Growroom Electricity and Wiring

[med-man]

hi guys

here is the link for pics. she is 3 phase / 208 - https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=275554

i need to run her at 240..

thanks for the info

med-man

 

[Mr Blah]

Rives or any other sparky's...Finally setting up my vertical lighting for the next flip room and need advise on the wire.
Instead of buying ready made $30.00 cord and mogul I wanted to see if it is cheaper to make. Unless someone knows of a cheaper buy?
I know Rives mentioned 16g SO wire.
Ive seen people use cut up extension cords from light fixture to the flip box. Is this safe? (distance will be under 15')

Also; Is it better to hard wire the lights to the relay box using strain reliefs or to use plug in receptacles? Want it neat and safe.

Was going to use Romex 14/2 wire (I have on hand) but think this is too much.

Opinions/ pictures?

 

[rives]

The wire between the ballast and the lamp needs to have a 600v rating. SO cord is rated for that, while SJ cord (most good quality extension cords) is rated for 300v. Romex has a 600v rating, but is illegal for exposed usage and solid core wire should not be used where it is subjected to movement.

Aside from the fact that there is no appropriate NEMA design for plugs/receptacles for this application, the voltage requirement works against using them. There are some plug/cord cap combinations available that work, but they are proprietary designs, not NEMA standard, and all of the designs that I've seen are a cord cap (female end of an extension cord) rather than a receptacle that can be mounted in a box.

 

[Mr Blah]

Thanks Rives, I think I am just going to buy some vertical fixtures, just to be on the safe side.
Cheapest ones I could find are these, than cut the end off so I can mount on relays;
http://www.hydroponics.net/i/134821

 

[rives]

Those look like they would be a hard price to beat. I haven't bought a mogul socket lately, but I paid almost $15 apiece just for PGZ18 sockets, in quantity.

 

[VolcanicDirt88]

current consumption 650 kwh residencial

i had an electrician come over and take a look, hes coming back in a couple days he told that the wiring from the meter to the main panel needs to be 2 guage so thats the first thing he will change.

i dont know how many amps the main panel is

i plan on running 1600w lighting 1x1000W ballast 1x600W ballast
1/4 hp chiller
25L dehumidifier
2 fans
1 airpump
2 waterpumps
1 fish filter
1 6'inch vortex 435 cfm
1, 4000W light controller

can i have a subpanel directly in the room i plan to flower?

should i get a gfci breaker or receptacles

i know nothing about electrical all advice would be appreciated

 

[rives]

It sounds like if he's planning on #2 that you have a 100a panel.

Yes, you can have the sub set in whatever room is handiest for you. I prefer GFCI breakers over daisy-chaining the receptacles if the wiring is being done new. If you are picking up existing circuits, it may be easier to use GFCI receptacles than to try and figure out how the wiring in installed (GFCIs are very sensitive to how the neutral connections are made, and will trip out if other circuit's neutrals are tied into the protected circuit).

Holler if you have more questions.

 

[VolcanicDirt88]

exactly the man i wanted to hear from thanks so much for answering my questions rives

i am not sure what you mean by picking up existing circuits..please explain

ok so subpanel will be hooked up to the 100amp main panel?

what type of wire should it be that comes from the main panel to the subpanel ? 8 or 6 guage

ac i will be installing soon is a minisplit 12000 btus that should have it owns arc breaker as well as a gfci receptacle to plug into is that right? i plan to run it on 220V

the electrician is coming over to change the wire from meter to the panel and then put in the subpanel and make sure all the wire is in goodshape and not eaten by rodents.. my main concern is that the room i plan to use for flower is not a hazard so i dont want to miss a thing.. the area i plan on using has only two receptacles in the walls and 2 light fixtures controlled by a 2button clicker on the wall ..i hope i am explaining this right..

should i get more receptacles put in place at least 5

i am so confused about your picture what is that thing

 

[wantaknow]

I am in need of a 220 volt wiring diagram for a hot water heater with a two plug in sockets that are 110 type plugs ,thanks

 

[rives]

I am in need of a 220 volt wiring diagram for a hot water heater with a two plug in sockets that are 110 type plugs ,thanks

You've completely lost me. A picture, or a more in-depth description, perhaps?

 

[wantaknow]

the recepticals will be 220 / 240 volt but are standard household recepticals ,that run 110 ,the 220 volt ballest I have don't have a standard 220 volt power plug in ,thet are computer power cords that need 220 to them ?hope this helps

 

[rives]

So you want to run 240v into a 120v receptacle? That's a really, really poor idea. It is far too easy to accidentally plug in a 120v device and smoke it pretty much instantly, or plug your 240v ballast into a 120v receptacle because it still has the 120v cord on it with the same outcome.

Yes, you can get computer-style cords that have the 240v plug on them, or you could get a 6-15 male plug and install it on your existing cord.

A water heater feeder is usually on at least a 30 amp breaker. If you are going to use conventional 15 or 20a components the breaker will need to be changed out to match the rating of the plug/receptacle - you want the breaker to be rated for the same amperage as the downstream parts, otherwise it cannot protect them.

 

[onavelzy]

so glad to have experts like this to guide me. I've never been a handy person but reading through journals and what not, it seems like you have to have those skills to be able to do private growing.

I'll work my way through this thread as best i can but i just finished a couple of huge strain review threads so i am a little burned out right now. if this has been asked here previously, i apologize in advance: Rives, or even growers who've had to learn from scratch like i need to, what books would you suggest for the amateur grower to get to be able to better set up and run the electrical aspects of a grow?

 

[VolcanicDirt88]

?

 

[rives]

?

Well, hell. Sorry I missed your reply!

exactly the man i wanted to hear from thanks so much for answering my questions rives

i am not sure what you mean by picking up existing circuits..please explain

ok so subpanel will be hooked up to the 100amp main panel?

what type of wire should it be that comes from the main panel to the subpanel ? 8 or 6 guage

ac i will be installing soon is a minisplit 12000 btus that should have it owns arc breaker as well as a gfci receptacle to plug into is that right? i plan to run it on 220V

the electrician is coming over to change the wire from meter to the panel and then put in the subpanel and make sure all the wire is in goodshape and not eaten by rodents.. my main concern is that the room i plan to use for flower is not a hazard so i dont want to miss a thing.. the area i plan on using has only two receptacles in the walls and 2 light fixtures controlled by a 2button clicker on the wall ..i hope i am explaining this right..

should i get more receptacles put in place at least 5

i am so confused about your picture what is that thing

By "picking up existing circuits", I mean redirecting existing plug circuits into your new subpanel. It used to be very common to tie neutrals together indiscriminately, and that will not work with AFCI or GFCI receptacles. If you want to use existing wiring, using GFCI receptacles is easier because they give point-of-use protection rather than an entire circuit. If you are starting from scratch, then you can use a GFCI breaker and run the wire correctly for it's requirements.

Yes, the sub would have to be wired back to the main. The wire is sized according to how much power you want in the sub and the breaker that feeds it. If the distances involved aren't overly long, #6 wire is used for a 60 amp feed, #8 for a 40a, and #10 for 30a.

I've never dealt with a minisplit, but I think that most HVAC equipment requires a breaker with a specific rating, but that rating is now commonplace in standard breakers. A 240v GFCI receptacle might be pretty hard to find - you might have to go with a GFCI breaker in this instance.

Yes, I would have him run new receptacles on new circuits.

That is my Boxer laying on his back with his lips flopped down. It's one of his favorite positions. Sorry I missed your response earlier.

 

[rives]

so glad to have experts like this to guide me. I've never been a handy person but reading through journals and what not, it seems like you have to have those skills to be able to do private growing.

I'll work my way through this thread as best i can but i just finished a couple of huge strain review threads so i am a little burned out right now. if this has been asked here previously, i apologize in advance: Rives, or even growers who've had to learn from scratch like i need to, what books would you suggest for the amateur grower to get to be able to better set up and run the electrical aspects of a grow?

Home Depot stocks some pretty good introductory books for residential electrical. If you come up with specific questions, I monitor this thread pretty closely and would be happy to help.

 

[wantaknow]

cool ,I have a 220 volt cap multi light controller and it has 110 type recepticals on it too ? hell I thought this was a industry thing ? but I have read where the cap is crap ,lol ,so I don't want to take any chances ,I have a dedicated 220 double pole ready for this up grade ,so I need 220 volt cords for the ballest , and use 220 recepticals for the water heater timer ,ok, I getting a better idea of what I need to do here ,so can you show me where each wire goes on the timer and to the receptical x2 as I will be running 3 ballest

 

[rives]

Yes, CAP = CRAP. Those "universal" receptacles that they were so proud of were a menace to society. If you can take some pictures or post the model number of the controller, I can walk you through it.

 

[onavelzy]

Home Depot stocks some pretty good introductory books for residential electrical. If you come up with specific questions, I monitor this thread pretty closely and would be happy to help.

thx rives,
i'm sure i'll be looking for help here at various points but i want to get some basics understood too.

 

[OldSchoolGreen]

Hey Rives

Hey Rives

I'm a rookie looking for some advice. Please excuse my ignorance.

So my bloom room is in a 10x10 upstairs bedroom. I've got half of the room set up but will not continue set up until my electrical work is done, and done well. I would LOVE your help devising up a plan to approach an electrician with.

My breaker box is downstairs and the chart is unlabeled which isn't a huge help. So I need more power to go to this upstairs bedroom, it's on the same side of the house as the breaker box except in the rear of the building.

Here is all the equipment I intend on having running.

1 - 1000 watt HPS
2 - 600 watt HPS/MH
1 - 400 watt MH
1 - 450 CFM exhaust fan
3 - 180 CFM exhaust/intake fans
1 - 8,000 BTU window A/C unit
2 - 18" wall fans


Eventually (in a year or so) I'd like to be using a light controller, a nice dehumidifier, and possibly upgrading one of the 600's to 1000. So I want to have room to work with. You know?

What do you think a good idea for a set up would be running this many watts (I'm saying 5,000) with my breaker box downstairs and a little off to the side of my upstairs grow. Electrical work is really foreign so I have a buddy who is a little more familiar giving me assistance but I would appreciate the help of an expert. I want it to be as efficient as possible, and I also want to have many receptacles to plug things into. I'm going to do WHATEVER is best.

I'm really not experienced so any information is helpful. Can you help paint a picture of what I might need done?