Electrical Issues

[LadyToadstool]

I need to ask on behalf of a friend what any of you would do in this situation. He bought a house a couple of years ago that was suspiciously prepped for keeping plants, also realized some of the rooms didn't take up as much electricity in the house! Go figure… what luck. So he started up his own thing, Its been a few years and all of a sudden the electrical meter went wild and is now running about 3 times as much as it did. He has taken everything down to try and stop it but its continuing on its way to a pretty dam high electricity bill. Is the spike in the electrical bill enough on its own to permit a warrant in FL?

Poor guy is having a fit… I don't know what to tell him.

 

[hamstring]

Lady toadstool

I have some electrical experience. I am not sure I will be able to answer your question but I will help you format it so someone will.

What does prepped rooms mean?
A. More than usual receptacles?
B. Breaker box in unusual place?

Noticed that some rooms do not use as much electricity.

A. How do you know this? Using electricity is a function of load use. I.E. Something has to be on/running before you use electricity.

How many watts was he running in his grow?

The electrical meter is running crazy even after he disconnected everything?Does not sound possible. Please check to see that this info is correct.

If so sounds like some sort of short circuit or something. Even so if this were true a breaker would have popped. The only way to use power is to increase your load. That’s what HID and fans, bubblers etc are. They are consumers of electricity or load.
If for instance you had a bad furnace motor (bad bearings, clogged filter) this would make the motor pull more current therefore more power/electricity.

Check other things in the house such as air conditioning. Then try shutting them down one at a time to see if you can identify the energy hog.
Peace

 

[Getawaymonkey!]

I had a friend have this exact same power thing and it turned out to be a bad meter and loose connection at the pole

 

[LadyToadstool]

Thats what its looking like it was.. which I guess wouldnt be a problem anymore because he'll just have to deal with it.

But is the hike in the bill enough to let them in? And if so could anything happen to him if there are no living ladies in the house anymore...

He's using his old room and the tables to store crap.... still looks a little funny...

 

[Undrgrnd Armory]

No plants, no problem.

 

[Undrgrnd Armory]

Just make sure you don't have loose pot leaves all around. I had pot leaves all over the place in my other apartment. I remember, one time I opened my fridge and a pot leaf flew out. Luckily, no one was around.

 

[Guest]

get the plants out the house...call the meter guy...get it fixed...then setup the grow again.

Relax, they cant get a warrant to search for a moderatly high electric bill. Running 15,000 watts....thats totally different...

Tell him not to worry and to get his meter fixed..

Keep us posted..

 

[gsxxer]

......

 

[Verite]

15 k isnt really that big as far as commercial growing goes

When the power company sees a 200 amp residential house circuit [ pretty rare unless your house is new or been electric updated ] operating near 90+% capacity theyre going to wonder whats sucking all that juice, you better have a real good excuse when they do stop by.

 

[Chester]

I need to ask on behalf of a friend what any of you would do in this situation. He bought a house a couple of years ago that was suspiciously prepped for keeping plants, also realized some of the rooms didn't take up as much electricity in the house! Go figure… what luck. So he started up his own thing, Its been a few years and all of a sudden the electrical meter went wild and is now running about 3 times as much as it did. He has taken everything down to try and stop it but its continuing on its way to a pretty dam high electricity bill. Is the spike in the electrical bill enough on its own to permit a warrant in FL?

Poor guy is having a fit… I don't know what to tell him.

Any underground lines to an outdoor pool, shed, etc.?? An insulation fault in a buried line can flow a boatload of current and still avoid blowing the breaker.

If he's unwilling to bring-in an electrician, he should divide and conquer, and snap-off all of the breakers. If the meter is still rotating, then it could be a faulty meter, or a faulty meter bypass (you said it was previously set-up...). This way he could locate the errant load.

Btw, a house with a pool or hot-tub provides a great excuse for some serious power consumption...

Best of luck there...

 

[2buds]

Wood shops are a good cover for large amp circuits running to strange places. 60-100 amp circuits feeding small breaker boxes that provide power to saws, dust collectors and sanders is understandable. Be safe.

 

[Chester]

Wood shops are a good cover for large amp circuits running to strange places. 60-100 amp circuits feeding small breaker boxes that provide power to saws, dust collectors and sanders is understandable. Be safe.

Small machine shops too. I've run "electric kiln" circuits to unusual places as well (Those get "ventilation" as well)

 

[supernerd]

Buy a kiln. That's my excuse. Have a couple clay tiles around to make it look like you do pottery and you're golden.

The electric company doesn't give a fuck as long as you pay your bill. Ask them to come look at the meter because it's going insane and it's not correct. Don't give them permission to go into the house. Just keep the bills up and you're fine.

 

[gsxxer]

......

 

[Verite]

^^^ Oops I thought we were talking reality here and not fantasy. Show me one other grower here that thinks million watt grows and financing 3 million dollar houses is a reality/smart thing to do while going big.

 

[gsxxer]

......

 

[Verite]

When you talk of silly shit like a thousand 1000w hids off a residential home circuit which is about the equiv of lighting up a pro sports football stadium at night, why yes I am going to think whatever I want in addition to many others thinking the same thing.

But hell you show me a normal house with a 10,000+ amp circuit to it and a good reason for it and I'll send you a $100 dollar bill.

 

[kurlyq2g]

nothing said for near a month... 'nuff said

 

[pmorris]

lol

 

[roorer]

When you talk of silly shit like a thousand 1000w hids off a residential home circuit which is about the equiv of lighting up a pro sports football stadium at night, why yes I am going to think whatever I want in addition to many others thinking the same thing.

But hell you show me a normal house with a 10,000+ amp circuit to it and a good reason for it and I'll send you a $100 dollar bill.

Have you ever heard of two men named Todd McCormick and Peter McWilliams?

In one sentence:

They were accused of growing more than 4,100 marijuana plants at a rented Bel-Air mansion

http://www.marijuana.org/LATimes11-20-99.htm

Not saying whether it was smart, or safe, but happened, and the only reason they were found out was because someone who had been to the house got popped and rolled on them.

Also there was this place, not residential but still:

Eight charged in pot bust granted bail
2004-01-14
http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/LondonFreePress/News/2004/01/14/312299.html

BARRIE -- Eight of the nine men charged in Canada's largest indoor pot bust have been granted bail. They were arrested during a raid Friday night at a former Molson's brewery where police found a sophisticated marijuana growing operation that authorities estimate generated $100 million a year.

The pot-growing factory in this city north of Toronto went undetected for a year or more, despite being the country's largest, police said.

Even those who had visited the building where 30,000 marijuana plants were sprouting said they didn't know it was there.

"I've been in the place several times and I didn't know what the hell was going on," a local businessperson said yesterday.