke on a daily basis.