Quick electrical question for those with experience

[Guest]

I have made over 50 of these. You need to find a local air conditioning supply and ask them for cutler hammer 240volt relay with a 120 volt coil. This means you can run 240volt appliance while turning the relay on and off with voltage across the coils magnetically attracting the contactor tongue with a 120 volt timer. You will need these things... Oh by the way, if you go to an electrical supply that carries cuttler hammer they will also have these. Call cutler hammer and ask them what your local supply houses phone numbers are.

I like using 70.00 digital 120v paragon timers because they never foul on me so I never have to worry about lights not coming on when they should.

Then I use pvc grey boxes that come in 10x10x6 that you can find at home depot in the electrical section.

Get a hole saw that will cut out a hole for 3/8" or maybe 1/2" romex clamps.

Get SO cord if u want to but romex will work fine if its mounted and never be messed with. it won't be code, but it will work. An extension cord will work to to run from the timer to the coils on the relay.

I have to be honest... You may be n better shape just boning up 200.00 and buying a Cap master light controller in either 120v or 240v. This kind of stuff can burn down your room if you wire it losely or do a foul job, etc. Have somenoe experienced explain it to you or go hit up the desk guys at the electrical place... don't let them intimidate you, most of those fags aren't that good at their job anyways, that's why they work the desk... otherwise they'd be making 10x more working in the field.

 

[Buzzsmirk!]

please make the right decision!!

please make the right decision!!

I have made over 50 of these. You need to find a local air conditioning supply and ask them for cutler hammer 240volt relay with a 120 volt coil. This means you can run 240volt appliance while turning the relay on and off with voltage across the coils magnetically attracting the contactor tongue with a 120 volt timer. You will need these things... Oh by the way, if you go to an electrical supply that carries cuttler hammer they will also have these. Call cutler hammer and ask them what your local supply houses phone numbers are.

I like using 70.00 digital 120v paragon timers because they never foul on me so I never have to worry about lights not coming on when they should.

Then I use pvc grey boxes that come in 10x10x6 that you can find at home depot in the electrical section.

Get a hole saw that will cut out a hole for 3/8" or maybe 1/2" romex clamps.

Get SO cord if u want to but romex will work fine if its mounted and never be messed with. it won't be code, but it will work. An extension cord will work to to run from the timer to the coils on the relay.

I have to be honest... You may be n better shape just boning up 200.00 and buying a Cap master light controller in either 120v or 240v. This kind of stuff can burn down your room if you wire it losely or do a foul job, etc. Have somenoe experienced explain it to you or go hit up the desk guys at the electrical place... don't let them intimidate you, most of those fags aren't that good at their job anyways, that's why they work the desk... otherwise they'd be making 10x more working in the field.

Wayzer!.., "chodo", "stonewall", "skellotor", my self are tryin our best to give you accurate/applicable advice.
"chodo" claims to have direct experience building thse controller kits/projects
we are professionals at our respective parts of the electrical trade.
"chodo's" advice and reference to the correct "contactor" u should use is fucken golden!!! please take his advice and ours too. if u are unsure of ur self
there is no shame in admitting it. we have been in this trade for years in some cases "decades" and we don't claim to "know it all" cuzz no one does if some one claims to "know it all" they r quickly labeled as "fools" and or "dangerous" by their co-workers, "chodo's" comment about the "lackies" whom sometime staff the electrical will call desk/counter come from his experiences dealing with them/they're type!! I can somewhat agree w/ his assesment of them (some!!not all of em!!), some know the stuff they rep/sell very well and can be a wealth of informative facts about the stuff ur are installin.
the point i am tryin to drive home to ya! is maybe its not worth your efforts to do this on your own, the penalty(ies) for messing this up could kill ya. burn your place down,needlessly endanger your family/loved ones, get the fire department involved ( they will report your growshow if they see it) and the
list could go on and on!!
please make the correct decision and we will support you either way!!!!
A true professional is aware of his or her limitations and makes decisions according to their expertise, any thing out of their field/forte is ussually handeled by a referral to a proffessional they feel/know will better suit/handle your needs then themselves. no ego tripps, no insecurities, just a proffessional acting in a professional manner!!
BUZZ!

 

[stonewall]

10 gauge wire to connect each 220v outlet to the relay in the junction box...?

if only one ballast is connected to each 220V outlet, you only need 14 gauge. 10 awg will not cause any problems electrically, but it's not as flexible and cost more.

14 gauge for connecting the ballasts to the 220v plug that plugs into the light controller...?

Yes

16 gauge wire to connect from the ballast to the lamp socket...???

yes,if the ballast is a 1000 watt just make sure it is rated for 600 volts.
For the ballast to lamp wire you want the smallest gauge you can get by with, so that you don't attenuate the ignition pulses. short circuit currents for 1000 watt hps is about 8 amps and for mh its about 12 with operating currents much lower.

I'll second Buzzsmirk! and agree with chodo on the fact that you can use romex for all the connections, just make sure you have the proper gauge for each situation. I like SO cord for its flexability, becuase I change the height of my lights frequently.

i dont understand why there needs to be so many... bahh...maybe im crazy

Because 1000 watt gas discharge lamps are large picky electrical loads.

 

[fuzygrowth]

wayzer bro... was gonna get fancy as well and build a light controller. i have found that it's way easier and a bit cheaper to just use a heavy duty timer to flip on all the lights. here's what i did for 8 600 what lights running on 220v .






you might want to save yourself some trouble and go that route, but the light controller does look pretty cool and it's portable. g'luck man

 

[Guest]

Dude, you scare me.... Please, please, please, find all this stuff out. These guys know what they are talking about. Even if you have to start over from scratch with, "Okay, I want to run four 1000 watters on a relay....what exactualy do I need to do it safely?"

We care, man - These guys would rather tell you step by step what you need to get and how to put it together, then guess on something "ify".

 

[Guest]

Sorry, that was kind of a turd thing to say... I was more or less talking cashiers, lol... sales guys and desk guys are different in the stores i frequent. The sales guys know it all, and the desk guys referenece them. The sales guys are usually taking orders from me on the phone, and the desk guys usually take orders from me at the store... rude of me, kinda was joking but trying to make an impression that basically, if they are not a licensed electrician doing the work, take their assessments like a grain of salt and think them through before going full speed ahead. Some guys are not electricians and advice is dangerous at best.

 

[Guest]

BTW, does anyone know what happened to Snaps_provolone? That dude was bad ass electrician. Skeletor has helped me in the past as well! You guys be safe out there and don't be afraid to ask questions!

 

[Wayzer]

Chodo: ur advice and information is greatly appreciated...

Buzz: i fully hear you and understand where ur coming from, but I KNOW, if i just have EXACTLY what i need to make these i can do it... its just the complexity of the wires boggles my mind sometimes and i wanna be sure... but everything u said is taken with much gratitude cause i know you just care not to see me die ty

stonewall: i think i love you, thanks for the wiring info... that will allow me to move ahead in my project, at least in that aspect... u rock

fuzzygrowth: thats a great setup... would like some more info about that if u have any links..

all you guys rock
im still trying to get the correct relay... which i should have tuesday and we've got the ball rolling. im gonna get this one and let u guys know how it goes... if u dont hear from me, smoke a joint in my memory

LOL

 

[Wayzer]

https://www.alliedelec.com/Search/P...SC=W199AX-15&R=850-3015&sid=451F05004CE4617F#


thats the realy i have VS

http://www.hydroponics.net/i/270060


thats the 1 used in the diy... if i had that in 120vac would it work? what are the extra screws for?

 

[Guest]

If all you're trying to run is 4 lights at 240V your best bet would be the intermatic WH 40 "little gray box"<I have 3 in my house.I actually have 1 on a hot water heater ha ha.Google intermatic wh40 its a lot simpler I dont use relays or any of that good shiite

 

[stonewall]

I agree with skeletor, the wh-40 would be the easiest for you.
I didn't realize they were rated for 40 amps inductive. They are plenty heavy for 4000@ 240volt. It is more ready to use than the timer/relay diy combo and pretty servicable also. it is basically what you are trying to build. Its not the most accurit timer but good enough for flower forceing.

your relay is a double pole Double Throw relay, you only need a double pole single throw. The extra contacts are closed when the coil is de-energised.

you need a dpst normally open relay/contactor.

 

[Guest]

After many years you may have to replace the timer if the contacts get "burred",but I've been doing 3 1K fixtures for about 3 years now with zero problems.I like a good mechanical timer not much to go wrong with it at all except for the contactsEDIT And hell I just realised I did 1600 watts for 2 years before that on the same timer,they are rock solid

 

[2buds]

I will smoke a joint and say a prayer for you. Man be careful with the electricity, your playing with high amperage and that shit kills! I use definate purpose contactors, a fancy name for a relay but made/used for large lighting like stadium lights at the ball fields. I'm fixin to replace my contactors with 24v coil contactors and use an irrigation timer(never loses the time, things always go back to the same cycle if the power flickers) to control my lighting and co2 injection. 24volts controlling 240volts, coils have been matched to the timer. Please understand how electricity works before diving into this project. Listen to the advice given, everything said is good advice but ultimately its your responsibilty to assemble a safe product. Keep it safe and hope it gets green with sugar coatings on all the tops.

 

[Wayzer]

dpst normally open... thanks
is it impossible to make it work with the one i have?

i appreciate all ur guys concerns, but i'm pretty confident with the help im getting, this shouldnt be any huge deal to setup, as long as im safe...

definately going to look into the intermatic wh40 if it fits into budget, but i dont fully get how it works... anybody have any links or a diagram?

 

[Guest]

It costs 40 or 50 dollars,and is too simple to wire.Its a 240V timer,so you want to bring a 240V circuit (2 hots and a ground) and hook the 2 hots to the "line" teminals.Ground goes on ground of course.Come out of the timer with a foot or so of wire,into a 4 sq inch box holding 2 duplex receptacles(4 outlets for 4 fixtures).The wires going to the receptacles go on the "Load" terminals in the timer.Thats all thats to it,a lot simpler than what you're fixin to do.I would use #10AWG on a 2 pole 30A breaker.

 

[stonewall]

is it impossible to make it work with the one i have?

No, you just need a way to switch the 240 volt coil voltage on and off at your specified times.

 

[Guest]

Wayzer if I were you I'd really consider returning all that and getting a WH40,it would be so much simpler for you.

 

[Buzzsmirk!]

Wayzer if I were you I'd really consider returning all that and getting a WH40,it would be so much simpler for you.

i'll second that advice!!
the timeclock is all your gonna need and its already quite integtrated
to your needs already!!
BUZZ!

 

[Wayzer]

hey thanks to all u guys for concern and patience...

i was wondering... stonewall said i should use 16 gauge 600v so wire to go from my ballast to light socket... its really hard tyo find that, and i was wondering if i could just use 14 gauge so wire to connect the socket to ballast??? will it cause problems... is it just the size difference??

 

[stonewall]

if it is rated for 600 volts, that will be fine so long as the length is kept to its minimum.