Expanding my operation need electrican help

[thedankage]

So normally im a small time closet grower but something came up and im gonna get a chance to have a house to my self. So basically i plan on having a veg room and a 3600w flower room.Pretty much im asking if i want to do this rite with out tripping the breaker and blowing a fuse what do i need to do to have the lights and fans etc. etc. all running ? I wish i could just ask my dad becuase he is an electrician but this would not fly with him lol!

 

[Eminem]

I am not the electrical guru, we have a few of those.

But IMO you need to figure out everything you need to run, lights, pumps, fans, A/C, dehumidifier, etc. Also are you going to run the lights on 120 or 240? running lights on 240 will help you be a little more efficient on wiring, etc and may save you a couple bucks on install.

If the main panel is close enough, you could add circuits to the main panel and run to your grow. The other option is to install a sub panel but that may be overkill for 3600watts.


The best thing is to find a reason for the circuits and have your dad do the work. Computer room, entertainment (stereo), workshop, etc

 

[todrock]

Many grow stores will sell you a panel that plugs into your dryer plug. It will have an industrial timer for the ballasts (either 110 or 240) and other outlets that will run timed 110 as well as untimed 110. (for your fans etc. Like eminem said, 240 will run your ballasts at half the amperages, thus more efficient. Make sure your ballasts can be run 240.
If they are the old style ballast take the cover off and see what the wire says that is connected to the wire going to the power plug. If it says 110, look to see if there's another bundle of wires not being used that have different numbers on them ie 240, 270 etc. Then simply swap the wire that says 240 with the one that says 110, and voila your ballast will now run at 240.

Hope that helps.

 

[Bulldog11]

One thing is for sure, you will need to run new circuits. A normal 20 amp circuit runs only 1600w continuously safely. So you will need two to three circuits that are not connected to the rest of the house. My guess is you need help with this project. You have any buddies that owe you a favor that happen to be electricians?

 

[fish83]

this is my next battle....wiring....i look forward to reading this thread...

 

[PharmaCan]

Where is your main panel (Breaker Box) in relation to the room you want to grow in?

PC

 

[PharmaCan]

this is my next battle....wiring....i look forward to reading this thread...

There have been 4-5 very informative threads on this same subject in the last few weeks. You can go back a page or two and find some good info if you want.

PC

 

[thedankage]

hey guys and thxs for all the replys!! So many of you were asking where the main breaker is and i have no idea only been in this house a couple of times so i dont really know were everything is located at right now. One of you guys mentioned one of those timer boxes that plugs into the dryer socket i think this will be my best option but i have a couple of questions about these boxes 1)Are these boxes made just to plug into the dryer sockets and your ready to go so you dont have to add any more circuits to the breaker or anthing like that do you? 2) My dryer connection is in the garage so i was wondering how far can i run the box from the connection like if i get a longer cord and have that run from the garage into the grow room or is that a bad idea? or should i just keep everything in the garage including the ballast and just have the light cords ran through the attic into the room ?

thanks guys for all your help so far im trying to do this the right way !!!

 

[PharmaCan]

It's better to have your balllast with the shortest power cord possible, so having ballasts in the garage would be good and it would mean one less source of heat in your growroom.

I'd imagine that, at some point, the line from the ballast to the light could get too long, but I have no idea what that length would be.

Your dryer plug should have an amp rating on it - or you can look at the numbers on the circuit breaker in the breaker box. Whatever the amps are for that circuit is the max size of the controller you can plug into it. You can safely draw 80% of that. So you need to find out the amp rating for that circuit and then search the different plug-in devices that are available. Some of those plug-in things are good and some are crap. I don't know which are which, but there are a lot of reviews and discussions about them on this forum and you should read up on what's what before you go buying one.

PC

 

[thedankage]

Hey Pharmacan thxs for the quick replies!! ok down to business i saw two of those plug in boxes are rated at 30 amps and 50 amps i dont know what the dryer connection is rated for i will have to check that, do you think it would be around 30-50 amps though?? Also i thought keepin the ballast in the garage would be good idea too so it would keep the heat down in the room, as for how long the light cables should be i wouldnt think they would be more than 10-15ft cuz the flower room is back to back with the garage so i wouldnt have to run it that far.

 

[Eminem]

.

I'd imagine that, at some point, the line from the ballast to the light could get too long, but I have no idea what that length would be.

DOnt imagine, its a very real problem I battled. Depends on the ignitor assuming you are using HPS. 15 feet is average, You can get long range ignitors or move the ignitor closer to the hood.