Electrical outlet attic

[LWD]

Hi,

The last time I went up in my attic I didn't notice any outlets. I don't want to run any extension chords. How could I possibly add an outlet source up there? Thanks.

 

[bowlfullofbliss]

Call an electrician. Messing with electrical without the knowledge is a recipe for disaster. Besides, growing in an attic is very difficult to control heat and cold. very difficult.

 

[droopy107]

Call an electrician. Messing with electrical without the knowledge is a recipe for disaster. Besides, growing in an attic is very difficult to control heat and cold. very difficult.

Go with what this dude says. Electrical problems can come up, even when everything is done the right way. Learning on the fly only adds to the risk. From the way your question reads, I'm guessing that you don't have any electrical experience. Don't roll those dice with your life or liberty. I also agree with what he says about the heat and cooling problems associated with an attic grow. I grow in an attic space and I can tell you, it definitly limits your options. I built an insulated grow space. I live in the midwest (USA) and I can only grow in spring & fall, from a practical standpoint. Summer is out as you would need a lot of ac. The heat, on a sunny day, in an attic is brutal. That ac unit would never shut off and therefore, unless weed in your area is really expensive, there wouldn't be much savings to offset the risks involved, in my opinion. In Spring and Fall, I go lights on at night. nights are when you need the most heat so my hps is doing double duty for my money. I use an electric heater to keep the room warm during lights out. If it's a sunny day, the sun picks up some of that tab for me. Winter just requires too much electric heat for my tastes. Even though I have a small grow, it's enough to hold me over between harvests. I love to grow, so I wish I could grow year-round, but we all have to work within the bounds of safety, security and reason.

 

[LWD]

Go with what this dude says. Electrical problems can come up, even when everything is done the right way. Learning on the fly only adds to the risk. From the way your question reads, I'm guessing that you don't have any electrical experience. Don't roll those dice with your life or liberty. I also agree with what he says about the heat and cooling problems associated with an attic grow. I grow in an attic space and I can tell you, it definitly limits your options. I built an insulated grow space. I live in the midwest (USA) and I can only grow in spring & fall, from a practical standpoint. Summer is out as you would need a lot of ac. The heat, on a sunny day, in an attic is brutal. That ac unit would never shut off and therefore, unless weed in your area is really expensive, there wouldn't be much savings to offset the risks involved, in my opinion. In Spring and Fall, I go lights on at night. nights are when you need the most heat so my hps is doing double duty for my money. I use an electric heater to keep the room warm during lights out. If it's a sunny day, the sun picks up some of that tab for me. Winter just requires too much electric heat for my tastes. Even though I have a small grow, it's enough to hold me over between harvests. I love to grow, so I wish I could grow year-round, but we all have to work within the bounds of safety, security and reason.

How hard could it be? Its simply turning off power on the breaker unscrewing an outlet, taking that outlet to the attic, and bringing up the wires that were hooked to that outlet up to the attic where you connect it exactly like it was before. And placing a dummy outlet to cover up where the power, neutral and ground wires used to be in the wall. I see why some people would say hire an electrician, but if you can't afford one you'll have to get it done the only way possible and rely on what skills you have.

 

[droopy107]

How hard could it be? Its simply turning off power on the breaker unscrewing an outlet, taking that outlet to the attic, and bringing up the wires that were hooked to that outlet up to the attic where you connect it exactly like it was before. And placing a dummy outlet to cover up where the power, neutral and ground wires used to be in the wall. I see why some people would say hire an electrician, but if you can't afford one you'll have to get it done the only way possible and rely on what skills you have.

It's not hard. I didn't mean to give that impression, if it came off that way. It's just that the way your question was written it appeared that you had no idea what to do and that could lead to serious problems down the road. We were just trying to look out for a fellow grower. What you just described here is, in a nutshell, exactly what you need to do. I would add that the outlet box that you will be moving the outlet from will become a junction box and to be sure to use wirenuts to make your connections with in that j box. I wire for a living and i see people use electrical tape for things like this a lot and it will only be a matter of time until it comes back to haunt them. You probably already have that figured out, but I thought I would throw that out here just in case. Another thing to check before going ahead, is the condition of the old wire to the j box. If the wire coating is anythig other than plastic, take that new wire all the way back to your breaker box. Older wire will have a cloth-like coating. You might be just fine with using it, but anthing other than plastic coating indicates very old wiring and that generaly means risky buisness when you are using it for what you want to use it for. Either way also check your breaker to be sure that it is properly sized for the wire size you are using. (both old and new wire). No. 14 wire = 15 amps max No. 12 wire= 20 amps max. Lastly, make sure your receptical(outlet) is sized correctly to the breaker too. Lots of people use 15 amp recepticals on 20 amp circuits and get away with it, but for an extra 2 or 3 bucks why have the worry? Let me know if you come up with anything else.

 

[FilthyFletch]

To have an electrician pull a simple outlet shouldn't cost more then $50. If your familiar with electrical load verification and breaker separation go for it. make sure to use conduit, correct grade amp wire and caps. Make sure its a ground GFCI outlet for saftey.