Power Issues, Appt Complex- Tripping Breakers

[NorCalFor20]

I am running 2400W + commerical air pump + hydro pumps+ 12,000 btu ac

all in one bedroom, the breaker dosn't trip unless the main central air conditoner cuts on which is on a seperate breaker i thought (ac and all light circuits are inside) main breaker is outside, the inside breakers never trip but the main power one does which makes me think that i am overload the main breaker, (overall wattage) but not any individual circuit within the house..... I spred those lights pumps and ac over diff circuits so they don't over load individual breakers.

i am a legal med grower, could i just tell electrican to come scope it out - he wouldn't even have to see my grow id just tell him i run about 4000w of power in my bedroom and i want to fortify my connection.

all my ballast and everything running on 110v unfortunatly because no 240 access or even dryer hookup in the appt.

all the lights and fans are also safely wired and all devices are UL listed

 

[green-thumb]

If it is in an appt then any work done by an electrician would be reported to the owner/landlord. atleast thats how it is where i am at. mainly because any work done to the main breaker would require the power being shut-off at the pole/utilities junction by the power company.

But it couldn't hurt to ask an electrician. just say that yu want the main breaker upgraded for 100 to 200 or 200 to whatever. it is a common thing for people to need lots of amps now with plasma tv, fridge, coffee pot, hairdryer, microwave, ac, etc... running at same time (i would not say anything about needing 4000w in one room). And just say you are sick of trying to get the landlord to do it and you want to pay for the upgrade yourself.

Main breaker upgrade would take about 30-45min with everything - assuming the electrician is competent and reliable. Would be about 150-200usd+ depending on hourly rate.

As far as why, you are pulling too many amps from the main breaker (ac has very high startup amps)

Hope this helps

 

[EvilTwin]

Norcalfor420,
This would be my guess as to what's happening. When a large starting surge occurs...it can temporarily drop the voltage to the rest of the apartment. If you were to stick a voltmeter in an outlet while the AC was starting, you'd see a little dip. Sometimes you can even see a dimming of lights.

OK, so you must be right at the maximum on your grow room breaker...so when the voltage dips, that increases amperage momentarily (ohm's law) causing your breaker to trip.

I would look for some way...any way for you to put some part of that load on a different circuit. Check to see of all the outlets in the room are on the same breaker. If not, then distribute the load. Also check the overhead lights. Lights are often on a separate circuit (15 amp) and you may be able to run something off the ceiling light to minimize the load of the breaker that's tripping. Get a screw in plug socket for the light and tape over the light switch to keep it on. You shouldn't have to lighten the load by too much to keep everything up and running.
Cheers,
ET

 

[NorCalFor20]

If it is in an appt then any work done by an electrician would be reported to the owner/landlord. atleast thats how it is where i am at. mainly because any work done to the main breaker would require the power being shut-off at the pole/utilities junction by the power company.

But it couldn't hurt to ask an electrician. just say that yu want the main breaker upgraded for 100 to 200 or 200 to whatever. it is a common thing for people to need lots of amps now with plasma tv, fridge, coffee pot, hairdryer, microwave, ac, etc... running at same time (i would not say anything about needing 4000w in one room). And just say you are sick of trying to get the landlord to do it and you want to pay for the upgrade yourself.

Main breaker upgrade would take about 30-45min with everything - assuming the electrician is competent and reliable. Would be about 150-200usd+ depending on hourly rate.

As far as why, you are pulling too many amps from the main breaker (ac has very high startup amps)

Hope this helps

cool so i just need to do a main breaker upgrade, sounds easy enough. Im not sure what the service is rated at currently. i know the owner of the appt and he knows what im doing maybe ill get a discount on rent for upgrading the power supply

 

[NorCalFor20]

Norcalfor420,
This would be my guess as to what's happening. When a large starting surge occurs...it can temporarily drop the voltage to the rest of the apartment. If you were to stick a voltmeter in an outlet while the AC was starting, you'd see a little dip. Sometimes you can even see a dimming of lights.

OK, so you must be right at the maximum on your grow room breaker...so when the voltage dips, that increases amperage momentarily (ohm's law) causing your breaker to trip.

I would look for some way...any way for you to put some part of that load on a different circuit. Check to see of all the outlets in the room are on the same breaker. If not, then distribute the load. Also check the overhead lights. Lights are often on a separate circuit (15 amp) and you may be able to run something off the ceiling light to minimize the load of the breaker that's tripping. Get a screw in plug socket for the light and tape over the light switch to keep it on. You shouldn't have to lighten the load by too much to keep everything up and running.
Cheers,
ET

My grow room is split over 3 breakers (circuits) and im not tripping any of them but tripping the main outdoor breaker thats the only one that ever gets over loaded.....as far as seperating out the lights on seperate breakers i knew i had to do that from the beginning when i knew i was using around 4000 watts the load is evenly distributed, but is overload the mainbreaker. Gonna have someone come fix it up so its nicer like that first guy said i think that is the problem unless im missing something

 

[EvilTwin]

Norcalfor420,
Sorry for the misunderstanding. Ya, it sounds like the above advice on upgrading that main is the ticket then.
ET

 

[NorCalFor20]

Norcalfor420,
Sorry for the misunderstanding. Ya, it sounds like the above advice on upgrading that main is the ticket then.
ET

no problem , i could be wrong, he could be wrong. Opinions are like assholes everyone has one

If i upgrade the main breaker and still having problems that means your right.

No overhead lighting thank god that would be a waste of a good circuit breaker

thanks for the advice none the less

 

[touchofgrey]

Main breaker upgrade would take about 30-45min with everything - assuming the electrician is competent and reliable. Would be about 150-200usd+ depending on hourly rate.

As far as why, you are pulling too many amps from the main breaker (ac has very high startup amps)

Hope this helps

I dlon't think you can just upgrade the main breaker b/c it relates to the panel size and the wiring between the main and the panel. If your panel is rated at 100 A then the wiring from the pole to the panel is sized for that load. You can't upgrade the panel capacity without replacing the wiring feeding the panel. If your main is popping you are exceeding the panel capacity unless the breaker is defective, which I think is unusual. GT is correct the startup load for an AC can be large but it's possible something is wrong with it. You can look up the specs online at the manuf website and find what the startup amps are supposed to be. An electrician can check the draw under startup with a simple device that clamps on the outside of the wires and reads amps by induction. you can also but this device for not much $$ at HD. Add everything up running in the house and see if it makes sense that you are that close to the breaker capacity.

If it were me, I'd cut back on the lighting or something to reduce the grow room load......

 

[EvilTwin]

Norcalfor20,
OK, I had another idea. This involves changing your lifestyle. Shut the water heater off. That has to be your largest electrical load in the apartment. (other then the grow room)

Then only turn it on at the beginning of the dark cycle. In other words...stagger your loads. I put a timer on my water heater and only have it running two hours a day. I time my showers for right after the two hours on...and the water in the heater stays warm enough for dishes and such until the next day. It will reduce your overall electrical useage too.
ET

 

[green-thumb]

I dlon't think you can just upgrade the main breaker b/c it relates to the panel size and the wiring between the main and the panel. If your panel is rated at 100 A then the wiring from the pole to the panel is sized for that load. You can't upgrade the panel capacity without replacing the wiring feeding the panel. If your main is popping you are exceeding the panel capacity unless the breaker is defective, which I think is unusual. GT is correct the startup load for an AC can be large but it's possible something is wrong with it. You can look up the specs online at the manuf website and find what the startup amps are supposed to be. An electrician can check the draw under startup with a simple device that clamps on the outside of the wires and reads amps by induction. you can also but this device for not much $$ at HD. Add everything up running in the house and see if it makes sense that you are that close to the breaker capacity.

If it were me, I'd cut back on the lighting or something to reduce the grow room load......

Most Appt's are equipped with a 500A+ main line from the pole to the main. this was done so they could run a temp master panel when building the units. They just leave the wires in place and usually stick a 100A or 200A main in there. most of the time the main can be upgraded by just replacing the main breaker and not the whole panel and wire. On single family residences or the inside breaker panel a panel upgrade is usually due to needing additional breaker slots for splitting up the load.
(I worked in home building/remodeling for 6 years)

But like I said, call an electrician and find out.
my

 

[NorCalFor20]

I dlon't think you can just upgrade the main breaker b/c it relates to the panel size and the wiring between the main and the panel. If your panel is rated at 100 A then the wiring from the pole to the panel is sized for that load. You can't upgrade the panel capacity without replacing the wiring feeding the panel. If your main is popping you are exceeding the panel capacity unless the breaker is defective, which I think is unusual. GT is correct the startup load for an AC can be large but it's possible something is wrong with it. You can look up the specs online at the manuf website and find what the startup amps are supposed to be. An electrician can check the draw under startup with a simple device that clamps on the outside of the wires and reads amps by induction. you can also but this device for not much $$ at HD. Add everything up running in the house and see if it makes sense that you are that close to the breaker capacity.

If it were me, I'd cut back on the lighting or something to reduce the grow room load......

Cut back on lighting or downsize the grow thats balderdash! Gotta keep those lights on! The airconditor is being serviced today by someone on the roof, im not touching it.....

I have been leaving the central off while the grow is going and seems to be fine now i only care about my bedroom and the grow room staying cool anyway not worried about the rest of the house...

i could have a defective breaker, weird thing is none of these breakers physcially trip, the power just goes out in the whole house, i go outside- trip the breaker manually then reset it to on position and the lights are back on....

Norcalfor20,
OK, I had another idea. This involves changing your lifestyle. Shut the water heater off. That has to be your largest electrical load in the apartment. (other then the grow room)

Then only turn it on at the beginning of the dark cycle. In other words...stagger your loads. I put a timer on my water heater and only have it running two hours a day. I time my showers for right after the two hours on...and the water in the heater stays warm enough for dishes and such until the next day. It will reduce your overall electrical useage too.
ET

Good idea, but i dont know where my water heater is, i think the appt complex runs that off one large water heater i could be wrong tho ill look arond the house real good and check!I only shower at night so i can turn the heater on around 8ish then around 10 take my shower than off it goes.... i dont use hot water for anything else so that is a good idea... any other things i can turn off?

 

[PharmaCan]

NorCal - It's not unheard of for a main breaker to go bad. That's the first thing I would check. Replacing a main breaker is a fairly simple task for an electrician.

Meanwhile, what you can do is to add up the amps for everything that is on when the breaker trips (lights, a/c, refrigerator, etc.). Then take a look at your main breaker; it should have a number etched into the tip of the handle. If the amps you are using does not exceed 80% of the number on the breaker, then you are way in the safe zone and it is, most likely, a bad breaker that's causing your problems. If you are in the 80% - 90% range, chances are you can trip a weak breaker, so there's a good chance replacing the main could solve your problem. If the amps you are using are near 100% or over then you've overloaded the main and have to find some way to cut back on your power usage.

PC