Experienced Electrician! Here to Answer Any and All Growroom Electrical Questions

How do you run a wire from your breaker box to where u want the outlet?

sorry to interrupt I have got another electrical question:
these cfl lights at 2 and 4 pin where you get the fittings for them,I can see they sell only the lights.
Thanks

riznob10000 said:

From three posts up on this page. Case in point. This is the kinda stuff i'm talkin about! You say you bought this. From which junk dealer and in which decade? Looks like somethin Ben Franklin might have worked with, and you've got it sittin on a piece of cardboard? Can you really not see the fire hazard? Scrap that shit bro, and go " buy " a new system from a reputable supplier. I'm serious, before you do harm to yourself or someone else, throw that shit away!!!! Don't give it to someone else. Don't sell it. Throw it away. WTF?

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dude i bought it from way the fuck out my way ad they got a site and etc i took it apart so i could show someone it man wtf im far from dumb . so stop with the b.s man 4-real kuz all i asked is why does it run 2 bulbs but was told its a mh ballast and you come with some b.s just to have a chat riot man go somewhere else and win an award man 4-real . but i do respect the safty stuff your talking about

n00bGrower said:

I think the only thing anyone who has read your post came away with is "Wow, that riznoob1000 guy is a real asshole."

Vic and the other experienced people here have supplied invaluable information to anyone who has needed or requested it. Their focus has always been offering advice with safety being paramount. Your contributions to this thread have done nothing but expose your own inability to participate in a forum discussion in a mature way.

Granted, there are obvious safety issue when doing any DIY project, whether it's electrical or otherwise, and it isn't the responsibility of those offering guidance to be responsible for some else's stupidity. If someone posted a question about a setup that seemed dangerous, I highly doubt anyone here would remain silent.

Also, electricity has been stigmatized as this unwieldy, unpredictable element that is just waiting at every corner to break out of the junction box and set your whole world aflame. This isn't so. If treated with respect and handled properly, wiring certain things is actually safer than mowing your lawn...

Get a grip dude and worry about your own shit instead of pissing on your neighbors' parade.

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i like what you said bro thats what im talking about

I concede the fact that I came off hard, rude, insensitive, even potentially hostile. Like I said, I knew three people that died in fires, two of them children, and it's scary and sad and hits close to home. I just want people to avoid that potential, and sometimes it means scrapin what you're workin with and starting over from scratch. I know I have anyway.

So once again, I offer my most sincere and humble apology ( no sarcasm ) to any and everyone I might have offended, and will be a little more select with my verbage in the future, k?

At least we're talkin about it...

if i have a climate controler that can handle 15amp and i need to run a co2 reg. and a ac or heater and 3 fans on it what do i need to make it work

totalybaked said:

How do you run a wire from your breaker box to where u want the outlet?

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First, you need to have an open switch in the panel, a spot that has a cover. Second, if you have an open spot, remove the cover and look at a particular circuit. See the black wire attached to the outside of the switch, that is the hot or power wire, if you follow it back to its entry into the panel, you will find a white wire and a bare or green wire that come from the same romex that the black wire came from, they will go to the ground bar (white wire) and the grounding bar ( bare or green wire). That is one half of a circuit. Those three wires connect to a receptacle, Black wire to the gold screw, white wire to the silver screw and bare or green to the green screw would be the other half of the circuit. Of course you will need a breaker switch also, they are available at the big box stores, usually less than $5.00.
I do recommend 12 wire and 20 amp switches and receptacles for any new circuits you run. VV

Specialkey said:

sorry to interrupt I have got another electrical question:
these cfl lights at 2 and 4 pin where you get the fittings for them,I can see they sell only the lights.
Thanks

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Those are special bulbs to replace burnt bulbs. I have a desk lamp and a floor lamp that use that 4 pin bulb, and I used that desk lamp for a light for a couple of seedling when I first started. You can get them on sale for around $20.00 with the bulb in them. VV

panta said:

if i have a climate controler that can handle 15amp and i need to run a co2 reg. and a ac or heater and 3 fans on it what do i need to make it work

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It sounds like you are going to need some thermally controlled switches, which are probably part of the controller you have, Picture are probably going to be required to answer your question. VV

alright i have a question for yeah. just want to make a very clean movable ceiling that has light fixtures probably 5 er 8 fixed in place, then 5 er 8 more that are on expendable flexible metal tubes to hang down below the canopy. the movable lights i know how to do, but i am unsure of the wiring required to safely put the 5 or 8 fixed lights on the ceiling itself. i plan on wiring all of the lights to a central box and then running a grounded (three prong) cable from the box to a surge protector and then the wall.how do i do all of this and not burn the house down???? haha, thanks Bricktown, have a good one

So, is it possible to take a 4 or <a 6 strip extension cord and hook it right to the cable, where used to be a light socet-planning this to do in my shed, where are no boxas and shit-can this be done??planning on runnning 6-8 cfls and later also a 70 watt hps+
2 pc fans, and on big oscilating fan.

if i buy a Super Quiet PowerMax 4400 Watt Portable Gas Generator how long would you say it will run constant since im trying to figure out how much gas im gonna need. Im trying to run 2 600 watt hps hortilux bulbs and one of those air conditoners that isnt in the window since my room dosnt have any windows. my electric bill has been over $400 trying to keep shit cool. any help is appreciated. thanks.

farmer2424 said:

alright i have a question for yeah. just want to make a very clean movable ceiling that has light fixtures probably 5 er 8 fixed in place, then 5 er 8 more that are on expendable flexible metal tubes to hang down below the canopy. the movable lights i know how to do, but i am unsure of the wiring required to safely put the 5 or 8 fixed lights on the ceiling itself. i plan on wiring all of the lights to a central box and then running a grounded (three prong) cable from the box to a surge protector and then the wall.how do i do all of this and not burn the house down???? haha, thanks Bricktown, have a good one

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You would have to start the plan based on the watts or amps that the lights require. When you start talking these kinds of numbers, 16 lights and auxiliary appliances, you may be talking about having to upgrade your electric service. If I were considering having the type of sub panel arrangement your talking about, I would probably run 100 amps to the sub panel, they are less expensive than smaller panels are and usually have 20 spaces for 110 circuits. The surge protector is not going to do anything, a ground fault circuit interrupter might, I would imagine that would be very expensive for a 100 amp circuit.
For that amount of power it will be four wires, hard wired to the Main Panel.
Now if you mean 16 cfl's ......??? VV

grow space

So, is it possible to take a 4 or <a 6 strip extension cord and hook it right to the cable, where used to be a light socet-planning this to do in my shed, where are no boxas and shit-can this be done??planning on runnning 6-8 cfls and later also a 70 watt hps+
2 pc fans, and on big oscilating fan.

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NO. You could install a receptacle that you could plug a cord into, first you would need to identify the switch in the main panel. Then go visit your local big box stores electric department and look for a few good basic tools. If you are going to save money by not hiring an electrician you will need them. For this project a good wire stripper and a straight and phillips head screwdriver will be required.
Now go look at the displays the have, one will show you what you would need to do to remove a light socket and install a receptacle, parts are about $5.00, they also have books for about $20.00 that have pictures, you may want to get one of those, if you continue growing this will not be your last project.
Always TURN OFF THE SWITCH FIRST, the one we identified before we went to the big box store, then remove the light socket, attach the black wire to the gold screw of your new receptacle, attach the white wire to the silver screw, and the green or bare wire to the green screw. I recommend wrapping the back side of the receptacle with electric tape as an added safety precaution, then push it up into the box, install the cover and plug your radio into it.

Now, go turn the switch on. If the radio plays, your golden, if it doesn't, TURN OFF THE SWITCH.
If the switch goes 1/2 way off by itself, call an electrician.
More than likely, this light is not the only thing on this circuit, it is probably 14 wire, and a 15 amp breaker. It may not carry the load for all of those lights and the fans that you are going to need. I would forget the 70 watt hps. VV

WaTzRelLyGoOd How long will the gen run 2 hps 600

if i buy a Super Quiet PowerMax 4400 Watt Portable Gas Generator how long would you say it will run constant since im trying to figure out how much gas im gonna need. Im trying to run 2 600 watt hps hortilux bulbs and one of those air conditoners that isnt in the window since my room dosnt have any windows. my electric bill has been over $400 trying to keep shit cool. any help is appreciated. thanks.

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Wow. Your trying to figure out a $3000.00 solution to an air handling problem, air cool the lights first. Take the heat from the light out of the equation. You do this by blowing outside air through cool tubes and back outside. I have (3) 1000 watt lights with one air cooling line. I posted a thread for installing a system, you may want to look at doing that first. VV

thanks i orderd a 6 inch exhaust and carbon filter

I am running 3 new circuits to my grow space. 20A 220V, and 2 20A 110V circuits. 220 circuit is for a 600W lamp. A 20A ded. circuit for my a/c. And the last 20A circuit will run a 400W lamp and 4 22 watt fluoro's. I ran 12-2 for everything. I opened up the service panel to find there are no open spaces on the neutral/ground bus bar. There are 13 open spaces for breakers on the hot bus bar.

Do I need to install another neutral/ ground bus bar?
Can I put some sort of extension on the existing bus bar, to wire my new circuits to?
Or do I need to install a sub panel?
Thanks in advance.

I have a question. I live in an older house (built in the 50's) and the wiring is kinda screwy. It seems like the kitchen (and appliances), garage, and entire upstairs (including the bedrooms) are all on the same line. There is not a fuse box in the basement - it has a breaker box. Now in the winter, because of everything on the same line, we can only run two of the radiator looking electric heaters, on low, and if one gets turned up or someone uses the microwave it trips the breaker. So my question is - based on this - can you give me a rough idea of how many 400w HPS lights I will be able to run on this circuit?

One smart dude. Great thread! Thanks, will be using it.

I got my answer, no offense I could'nt wait. My neutral/ground bar are one in the same so I am going to double up a few of the existing grounds in the bar to free up some space for my new wiring. Thanks anyway.

is it a problem to plug 1 power strip (surge protector) into a another one and possibly a 3rd? like a chain

DoeEyed said:

I have a question. I live in an older house (built in the 50's) and the wiring is kinda screwy. It seems like the kitchen (and appliances), garage, and entire upstairs (including the bedrooms) are all on the same line. There is not a fuse box in the basement - it has a breaker box. Now in the winter, because of everything on the same line, we can only run two of the radiator looking electric heaters, on low, and if one gets turned up or someone uses the microwave it trips the breaker. So my question is - based on this - can you give me a rough idea of how many 400w HPS lights I will be able to run on this circuit?

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If your entire house only has enough supply to run two electric heaters on low, I would seriously think about getting the place professionally rewired before you consider running high wattage lights 12+ hours a day. What if you want to use the oven, or a vacuum cleaner and it trips the breaker controlling your growlight? Then you'd have to wait a few minutes before turning the power back on to avoid a hot restart of the bulb, which can shorten it's life significantly.
Besides which, if the wiring is 50-odd years old, you have no idea what sort of condition it's in and whether it will cope with multiple high load appliances for extended periods. Personally I would have it rewired even if I wasn't growing. I couldn't be doing with picking and choosing between a hot meal or a warm house! Although it is a good way of making you save energy, you shouldn't be able to run up a massive electricity bill!