Electric Relaxation

[Bedlam]

...name is fife dog from the zulu nation...

so I have very limited electrical knowledge. what I do know is i like being alive, and seeing as faulty wiring doesnt necessarily allow that i have a slight problem.

so i want to set my box up in the basement, there are a couple outlets down there but i want to make sure i won't overload them. here's what I'm trying to run with, i'm not sure which part of the electrical specs are important so i'll list as many as i can find:

S&P TD 150 fan: 115 volts, 65 watts
Lumatek 400W HPS
approximately eight 26 watt CFL's
light timer (not sure if this adds watts)
probably 2x axial fans for cooltube,

did i forget any important electrical components for a soil grow? and can i connect all of these things together into one extension cord running into one outlet?

thanks yall, preciate it.

 

[messn'n'gommin']

Hey, Bedlam. Welcome to IC. I am no electrician either. So I understand whereof you speak. But in my limited understanding, I have learned a few things.

1) your outlets: if you're not sure of exactly what is on an electrical circuit, plug in radio's, table lamps, etc. and turn them on. Start flipping the switches in the breaker one at a time until the visual and audio cues go off. List all outlets for that circuit and all items that normally run off that circuit to figure out how much draw there is (wattage/volts=amps).

2) your "run": the longer the extension cord is, the more resistance there is for the electricity to overcome. The thicker the gauge of wire used in the extension cord, the less the resistance.

Good luck, and it a wise man that knows his limitations. Especially when it comes to electricity!

Namaste, mess

 

[VenturaHwy]

What size circuit breakers?
When you water your plants where will the excess water go?

 

[Bedlam]

i dont know what size my circuit breakers are, how do i check? and i don't know about excess water, i was thinking maybe keep the plants an inch off the bottom of the cab on a drying rack or something and then having a bucket underneath to catch the water and drain it outside of the box.

thanks for the help, i'm going to home depot now to pick up some more shit

 

[yamaha_1fan]

guestimating the axial fans at 65 watts each, which is probably way high, you are running around 800 watts total. That is 6.6 amps. Perfectly fine for a normal 15 amp household circuit.

Not sure how you can plug them into one extension cord though. Maybe a strip plug and heavy duty extension cord.

When using soil, dont you use saucers under the pot to catch the runoff water?

 

[reject]

It would be a good idea to use a surge suppressing power strip, or a computer/home theater power strip, use thick extension cord and make it short as possible. Most houses are equipped with 15amp breakers for most rooms

To convert electricity from Watts to Amps simply divide the total wattage by 120.

Basically a 400watt hps would draw about 3.33amps + other lights + ventilation

I think for your setup on a quality ext cord and surge suppressing power strip, you should be fine for your electricity usage.

 

[Bedlam]

alright, off-topic but i didnt want to start a new thread, i'm just about to put together my wooden pieces, but im painting it first. can i paint the wood with flat matte white paint without priming it first?

also, whats the best way to set up airflow between the rooms without light leak? pvc tubes with bends? ducting? and what about hole placement? i want to be absolutely sure i'm putting holes in the right place before i ruin my cabinet. hoping to have an intake and exhaust solely for the cooltube, along with a main exhaust with a 6 inch fan ran in between 4 inch ducting and a carbon scrubber, so i just make a 4 inch hole and attatch the ducting? or should i mount the 6 inch td 150 S&p fan right onto the wood? is it bad to have only one main exhaust fan if i cut holes in the wall between the veg and flower chamber, and have some passive intake in the flower chamber along with more in the veg chamber?

went to home depot today and got my flouros, playing around with the set up, the home depot man sold me a kit with a socket and wire for each individual bulb, do i need to set one of these up for each bulb and then find a place for 6 plugs? or can i somehow wire them together or share sockets? and if i just do it this way, should i just dangle the wires down with the lights hanging off them at the end? 6 of them?

 

[yamaha_1fan]

I think someone made a post a while back about wiring up multiple CFL's. Try a search. Obviously each one will need its own socket but you should be able to wire the sockets together to one plug.

The wood can be painted w/o primering but you will probably have better coverage and success if you primer first