How can i run one light off my dryer outlet?

[mjr99]

Dude, there are many ways to skin a cat. You kind of need to get the hang of asking the right questions to get the right answers, and of supplying enough information for people to address your problems. I'm not trying to get on your case. Just giving you a pointer for next time you have a question.

Back to your problem... How far is your grow from your dryer plug? Do you need to be able to keep the dryer plug operable for the dryer - like meanbean said? Do you have an attic or crawl space above your rooms? Do you own or rent?

You don't have to buy a prefab ext. cord, the male plug end can be purchased separately and it's easy to connect. Same thing with the timer. I didn't understand that you wanted to DIY this whole thing. It really is a piece of cake to do, it just seemed from your questions that were looking for something more plug and play.

PC

Would definitely prefer a plug and play solution but you guys make it sound like the diy isnt too difficult so i might as well look into that. One thing i dont want to do is fool with the house outlets or breaker box though.

To your questions... I do not need to keep my dryer operable. I do have an attic and my grow room can be reached from the dryer outlet with a 25ft. cord. I rent the house.

 

[PharmaCan]

Would definitely prefer a plug and play solution but you guys make it sound like the diy isnt too difficult so i might as well look into that. One thing i dont want to do is fool with the house outlets or breaker box though.

To your questions... I do not need to keep my dryer operable. I do have an attic and my grow room can be reached from the dryer outlet with a 25ft. cord. I rent the house.

Cool - information to work with.

Take a look at this link. The black cord on the left is what you want. It's $32 on this one site; might be cheaper if you shop around. Since the wire is just stripped on one end, you can get it in and out of the attic with a real small hole that is easy to patch.

Then you get one of these. I think that's a 240v dpst timer. If not 240v dpst is what you want.

Hook the timer to your rv cord and then to a receptacle, plug in your light and you're growing - with lots of room to expand in the future. Be sure to use 10/2 wire from the timer to the receptacle box. Mounting the timer and receptacle on a piece of plywood is handy too.

PC

 

[puff adder]

Here's some pics. One is the two plugs, the black one is the one I bought that you assemble and wire yourself.

One pic is of the wire going into the ceiling, and the coiled extra that I had planned on using to run directly to the power box, just never got around to it.

The last pic is of the wire coming back down into the room, it comes down through the same hole I used for the ducting and goes to the controller.

Not real pro, but it is plug and play, and pretty stealthy, with little damage to the house.

Hope this helps,

Puff

 

[PharmaCan]

Here's some pics. One is the two plugs, the black one is the one I bought that you assemble and wire yourself.

One pic is of the wire going into the ceiling, and the coiled extra that I had planned on using to run directly to the power box, just never got around to it.

The last pic is of the wire coming back down into the room, it comes down through the same hole I used for the ducting and goes to the controller.

Not real pro, but it is plug and play, and pretty stealthy, with little damage to the house.

Hope this helps,

Puff

Pictures are worth a thousand words...

Whether he buys a pre-fab cord or makes his own, that's what he wants. Do you have a pic of the timer end of your rig? That would probably help the OP a lot too.

I might disagree that a 50' coil of wire on top of your washer is stealthy, but, hey, if it fits with your decor - cool! lol

PC

 

[stagehand099]

All you need to know to build it,

All you need to know to build it,

This is simple to build and pretty much what you seem to want/need. I've built 3 of these and they work perfectly. And you can use a cheap 120v digi timer to trigger the relay. Its almost exactly the same setup as the CAP or Sentinel 30A controller without the fancy box and $50-$60 less expensive. Roll your sleeves up and get after it!


http://www.hydroponics.net/learn/grow-light-controller.asp

 

[mjr99]

thanks everyone.

 

[JACKtheREFFER]

I use a store bought timer controller but i have it feed from my dryer outlet..I have this plug wired to some 8-2 romex and run to the controller ... And yes i have a alarm set on my cell to make sure i dont forget to change the plug if i have done laundry ..the wife has learned to remember to plug it back in

 

[puff adder]

Here's a pic of the controller. The wire comes directly down from the ceiling.

No one goes into my garage anyways, but yeah, "kind of" stealthy would be a good description. If I get rid of the extra wire, I think just the wire going from the outlet up into the ceiling would be easy to cover, that would be "pretty" stealthy.

Original plan was to have wire continue in ceiling to the breaker box ("very stealthy") but the location of the main box doesn't easily allow this without a bunch of work.

 

[solarz]

big thanks to everyone in this thread. The info helps out a lot.

 

[mjr99]

Just cant believe there isnt one of these with 220v receptecles instead of 120v out there somewhere.

 

[JACKtheREFFER]

buy some 240 receptacles and swap them out. or do the same to your balasts. all of mine plug into the 240 circut with standard 120v plugs.

 

[Strainhunter]

Do it right from the beginning.

Study this site, it is far from rocket science:

http://www.hammerzone.com/archives/elect/panel/sub_panel/01/new.htm

 

[PharmaCan]

Just cant believe there isnt one of these with 220v receptecles instead of 120v out there somewhere.

Here's the thing - even if you could buy exactly what you want, just like the pic except 240v, it is more work to patch the big holes you would have to make in your ceilings to thread that mofo thru the attic than it is to thread a wire with a bare end thru small holes and hook up the plugs after the wire is run.

PC

 

[nvarma]

timer isnt working

timer isnt working

Go to home DePot or Lowe's and look in their electrical department near the extension cords, they have dryer cords with the plug you want on one end. Get one of those dryer cords. (If you want a 30 amp extension cord, go to an RV supply.)

Once you get the cord it will have three wires on one end. Hook those wires to a 240v Intermatic timer. From the timer, run a piece of 12/2 romex to a box and install a regular receptacle. Switch your ballast to 240v and plug it in. The 120v cord will work fine.

This really is a simple procedure. You essentially only need to strip the ends of 9 wires, slide them in slots and tighten the screws. You also need to remove a couple knockouts and install romex connectors in the holes, but a chimpanzee could do that.

If you really feel incapable of doing this simple DIY, about your only alternative is to buy one of those pre-made boxes that's plug-and-play.

PC

Ok so tried this method and my timer isnt working. Also I plugged the cord into the 240 side of my ballast it didnt work. I tried the 125 side and the light turned on using the manual override. I need help getting the timer wired correctly so that it works. Can someone send me a diagram of how to wire 240v timer to 125v receptacle si that the timer operates. I know a couple years later but hopefully someone still listening out there

 

[Loc Dog]

Ok so tried this method and my timer isnt working. Also I plugged the cord into the 240 side of my ballast it didnt work. I tried the 125 side and the light turned on using the manual override. I need help getting the timer wired correctly so that it works. Can someone send me a diagram of how to wire 240v timer to 125v receptacle si that the timer operates. I know a couple years later but hopefully someone still listening out there

A Google or Youtube search, would be more productive.

 

[rives]

Ok so tried this method and my timer isnt working. Also I plugged the cord into the 240 side of my ballast it didnt work. I tried the 125 side and the light turned on using the manual override. I need help getting the timer wired correctly so that it works. Can someone send me a diagram of how to wire 240v timer to 125v receptacle si that the timer operates. I know a couple years later but hopefully someone still listening out there

There is a lot of advice in here, and much of it is poor.

You shouldn't be using 120v cords or plugs with 240v, it's inviting a disaster. 30 amp dryer receptacles shouldn't be used to power 15 or 20 amp components (standard 120v receptacles, 12/2 romex, etc) because there is no protection for the lighter-rated equipment.

You need to give some information on which timer you are using if you want to know how to wire it - each manufacturer is different. A 3-wire dryer cord is incapable of being safely used for 120v - there is no neutral, and the only way to make it work is to use the ground as a neutral. The diagram in post #7 is wrong.

 

[Loc Dog]

Just buy a 120V timer?????????? What is it 10 dollars??

If you are trying to mix 120 and 240 equipment, without electrician or equivalent, you are inviting fire.

 

[rives]

I haven't seen a 120v timer yet that is rated for switching a 1k ballast. The high-wattage ratings for them are always for resistive loads (like heaters), and if you look at the capacitive or ballast ratings they are always MUCH lower. Most of the cheap stuff isn't even rated because it hasn't been tested - always buy UL and/or CSA approved gear.

 

[DrFever]

a 1000 watt ballast uses nine amps at 110 volts or 4.5 amps at 220 volts go on a typical dryer outlet. You can run six lights at 4.5 amps, 220 volts for a total of 27 amps, 220 volts or six lights at 9 amps 110 volts (three lights each side of the 220 volt circuit) for 27 amps at 110 volts and 27 amps on the other 110 volts

A 220 volt circuit is a three wire circuit with two hotwires and a shared neutral (white) wire so that there would be 27 amps on each hot wire for a total of 27 amps at 220 volts.
here the best investment you will ever make

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/CAP-MLC-8X-M...0v-240v-lighting-lights-ballast-/120813630727


So Forget the dryer out let Go to your breaker box http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uMPkGRnXSY

 

[nvarma]

Thanks for the replies guys. Ok so here are the details, I have a little bit of a different set up than the guy who originally posted but the general idea is that I need to tap my dryer outlet without messing with the outlet itself or the breaker box. Based on the post I went off of to get started, I was told to attach a dryer cord to a 240v Intermatic Timer (Model T104). Use 12/2 Romex to connect to 120v receptacle...but apparently this part is wrong. So here is a list of parts I did buy, let me know what to switch each part out with.

600W Ballast and Light
Standard 3 Prong Dryer Cord
Intermatic 240 V timer (Model T104)
20A-125V Receptacle
12/2 w/g Type Nm-B (wire)


Rives, based on your post above use the 12/2 and 125v receptacle is risky business. Is everything else on my list ok? What should I switch out the 12/2 and 125v receptacle with?