Growroom Electricity and Wiring

[rives]

I would think that either 14 or16 would probably be adequate. I think that it what most of the long lamp extension cords that I've seen are 14 and the shorter ones are 16, but they are usually sized for a 1K lamp.

I think that would work fine to make the ballast/relay connection. My preference would be to terminate all of the wiring whose origin/destination is outside of the enclosure on terminal blocks and then on to the various components. It simplifies testing and parts replacement later. Are you planning on mounting the ballasts inside the enclosure? If not you will want some kind of strain relief for the cords where they enter the can.

 

[Mr Blah]

Thanks Rives.
14g is what I will use on the lamps and a terminal block sounds good. If not I am just going to use a 4x4 junction box and use the 1/2" holes and wire clamps.
I'll be starting the thread soon and posting pictures so you can tell me if I am doing wrong.

 

[Th3 Sp3wMoNk3y]

Hi all.
I posted this in the ventilation thread but think it probably belongs here.

I'm running pc fans with a 12v adapter but want to put something like this thermostat in:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Digital-Electronic-Temperature-Control-Controller-Thermostat-12V-Digital-LCD-hv2-/300895859431

I found a diagram:

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/help-needed-337318/

So does this sound right?

12v ADAPTER --- Live in socket 1 and looped to socket 3.
Neutral in socket 4

PC FAN --- Live in socket 2. Neutral in socket 4.

Cheers for any help

 

[rives]

I'm running pc fans with a 12v adapter but want to put something like this thermostat in:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Digital-Ele...-Thermostat-12V-Digital-LCD-hv2-/300895859431

I found a diagram:

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/help-needed-337318/

So does this sound right?

12v ADAPTER --- Live in socket 1 and looped to socket 3.
Neutral in socket 4

PC FAN --- Live in socket 2. Neutral in socket 4.

Cheers for any help

The diagram that you found is for 120vac, not 12vdc. Your connection description is accurate, but your terms are wrong - if you are using 12vdc, there is no such thing as a "neutral", that is a AC term. Your "live" wire will be the positive, and your "neutral" will be the negative.

A word of caution - the contact description refers to the internal relay contacts as being for AC. They may not last long switching DC. DC rated contacts are designed differently in order to clean off an oxide that builds up and raises the resistance of the contacts when switching DC, and they sometimes have a provision for stopping arcing. AC loads don't create the oxidation, and the arc is self-extinguishing.

 

[Th3 Sp3wMoNk3y]

Thanks so much for taking the time to have a look.
Would I be better just going for the 240v and wiring as described with a cut up extension lead instead and then just plug in my adapter?

 

[rives]

Thanks so much for taking the time to have a look.
Would I be better just going for the 240v and wiring as described with a cut up extension lead instead and then just plug in my adapter?

You are in Europe, and haven't bought the controller yet?

Yes, you would probably get better life out of the contacts if you got an AC-powered controller and then placed the adapter between the controller and the fan in the circuit. The inrush current into power supplies/transformers can be pretty high, but those contacts should handle it if they are rated for 5a/220v.

 

[Th3 Sp3wMoNk3y]

You are in Europe, and haven't bought the controller yet?

Yes, you would probably get better life out of the contacts if you got an AC-powered controller and then placed the adapter between the controller and the fan in the circuit. The inrush current into power supplies/transformers can be pretty high, but those contacts should handle it if they are rated for 5a/220v.

Na haven't bought it yet, and close..I'm in Aus.
Looks like I'll pick a couple up and give it a go.

Cheers for your help again rives, you're a legend

 

[cannacoob]

looking for opinions on this service breaker panel

looking for opinions on this service breaker panel

not sure if this is the correct thread, but here goes. i'm buying a house and found something interesting with the service breaker panel. the house i'm currently renting has a scary old federal pacific panel & all kinds of bad wiring so i want to aware of possible issues with the new property. if anyone with more experience cares to give their opinion i'd really appreciate it

it looks like the main power service is connected to a double pole breaker (cutler hammer BR2125 - C2125) that has a 20amp connected to a 125amp. this seemed odd to me but i'm no electrician. is there any good reason for this?

here is a photo of the panel:

& here's a close-up of the 20/125 combo breaker:

 

[rives]

That's the damndest thing that I've ever seen. The part number indicates that it is a double-pole, 125a breaker (BR2125). Since the part number is on the same breaker as the 20a handle, the only thing that I can come up with is that the operating handle must have gotten into the wrong bin prior to the breaker assembly at the factory. The breaker shells are riveted together, so I don't see how it could have been changed later.

If it really was a 20a breaker on that side, the common trip would trip the main as soon as the load on that phase exceeded 20a. I would think that would happen pretty quickly when feeding an entire house.

I think that you have a collector item there!

 

[cannacoob]

thanks for the quick reply. so you think it's most likely is a double 125--just incorrectly labeled? i was in the house earlier with the central a/c & most of the lights on. i would think that would have tripped the 20amp shared breaker though--maybe not

 

[rives]

thanks for the quick reply. so you think it's most likely is a double 125--just incorrectly labeled? i was in the house earlier with the central a/c & most of the lights on. i would think that would have tripped the 20amp shared breaker though--maybe not

Yep. I've never seen a factory double-pole breaker with different amperages on each phase. I can't imagine that it wouldn't be tripping constantly if it was feeding half the house load on 20 amps.

 

[heirplain]

220-volt outlet to 110-volt outlet

220-volt outlet to 110-volt outlet

I would like to change an outlet in a space I'm using from the 220-volt dryer outlet to a 110-volt outlet. Will I need to run a 3 wire cord from the breaker to the outlet box or can I use the existing 4 wire cord from the 220-volt outlet. Can I wire (2) 110-volt outlets from (1) 220-volt? Any input is much appreciated.

thanks,

heirplain

 

[rives]

I would like to change an outlet in a space I'm using from the 220-volt dryer outlet to a 110-volt outlet. Will I need to run a 3 wire cord from the breaker to the outlet box or can I use the existing 4 wire cord from the 220-volt outlet. Can I wire (2) 110-volt outlets from (1) 220-volt? Any input is much appreciated.

thanks,

heirplain

If your existing receptacle is 4-wire, then it is set up for 120/240v, not just 240v. Yes, you could run (2) 120v circuits on the existing run and put them on separate circuits. There will be (2) hot legs, a neutral and a ground in the 4-wire circuit. Either hot leg, a neutral, and ground are all that is required for a 120v circuit.

The existing circuit breaker will need to be changed out - it is probably either 30 or 50 amps, which is going to be far too much for your 120v receptacle(s). The breaker needs to be sized to protect the lightest-rated component in the circuit, so if you are using 15a or 20a receptacles, then you need to use either 15a or 20a breakers to feed the circuit.

Another path for you to consider would be to pick up a small subpanel and feed it with a dryer cordset. This would give you lots of flexibility for future use, you wouldn't need to change any of the existing wiring, and you could size the breakers in the subpanel appropriately for whatever you are powering.

 

[heirplain]

Many thanks for sharing your time and expertise rives. The subpanel idea is great.

 

[Mr Blah]

Got a question for Rives or other sparks out there.

Doing a little work for a friend.
He is going to need 5 circuits total;
3-120v to run fans,deh,timers, etc...
2-240v for lights.

The 240 is what I have a question on.
What is the best way to run them from the panel? (which is about 10' away next floor down)
I want to run 10/2 wire to the first recp and daisy chain them together but running 10g wire with a 30amp breaker to a 20amp recp isn't the best.
Should I run a 8/3 wire 40amp breaker from the panel into a smaller panel and have 3-20amp breakers out of that? (more money) The only reason I need three is that he is going to run 2-1K lights in one tent and 1-600w in another.

Whats the best way to run this?

 

[rives]

I'm a bit confused about what you need here - do you need 5 circuits or 5 receptacles? It sounds like the 120v load could be on one circuit (depending on the dehuey) and the lights could easily be on a single 240v circuit - with ballast losses, they should pull a bit under 12 amps, and you can pull up to 12 amps on a 15a circuit continuously (or 16 amps on a 20a circuit).

10 gauge wire is going to be a pretty tight squeeze in a 20 amp receptacle, and you should definitely not feed the circuit with a 30 amp breaker - you always size the protection (the breaker) to the lightest-rated component in the circuit.

If you really do need or want 5 circuits, running the sub-panel would be the method that I would use. It maximizes your flexibility in the future and you can tailor the breaker sizes to give you maximum flexibility and circuit protection.

 

[Mr Blah]

Thanks Rives.
He might go with a MLC12dual trigger light box. Plug and play.
Than I just need to wire a 60 or an 80 amp breaker.

But on another question; Can you daisy chain 240v single plug receptacles in line. Well I know it can be done but is it safe?

 

[rives]

Sure, you just need to keep the wire and breaker sized appropriately for the receptacle amperage.

 

[fatigues]

I would like to wire a PC case (heavily modded) with a plug in cord, and then distribute the power within the case to two separate digital ballasts (WH3 and WH 5).

Do I want to be using a plastic chock to do this inside the case or is there some other terminal product I should be using? Space is at an absolute premium, but I also do not want something looking like it was a spit and kleenex job.

Any advice on what part(s) I should be using for this task?

 

[rives]

I'm not sure what you mean by "a plastic chock"? I would use terminal blocks - there are many industrial styles available, but they are a bit spendy and require numerous parts and pieces. For your purposes, one of the following terminal strips from Radio Shack would work well. They are rated at 30 amps and 600 volts, and can be cut down if you don't need all of the available terminals. The screws require a pretty small screwdriver, so you may need to pick one up at the same time if you don't have one.

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2103986