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MLC-8x

DONAJTHEIII

DONAJTHEIII

Member
whats up guys !


so I recently upgraded from a mlc-4x to the 8x I know im a big boy now right :D


anyways I had my electrician put a subpanel with a 30amp for my 4x a while back and Ive been running 4k on it ever since.

I switched now to 600's since I got a good deal from my homies and working on more light distribution for my set up.

So i wont be using 1k's with the 8x I will be using 600's

im no electrcian so im hoping some exp. people on here can clarify this for me.


I will only be using a total of 6 600w lights on the mlc8x
so a total of 3600w.

I was using 4 1000's on my mlc 8x. so thats a total of 4000w.


so heres the big question

Can I run my new mlc-8x on the 30amp and just swap out the 4x and replace in with the 8x. or am i not understanding something ?


I talked to my shop i got the 8x at and they did the math and said if Im using 600's I can plug in 8 lights on the 8x and still be good on a 30amp.

is this also true ? I probably wont be using 8 lights anytime soon anyway but might get another 600w in the near future after you guys give me your input.


On the mlc8x box it say to use a 50amp breaker but there assuming im guessing that some people will be plugging in 8k of lighting. am i right ?


Thanks guys would just like to have confirmation that the guys at my shop were right better safe than sorry i always say

:tiphat:



AJAE
 
W

Wendull C.

Active member
Veteran
Run a new dedicated circuit w 8 guage wire and a 40 amp breaker. The last thing any grower wants is a fire.
I understand your calculations and technically you are correct but
if you make a mistake or a worker does and tries to draw more amps you will have a fire.
With electricity one should not take short cuts. Besides what is a bit of 8 wire and a two pole 40amp breaker to do it right?
 
DONAJTHEIII

DONAJTHEIII

Member
First off its a hassle tbh because im no electrician and I dont know how to install a two pole 40amp breaker. I currently have a dedicated circuit with a 30amp. is it that easy to take the 30amp out and put in a 40 amp ? and idk what you mean wendull about making a mistake and there are no workers lol

Hey Hvac thanks for the link. I actually have a 8dx and tbh my cap products have never given me problems and my buds had his 8x for 6 yrs plus and still running.


So can someone tell me am I ok with a 30amp breaker for my mlc-8dx if Im running only 6 600w lights ?


thanks fellas !


wendull its kind of sketch i feel like having some random electrician over asking for a 40amp breaker so im hoping im good to go with the 30amp thats already there


AJAE
 
W

Wendull C.

Active member
Veteran
From the sub panel you run the 8 wire it is 8/2 Romex. It has 3 wires in it two hots and a bare
copper wire that is the ground.
In a sub ppanel you must split the neutral and ground bar. The ground bar will have the bare copper wires and the neutral will usually have white wires in it.
Land the ground wire in the ground bar and you are left with two hot legs white and black. Tape the white wire red or black and land them in the two lugs on your two pole 40 amp breaker.
Do not put the breaker in the panel until you are done wiring the mlc.
Open the mlc you will see a ground lug with a green wire coming out of one side. Land the ground bare copper wire there.
Two more lugs side by side are your power lugs. Land the white and black wire in those lugs and tighten them well along with the ground. Put the mlc back together.
Now put the breaker in the panel and flip it on.
The mlc tends to start hard so after a week or two check and if necessary tighten the lugsagain.
To answer your question yes the other circuit would work but it doesn't offer the protection that a larger circuit will.
 
W

Wendull C.

Active member
Veteran
I forgot. First turn off the sub panel at the feed breaker in the main panel. Pm me if you Dec ice to go that route and get stuck. Good day to you and yours man.
 
R

Rotel

Member
Use #6 cu from a 50a double pole breaker to your controller.

This will provide 40 amps of "continuous" power (×1.25)
 
DONAJTHEIII

DONAJTHEIII

Member
fuck wendull lol no ones saying its that safe to use that 30amp breaker :(

im going to have my friend come over whos alot better at wires and shit than i am hes not an electrician but two heads are better than one.

wendull bro ok let me get this straight

i have a subpanel with one 30amp breaker dedicated to my mlc-4

I need to turn the main power off that supplies that subpanel before I start switching out the 30amp to the 40amp ? am i correct ? I just dont flip the 30amp breaker in the off position and yank it out. the main power supply has to be shut off first is what your saying right ?


Ok so Ill wire up the mlc-8dx to one end of the 8 gauge romex first

then ill wire up the other side to the new double pole 40amp breaker

Then i take out the old 30amp breaker and 10 awg cord and pop in the new 40amp breaker in its spot ?


Is it really as easy as it sounds or am i missing something.


ill take photos of my panel box and stuff and upload them in a couple of minutes fellas.

thanks again guys




AJAE
 
DONAJTHEIII

DONAJTHEIII

Member
I wish I could just use the 30amp and awg wire that was there though

I wont be running anymore than 4 600w in one room and 2 600w in the other for a total of 3600w.


I dont get how running my mlc-4x with four 4k lamps on the 30amp with 10awg (4k total)

was safer than

an mlc-8dx with 6 600w on a 30amp with 10awg wire (3600w total)


What am i missing wendull ? you stated above that it doesnt offer enough protection but i dont see how that makes sense if I use to run 4k of lights on my mlc 4x. I just cant plug in 6 600w lights into my mlc 4x which is why i want to put in a 8dx. Im not increasing wattage like most people do when getting a bigger lightining controller im actually decreasing total wattage.

Unless im missing something that only exp. electricians or people know ?

isnt the equation

Amps X volts = watts


:dunno:




AJAE
 
DONAJTHEIII

DONAJTHEIII

Member
Ahhh wendull so i think ill stick with the 30amp for this run and when i decide to add another 600w to bring my total wattage to 4200w is when ill ugrade to the 40amp and 8awg wire.


Sound safe and right then guys ?


AJAE
 
DONAJTHEIII

DONAJTHEIII

Member
mlc 8dx up and running on the 30amp fellas


just so anyone who reads this misses the main thing

Im running 600'watters and im filling only 6 of the 8 spots on the mlc-8dx.
6 X 600 = 3600w

if i decided to fill up the other two slots with two more 600's ill upgrade to the 40amp like you guys rec.


thanks again fellas



AJAE
 
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