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 DJ_avocado
myco-botanist
Registered: 11/21/09
Posts: 147
Last seen: 12 years, 8 months
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 Electricity problem 
#425999 - 05/30/10 05:35 PM (14 years, 5 months ago) |
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I just got an ac for my grow room, so I'm ready to start up the HID lights. So I plug in a vortex fan and the ballast and the whole thing runs for a minute before everything shuts off and I need to go to the circuit box and reset the switch.
So Now I'm real stressed cause my plants are all sitting in the dark.
Do I need to get a new fuse?
Any insight on the electrical problems that I am having?!!?
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 Hawksresurrection
Registered: 12/04/08
Posts: 13,464
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 Re: Electricity problem [Re: DJ_avocado]
#426316 - 05/31/10 12:14 AM (14 years, 5 months ago) |
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Your running to much electricity through your circuit and overloading it. Electricity is one of the first things someone should familiarize themselves with when growing indoors with HID's.
What your going to want to do is install a new circuit breaker and run a new line and outlet into your room. Make it a 20 amp circuit and gauge of wiring that way you can upgrade to more lights later. Go to home depot, they have everything you need to do this including step by step guide books to doing it.
It's really a lot easier than you would think.
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Dude she isn't as young as she use to be.
-niteowl
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DJ_avocado
myco-botanist
Registered: 11/21/09
Posts: 147
Last seen: 12 years, 8 months
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Thanks a lot man. I moved 8 Afghan X Master Kush into 5g buckets today hoping I could veg those and some in my tent with the MH. Shit. Now my veg room is overloaded, and I gotta look to get rid of some plants..
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fungi
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Registered: 05/03/10
Posts: 168
Loc: Silicon Sizzle, CA USA 
Last seen: 14 years, 2 months
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Re: Electricity problem [Re: DJ_avocado]
#436624 - 06/23/10 03:15 PM (14 years, 5 months ago) |
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Or you could just by LED lights and save lots of money short and long term. You can score LED lights for almost nothing on eBay, same with HID lights. It is to the point that HID costs more for the ballast, bulb and reflector then a LED light; by a good couple hundred dollars too. We are not including power usage, which is RIDICULOUSLY HIGH with an HID light. Plus LED has less heat, does not show up on FLIR. Also, the dangers of HID lights, with hydro setups are often overlooked. Better have that Ballast above the buckets for when you get a leak in your hydro setup. Much less bulbs that have the possibility of exploding.
Why anyone would use an HID unless it was for a boost in flowering, I think you guys are totally insane.
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KaptKid
Spaced Pirate
Registered: 04/20/08
Posts: 5,615
Loc: Bright Side of the Sun
Last seen: 1 year, 5 days
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 Re: Electricity problem [Re: fungi]
#436669 - 06/23/10 05:16 PM (14 years, 5 months ago) |
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Show us some pic's of your grows with LED.
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Child of the 60's, Tripping ever sence.
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DJ_avocado
myco-botanist
Registered: 11/21/09
Posts: 147
Last seen: 12 years, 8 months
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Re: Electricity problem [Re: KaptKid]
#436829 - 06/23/10 11:54 PM (14 years, 5 months ago) |
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Eventually I would like to switch over to LEDs, but you should know that it is damn impossible to flower with them. Vegetative growth, YES, Flowering, NOOOO. 
Those damn LEDs give me a spinning headache though. There are some on display at a local hydroshop and I was seeing red and blue spots in no time. Oh well, it's not like they're for me, and the plants don't complain. I hear they love it.
When I first read aboot LEDs, I thought it was too good to be true. I was right.
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Hawksresurrection
Registered: 12/04/08
Posts: 13,464
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Re: Electricity problem [Re: DJ_avocado]
#436981 - 06/24/10 03:04 PM (14 years, 5 months ago) |
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Good growing quality LED's are NOT cheaper than HID systems. HID is not that expensive to run. a 1000watt setup will only run you about 25 dollars a month in electricity. That's nothing compared to the yield you get out of it. I have been growing with for 7 years or so and have NEVER had a bulb explode, never.
LED has potential, but it is not at a point where yet where it is worth the investment.
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Dude she isn't as young as she use to be.
-niteowl
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Lucid
Monster Plant Creator
Registered: 07/18/08
Posts: 1,082
Loc: Canada-ish.
Last seen: 8 years, 4 months
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Re: Electricity problem [Re: fungi]
#437829 - 06/25/10 08:54 PM (14 years, 5 months ago) |
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Quote:
fungi said:
Or you could just by LED lights and save lots of money short and long term. You can score LED lights for almost nothing on eBay, same with HID lights. It is to the point that HID costs more for the ballast, bulb and reflector then a LED light; by a good couple hundred dollars too. We are not including power usage, which is RIDICULOUSLY HIGH with an HID light. Plus LED has less heat, does not show up on FLIR. Also, the dangers of HID lights, with hydro setups are often overlooked. Better have that Ballast above the buckets for when you get a leak in your hydro setup. Much less bulbs that have the possibility of exploding.
Why anyone would use an HID unless it was for a boost in flowering, I think you guys are totally insane.
And I think your totally insane, I can pretty guarantee any led setup you buy off ebay is going to suck. To even make it worth it with LED's you need to have 1w bulbs! And no led systems are still more expensive that HIDS..The ones your talking about are shitty led systems with led lights that are less that 1w a bulb. So ya if you wana run like a 50w light instead of a 400w for the same price sure go buy yourself some LEDS. LEDS are the wave of the future, key word being future. They need to drop in price a bit and maybe increase output.
Edited by Lucid (06/25/10 08:55 PM)
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DoPeYsMuRf
Registered: 08/13/09
Posts: 645
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Re: Electricity problem [Re: DJ_avocado]
#441201 - 07/02/10 07:23 PM (14 years, 4 months ago) |
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Like hawksapprentice said. Your going to need to run a wire from your box or get an extension cord and run it from a different room to run your fan temporarily.
I just realized this problem myself when deciding to get a second 1000watt system.
Most normal outlets run 15amp which can handle 1800 watts. 80% capacity is the code so 1440watt is your limit.
20 amp can handle 2400 but code says it should only be ran at 1920 so I decided to go with 30 amp(same as my cloths dryer lol).
You can't just change the breaker. Each breaker uses different wire.
[edit]
120 times your amp gives the watt limit ex. 15amp x 120 = 1800
Edited by DoPeYsMuRf (07/02/10 07:29 PM)
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Hawksresurrection
Registered: 12/04/08
Posts: 13,464
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Re: Electricity problem [Re: DoPeYsMuRf]
#441761 - 07/04/10 11:25 AM (14 years, 4 months ago) |
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While your totally right about the equation to figure out how many amps your pulling. But the rule of thumb is you never run a circuit breaker at the peak amp. If you have a 15 amp breaker you shouldn't be running any more than 12 amps on it. A 20 amp circuit shouldn't be having any more than 17 amps being pulled through it.
Running the wiring at the limit is running it hot and can be dangerous.
I run 2000 watts of electricity per 20 amp breaker. All other fans, air conditioners, water pumps, etc. have their own wiring as well.
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Dude she isn't as young as she use to be.
-niteowl
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fungi
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Registered: 05/03/10
Posts: 168
Loc: Silicon Sizzle, CA USA
Last seen: 14 years, 2 months
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Re: Electricity problem [Re: KaptKid]
#442783 - 07/07/10 12:04 AM (14 years, 4 months ago) |
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Quote:
KaptKid said:
Show us some pic's of your grows with LED.
Yah these all started off with CFL's, 3 45Watts color 5500. Then I got the 120W LED. I used that by itself for 3 weeks. I recently changed the setup from half the closet, the the entire thing and readded 2 CFL's for the sides, until I acquire another LED system.
I'm going to do a 8 FT tent with all LED's for a flowering room as well. You can tell me how the yields look then.
Edited by fungi (07/07/10 12:35 AM)
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Crusty Ass Bastard
Pheno Hunting
Registered: 08/02/09
Posts: 786
Last seen: 13 years, 9 months
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Re: Electricity problem [Re: fungi]
#442891 - 07/07/10 08:18 AM (14 years, 4 months ago) |
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Quote:
fungi said:
IME you will get better results moving the 120w up 12-18" above the canopy. Having it that close doesn't give the spectrums a chance to blend because of how directional the bulbs are, so one small leaf if getting nearly pure blue while another gets pure red etc. Just try it I think you will see a difference.
   Vegged these under 120w LED from day 1 (no CFLs) @ about 18-20" off canopy.
Edited by Crusty Ass Bastard (07/07/10 08:24 AM)
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fungi
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Registered: 05/03/10
Posts: 168
Loc: Silicon Sizzle, CA USA
Last seen: 14 years, 2 months
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Thanks bro. Dood good luck with the grow room. You left out mad details, but guessing it's a flowering room with a 1000W HPS. If you are pulling all off one circuit, if that ac has any guts to it, it's taking 5+ amps. a 500 CFM fan pulls another .5 amps. Starts to add up bro.
If the breaker is in your house, turn off all the circuits then turn one on. Test the lights and you can plug a light into all the sockets if you really need to know precisely what each circuit is. I had a similar problem in a kitchen; the Fridge and Microwave wouldn't work with the 1000W, fan and hydro / air pumps. I had to run a cord from the living room over to the kitchen for a different circuit. Wanted to run a another cable from the breaker, a 30 AMP; as that solves the problems plus you can run 2 1000W lights if you want too.
Seems like peeps here get fat yields with just a 600W HPS though. Those 1000W's kill older buildings. The spot I was in I'm not even sure had 14 guage wiring in it. Then 20 amp fuse, should have been 15 amps. Running more when the circuit hit over 15 amps, I could feel the line on the wall and it was very hot. Scary shit man. Either change it over to a different circuit, run a line, or get less wattage equipment.
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