A Bored Electrician to Answer Your Questions

johndeeremuskies said:

14 ghauge wire isnt code for a 20 amp fuse got to run a 15 amp breaker 12 gauge for a 20 amp where I am at.

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ah thanks, but idk what your talking about, what post your refferring to, or what point your trying to get across here...

tubularty said:

I will be setting up a new grow with between 18-24 1000w hps lights, probably running them at 240volt due to lower amps being pulled. when hooking up these lights is it best to have a C.A.P. 24 light master lighting controller? I think I will be running all the lights at 240volt since it will pull lower amps to the circuit breaker. what do you guys think though or is there a better way to hook up all the lights and such? http://www.horticulturesource.com/c-...a2410f9858e694 and would I need dual trigger cables or not?

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18-24 1000w lamps are going to use over 120 amps of power, man... thats alot to be fucking around with. you really need a pro in person.
if it was me, i would ditch that controller, and get a 150amp contactor controlling a 200 amp subpanel, fed with a 150 amp breaker directly off of the main service distribution panel.
but thats me. i dont trust 'controllers' made by a company that has no UL listing, especially if im going to switch 120 amps of inductive lighting with it.

daisydobey said:

hi i was hoping someone can help me, i just bought a used sun system light cord with the mogul on there for the light all ready to go with a hortilux 600w bulb on there.
i also bought for $50 a used xtra sun 600w ballast 120v/240v im using 120v.

my problem is the plug for the sun system i got doesnt fit my xtra sun ballast!
how do i fix this problem is there a converter i can use for this and which one?

thanks so much i hope you can help , im building a hydro setup drip system but cant start without the lights. its inside my closet, space im going to put mylar on the walls , and i was thinking of using cardboard then mylar them to close off the grow section, will this be a fire hazard?

the space i wanted to close off with the cardboard and mylar on it as walls for the grow room is 34" x 29" inches and 62" in height

using 1 600w hortilux bulb for 6 plants in 10 gallon drip system (growing lowryder only right now)


will put fans of course got a humity and temp meter whats a good temperature and humidity thats safe for fire hazard?

thanks!

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im pretty sure you can get spare cords directly from Sun... sux because they will have to ship it to you, but i know they sell them.

if it was me, i would ditch the mylar and just paint the surfaces of my area gloss white. some people say flat, i like gloss or semi gloss because it is very easy to clean and wipe down.
the cardboard wouldnt normally be a fire hazard, but you have to think about this- your using a paper product in close proximity to a lamp element that burns almost as hot as the surface of the sun.... use your head, and play it safe, and youll be fine.

patlpp said:

How deep do they bury electric lines that are run to ones house? 2 feet? 3 feet?

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NEC bare minimum is 24" of coverage (2 feet)

tymtpunk said:

Is it safe to run my equipment through an adapter for light sockets? I have a 400w ballast running 1.5A, a small air pump, a fan, and a timer.

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not really, the reason being that the blades of the receptacle on the light adapter are not rated for inductive loads (your HID lamp is an inductive load)
you would be better off just wiring the cord directly to the wiring behind the light fixture

Ric.Licious said:

sir - I have no power to one bedroom in my house! fuse doesnt trip up either. i have flipped the fuse - it seems normal. my "educated" (LOL) guess is a wiring problem somewhere- but i dont want to blindly go ripping the wall apart chaising wiring. any troubleshooting / diagnostic help is much appreciated!

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take the plugs out of the walls in the room your having a problem with... your looking for a wire that has slipped out of the back of one of the receptacles. make sure the power is off before you start....

Danielsgb said:

I got all those. I put in the photo cell, and wired it up. I see that the red becomes the new black. I have many power supply's to choose from. The LED's are mounted and wired up. I'll need a diagram Thanks in advance.
Daniels

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gotcha... dont 4get the 'eye' of the photocell must be inside your grow room.... its what activates the photocell

ok I just came across a 3000watt mh with a ballast how much power increase am I looking at if I decide to use it????????

i have never heard of a 3kw MH lamp before.....

but the math suggests that adding 3kw to your usage, at 12/12 a day would raise your bill somewhere around 100-175$ a month, in addition to what your already paying

Robert Paulson said:

Thanks for your input, I think I will try to troubleshoot it once I have another ballast just in case I f*ck something beyond repair. I do know how to troubleshoot components with a multimeter, I'd just need to know what the components should be reading, guess the search begins for a schematic.

That's interesting that you said they are hand-assembled, it all makes sense now, of course this chinese piece of junk doesn't work. thanks again.

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Thought I would give you an update just in case you were curious or hear of this problem again. I e-mailed bettergrow hydro in Pasadena and this is what I got back:

I read through your email and unfortunately the problems you are experiencing are common to 600 watt digital ballasts. Here’s a brief explanation: 600 watt lights are a non standardized wattage. Lighting systems such as 1000 watt and 400 watt are used by more than just the indoor gardener. Warehouse lighting, street lighting, stadium lighting, parking garage lights…the list goes on and on…they are all 1000 or 400 watt HPS and MH lights. 600 watt lights are only used by the Horticultural industry, and pretty much specifically, the hobby indoor garden market. Because of this, 600 watt lights are being made by a bunch of different manufacturers with varying degrees of specifications. This is why I believe you are experiencing the difficulty firing your 600 watt bulb. What I recommend is to go with a different bulb. It has been my experience over the years that the Hortilux bulbs work in the most digital ballasts. They are excellent bulbs (in fact they are also my preferred bulbs) and are horticulturally specific. They are an enhanced spectrum bulb with higher lumens and a broader spectrum incorporating some of the blue/white light of Metal Halide resulting in bigger, better fruits and flowers. These are a higher priced bulb, but I personally haven’t run up against a single functioning digital ballast that wouldn’t fire a Hortilux bulb. It is also possible that another bulb would work flawlessly, but you may have to experiment with different companies until you find a solid bulb.

However, in speaking with a local grow shop I learned that Hortilux came out with an article saying NOT to use their bulbs in Digi ballasts. I ended up going with a Hi-Par Bulb by GE called Lucalux. The bulb is working great and all issues have been resolved. Thanks for you help, its greatly appreciated.

oh wow, lucalux.... bet that wasnt exactly cheap.
bout 100$ a lamp where im @, by the time u add in sales tax.
and despite what that guy told you, the only difference between a 400w, a 600w, and a 1000w ballast, is a few turns of copper wire around a peice of malleable iron.
the difference between a hps ballast and a mh ballast is one component... an ignitor. a hps ballast with a bad ignitor and a good cap will ignite a MH lamp... all day long; but it wont light an HPS untill that ignitor circuit is complete. could have been that the original hps lamp you had just wasnt good.

The original lamp I had was an Eiko. I didn't know it when I bought it but I guess they are known for being real cheap. The Lucalux where I live cost $80. Thanks for the info about the ballasts.

Hello I'm new here and would just like to thank everyone for all of the information! So I have a question about my setup. I have 2 small cabs ~ 2'x2'x4' each. I was looking at venting them each with 2 12v .4 amp 120mm 75CFM PC case fans, 1 for intake 1 for exhaust w/ DYI carbon filter.

If I am using 4 120mm PC fans, and I want to power them via a 12v DC adapter, I think it would need to be at least 2amps to power all 4 fans safely, correct?. Also, should they be wired in series or parallel? Or would it just be better to go with something like this?
http://cgi.ebay.com/6-inch-INLINE-DU...item5ad566cba2

Anyone have any idea how loud a fan like this is? in decibels? Would it be a better choice than 120mm PC case fans? I'm just worried it would be too loud for a stealth op. Thanks.

You have a few options. You can use a PC power supply, but you'll have to add a switch since you don't have a motherboard to turn it on. You could also get a 12 volt trickle charger from radio shack and modify a circuit to your desire.

I've never used the duct fans like that but I can't imagine they would be much louder than gang of PC fans. In fact my computer makes more noise than my 12" vortex at full speed, but it sounds like a 747 when it spins up. Definitely no comparison there.


EDIT:
2amps should be sufficient.

oden2005 said:

Hello I'm new here and would just like to thank everyone for all of the information! So I have a question about my setup. I have 2 small cabs ~ 2'x2'x4' each. I was looking at venting them each with 2 12v .4 amp 120mm 75CFM PC case fans, 1 for intake 1 for exhaust w/ DYI carbon filter.

If I am using 4 120mm PC fans, and I want to power them via a 12v DC adapter, I think it would need to be at least 2amps to power all 4 fans safely, correct?. Also, should they be wired in series or parallel? Or would it just be better to go with something like this?
http://cgi.ebay.com/6-inch-INLINE-DU...item5ad566cba2

Anyone have any idea how loud a fan like this is? in decibels? Would it be a better choice than 120mm PC case fans? I'm just worried it would be too loud for a stealth op. Thanks.

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Would I be better off just using an old PC PSU to power the fans? How would I need to wire that?

whiteflour said:

You have a few options. You can use a PC power supply, but you'll have to add a switch since you don't have a motherboard to turn it on. You could also get a 12 volt trickle charger from radio shack and modify a circuit to your desire.

I've never used the duct fans like that but I can't imagine they would be much louder than gang of PC fans. In fact my computer makes more noise than my 12" vortex at full speed, but it sounds like a 747 when it spins up. Definitely no comparison there.


EDIT:
2amps should be sufficient.

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Whiteflour, thanks for the response! I have an old PC PSU I can use and a switch. Just not sure how to wire the switch into it? I think I may go this route because I am concerned 74cfm may not be enough and was looking at getting some more powerful fans.

I haven't wired one up in a while but what you'll need to do is find the schematics for the ATX cable. The on/off switch is just a simple relay. Touch it on, Touch it off. You can use a normal two position switch but you'll have to effectively turn it on and off to get a change, a single position toggle with return is best.

You need to short PS_ON to GND/COM.

Also using a PC power supply you get a rather rudimentary 3-speed fan control. You can wire the fan up to either the 12v or 5v for high and low. You can also wire the fan to the 12v+ and 5v+ (as the negative leg) for a 7v medium.

whiteflour said:

Also using a PC power supply you get a rather rudimentary 3-speed fan control. You can wire the fan up to either the 12v or 5v for high and low. You can also wire the fan to the 12v+ and 5v+ (as the negative leg) for a 7v medium.

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Thanks for the info, I just dug my old PSU out of the closet and tested it out today. Everything is working great.