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Electricity Help

G

gdawg

dude you already got it figured out. hope we aint helpin a 12 year old....and it is the same, not reverse! do you need the 4 conductor? the only reason i did mine like that was that old digi needed the 240. you can get by with the 6/3.(hot,neutral,ground) wire the subpanel first and work back to the house panel. if you do go with the 240 you need 2 empty slots in the house panel for a two pole breaker. get back with us if thats the route you go and we will walk ya through it. open up the panel and get us a pic and can tell ya what kind of breaker you need and give pointers.
 

famous

Member
awesome. Im not 12, but my mom and I are both medical patients, so its set up at her place. Do you think you could come up with a parts list, so I dont leave anything out? Thatd be really helpful
 
G

gdawg

ok but ya tell me what you plan to run and add on, the dehuey, digi 400 for small veg chamber later on? are you thinkin of a setup like mine? do you need the 240(120 slightly simpler but you can do either) then i can tell you the exact wire you need, if you're burying it tell the dude @ home depot you need the burial type. i can take some pics of my parts and give ya a list. go with the mechanical timer when you're done you'll be proud of your work and feel much safer. oh and how do you plan on gettin into your house panel? hit me back with what your wantin
 

famous

Member
i'd say total room would include maximum:
2x 600W Digital (5a/light)
2x 125W CFL
5000BTU A/C(4.7a)
40pt Dehumidifier
6" Inline Fan
2x Oscillating Fan
400GPH Water pump

With 600w lights, ill just stick with 120v.

Does the cable need to be burried? the place im running it can't be seen by anyone anyways, and there is nobody to get into it.

Whats the advantages of a mechanical timer like that? not limited to amps going though it?
I was gonna hook the lights up to this:
http://www.intermatic.com/?action=prod&pid=9235&did=5&cid=44&sid=116
Capable of 15 amps, and i'll be putting out about 10 in lights.
 

DIGITALHIPPY

Active member
Veteran
oodles of advice...
i didnt see anyone sugest you get a water-resistant cable for when its on ur lawn and gets wet?? i dont know, but i use water resistant cables for my home made extention cords.

GDAWG looked like my panel at first.good job though!



famous.
i think your off to a good start. good setup and big area.
you could expand to alot of lights if u had a 240V but ud need another A/C
my 6x6 has 2 of thoes 5k btu's but ive also got 2800W going on.

id sugest the timerbox that gdawg showed its just about the same price as regular timers but it will last a LONG time.plus it wont freez up on you like cheap timers do.
 
G

gdawg

tight work digi. ain't them galaxys' easy to work with. with the mechanical timer its easy to throw on extra outlets for timed power. fans, stuff like that.
 

nuski

New member
GDAWG

GDAWG

Gdawg,,,, You can really do what you do. The last sample was nice color, nice smell and a smooth smoke....Thanks and keep doing it to it...... :joint:
 
G

gdawg

:wave: haaa nuski my friend ya made it :jump: what ended up being the problem? famous i ain't forgot about ya, how many feet from panel to your sub? i think a 40 amp breaker and 6/3 would be plenty if 60-70feet or so. hold on and i'll take some pics of individual parts to pick up @ home depot. a set up like mine will run ya 200-250 roughly i think. cheap for peace of mind. nuski get ready bro, i told ya it would fly by! :laughing:
 

panjo

Member
sorry fellers, got locked out last night due to my lack of post.
the timer g has is the exact one i have. its a good one and available just about anywhere. im also familiar with the 3 prong plug adapters. lol.
had to use a few of them here before i upgraded all the outlets.
everything above sounds correct to me. 6-3 will get you by with the length of run you have planned. also, the price stated above for the subpanel will probably get you complete with the needed breakers as well. gonna have to post more.......
 

panjo

Member
in order to help folks i guess. blackone.......if you want to run 240 volts just use 6-4 (3 conductor with a ground) instead of 6-3 (2 conductor with a ground) to reach your objective. as stated above. there is good help here.
g knows his stuff.
 

panjo

Member
direct bury cable is water resistant. dont need to bury it far either. just deep enough to not hit it with the lawn mover. easy to do with just a hoe or whatever else you can find. easier to just bury it a couple of inches than to raise questions like "hey dude, whats that wire for anyway"
 

famous

Member

famous

Member
just found this very thorough explanation of the whole process, seems a lot easier than i thought.
http://www.hammerzone.com/archives/elect/panel/sub_panel/01/overview.htm
let me get this straight, a 6-3 wire has a white wire, ground wire, black wire, and red wire?

is this right?
1 poll breakers take 1 black wire, and the white goes into the neutral bar, ground goes into ground bar, and would use a 12-2 cable
2 poll breakers take 1 black wire, 1 red wire, and require a 6-3 cable, and the neutral/ground go into the neutral/ground bars

Thanks!
 
G

gdawg

yes so if your runnin 120 go with the 6/2 with a ground. you can use romex direct burial
 

panjo

Member
i dont think you will find the larger size breakers in single pole design.
if you want the larger size, you can get the double pole and just use one pole on the breaker. if you have a double pole breaker and just use one pole you are STILL (using a double 50 for example) protected to 50 amps even though you are just connected to one side. it does not divide in half.
 
G

Guest

8/2 w/grnd 40amp 240V only, neutral not required

8/3 w/grnd 40amp 120/240V at your sub panel, the difference being the neutral.

If you are going to install a sub panel and want 120/240V then an 8/3 with ground circuit is needed.

If 240V only, use 8/2 with ground, a neutral is not required. Apply black tape to the white wire to identify it as a HOT lead. This is normal procedure.

There is no need to install anything larger than 8/2 or 8/3 as 75 feet is not a long run, and after you price out copper wiring you will opt for the 8awg.

Google search "ohms law" for an explanation of resistance and wire sizing.

Regarding burial, use rated cable. Depth of 24" to 30" is common. You can rent a trencher and run a 6" wide slit trench from point A to B. To not bury it at proper depth is illegal, irresponsible and a disregard for the safety others.
 
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G

gdawg

those lil gas powered edgers make a little trench too. not deep but enough to cover the wire. ya i thought the 8awg would be enough. i overkilled on mine for future add ons. ty can he use the grey-romex?(burial type i think) its been 4yrs since i was doin electrical jobs and smoked alot of good green since then, sometimes i forget some shti.
 
G

Guest

gdawg said:
those lil gas powered edgers make a little trench too. not deep but enough to cover the wire. ya i thought the 8awg would be enough. i overkilled on mine for future add ons. ty can he use the grey-romex?(burial type i think) its been 4yrs since i was doin electrical jobs and smoked alot of good green since then, sometimes i forget some shti.

Thats the one. Look at a cross section of ROMEX 12-2 w/grnd for instance. Notice that the hot and neutral have separate insulated coverings, plus the the bare ground with all 3 having a separate and distinct outer covering.

With the direct burial cable the 3 wires are molded within a single continuous insulated covering. This product is stiffer than a morning woody and fun to strip.

No matter where I go folks are constantly looking for short cuts and do some real S**T work instead of doing it the right way. That cable needs to be buried at proper depth. Sadly it is that kind of thinking that hurts or kills people or costs them a ton of money fixing cluster f***ks after after the cluster f**ker moves on.

We all need to learn to do things the Right Way and when we make mistakes we need to correct them. Take pride in your work, there is a lot to be said for craftsmanship.

If a nosy neighbor asks, tell the busy body that you are running a water line, just put the wire in the trench after dark and throw some dirt on it. Finish up in the morning and Mr Peepers won't know the difference.
:jump: :jump:
 
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