very close call - don't trust labels

[Cozy Amnesia]

Damn! Well I'm glad you found out who was the culprit. Now I need to replace mine so this doesn't happen to me...

 

[green_tea]

go online!

look for the powerstrips that have their own circuit breaker built in.

I have a 12AMP surge protector that has 6 plugs, I had a AC and a 400W HPS on it running fine.

I needed to vacuum, so i plugged it into that switch, and violla the circuit breaker jumped after a bit. (my guess? the AC compressor wasn't on, just the fan, and when the AC turned the compressor on, it overloaded the built in breaker.

They are saviors!

 

[DIGITALHIPPY]

glad your ok, once again, thoes power strips are for offices where u have a bunch of devices with almost no AMPERAGE pull. paper shredder, lamp, printer, networks gear, wiresless etc.
good luck, glad you didnt burn the place down.

 

[KIEFrSutherland]

well I tore these things apart and I got some interesting results. Oh KIEFr - yes this is on of those timers with the "engrish" manual, that only has the 24 hour setting, no way to change to 12 hour display. well t

Regardless of the outcome, your thread draws attention to just how serious electrical malfunctions can be. I've done a lot of reading on here, and I haven't really seen an "Electrical Sticky" which goes into detail about which QUALITY goods to use. If I had to guess, I would speculate that perhaps 70% of the "Underwriters Laboratories" certifications that we see on all of these Chinese imports at wal-mart, the local growshop, etc are counterfeit.

It's not as easy as picking a "brand-name" either. I picked up a "Timex" manual "Heavy Duty" timer at Wal-mart...the damn thing lost more then 3 hours in 2 days...giving the plants more light each day. (Model tx12622x).

 

[imnotcrazy]

An electrician I can vouch for (I've PERSONALLY seen his license) originally wrote that thread and I feel NO grower or potential grower should think about setting up any grow without at least skimming through the info in the thread A FEW TIMES A YEAR: Electrical Safety

Also, when looking for replacement power strips, look for one that has a actual outlet insert like this one:

In EVERY PLUG POSITION, and if you are able to, open it up and check the AWG of the wire used internally.

That strip failed because they use shoddy busbar to make the connection at each plug location. After plugging something in several times, the plug loosens and creates that high resistance connection. IF this strip was even UL certified; realize many products of Chinese origin sold at these "dollar" stores are infact tagged illegally and if the UL finds out they are being sold, they will come confiscate them and fine the vendor/distributor. All that being said, it will NOT save YOU from a potential fire, which is why extensions and strips SHOULD NOT BE USED....

 

[gdawg]

 

[KIEFrSutherland]

thread A FEW TIMES A YEAR: Electrical Safety

Thanks for the link...I am reading it now.

 

[Hydro-Soil]

The metal outdoor timer used for outdoor lighting and such is really the type you want. Spend the money... it's worth it.

You've just spent hundreds of dollars on equipment and everything including yourself and your family are in the house. Is $50 to keep that all safe REALLY that expensive of an insurance policy?

If you're a gambling man... why stop scoring once a week and grow your own?

The issue is that the wattage rating for the timer and power strip aren't ratings for the type of current an HID draws when it first turns on.

The current surge of a 1Kw HPS light will melt most of those little plastic timers with the push pins in a few weeks

If it gets really hot when it starts up it's a fire hazard.

 

[DeebeeAhhSee]

I use the same mechanical box pictured in an earlier thread. if wired correctly its way more effective with less chance for failure while costing less and lasting longer than the electrical big dollar timers I see all over the place.
Why are you using a powerstrip?

 

[luciano28]

Id be concerned about your homes wiring if it was able to get to that point without a breaker popping or fuse blowing

 

[Pactivist]

The wiring in my house is fine - double checked - and more. I believe that the current draw was not enough to pop my breaker primarily due to how my lights/timers are set up. Only one light is allowed to come on at one time, but since I have 3x400w lights my room requires at least a 20 amp breaker. one light, by itself, with a short in the power strip (well actually a high resistance contact) caused a great deal of heat, but not enough current draw to pop the breaker. In all honesty - when I discovered this -The light was actually on!!!! I am so fortunate that this was discovered before it got hot enough to burn, the bulb was flickering, and the ballast was humming louder than it ever had before, and there was the smell of electrical arcing. I am in process of replacing and re-rechecking every plug, wire, switch, breaker, bulb, & ballast in my room. safety first people. this shows me that this is no joke, my hobby puts more at risk than just my freedom.
peAce,
pacT

 

[gdawg]

bro did you have all this coming from one 20 amp circuit? 3 400s? bro make a "control board" with your ballasts mounted, mechanical timer and outlets. run a wire between that and your panel. its very simple and 100 times safer than what ya got goin. then you got a board thats easy to take down and move, reset up if needed.

 

[cocktail frank]

the problem was the cheap plug strip.
those guys have no surge protection or fuse on em.
just an on/off switch.
im glad things didnt get worse for you.
don't re-use that timer now that the prongs are scorched.

 

[dirkdaddy]

after reading this thread I went out and replaced my power strip. home depot carries these "fire shield" power strips that have a built in breaker and seem to be built to handle plenty of power without a problem (the models have a minimum $25,000 equipment protection warranty on them supposedly). they claim to be the best power strip at preventing fires and what not.

here is there website I would recommend anyone looking to replace theirs to look into these, they seem to be right up our alley.

http://www.fireshield.com/products-power_strips.htm

 

[charlesweedmore]

it is dangerous bro ! use a contactor please

 

[HellaFella420]

Fault of power strip not timer.....

 

[K.J]

Man, close call there. I was pretty concerned about this type of thing when designing our grow, so we made sure to get a heavy duty strip (this one's even in a steel casing) from the Home DePot. I think it was like $50, but well worth the expense because I really don't even worry about it now.

 

[BorkBorkBork]

Hrrmm....Yeah, I purposely didn't get the cheapest...but maybe I'll go back and spend a little more.

YIKES!

 

[rave420]

Well, i found out (using an energy meter) that my 150 hps draws 4 amps from the outlet..
I can imagine that your 2 x 400W draw more than the 10A rating.

 

[Tylor Durden]

you NEVER want to pull max current from a single outlet on a power strip. Meltdown is assured. Powerstrips are just a different form of charcoal lighter. Build your own out of UL rated a/c outlets, metal boxes and BX cable if you must have more outlets available.