Electrical problems :(

tigersrb

tigersrb

Active Member
So i have a room to start growing in...

problem is that all the outlets are 2 prong outlets, they have no grounding wire

I can convert them to 3 prong outlets easily, but they wont be grounded

I dont want to burn the house down, but i also cant really afford to hire an electrician

Will this be a huge problem? is it worth hiring an electrician to ground the outlets?

Thanks:wall:
 
joker152

joker152

Well-Known Member
just my two cents but i would stick with un-grounded lights then, like the reflectors you get at lowes, put a y socket in each with two cfl's. i personally wouldnt trust a high wattage HID light on an un-grounded connection, it might be ok though wait for a few more peoples input, cause all we got in our bedroom are un-grounded sockets and i got a 700w reciever with a 200w powered sub for the plasma and ps3 as well as a set of 400w logitech 2300's for my computer, sure it aint an HPS light but it is still a shit ton of power running through there.
 
tigersrb

tigersrb

Active Member
thanks i guess i probably should get it grounded cause im looking at a few high wattage lights and i dont want to burn the house down... im looking at 2 1000w MH lights and either 3 600w hps or 2 1000w hps lights
 
Sandman3749

Sandman3749

Well-Known Member
go with the 3 600w hps, just remember the heat that those lights put out and how big your room is, and what type of ventelatioN your working with, otherwise it will get very hot in your room,
 
tigersrb

tigersrb

Active Member
ya thanks i got the ventillation and a/c down... i think im just gonna have to change the outlets out so i can even plug the shit in...
 
I

ibcheeefin

Active Member
do not plug any thing in to those ungrounded plugs.:!:i am an electrician with 15yrs. experiance it is not safe and is a very serius fire hazard. you dont have to pay an electrician bunches of $$$.:lol: i will give any advice i can to help you and you would not beleive how easy it would be to properly ground your shit the safe way.if you burn the house down you cant be blazin it upbongsmilie:bigjoint:
 
tigersrb

tigersrb

Active Member
about how much would it cost to get them grounded? theres i think 8 outlets that i would need to be grounded (in 2 rooms)... thanks!!
 
noford1

noford1

Active Member
tigersrb said:
about how much would it cost to get them grounded? theres i think 8 outlets that i would need to be grounded (in 2 rooms)... thanks!!
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First thing you need to do is get the correct outlets and turn power off to that room. next pull out old outlet and see what wires are in there. if you have a metal box and conduit( galvinized pipe that wires run thru) you can run a wire off green screw on outlet right to the box itself. If you have romex (three wire insulated cable there should be a black, white, and non insulated and this is your ground. black is hot, white is neutral. If you only have two wires( black and white) then you cannot hook up a grounded outlet. Go get a GCFI oulet (like the one in your bathroom) and hook that up.
 
I

ibcheeefin

Active Member
noford1 said:
First thing you need to do is get the correct outlets and turn power off to that room. next pull out old outlet and see what wires are in there. if you have a metal box and conduit( galvinized pipe that wires run thru) you can run a wire off green screw on outlet right to the box itself. If you have romex (three wire insulated cable there should be a black, white, and non insulated and this is your ground. black is hot, white is neutral. If you only have two wires( black and white) then you cannot hook up a grounded outlet. Go get a GCFI oulet (like the one in your bathroom) and hook that up.
Click to expand...
good advice from stranger but would a gfci outlet work for a ground? i would suggest maybe just pulling a new romex wire to the panel and ground it there especialy with all those lights he plans on running with 8 other outlets on the same breaker.better safe than sorry:eyesmoke:
 
sittinherebored

sittinherebored

Well-Known Member
it figures that i would be the one to say that i have my 400hps hooked up to an ungrounded(well it use to be grounded) powerstrip. but i do have to say that ive had no problems
 
jigfresh

jigfresh

Well-Known Member
Dude, I know other's have told you, but no matter what, do not run all that lighting on that old outlet. My bet is that if those are the outlets, that's some old wiring. If you live in a house and it has a good breaker panel (hopefully newer than he house), you could get some wire and run it from the panel to the room in the attic or something, or some conduit around the outside/inside of your place.

If you trust yourself to be really careful and do things right, I think you could probably get it set up yourself. Or with a handy friend.

Ask ibcheeefin or me if you need some advise.

Also, 400w is one thing, but we're talking about 2000w here. And just because something works doesn't mean it's a good idea.
 
sittinherebored

sittinherebored

Well-Known Member
jigfresh said:
Dude, I know other's have told you, but no matter what, do not run all that lighting on that old outlet. My bet is that if those are the outlets, that's some old wiring. If you live in a house and it has a good breaker panel (hopefully newer than he house), you could get some wire and run it from the panel to the room in the attic or something, or some conduit around the outside/inside of your place.

If you trust yourself to be really careful and do things right, I think you could probably get it set up yourself. Or with a handy friend.

Ask ibcheeefin or me if you need some advise.

Also, 400w is one thing, but we're talking about 2000w here. And just because something works doesn't mean it's a good idea.
Click to expand...
oh i missed the 2000 watt part somehow, srry. and i most definitly wasnt saying it was a good idea
 
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