Building a SAFE light

nevergoodenuf

nevergoodenuf

Well-Known Member
I am looking at a few ways to make my light safer, but have had trouble finding what I am looking for. I have found some cool power inlets and other odds and ends.
My problem is with the universal input, how do I fuse this at 15 amps, so I feel more comfortable daisy chaining these at 110v or 240v? Do I use 2 15 amp push button circuit breakers, one on each leg? Will this kill power if only one is tripped? I looked at 2 HPS ballasts and one had 1 breaker and the other had 2? I have googled this and nothing comes up for this question. I have way to many cords running throughout my room and daisy chaining would cleanup the room considerably. This is what I have now, but would like to see others. I am a big fan of overkill, so show me what you guys have found. Do filters do anything for us? I know there has been talk on this but I think a new thread wouldn't hurt.IMG_20160305_115405669.jpg IMG_20160306_125728943.jpg
 

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Isawthelight

Isawthelight

Well-Known Member
nevergoodenuf said:
I am looking at a few ways to make my light safer, but have had trouble finding what I am looking for. I have found some cool power inlets and other odds and ends.
My problem is with the universal input, how do I fuse this at 15 amps, so I feel more comfortable daisy chaining these at 110v or 240v? Do I use 2 15 amp push button circuit breakers, one on each leg? Will this kill power if only one is tripped? I looked at 2 HPS ballasts and one had 1 breaker and the other had 2? I have googled this and nothing comes up for this question. I have way to many cords running throughout my room and daisy chaining would cleanup the room considerably. This is what I have now, but would like to see others. I am a big fan of overkill, so show me what you guys have found. Do filters do anything for us? I know there has been talk on this but I think a new thread wouldn't hurt.View attachment 3625749 View attachment 3625748
Click to expand...
What is the wattage of your LED Driver? I have a 200 watt driver so I wired up a inline fuse holder with the black wire at the 3 pronged power cord and the brown wire going to the driver. No protection required for the white wire at the plug which is connected the blue wire on the LED Driver AC input. I used a 3 Amp Slow-Blow fuse and have not had a fuse blow yet. Definitely not the work of a professional -> this is a work in progress and it is working. The15 Amp circuit breaker would work but the fire could get pretty big before that breaker trips.IMG_0117.JPG
 
PSUAGRO.

PSUAGRO.

Well-Known Member
A gfci plug wired in to the lamp cord is a good place to start IMO....

Good luck and be safe! ;-)

Edit: should have read the question before posting, my fault
 
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nevergoodenuf

nevergoodenuf

Well-Known Member
The circuit breaker is for the overall load of 2 or 3 500 watt fixtures @ 120v daisy chained or 4 or 5 lights @ 240v. At the moment I am looking at something like this-
IMG_20160307_130535213.jpg

My bigger worry is having one to many daisy chained together. I just haven't been able to verify if I need one or two circuit breakers. When I need a light in veg, I only have 120v, but the flower room is setup for 240v.
 
sanjuan

sanjuan

Well-Known Member
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nevergoodenuf

nevergoodenuf

Well-Known Member
Thank you sanjuan. Now I see why I couldn't find a 15 amp fused inlet. No problem, that just means I need two 10 amp breakers. Page 7 has the input/output I what.
 
nevergoodenuf

nevergoodenuf

Well-Known Member
I don't mind having only 10 amps, because I know everybody has one or more of these cords laying around there house. I like the single in out fuse and switch, but I haven't found the right one yet. It seems the ones I am looking at have a switch for 120v/240v. I want it idiot proof.
 
nevergoodenuf

nevergoodenuf

Well-Known Member
The protection is really only for the power cords. I am only trying to make it safe for daisy- chaining. I don't want the cords being overloaded. I am not worried about the drivers.
 
sanjuan

sanjuan

Well-Known Member
Looking at the spec sheet of a PEM (power entry module), Shurter is available with one or two fuses but the thermal overload is always two pole. The IEC receptacle allows 120 or 240VAC input. If 120V is used on a two-fuse installation, that violates the iron-clad rule that the neutral return line should never be independently broken with a switch, etc. As a practical matter, if the luminaires are not daisy chained I don't think twin fuses are a problem with 120V.

That's the way I see it but I'm not an electrician nor an engineer.
 
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sanjuan

sanjuan

Well-Known Member
PurpleBuz said:
are fuses necessary with all the protections that the meanwell hlgs have built in ?
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The last I saw, SupraSPL thought fuses were not needed for the better quality Mean Wells.

Being concerned about cords (and we should be), I'd say buy the body and plug and a reel of 14ga SJOOW cable. It's not easy to find the 14ga capable parts at Mouser, the standard is 18ga for the IEC config.
 
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