Electricians and the experienced

[The Alchemist]

Okay i startd my flowwering last week and since then i've had a few problems.Mostly with timers. They last only two days and on the third they cut out.Now luckily i've notice and my plant hasn't gone through any major stress.(The worst case was that the lights went off for an hour and a half then back on for an hour and off for the 12 dark period.Luckily when the lights went off for the first time there were light leaks so they wouldn't have been in total darkness untill the prper 12 hour period)

Anyway i think my problem is that i'm drawing too many amps through the timer. I have a fan, one 200w envirolite, two 18w(100w equiv) and a fan.I'm fixing that this evening by taking the fan off the timer and putting it on another.

What i need to know is that one of the 18w bulbs i have is connected to a cable and plug that has a 13amp fuse.Even though its only a light bulb will this still be technically drawing 13amps thus overloading my timer with anything else on it.Or is it only drawing 3 amps like most plugs for lamps?

 

[JJScorpio]

The timer will tell you how many watts it is rated for. Do not go over the allowed wattage. Chances are you are buying those cheap 6 dollar timers. Get one rated for 15 hundred watts. Go and invest in a good one at your local wardware store. Also, are you sure about the fuse size? I never heard of a 13 amp fuse.

 

[Guest]

No.its just an inline fuse and has nothing to do with actual current draw

 

[Guest]

a fuse has everything to do with current draw dude. if more amps are pulled than the fuse can handle, pop, dead fuse! you probably overdrawing on the timer. which will, in turn, fry out the contacts in the timer. either buy a higher rated timer, or keep the cheap timer and have in control a contactor/relay. the coil on the contactor/relay has minimal draw and a cheap-o timer will work fine in that application.

 

[The Alchemist]

My timers are middle range timers that have a max 3100 watts as far as i remember. What i need to know is if you have too many amps on the timer will it not work? And if there is a 13amp fuse in a plug powering an 18watt(100w equivalent) bulb is that plug drawing 13amps thus going over the load?

Any experienced electricians in the house????

 

[SweetIndica]

Bro, 13 amps has NOTHING to do with how much power your drawing. I have a cheaper timer than you and am running 1300w through it in my growroom.

 

[Guest]

the thing with the 13 amp fuse, if i understand what you're saying correctly, is that it CAN draw 13 amps without blowing but actually only REALLY draws the power that the lamp is using (plus that little extra lost to the wiring, etc). so your lamp is still only drawing 18 watts throught the fuse, you just won't have your fuse flow unless you run a shitload of stuff through it.

the principle of fuses is that they serve as a purposeful "weakest link" which will protect other parts of the electrical system if overloaded because when the fuse overloads, it blows

I believe you already got you answer on the timer. You probably did not read the rating on the package. Timers have different power ratings they can handle. You most likely purchased a cheap one, as was mentioned earlier, and it just burns out due to being overloaded. just read the timer to see what it's rated for.

 

[SweetIndica]

I don't see how it could be overloaded though. I have a cheaper timer than him (1750 watt intermatic timer) and i run 1300w's through it fine. And my house has old wiring and everything.

 

[NiteTiger]

Wow, I've got the cheapest timers there are (Timex from Wal-Mart) and they're rated for 1800 watts. Never had a problem with them, with a 1kw light.

I gotta go with the Occam's Razor principle here - The simplest solution is usually correct.

In other words, you've probably got a defective timer. Take it back and exchange it first, before investing in an upgraded one.

 

[invision]

there is no way what your using is tripping the timer, i use much more juice on my timers without problems, chances are your timer is defective.

 

[The Alchemist]

Its not a defective timer cos i've used three of them and all with the same problem on the third night the timer won't switch off like its supposed to. I've taken the plug from my fan off the timer so hopefully with only my 200w light and the two smaller 18watts it shouldn't trip. But even with the fan on the timer aswell it shouldn't blow the timers its no way drawing over 3000watts. Hopefully they'll work now though.

 

[NiteTiger]

Still could be a defective timer. I once went through 5 bad digitals before I said screw it and went back to mechanical. Assembly lines move quick, and if some defect sneaks into the process, it'll often tag quite a few.

 

[green_grow]

are you using "woods" timers ? i had 2 of them fail very quickly . "intermatic" are the same price and they LAST.

 

[Guest]

A fuse has absolutely nothing to do with actual current draw my friend,are you saying a circuit with a 20A breaker must be drawing 20A?Same with a 13A fuse,it is for overcurrent protection only and has nothing to do with actual current draw lol

 

[Guest]

if the line with the fuse DRAWS over the fuse rating, it will fail!
i never said a 20a breaker has to draw 20 a.
a fuse keeps the circuit from drawing more amperage than the wire can handle, or whatever else could be damaged on the load side of the fuse.
how are you going to say that overCURRENT protection has nothing to do with CURRENT draw?
i say they have plenty to do with each other!
that 13a fuse is good UP TO 13a, and thats it.
it's when confusing statements are thrown out there like that, people with no electrical experience tend to do things they shouldn't.
(im not trying to point fingers, just stating the facts)
then misinformation leads to "johnny homeowner" wiring, things are done way wrong and fires tend to happen.

 

[Megawattfarmer]

I'd second the votes for defective timer. Any timer is going to be rated for well over your current draw. BTW I don't believe I've seen a timer with built in circuit protection. The one I got free with my grow light states "Danger don't exceed 1750W" or something like that. Exceeding it would probably "let the smoke out" as they say in the trade.

MWf

 

[NiteTiger]

HAH! Someone else knows that term!

All electronics run on smoke :wink:

 

[Guest]

Thorodee its semantics apparently,or you just dont get it.A fuse or circuit breaker has absolutely zero to do with actual current draw,on a 30A circuit you can have 24A or 2A or it can change with different loads,the fuse or breaker has absoluetly nothing to do with what is actually being pulled,its for overcurrent protection only.Now if you are saying circuit load and wire size must be taken into account when choosing fuse or breaker size,we can agree.In that case the fuse has something to do with current flow but thats obvious man,thats not what I was talking about or the poster.He was concerned that he was drawing 13A through his 13A inline fuse.My response was no,the fuse has nothing to do with actual current draw and thats fact,its the load not the overcurrent protection device rating

 

[Guest]

im not arguing with what you stated here ^^^^^
all i'm saying is that overcurrent protection is directly related to the draw on a circuit.
if they weren't related, why even have ocp?
besides the obvious reasons.
i do get electricity, ive been doing it for a long time, am liscenced, teach in trade school at night and also a state inspector.
im not stating that you don't know what you are talking about, i just have a rebuttal.
there is direct corrilation between draw and ocp.

 

[Guest]

I know your an electrician man,you know who I am too I think lol.This whole thing has just been a I think i'll fuck with thorodee a little this morning.Of course you know fuse size has nothing to do with ACTUAL current draw,it has everything to do with expected current draw along with wire size.