Electricity ?

maddawg13

Active Member
I am going to be running a 600w light ststem , I have 14 gauge wire in the room I am going to be using and it is hooked up to a double 50 amp fuse , Will this wire hold up to the job or do I need to go bigger gauge ? Please help ! I know nothing about electricity !!!
 

easygrinder

New Member
people who know nothing about electricity just shouldn't fuck with it, get an electrician or something if you gotta wire shit up bro
 

maddawg13

Active Member
Oh hell yes I will call an electrician lol , Just trying to figure out what to tell them I am going to need bigger line for lol!
 

easygrinder

New Member
tell them your making a games room and your going to have multiple units running on 600w plus

for amp's you really need to work out your goals first on what you wanna achieve and how many lights and how big a setup and growing style and whatever else your going to need in there.

once you know how many watts your going to be using you can figure out how many amps you need then you can tell the electrician exactly what you want and that it needs to be heavy duty to carry the heavy line charge, you can't have power spikes because it will fuck up your computers
 

maddawg13

Active Member
Thanks for the reply , The game room thing will probably work its not my house just a shop type building . I have a 70 amp fuse in the box I will just get him to wire something up from there as I will need the double 50 to run sprayers and fans etc .
 

secrettoke

Active Member
A #14 gauge wire is only rated at 15 amps. For 50 amps you would need a #6 wire. However basic Ohm's Law tells us that if you double the voltage you cut the amperage in half. In other words if you run whatever appliances you have at 240 volts you will require only 25 amps. Any electrical questions Ill be glad to help....
 

Krayven Sumhead

Well-Known Member
I'm running one digital ballasted 600w HPS fan vented hood (2 fans), my super cloner, seedling heat mat, two 2' fluorescents, an air pump, and three air circulating fans plus a fan in the window with one circuit wired with 14/3 on a 15 amp breaker. No problems.
All associated pumps and timers are on the same circuit also. It's a stealth closet, ebb and flow system.
 

Ole Budheavy

Well-Known Member
Small grows where you have one light, a few fans and a couple of small pumps aren't going to trip a 15 amp breaker.

Its when you get into using air conditioning that gets you close to the load limit. My 5000 btu window ac pulls about 6 amps when the condenser is running. And my 400 watt light pulls about 3 amps. Add an inline fan and circulating fans and you're real close to 80% of total load.
 

smoke and coke

Well-Known Member
A #14 gauge wire is only rated at 15 amps. For 50 amps you would need a #6 wire. However basic Ohm's Law tells us that if you double the voltage you cut the amperage in half. In other words if you run whatever appliances you have at 240 volts you will require only 25 amps. Any electrical questions Ill be glad to help....
# 8 awg. wire is used for a 50 amp circuit. a #6awg. wire is rated at 60 amps. thats twice you have been wrong with your electrical answers.
 

smoke and coke

Well-Known Member
you must size the breaker according to what the wire is rated for unless running long distances. then you would need to figure the voltage drop and size the wire up accordingly.
 

OregonMeds

Well-Known Member
You're fine, no need for an electrician.

That's really the wrong breaker to have on that line, but with what little you plan to run on it that's ok though.
 

smoke and coke

Well-Known Member
You're fine, no need for an electrician.

That's really the wrong breaker to have on that line, but with what little you plan to run on it that's ok though.

sorry to nitpick again lol but if your telling them its ok to use a 50 amp breaker with 14 awg wire because they are only running a few things is completly wrong and unsafe. the breaker is not there to protect the equipment, its there to protect the wire from overcurrent draw either from too much plugged in, or something happens to the wire somewhere along the line.
if there is a problem, that 14 awg wire will start a fire before the 50 amp breaker trips.

if thats not what you meant then i appoligize.
 

maddawg13

Active Member
Thanks for the input , I talked to an electrician today and he said either a 8 or maybe even a 6 , Rather be safe than sorry might as well spend a few extra dollars to be safe . Thanks for the help much appreciated .
 

Krayven Sumhead

Well-Known Member
You must be intending on drawing some serious amperage or maybe just matching the wire to the available circuit?? Must be the old screw- in fuse box is my thinking. The kind I used to put pennies in when I'd blow a fuse........Ah, the good old daze.........
 

smoke and coke

Well-Known Member
Thanks for the input , I talked to an electrician today and he said either a 8 or maybe even a 6 , Rather be safe than sorry might as well spend a few extra dollars to be safe . Thanks for the help much appreciated .
you dont want to run 8 or 6 wire to your grow room unless you plan to add a subpanel. its just overkill bigtime.
if you use a 50 amp breaker to power the grow room then all the wireing needs to be #8 because the breaker is a 50 amp.
so if you plan to run 50 amp then you need an 8/3 with a ground, and install a sub-panel at or near the grow room. then run smaller wires from the sub-panel to the room. i use gfi breakers or gfi receptacles depending on my situation. safety first. but a 50 amp is just not needed, why spend the extra money in this economy.
once you figure out the total load of the equipment, and always think about the future upgrades, then have the electrician run whats needed.
 

smoke and coke

Well-Known Member
You must be intending on drawing some serious amperage or maybe just matching the wire to the available circuit?? Must be the old screw- in fuse box is my thinking. The kind I used to put pennies in when I'd blow a fuse........Ah, the good old daze.........
ohh the penny trick. a fire waiting to happen. im sure you know that already. lol
 

BigBudBalls

Well-Known Member
(just a general comment)
Other item I never see brought up is Ok, toss in another 50 amp breaker in the panel. But is that going to over load the panel? The wire feeding them is only so Big. Its not an all you can eat buffet :)

But all, listen to SnC, knows his stuff.

you dont want to run 8 or 6 wire to your grow room unless you plan to add a subpanel. its just overkill bigtime.
if you use a 50 amp breaker to power the grow room then all the wireing needs to be #8 because the breaker is a 50 amp.
so if you plan to run 50 amp then you need an 8/3 with a ground, and install a sub-panel at or near the grow room. then run smaller wires from the sub-panel to the room. i use gfi breakers or gfi receptacles depending on my situation. safety first. but a 50 amp is just not needed, why spend the extra money in this economy.
once you figure out the total load of the equipment, and always think about the future upgrades, then have the electrician run whats needed.
 

smoke and coke

Well-Known Member
(just a general comment)
Other item I never see brought up is Ok, toss in another 50 amp breaker in the panel. But is that going to over load the panel? The wire feeding them is only so Big. Its not an all you can eat buffet :)

But all, listen to SnC, knows his stuff.
thanks for the support. i thought they were going to use the existing 50 amp breaker but you bring up a good point.
 

JLStiffy

Well-Known Member
You can just plug your 600Watt into the wall, as long as, you have it wired 15amps (or what ever your country's jargins is) In Canada we have 120V or 240v. 120V or 15amps is fine to run a 1000Watt and a fan or two.. This is fine beccause fire up charge is 6.9amps and continous pull is 4.9 amps. Your fine for a 600watt. Your grow system is so small that your toaster is or your womens flat iron is gonna cost you more.
 
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