It may not be seen, but there is a transformer going to whatever quadrant...and if there is more going in, than is reported going out...well...I guess we know what is going on there--
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WARNING: HEAT SCANS now standard! (NOT another FLIR post!)
- Thread starter Strainhunter
- Start date
It may not be seen, but there is a transformer going to whatever quadrant...and if there is more going in, than is reported going out...well...I guess we know what is going on there--
He knows what I used to do. He doesn't know specific details though. (where, in- or outdoor etc.).
Our conversation developed due to my past history hence his statements were directed straight towards pinpointing high usage, paid or not.
See...in FL you're not gonna run 20 or 30 lights in a residential set-up (such as mostly Cubans are doing) by paying the bill.
They tap in to power lines before the meter. Sometimes underground, sometimes where the pole goes through the roof in the attic etc.
Now some may say "Hey I'm safe, my bill is $xyz and I don't tap in to the line and I've been doing this (paying my bill) for xyz years"
Those claiming that have missed the entire point of this post.
Scanning transformers (where applicable) is just another legal way to pinpoint potential grow ops hence warranting probable cause for further steps.
Just as Skip posted...it only takes seconds to scan a vast area.
Anything happening after that potentially threatens your freedom.
L
LumpStatus
Can anyone explain to me why a power company would want to shut down grow operations? These companies are in business to make money and the more power consumed (paid) the more money they make right? I know were talking florida but are they not still a privatley owned corporation? I could understand if they are providing info to law enforcement if asked but just doing it for the hell of it? Thats a double loss for them, pay people to track it then shut off your power after the bust and lose more profit? Makes no sense...
Besides...once word gets around, people are going to be burning diesel fuel like crazy...no one wants that right? Solar is not an option for many reasons...its expensive, requires direct sunlight to work efficiently and some places its worthless...i have solar power and see how much the output dips on a cloudy day!
Anyways...its practically legal in some states and this would be a stupid task to take on in these states. ALSO! You can opt-out and get rid of the smart meter here in cali...
Btw...a hot transformer tells them NOTHING more than a $4000 bill tells them...so why waste their time unless to find stolen power
Besides...once word gets around, people are going to be burning diesel fuel like crazy...no one wants that right? Solar is not an option for many reasons...its expensive, requires direct sunlight to work efficiently and some places its worthless...i have solar power and see how much the output dips on a cloudy day!
Anyways...its practically legal in some states and this would be a stupid task to take on in these states. ALSO! You can opt-out and get rid of the smart meter here in cali...
Btw...a hot transformer tells them NOTHING more than a $4000 bill tells them...so why waste their time unless to find stolen power
They've been catching some big stolen power grows by viewing the lines with IR, they glow from the heat of all the power being stolen.
PuertoviejoKL
Member
Glad I'm a medical patient, let them scan.
it may come to that...
however some companies are starting to add IR to their arrays, which would still give you away...
Awesome suggestion.
That's if your day has 18 hours.
For your education:
Modern heat scanning equipment detects a .2F (that's zero point two) difference in temperature. There are highly accurate hand held devices available (cost $2k) spitting out the EXACT temperature of what they are being pointed at.
A transformer sitting on a pole on a 100F day having a dozen lights being run from....will still stick out like a sore thumb no matter how hot it is that day.
Lump, the owners of the electrical companies are not the ones who are out on the streets making the calls to "rat" out homes that consume high amounts of electricity....
I have met MANY power hungry people in my day (and I have also erased them from my life shortly there-after) but I do know that these types of people 'get off' on the fact that they feel they would be doing good for society by squealing on a person they deem "bad." These are the type of people who don't think twice about the negative effect they would have on the person they are "throwing under the bus," and simply exist for themselves, with no real concern for others.
I can understand one ratting out a meth/crack producer that doesn't pay for the electric, but a marijuana producer that uses lots of electricity and pays the bill, come the fuck on! Yeah I may think "come the fuck on," but sadly there are many who don't feel the same..
Back to your original question, I truly think if the "grunts" or electrical company laborers shared profit, there would not be any "ratting" going on. Hell, I don't know how prevalant "ratting" is within an electrical company to be honest, but I can't imagine its at a 0% rate. If solely the shareholders/owners of the electrical company made the decision whether or not to rat out a consumer that consumes a large amount of their product, i couldn't possible imagine them going forward with doing so.
So, really, its not the "power company" that makes the decision to rat. Its the WORKER for the power company that holds the mighty sword in my opinion.
In addition to my previous reply...here's some real life pics.
Both taken during the day.
ARE photocells the same as solar panels? If not what are you talking about here? And if the message is not to discourage all indoor growing, shouldn't we be providing guidance on how to do this more safely? I am not talking huge operations but for the large personal or micro commercial grower using 3 or 4 lamps let's say, how would you do this more safely?
NO they're not.
Photocells are light sensitive devices turning lights (and what ever else may be connected) on or off during dusk or dawn.
And as far as your second question to the OP...I doubt he actually knows what he's talking about in his post.
stc9357
Member
Laughing my ass off
I am very seriously considering opting out of my smart meter... a $75ish initial fee and then $10 a month.
I can go without one fast food meal a month in exchange for no monitoring of exactly when my lights fire up. However then I'll get a meter reader again and need odor/visual controls to be on lock. Worth it imo.
(I have noticed wild fluctuations ever since getting a smart meter, no changes in timers or daily routines and we're talking >$50 changes month to month)
I used a google plugin thing that allowed me to monitor my usage and it was startling to say the least to see just how accurate I can 'see' when 'what' was turned on and for how long.
After a few months there is a clear pattern and anyone growing anything past small time personal (<1000w) WILL be an outlier on the bell curves for usage.
my bill is 5-10x that of 'normal' people.
fuck I need some solar panels
I can go without one fast food meal a month in exchange for no monitoring of exactly when my lights fire up. However then I'll get a meter reader again and need odor/visual controls to be on lock. Worth it imo.
(I have noticed wild fluctuations ever since getting a smart meter, no changes in timers or daily routines and we're talking >$50 changes month to month)
I used a google plugin thing that allowed me to monitor my usage and it was startling to say the least to see just how accurate I can 'see' when 'what' was turned on and for how long.
After a few months there is a clear pattern and anyone growing anything past small time personal (<1000w) WILL be an outlier on the bell curves for usage.
my bill is 5-10x that of 'normal' people.
fuck I need some solar panels
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the beef that the utility has with large grows is that their (the utility) infrastructure just isn't up to the task when they set up the power grid they had no idea of the power consumption that a "normal" consumer uses these days throw in a couple of large grows on every block and you have a near meltdown situation in many areas
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PermaBuzz
double post del
L
LumpStatus
Then their infrastructure needs to be upgraded...heres the problem... Just about every home being built or upgraded has a 200 amp panel in it. If they know that EVERY house has the potential to pull say 50-75% of that 200 amps then the problem is theirs, not ours. There are plenty of legal plants i could be growing with a 12/12 light cycle so I HIGHLY doubt a high bill is good enough evidence alone to get a warrant. There may be instances where this is not the case but ive known two "large" scale growers who got raided out of many ive known and both were ratted out by neighbors. One got off with no charges and the other one had all charges dropped except for one...grand theft...for stealing power.
Want to hear another story? Pge Has a new task force in place to catch people stealing power. A guy I know who was stealing power got a knock on the door from pg&e. They told him we know you have been stealing power for 5 months, We need to come in and see what you are running. You can either let us in or we will contact the sheriffs department. He let them in. They took pics and told him all his electrical has to be brought up to code. They pulled his meter out and said that he will get a bill in the mail. The guy told him that he is part of a new task force with pge to catch people stealing power and told him specifically that if he paid his bill they dont care what hes doing. They have busted over 600 people so far.
My point is...if your stealing power stop. If you are paranoid get a diesel generator and a large diesel tank. You can have diesel delivered without the road tax pretty cheap, much cheaper than 3rd tier power! If you are in a residential neighborhood then you are crazy for running a large grow near neighbors, power consumption is the least of your worries.
If you pay your bill then imo the worse case scenario is pge knocks on your door and says our infrastructure cant handle your consumption even though you have a 200, 400, 800, whatever amp panel. Using high amounts of power is not a crime...yet.
i think most of what you said is quite intelligent, but this little bit of speculation here seems a bit overboard...
i know a lot of laws and rules are created each year, but i think it is far fetched to think that it will be a crime one day to use high amts of power...
thats like saying one day its going to be a crime to buy and eat large amounts of food..
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LumpStatus
LoL. I agree. I meant the yet to be a joke. There will always be a need for massive power consumption.
no worries . small fish.
