Master Bedroom conversion..need advice

[marrdogg]

You can tap directly into the 220 from the recepticle. As far as amperage if you read I said maybe more/maybe less. Wiring to that recepticle will handle 220amp as it is I believe 10 gauge. Now the wiring you run for your outlets does not have to be 10 gauge as 12 would handle the load. If this wasn't at all possible then the 6000w+ that I am running in my room would have caught fire a long time ago young sir! Also there is a plug and play unit that will plug directly into the recepticle. So don't say something will not work been doing this a long time son!
__________________
Old Enough Ta Know Better,Too Old To Try It Again!

^^^^There are a number of errors is this post - in fact, most of it is incorrect. I would suggest telling the electrician that your wife is a pottery nut and insists on giving up the master bedroom for her kilns and mixers. Have a 60 amp, 240v sub-panel installed and you can do pretty much whatever you want now and in the future.

Each line on a double-pole 50 amp breaker will carry 50 amps, not 25. You need to find out what voltage your lighting requires and build accordingly.

Do not up-size a breaker until you know if the wire will handle it - the wire will very seldom be adequate to increase the breaker size.

The existing 240v outlet that you made reference to could possibly be used, depending on what amperage it is and the options to route the power from it.

 

[rives]

You can tap directly into the 220 from the recepticle. As far as amperage if you read I said maybe more/maybe less. Wiring to that recepticle will handle 220amp as it is I believe 10 gauge. Now the wiring you run for your outlets does not have to be 10 gauge as 12 would handle the load. If this wasn't at all possible then the 6000w+ that I am running in my room would have caught fire a long time ago young sir! Also there is a plug and play unit that will plug directly into the recepticle. So don't say something will not work been doing this a long time son!
__________________
Old Enough Ta Know Better,Too Old To Try It Again!

First of all, I'm not your son. Secondly, I am a retired industrial electrician, and it is obvious from your confusion about terms that you don't have an electrical background. You have absolutely no idea what size wire is attached to the receptacle since the op has mentioned neither the breaker amperage or the receptacle form factor, and you've gone from saying that it is +/- a 50 amp circuit to stating that it has 10-12 gauge wire (rated at 30 and 20 amps, respectively). I'm glad that your house hasn't burned down, but you are not giving good advice.

 

[marrdogg]

No my house hasn't burnt down and no I do not have an electrical background I am a carpenter by trade but in my business you do have friends that are licensed electrician and glad they do help. So what you are saying is that he can not run power from his 220 recepticle split it and power his equipment, if this is true I will shut up respectfully. Also I see your kinda wound too tight so will leave you to your business. Also I do take info kindly and use it, I also see that you do have electrical knowledge which I only have basic. Which is case in point if I can do it with a little instruction someone else can too. And no you are not my son probably too old, that was a figure of speech but your wound so tight you can't stop to see that before bad mouthin. I get along with everyone but it is a way you address people to obtain the same respect you want them to afford you, with that said I am by no means here to offend or judge, just to seek and learn and to give a little in the process. So maybe we can start this off new and maybe I can learn from you and maybe, just maybe, you can learn from me. PEACE!

 

[praisehim.]

get an electrician. Do it once, do it right.

 

[Caravaggio]

get an electrician. Do it once, do it right.

Love to. But finding one that is ok with walking into a house with 36 plants growing is gonna be tough.

 

[rives]

No my house hasn't burnt down and no I do not have an electrical background I am a carpenter by trade but in my business you do have friends that are licensed electrician and glad they do help. So what you are saying is that he can not run power from his 220 recepticle split it and power his equipment, if this is true I will shut up respectfully. Also I see your kinda wound too tight so will leave you to your business. Also I do take info kindly and use it, I also see that you do have electrical knowledge which I only have basic. Which is case in point if I can do it with a little instruction someone else can too. And no you are not my son probably too old, that was a figure of speech but your wound so tight you can't stop to see that before bad mouthin. I get along with everyone but it is a way you address people to obtain the same respect you want them to afford you, with that said I am by no means here to offend or judge, just to seek and learn and to give a little in the process. So maybe we can start this off new and maybe I can learn from you and maybe, just maybe, you can learn from me. PEACE!

No, Marrdogg, I'm not all that tightly wound. Your "son" and "young sir" just sounded a wee bit condescending to me, and your advice was potentially dangerous. In answer to your question, the 240v receptacle's output could possibly be split into (2) 120v legs if there is a neutral present (a 4-wire 120/240v receptacle vs a 3-wire 240v only receptacle). I wouldn't do this out of a plug as you suggested previously because there would be no good way to bring out the two separate lines - going into a box with a 4-wire cord and breaking it out in there would be preferable. Protecting the new receptacles would then be an issue, the existing amperage levels would be way too high for a standard 15 or 20 amp 120v receptacle. The DXSound option takes care of all of these issues.

 

[Ichabod Crane]

If you don't want to get a electrician I think you are best off going with DX or someone else similar to DX. As far as the cost of the cord, high price is relative to who is paying. I still think it is relatively cheap compared to getting a electrician to do the work. I believe the guy who runs DX is also a electrician so he can wire the cord on with the box. If it where me I would add a little extra length to be safe and in case you moved your grow somewhere else.

 

[rives]

If you don't want to get a electrician I think you are best off going with DX or someone else similar to DX. As far as the cost of the cord, high price is relative to who is paying. I still think it is relatively cheap compared to getting a electrician to do the work. I believe the guy who runs DX is also a electrician so he can wire the cord on with the box. If it where me I would add a little extra length to be safe and in case you moved your grow somewhere else.

Absolutely correct on all points. I just didn't want him to succumb to sticker shock when he found out the price on, say, a 50' 6/4 extension cord (for example - $423 for a 75' 6/4 cord at HomeDepot.com. Free shipping, though!).

 

[Caravaggio]

If you don't want to get a electrician I think you are best off going with DX or someone else similar to DX. As far as the cost of the cord, high price is relative to who is paying. I still think it is relatively cheap compared to getting a electrician to do the work. I believe the guy who runs DX is also a electrician so he can wire the cord on with the box. If it where me I would add a little extra length to be safe and in case you moved your grow somewhere else.

Thanks man. This is exactly what we are looking into

 

[Ichabod Crane]

No problem. Most people are willing to help. Some don't get along to well but weed threw and find what you like and set your run up the way that is best for you. Keep in mind not every one gives good advice my self included so be careful and use your best judgement.

 

[Grizz]

its pretty simple to plug a 4 prong 220 into the dryer receptical and run it to a sub panel with 20 amp breakers for 110 use or a 30 or 40 amp 220 breaker, there is a common wire, a equipment ground and 2 hots, alot cheaper than the prebuilt units i have priced, also cheaper than buying all that heavy gauge extension cord.

Rives i have never incontered a problem with having to much amps, not enough for sure but not to much, whatever you plug into a say 30 amp circut isent going to pull 30 amp, just what it needs, thus i dont see what the problem would be splitting a 220 line into 2 110 lines , even if they both are still drawing 50 amp to your 110 recteptical as long as you use approved wire to handle the amps,

 

[rives]

its pretty simple to plug a 4 prong 220 into the dryer receptical and run it to a sub panel with 20 amp breakers for 110 use or a 30 or 40 amp 220 breaker, there is a common wire, a equipment ground and 2 hots, alot cheaper than the prebuilt units i have priced, also cheaper than buying all that heavy gauge extension cord.

Rives i have never incontered a problem with having to much amps, not enough for sure but not to much, whatever you plug into a say 30 amp circut isent going to pull 30 amp, just what it needs, thus i dont see what the problem would be splitting a 220 line into 2 110 lines , even if they both are still drawing 50 amp to your 110 recteptical as long as you use approved wire to handle the amps,

What wire are you going to use in place of the heavy gauge extension cord that is rated for the amperage?

What I meant by having too much amperage available is that the breaker protecting the circuit should be no larger (in ampacity) than any of the downstream components that it is supposed to protect. Yes, things only pull as much current as they need until they malfunction. If you have a piece of equipment short out, it will pull all of the current that the system can source until the breaker trips. If you have a 15 amp receptacle and 14-18 gauge cord set running off of a 50 amp circuit breaker, you have the potential for big problems. You said "if you used approved wire to handle the amps" - how would you get #6 wire into the receptacle holes that are designed for #12? That is why we don't just run everything off of the 200 amp main and call it good.

 

[Grizz]

yep i see what your saying and a true, what i meant by cheaper than a big extension cord is using a dryer or stove pig tail cord to the sub panel with 20 amp breakers and wiring from breakers to 110 plugs for lighting, 50 or 40, or 60 amp to sub panel , he said he had a dryer vent close by and a 50 amp for the stove in the kitchen, romex from the sub panels if needed to recepticals, if its like you say each hot wire will provide 50 amps so two 20 amp breakers per line totaling 4 , correct ?

 

[rives]

You can't really set a limit on the number of downstream breakers based on what is feeding them (your example of 2 - 20a breakers on each leg) because you don't know how heavily loaded each one might be. For instance, my house panel is a 200 amp panel, and I probably have at least (10) 20 amp breakers, (20) 15 amp breakers, and a hand-full of 30,50, and 100 amp breakers. If you totaled up all of the distribution breakers to arrive at the size of the main, I could be running a small factory off of my service. Each branch circuit needs to be calculated to stay at or under 80% of the breaker size for continuous loads, and the same for the main breaker feeding them.

For instance, if you are running (4) 1000 watt ballasts at 120v, they will pull just shy of 9 amps each with ballast losses included. This load is too much for two of them on a single 20 amp breaker because of the 80% rule. You could run them individually off of 15 amp breakers, and have twice as many breakers, but the load on the main would be the same.

It is also important to keep the phases "balanced" so that each leg has close to the same load. For example, you wouldn't want to have your lighting on one leg and your fans on the other - it is better to have them equally divided.

 

[Grizz]

good advice,

 

[crisscross]

It is also important to keep the phases "balanced" so that each leg has close to the same load. For example, you wouldn't want to have your lighting on one leg and your fans on the other - it is better to have them equally divided.

very accurate post. only thing to keep in mind is that 'regular' electric work is usually done differently. Receptacles on one circuit and lighting on another circuit.

Just be safe and keep asking questions if hiring an electrician is out of the question.

 

[Avinash.miles]

if u r in a med state, try networkin w other caregivers u kno
see if you can can get in touch w an electrician who has worked on grows and is trustworthy from other people you knows experience
thats just 1 option.

 

[Mr Eckted]

No my house hasn't burnt down and no I do not have an electrical background I am a carpenter by trade but in my business you do have friends that are licensed electrician and glad they do help. So what you are saying is that he can not run power from his 220 recepticle split it and power his equipment, if this is true I will shut up respectfully. Also I see your kinda wound too tight so will leave you to your business. Also I do take info kindly and use it, I also see that you do have electrical knowledge which I only have basic. Which is case in point if I can do it with a little instruction someone else can too. And no you are not my son probably too old, that was a figure of speech but your wound so tight you can't stop to see that before bad mouthin. I get along with everyone but it is a way you address people to obtain the same respect you want them to afford you, with that said I am by no means here to offend or judge, just to seek and learn and to give a little in the process. So maybe we can start this off new and maybe I can learn from you and maybe, just maybe, you can learn from me. PEACE!

He could tap into the receptacle to get 220V, or 2x 110V if there's a neutral conductor, which we don't know since we haven't seen it.

Also, don't tell people to run 10 or 12 gauge wire from a range / dryer plug. You may very well kill them. Never attach a gauge of wire to a circuit that has a lower amperage rating than the safety device (circuit breaker) on the circuit.

Every piece of equipment on a breaker must be able to withstand the maximum amperage that the breaker will allow to pass through, or you may end up drawing too much current through a wire, plug or switch that isn't rated for it. ( Which will cause it to light on fire most of the time.)

 

[Mr Eckted]

What you should do is get ballasts that can run 240V. You could easily run two 1000W on a 240V 15A circuit, and you could probably get away with three. You could then run two other 1000W on a 25A 120V, and one on a 15A 120V. Or three on separate 15A 120V s,

 

[rives]

What you should do is get ballasts that can run 240V. You could easily run two 1000W on a 240V 15A circuit, and you could probably get away with three. You could then run two other 1000W on a 25A 120V, and one on a 15A 120V. Or three on separate 15A 120V s,

I agree with everything that you have written with the exception of the part that I bolded. "Probably get away with", yes, probably. Good idea? No, it would exceed the 80% rule by a fair margin.