Truu's electrical help thread.

Howdy folks.

This thread will be dedicated to any of your electrical needs. Whether it be a question about your growing setup, or if you just need help around the house. I have many years of electrical experience in residential, commercial, and industrial fields.

Just ask your question as detailed as possible, throw in some pics if needed. The more info I can get, the better I can understand what you need. It is also a good idea to let me know if you are from over seas, for I am not lol.

 

[Damascus]

Howdy Truu! I browsed the previous pages for answers in case they've already been covered, but didn't see such discussions. I've got a few questions that all are somewhat related.

My grow room does not currently have a power outlet in it, but there is one just outside of the grow room's doorway. I don't want to run power from the exterior of the room into the grow room for discretion purposes. If possible I would like to "tap" into the power that is currently being fed to the existing outlet, creating a sister outlet of sorts inside the grow room. I am proficient with carpentry and sheet rocking and am not worried about covering up the aftermath of wall wiring, but I certainly don't know my way around electrical components/properties very well - at all. What options do I have to make this happen safely and still have the existing outlet remain functional? I won't be running any high wattage lighting, but will be powering many low wattage led lights and pumps through 2 internal circuit breaker power strips, maybe reaching 200W or so at any given time. I know that's not a lot of wattage but do the number of items run through a single power strip ever become more important to consider than the total amps being drawn from the 200W usage? I saw the formula you posted for someone else and just wanted to make sure I'm still not setting myself up for something dangerous.

Also in this grow room I am gonna need to "hard wire" in a few 18" T8 lamps. Should I actually be considering hard wiring these directly into a power source inside the wall or would you recommend that I wire it to a 2 or 3 pronged end for traditional power acquisition? I'm hoping it is a grounded, 3 wire, lamp, though the online product description doesn't state anything indicating one way or the other.

On a side note, there is an on/off wall switch just outside the grow room that controls a closet light inside the grow room, in case that matters or can be used for anything. I'd be happy to supply you with any more needed info. I'm a North American and believe my residence is wired for standard 120V. Thanks for your time Truu!

 

[oldsman]

A quick question.I need power to my shed.My main is close to 100' away which means alot of new wire.My water well/submerged pump sits only 20' from the shed.Can I tap into the pumps circuit to power things in my shed,basically a 600w light,heater/fan, without messing up my pump?Thanks! PS,I think it's 220/240 at the pump.

 

[alley_walker]

Hey Truu,
Thanks by the way for the thread! I am thinking of running a wind turbine 600 watts AC 24 volts with a "Diode Bridge Rectifier" to turn 3 phase(Most wind turbines create 3 phase AC) into single phase in along with 4 solar panels each rated at 50 watts dc at 17 volts. My question, how would I charge a battery bank say 4 deep cycle 12 volts? Sorry for the noob question but I think there might be a simple answer. I am thinking I could save money here..

Thanks!!

 

[midman4u]

I have an electrical question if the forum is open for one.I just built a new under ground grow room 8x10.Ok i ran 12/2 wire from the main breaker box on the outside of my home off a 30 amp breaker.The wire is run under ground and is outdoor approved.I am using 1-1000 watt hps and 1-600 watt hps/mh.My problem is i cant run both lights at one time without burn the 6 amp fuse out in the 600 watt light.It is fine if i run it alone.And so is the 1000 watter.Only the 600 watter fuse goes when i turn them both on.600 watt draw 6 amps and 1000 draws 9.1 amps.Not sure what the problem is.Only thing i could guess is i am using a 15 amp outlet. Would that cause the fuse in the 600 watt light to blow when i turn on the 1000 watter?

 

[Truu]

Hey midman well I know it's been a while since you've asked and you prob figured your problem out. But here's some things you'll need to know.

Your #12 feeder is barely staying on the safe side. Your pulling around 15 amps with just lighting. You're already at the allowable 80% for the circuit. You would be a lot safer running another wire over there to split up your lighting, which will give you more amps to cover other things like fan/heater. It's weird that your light fuse is blowing. Have you had the fuse checked out? What kind of ballast are you running? And do you have 1000w down stream of the 600w. It could be startup current. It could be multiple things, hard to troubleshoot when I can't put my hands on it.

 

[Truu]

Damascus- first you need to figure out what kind of amp rating the existing circuit already has on it. Then add your maximum amount plus 125% (existing amps + max grow room) x 125%= your maximum amperage on that circuit. The 125% is for a added safety amperage. If you don't have a constant load on your existing circuit it should be fine. Anything around 15amps would be the safe zone.

I wire my lights in with receptacles controlled by a switch. If you want to hard wire lights in just make sure you have a proper means of disconnect.

 

[Truu]

Oldsman- your pump sounds like it doesn't have a neutral. Unless you can get a neutral to your grow room you won't be able to have 120v. Most lights work off 240v but no small fans will. Or small electric heaters.

 

[Truu]

Sorry guys for some reason I'm not getting any emails about replies and as a stoner I forget to check this. The thread is still open to all questions concerning electrical. I will check everyday from now on.

 

[midman4u]

Thanks for your reply.I did run another circiut.One for each light 3 in all .The ballast was faulty that is why fuse was blowing.All problems have been fixed for a few weeks now.Thanks again and i will contact if any other problem come up. O wait! I do have a ballast that when you turn on it will light up the light for a second or so then shut right off.Is that somthing you could troubleshoot for me?

 

[Truu]

Sounds to me like it could be another bad ballast.