G
gdawg
Ty-Stik said: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.
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Electricity Help
- Thread starter famous
- Start date
so i just did a little more research
if the only difference between running a 120v circuit and a 240v circuit is the main wire, i might as well run 240v, since both of my lights can be run on 240 just by switching out the cord.
I saw some 8-3 wire on ebay for 99c a foot, and then 10$shipping for under 100'....total price coming out to about $85 for the cable, $55 for the subpanel, $10 for the main breaker, and $10 in outlets.
$160 for unlimited(practically), safe electricity? seems too low....
if the only difference between running a 120v circuit and a 240v circuit is the main wire, i might as well run 240v, since both of my lights can be run on 240 just by switching out the cord.
I saw some 8-3 wire on ebay for 99c a foot, and then 10$shipping for under 100'....total price coming out to about $85 for the cable, $55 for the subpanel, $10 for the main breaker, and $10 in outlets.
$160 for unlimited(practically), safe electricity? seems too low....
G
gdawg
you got the galaxy ballast then i guess. i love em. go for the mechanical timer too bro. bring a neutral to the sub panel so you can run 120 outlets from there. the digi ballast are pretty efficient i'm not sure that 240 will make any difference for just 2 ballasts. it would be cheaper just to bring 120 for your needs. i think. and your gonna spend a lil more than that, theres connecters, get a lil bit of 12/2 to run to your outlets from the sub, covers and boxes for the outlets, it adds up but worth it.
G
Guest
Famous, that was 8-3w/grnd that you are buying, correct?
On a side note and not referencing this thread some might recall the grows that caught fire and burned down homes and other structures. Unlike the Great Chicago Fire we can't blame it on Mrs. O'learys cow knocking over a kerosene lamp. The broad probably did a shit job on the wiring of her Grow Op, she used the wrong stuff, didn't bury it deep enough and the cow bit through the cable while munching on a bale of hay, the sparks flew and "now we know the rest of the story" as Paul Harvey would say. Good Day! LOL
Happy growing and peace
Ty-Stik
On a side note and not referencing this thread some might recall the grows that caught fire and burned down homes and other structures. Unlike the Great Chicago Fire we can't blame it on Mrs. O'learys cow knocking over a kerosene lamp. The broad probably did a shit job on the wiring of her Grow Op, she used the wrong stuff, didn't bury it deep enough and the cow bit through the cable while munching on a bale of hay, the sparks flew and "now we know the rest of the story" as Paul Harvey would say. Good Day! LOL
Happy growing and peace
Ty-Stik
why not use a flat tip shoulvle put ur foot on it and put it 3-4 inch deep then wiggle it back-n-forth to make a "V" trench.... i did this for malibu lights years back, never had problems.
good idea on direct-bury cable. wouldnt want a fire. god that would suck.
GDAWG, i love my galaxies. i switch them 240-120> alot when i setup second batches for perpetual.
i made a homeade 240 '4-pack' outlet strip. thats an old pic i added a 240 spliter and 3 more timers. i have mh come on for 1.5 hours b4 the HPS's hit up. then the UVB kicks in for a few hours in the middle, and the MH turns off w/uvb 3 hours b4 lights out. best i can do to simulate a sunrise/sunset/realday.
i hope your going w/240 future its EZ to work with and alot of grow devices use it.
has anyone sugested a 6/4 so he can run 240/120 in the same cable?
that would rock! (IMO)
good idea on direct-bury cable. wouldnt want a fire. god that would suck.
GDAWG, i love my galaxies. i switch them 240-120> alot when i setup second batches for perpetual.
i made a homeade 240 '4-pack' outlet strip. thats an old pic i added a 240 spliter and 3 more timers. i have mh come on for 1.5 hours b4 the HPS's hit up. then the UVB kicks in for a few hours in the middle, and the MH turns off w/uvb 3 hours b4 lights out. best i can do to simulate a sunrise/sunset/realday.
i hope your going w/240 future its EZ to work with and alot of grow devices use it.
has anyone sugested a 6/4 so he can run 240/120 in the same cable?
that would rock! (IMO)
G
Guest
----8-3 with ground GIVES him the 120/240 option, with 40 AMP capacity, and that is one hell of a lot more juice than the Malibu lights.
Burying that 40 amp cable under 3 or 4 inches of dirt is flat out wrong no matter how you slice it. It is inconsiderate of the Safety of other folks that might come along and not know that its there.
Burying that 40 amp cable under 3 or 4 inches of dirt is flat out wrong no matter how you slice it. It is inconsiderate of the Safety of other folks that might come along and not know that its there.
Ty-Stik, beforey ou start freaking out about the wireing, my house is in an area not that close to the neighbors, on the side that im running the cord, i sit at the bottem of a hill, and the only neighbor close the cord is about 250' uphill.
Ill bury the cable enough that it wont interfere with anyone/anything.
as i thought more about it, im not going to have a large scale grow op. i plan to stay within the legal boundaries, and i just dotn think i'll run any 240V stuff. To keep it simple, i'll just get 8-2 cable with ground.
On house breaker, this hooks up to a double poll(since its 50a breaker), but i'll only be connecting a single black wire to it, right?
I have digital fusion lights(made by sunsystems, with smartvolt tech)
Ill bury the cable enough that it wont interfere with anyone/anything.
as i thought more about it, im not going to have a large scale grow op. i plan to stay within the legal boundaries, and i just dotn think i'll run any 240V stuff. To keep it simple, i'll just get 8-2 cable with ground.
On house breaker, this hooks up to a double poll(since its 50a breaker), but i'll only be connecting a single black wire to it, right?
I have digital fusion lights(made by sunsystems, with smartvolt tech)
The big advantage of using 240 is that you halve your amps, meaning less power is lost in the wires. In Denmark we don't even have 120 - we have 3 phase 240/400V. Normal household sockets are 2 conductors and sometimes a ground. 1 of the conductors is a phase, while the other is 0 (same potential as ground - but it's unsafe to use 0 as grounding and the relay will shut off if you use ground as 0).
400V systems have 5 wires: 3 phases, one 0 and one ground. Between 2 phases there is 400V, and between any phase and 0 (or ground) there is 240V.
400V systems have 5 wires: 3 phases, one 0 and one ground. Between 2 phases there is 400V, and between any phase and 0 (or ground) there is 240V.
panjo
Member
this thread is bringing electricians out of the woodwork. YAY! (not being sarcastic) if you are planning on not digging a legal depth trench make sure you are removing the wire when you leave so it wont be a danger to future tenants or owners. it will take a lot less time to remove than to install. 
was locked out again yesterday. 
was locked out again yesterday.
Y
yamaha_1fan
famous said:
Run the 240. Seriously, what is it going to cost you in the long run? The only difference will be the wire you use. Think of all the labor you will be putting into burying and running that 75' of wire. If you do it right, its even an upgrade when you sell the house. You WILL kick yourself in the ass down the road when you do want to run 240. Maybe you will want to use the room as a workshop with a compressor or welder or whatever.
G
Guest
8-2 w grnd is correct, the 50 amp breaker that you anticipate connecting to is not as the breaker is over rated for the wire gauge. If you intend to use that breaker you will need to upgrade the direct burial cable to 6-2 w/grnd or the least expensive way is to change out the 50A for a 40A. And Yes, black to breaker, white and bare copper to the neutral-buss bar.
Should the load that your equipment draws exceed 40 amps the 8-2 will overheat and may cause a fire BEFORE the 50A breaker trips. That is the right way, its your call.
Good luck,
Ty-Stik
Should the load that your equipment draws exceed 40 amps the 8-2 will overheat and may cause a fire BEFORE the 50A breaker trips. That is the right way, its your call.
Good luck,
Ty-Stik
So 40A breaker on the house line, and 8-2 with ground.
The room is either a grow room, or a smoke shed. I wont want 240V, i honestly dont see a point to do it.
Thanks for all your help everyone, once i order the parts and get it all going, i'll post as i go so i dont **** up.
Thanks so much!
The room is either a grow room, or a smoke shed. I wont want 240V, i honestly dont see a point to do it.
Thanks for all your help everyone, once i order the parts and get it all going, i'll post as i go so i dont **** up.
Thanks so much!
G
gdawg
hey famous glad to see ya upgrading. get the mechanical timer and you wont regret it. take a close look @ these pics and i'll take some more tonight. ok 40amp in the main panel, in the sub you could go 1 20amp breaker run to the timer. from the timer with 12/2 romex power your outlets. i would suggest 4 or six,for lights and fans. and label those outlets "timed power" see in the pic?then another 20amp in your sub panel to power your outlets for the a/c, dehuey and whatever else. i have two more boxes (4plugs each) to put on my board but am waiting for the next run. if you got the power supply, don't slack on the outlets or you'll still be dealing with power strips.
timed power outlets, but got to add more
timed power outlets, but got to add more
G
gdawg
i have some fans that run 24/7 and a couple that are just 12/12, also the fan for my air cooled lights on the timed. i like more outlets than i need, just like nugs.
ty-stick- glad ur here i dont know asmuch as wires as you apperantly glad u can correct me. good to know about the 240/120 option. the wires sound like there on private property. i doubt anyone would cause a problem with them, unless they were causeing other problems.
you should have 2-3 extra outlets... youd be suprised how much ud use them, i move a floor fan in sometimes, timers take space and cover plugs also.
co2, 2-3 fans, like Gdawg my fan for lights is timed aswell (i like this guy he thinks like me!)
famous said:
you should have 2-3 extra outlets... youd be suprised how much ud use them, i move a floor fan in sometimes, timers take space and cover plugs also.
co2, 2-3 fans, like Gdawg my fan for lights is timed aswell (i like this guy he thinks like me!)
G
gdawg
ya we do think alike digi! sometimes i plug in the wet/dry vac to clean the rez, sometimes i bring my cd player in, yet i still have freakin two power strips on the floor! i'm totally tearing down my board in a few weeks, maybe i'll do a little thread on the reconstruct. and a lot of people would use them if they knew how simple to build they are. i think anyone pushin 1000 watts or more should have a dedicated breaker in the main and a sub @ the grow..... but i too am guilty of some sketchy ass shit in the past!!!
is this the right breaker to add to the main panel?
http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=12378-1318-Q240&bc=c
black wire goes to the breaker, white wire goes to neutral bar in main box, and ground wire goes to ground bar in main box?
http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=12378-1318-Q240&bc=c
black wire goes to the breaker, white wire goes to neutral bar in main box, and ground wire goes to ground bar in main box?
