extension cord extremely hot.. burning outlet!???

[Guest]

Buzz are you kidding bro?Its the same breaker man made by a different company,are you saying you can be liable for using them?I dont think that would fly down here man a lot of places don't carry challenger but do have GE devices,O well its my bosses ass anyways I shouldnt be worrying about it.I've just never considered that before, its a UL approved breaker

 

[Buzzsmirk!]

Buzz are you kidding bro?Its the same breaker man made by a different company, its a UL approved breaker

not kidding , its a UL approved breaker in the GE assembly!!!!! NOT the challenger one.

an insurance company would not pay or protect you for doing that (switch).
now IF GE were to submit to UL an acceptance test for applying their breakers to the challenger bus bars and pass!!! that would be ok.
but unless the GE literature specifically cites approvals by a listing agency
(UL, CSA,FM, ULc etc....) for that application (NON_GE) you would not stand the ACID test in the wake of an investigation. The bastards will blame you even if it didnt cause the problem and you will have to spend big bucks to clear your name. not worth it in my book!!! insurance companies are absolute bastards at dodging liability(ies) ask your boss!!!

even worse is the possibilty of a civil suit against your firm. if the plantiffs attorney gets wind of the breaker switch he/she will "milk" that shit till its fucken dry!!!!! they,ll make you your firm out to be some sort of cheap bastards who only care about profit and convenience and the switch would be evidence of your company's lax approach to quality/safety for the end user and on and on!!!!
BUZZ!

 

[Frozenguy]

I have a Challenger box. I put in GE 30A double pole breaker. The electric supply house said I'd be fine. I have 4x1000w room going on my third year. I used the proper size wire and made extra sure all connections were TIGHT

thank you very much for that.. answered perfectly.. although i think i will attempt to stick with challenger, if i canot locate one i will go with GE.. thank you very much ic_user..

not kidding , its a UL approved breaker in the GE assembly!!!!! NOT the challenger one.

an insurance company would not pay or protect you for doing that (switch).
now IF GE were to submit to UL an acceptance test for applying their breakers to the challenger bus bars and pass!!! that would be ok.
but unless the GE literature specifically cites approvals by a listing agency
(UL, CSA,FM, ULc etc....) for that application (NON_GE) you would not stand the ACID test in the wake of an investigation. The bastards will blame you even if it didnt cause the problem and you will have to spend big bucks to clear your name. not worth it in my book!!! insurance companies are absolute bastards at dodging liability(ies) ask your boss!!!

even worse is the possibilty of a civil suit against your firm. if the plantiffs attorney gets wind of the breaker switch he/she will "milk" that shit till its fucken dry!!!!! they,ll make you your firm out to be some sort of cheap bastards who only care about profit and convenience and the switch would be evidence of your company's lax approach to quality/safety for the end user and on and on!!!!
BUZZ!

thanks man.. that sucks about all the liability.. like i said above, i'll try and locate a challenger.. but if not, i'm gonna just run a GE.. but i'll look around for the challenger.. now do you know if i do locate challenger or GE are there different models/lines i ahve to look out for? i know i need one for 120v and i need those two skinny 20amp ones on one breaker..

 

[Buzzsmirk!]

you'll be OK w/ a GE i just couldnt do it cuzz of the liability
as a habit i don't ussually recommend stuff i wouldnt do.
but this is a case where you'll be fine by usin the GE BKR just make sure the jaws behind it are tight on the bus bar , don't hurt ur self checkin this
that bus bar has alot of "juice" to go around!!
please be safe!!!

the "skinny" dual breakers are called "tandem" breakers meant for panels that are full already!!
BUZZ!

 

[Frozenguy]

yeah mine is full.. has one more slot where i could fit a fat 15 or 20amp but i want two skinny 20's.. thats ok right? i'll be running 1 20amp outlet for each breaker.. and each outlet will have 1 dual 600watt and 1 single 600watt for a total of 1800 watts.. is that asking for too much? i dont think so..on 20amp house wire stuff.. (its the outlet wall wiring stuff)

 

[Guest]

Breakers use amps, not watts for measurement. Therefore you must find your total amperage used on any given circut and shoot for a 80% usage of your total amps.

 

[Buzzsmirk!]

Breakers use amps, not watts for measurement. Therefore you must find your total amperage used on any given circut and shoot for a 80% usage of your total amps.

breakers are labeled in amps but they actually trip on HEAT

watts and amps are differwnt unit entirely!!! watts are amps X voltage!!

becuase some folks descibe their load in watts instead of amps we go ahead and convert for their benefit ( they are laymen).

have u read all this thread before u posted????
BUZZ!

 

[Guest]

breakers are labeled in amps but they actually trip on HEAT

watts and amps are differwnt unit entirely!!! watts are amps X voltage!!

becuase some folks descibe their load in watts instead of amps we go ahead and convert for their benefit ( they are laymen).

have u read all this thread before u posted????
BUZZ!

O.K. I thought because the amp draw is halfed when going from 110 to 220 that all I have to worry about is how many total amps my ballasts use. I can't run 4 1000w on one 20amp 110v but I can on a 20amp 220v. Am I wrong?

 

[Buzzsmirk!]

when u convert ur ballast from 120 vac to 220/240 your are now spreading your load across TWO hot poles intead of one hot pole.
you half your current BUT you put the other half on the other pole.
this is called a ballanced load. if your system draws more current from one pole than the other. your load is said to be out of balance. your big white wire on the neuteral buss takes up this unbalanced load to ground.
the white wire returning to the neuteral buss from your 120 vac recepticles carries the same load/current that the black wire (hot/line) brought to the recepticle. so there is no imbalance there either!!!
did you understand what i wrote above?? questions??
BUZZ!

 

[guineapig]

no i think its 3x600 which is 1800 watts and that is too close to the limit so thus the
heat....?

 

[Buzzsmirk!]

how can i help you

how can i help you

no i think its 3x600 which is 1800 watts and that is too close to the limit so thus the
heat....?

1800 divided by 120 volts is 15 amps!!!
1800 divided by 240 volts is 7.5 amps!!!
if u have small wires and can convert to 220 u can get away with more load.

HEAT??? what heat exactly are you refering to "G pig" ??
BUZZ!

 

[Guest]

The heat you feel every time you attempt to grow and erb plant and get BURNED!

 

[Guest]

for the record, federal pacific panel assemblies are the worst. and you can't get NEW challenger breakers anymore, just refurbished. i'd rather put a new compatible breaker in than a refurb. any day of the week. no worry about insurance cuz my jobs tend not to catch on fire.

 

[Guest]

1000w ballast is as follows. 120/240v=9.0 /4.5A MH
120/240V= 9.5/4.75A HPS. draw is higher in hps due to ignitor

 

[Guest]

ic user to answer your question way back there,ohms law is a neat thing to understand and everything but when you are sizing a circuit by adding all the individual loads,always go by the amps. in the nameplate rating on the appliance or fixture.