Help!!!How many CFL's into one power cord? Help...

How many 26 watt CFL's can safely be plugged into my power strip which is then plugged into my wall? I live in a one bedroom apt. and am doing a small closet grow with 5 plants, I'm trying to get 2-3 females, so 5 is more than I want but it's what I gotta do. Anyways, I've got a power strip with y splitters powering 5 CFL's plus 2 CFL's from the same socket plus 3 17 watt 2 ft. fluors. All this is being powered from the same socket in the wall and I'm worried about tripping a breaker or something and getting caught? I think I tripped a main breaker today in my apt., not only was power out in my apt. but the hallway and elevator too. Luckily the power company just came out and its back on and nobody came into my apt. but now i'm paranoid. What can I do to cause this from happening again? get more extension cords and utilize more wall sockets? or are they all on the same line? I know nothing about electricity so please help....Any help, comments, are appreciated...

well your usual bedroom breaker is what 15-25 amps max look at your breaker and try to only use about 80% of its amperage. see what each light pulls and tally it up to get the number. im running two 2foot cfls a 400watt mh light, a 130watt pc power supply for my fans, and then a 600watt personal computer with 21inch widescreen. boombox and regular lamp all within my rooms limit and i have no problems. i live in an apt also and i think my breaker for this room is only 15-20 amps max

you're running this all off one outlet? my question is that can i run all this from one electrical socket and a power strip or should I use different plug-ins within the room or does it matter? I'm just wondering if 9 26 watt CFL's is too much for one outlet??? I dont have many other options without giving up my stealth closet.

does anyone know how many amps a typical 26watt (100 equivalent) cfl 6500k 1600lumen use? the box doesn't say...

i have 6 power strips, 16 CFL's (23watt and 27watt), and 3 fans all plugged into an extension cord that plugs into 1 outlet. So I think your good, lol. Not to mention my place is probably near 100 years old, lol. I would say do whatever you did to trip the breaker again and if it works, then you know for sure.

I believe you can get a lot, I have a 450 watt pc, a 50" HDTV and i can run 6 46 watt cfl's off the same cord so it should take it all. Which is around 1000 watt and I reckon you could easily get 2000 watt out of one which means a lot of your cfl's.

mines split up between two sockets, all my lights and fans on one then my comp is on the other side of the room in its own socket. but its all connected to one breaker. the most common case of fires starting is when people use light timers that's amperage is less then that of the lights that go into it. our ballest will pull 6 - 9 amps. i think cfl bulbs pull like .5 amps or less, i know all my pc fans pull .03 amps. but like he said plug everything back in and see if the problem happens where everything goes out again, if so then youll just have to divide the power up somehow.

ok, i',m using an "outdoor" timer from walmart, its pretty heavy duty looking, do you think because its outdoor rated its probably able to handle quite a bit of amperage?

18 40w cfls and 2 fans from 1 outlet (timer too, but i dont think it uses electricity itself) i have only 12 going right now though cuz my cat broke 6 trying to get a mouse!

fauxsho02 said:

ok, i',m using an "outdoor" timer from walmart, its pretty heavy duty looking, do you think because its outdoor rated its probably able to handle quite a bit of amperage?

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you should be ok.

fauxsho02 said:

does anyone know how many amps a typical 26watt (100 equivalent) cfl 6500k 1600lumen use? the box doesn't say...

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Amps = Watts/Volts

26/120 = .22 amps

Watts = Amps x Volts

.22 x 120 = 26.4 watts

I rounded the numbers

Also you have to take into account the wire gauge of your extension cord, they will only carry so many watts. A power strip usually has a built in breaker for about 5 amps, so it should blow if you are getting too serious.

Cool, it sounds like ill be ok for now, I'm not really worried about tripping breakers mostly just starting fires but it doesn't look very likely, I'm just nervous about leaving them alone for 4 days while I'm outta town but I think if anything was going to happen it would have by now...

you will be fine, your power strip most likely has a breaker in it so you wont have to worry as long as it does.

fauxsho02 said:

Cool, it sounds like ill be ok for now, I'm not really worried about tripping breakers mostly just starting fires but it doesn't look very likely, I'm just nervous about leaving them alone for 4 days while I'm outta town but I think if anything was going to happen it would have by now...

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Wait till you get a 1000 watt HPS and have to go out of town for a few days, that will keep you thinking.

la9 said:

Wait till you get a 1000 watt HPS and have to go out of town for a few days, that will keep you thinking.

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touche'...

3 Fans 80 W shop lite

1 42 W cfl
8 26 W cfls
1 2 ft 20 W light

1 air purifier

I trip my Powerstrip if i add the next 26 watt bulb. i have 7 -10 more bulbs ready when i get more power

also forgot 100 W HPS