How to get more wattage in your garden without the electric company getting involved.

kingofshiba

kingofshiba

Member
Ok.. just had a bit of a brainwave.. plenty of us would love to add more wattage/lights to our grows but don't in fear of the electric company/police getting suspicious.. I would go as far as to say this is the main factor in people not wanting to expand their grows. So we need extra power but we can't get it from the electric company.. so what are our options? Well what other source of power is piped into our homes? Gas of course.

I had a random thought about the gas powered radios from the old days.. these electric items ran off gas.. so you must be able to get something that converts your gas into usable electric right? Right! Indeed you can ;-)

My quick googling showed something called a MICRO-CHP.. don't know how economical these are but it's certain worth looking into. The police will never put the link between a high gas bill and a cannabis farm together.. I don't know if anyone's heard of them or used one but it seems like a good way to add more wattage to your garden without it coming from the electric company.. hope this helps someone anyway.

I'll do some more research when I have time and see how viable they really are.

Peace!
 
jijiandfarmgang

jijiandfarmgang

Well-Known Member
what your looking for Is called a generator. People use them, your not the first. They make generators that run on natural gas.
 
Ammastor

Ammastor

Active Member
These systems are neat. However I am not sure how well or efficient it would be to run one to power some lights. Unless you use it in the winter only. As the electricity generated is only generated when it is producing heat. Winter time or colder climates might benefit from this system but in warmer climates may not be worth it. Most people who have these have to pull power from the grid during the non heating months and use then for winter only.

They produce roughly 1.5kw unless you get the industrial sized ones. The ones that are for home use run you around $24,000 so the cost and effectiveness may shy people away from these system. Spikes in electricity aren't enough for the police to really do anything. Maybe start looking toward you as a grower or producer. However if you keep your mouth shut and keep to yourself and give them no reason to try to get a warrant then you wouldn't have anything to worry about. If your looking for a way to stay off the grid. I would set up a windmill or the a like. Most windmills have to be tied into the grid but some can be stand alone and only supply power to your home or shop. Problem is no wind no power.

I am sure there would be a way to produce power without having to use gas for a source. I know a local here built a system that was steam based and used firewood to produce electricity. I helped him build the system. Works well but you have to feed it and keep the temps high enough to produce the steam needed to produce the electricity. Again we got about 1kw of power from the wood burning system.

I know I use a few space heaters in my house to heat areas. Id be venting the air back in my house from the lights to replace the space heaters. good way to convert used energy into energy that you may want for more wattage.

Another idea would be. Solar panels and LEDs. Not sure on how big of an array you would need to power a few hundred watts of LEDs but also another open for adding some light into the area.

I worked for a company that had an emergency trailer that had a battery bank that powered a water pump and 2 60watt bulbs. It was plugged into charge and then unplugged when the charge was complete. Not sure what batteries were used but I know the lights were on all day everyday and only charged once per day. The batter bank they used was only 3 batteries in series. Would be a way to mask power consumption charge while the lights are off and burn when the lights are suppose to be on. May only be a few hundred watts more but then you wouldn't have everything running at the same time everyday.

I do like the idea of the Micro-CHP systems. I heard they do work well but for the application. I am not sure how that would work out. Maybe add 1000w of light to your grow but the cost may be to great to consider.

There are also tons of other way to produce electricity or mask with little trick and so on. If you live in the woods with no neighbors. But and run a 7kw generator. Would burn some gas but you would gain a few thousand watts more of lighting power.

Everything depends on where you live, what your worried about, how much money you have to build a setup, and frankly people who use there minds to build things that are of some use.

Sorry for going off the Micro-CHP but here are ways of doing things.

Be honest I could go on and on about different ways. But most of them are on google.
 
kingofshiba

kingofshiba

Member
jijiandfarmgang said:
what your looking for Is called a generator. People use them, your not the first. They make generators that run on natural gas.
Click to expand...
Yeah I know what a generator is.. but why haven't I heard of generating electricity from your gas supply before seeing as everybody moans about drawing more power from the electric company? Is it inefficient?
 
kingofshiba

kingofshiba

Member
Ammastor said:
These systems are neat. However I am not sure how well or efficient it would be to run one to power some lights. Unless you use it in the winter only. As the electricity generated is only generated when it is producing heat. Winter time or colder climates might benefit from this system but in warmer climates may not be worth it. Most people who have these have to pull power from the grid during the non heating months and use then for winter only.

They produce roughly 1.5kw unless you get the industrial sized ones. The ones that are for home use run you around $24,000 so the cost and effectiveness may shy people away from these system. Spikes in electricity aren't enough for the police to really do anything. Maybe start looking toward you as a grower or producer. However if you keep your mouth shut and keep to yourself and give them no reason to try to get a warrant then you wouldn't have anything to worry about. If your looking for a way to stay off the grid. I would set up a windmill or the a like. Most windmills have to be tied into the grid but some can be stand alone and only supply power to your home or shop. Problem is no wind no power.

I am sure there would be a way to produce power without having to use gas for a source. I know a local here built a system that was steam based and used firewood to produce electricity. I helped him build the system. Works well but you have to feed it and keep the temps high enough to produce the steam needed to produce the electricity. Again we got about 1kw of power from the wood burning system.

I know I use a few space heaters in my house to heat areas. Id be venting the air back in my house from the lights to replace the space heaters. good way to convert used energy into energy that you may want for more wattage.

Another idea would be. Solar panels and LEDs. Not sure on how big of an array you would need to power a few hundred watts of LEDs but also another open for adding some light into the area.

I worked for a company that had an emergency trailer that had a battery bank that powered a water pump and 2 60watt bulbs. It was plugged into charge and then unplugged when the charge was complete. Not sure what batteries were used but I know the lights were on all day everyday and only charged once per day. The batter bank they used was only 3 batteries in series. Would be a way to mask power consumption charge while the lights are off and burn when the lights are suppose to be on. May only be a few hundred watts more but then you wouldn't have everything running at the same time everyday.

I do like the idea of the Micro-CHP systems. I heard they do work well but for the application. I am not sure how that would work out. Maybe add 1000w of light to your grow but the cost may be to great to consider.

There are also tons of other way to produce electricity or mask with little trick and so on. If you live in the woods with no neighbors. But and run a 7kw generator. Would burn some gas but you would gain a few thousand watts more of lighting power.

Everything depends on where you live, what your worried about, how much money you have to build a setup, and frankly people who use there minds to build things that are of some use.

Sorry for going off the Micro-CHP but here are ways of doing things.

Be honest I could go on and on about different ways. But most of them are on google.
Click to expand...
Wow thanks for the response. I can see you already know about them! Didn't realize they were so expensive for such little wattage! Makes them more than impractical for the purpose.

And I agree if you have the land there are much better ways to make your own electricity.. especially if you are blessed enough to have a river or stream passing through yours.. was just thinking about for those in the cities who's only options are the gas and electric coming into their homes. I've heard the battery method discussed as well but I have a feeling it's not practical for high wattage lighting.
 
skunkd0c

skunkd0c

Well-Known Member
They come in all various shapes and sizes from a few kw to 100s of kw they can run a whole house as a back up gen
they are expensive and very loud, over 60db for 8kw
interesting idea for very large grows where a natural gas supply is present

the portable ones can supply 10kw and over but they are usually for bottled gas
these things are basically motors (mechanical) so they will need servicing and parts if they are running all the time
i wouldn't want to rely on one of the cheap £200 Chinese models, with explosive gas involved in the equation my mind would worry
the professional models are £2000 upto 20k for very big 80kw models

http://www.electricgeneratorsdirect.com/power/natural-gas-generators.html
 
kingofshiba

kingofshiba

Member
skunkd0c said:
They come in all various shapes and sizes from a few kw to 100s of kw they can run a whole house as a back up gen
they are expensive and very loud, over 60db for 8kw
interesting idea for very large grows where a natural gas supply is present

the portable ones can supply 10kw and over but they are usually for bottled gas
these things are basically motors (mechanical) so they will need servicing and parts if they are running all the time
i wouldn't want to rely on one of the cheap £200 Chinese models, with explosive gas involved in the equation my mind would worry
the professional models are £2000 upto 20k for very big 80kw models

http://www.electricgeneratorsdirect.com/power/natural-gas-generators.html
Click to expand...
Just checked them out, those big standby ones look interesting... I wonder what the cost per kw would work out to be on one of those? I'll go through the specs and work it out later
 
GroErr

GroErr

Well-Known Member
While very interesting, this is developing (for 10+ years now) technology with a lot of limitations for residential use and very expensive. You'd be better to go solar or wind where feasible, both are coming down significantly and can be used to supplement your power requirements, or replace them for less than CHP systems. Look at where industrial suppliers are targeting these systems and you'll see Telco's and other remote locations, you know, companies with large buckets of cash. It'll be a while and require wide adaptation for residential before they compete with solar/wind.
 
skunkd0c

skunkd0c

Well-Known Member
GroErr said:
While very interesting, this is developing (for 10+ years now) technology with a lot of limitations for residential use and very expensive. You'd be better to go solar or wind where feasible, both are coming down significantly and can be used to supplement your power requirements, or replace them for less than CHP systems. Look at where industrial suppliers are targeting these systems and you'll see Telco's and other remote locations, you know, companies with large buckets of cash. It'll be a while and require wide adaptation for residential before they compete with solar/wind.
Click to expand...
That's true i am sure, although perhaps a generator if sound insulation is also employed is less conspicuous than a big windmill or lots of solar panels strapped to your roof
that is if you are not in a medical state and want to keep things on the low-key

peace
 
M

MoNoXiDe211

Member
how much does it really increase your electric bill? I guess if you have a huge grow. Small grow I wouldnt really worry about the electric bill causing problems. just pay your bill when it comes.
 
kingofshiba

kingofshiba

Member
GroErr said:
While very interesting, this is developing (for 10+ years now) technology with a lot of limitations for residential use and very expensive. You'd be better to go solar or wind where feasible, both are coming down significantly and can be used to supplement your power requirements, or replace them for less than CHP systems. Look at where industrial suppliers are targeting these systems and you'll see Telco's and other remote locations, you know, companies with large buckets of cash. It'll be a while and require wide adaptation for residential before they compete with solar/wind.
Click to expand...
If somebody made one of these generators to turn gas into a stable supply of kw that could be installed inside a home much like a boiler then this would be perfect.. but there is no marketable need for this so like you say the technology is taking a different path. Doubt there's any houses out there with only a gas supply and no electricity.. and even if there was they would just opt for the big generator so can't see one being made ever really.

As good as wind and solar are they all dependent on where you live and the weather.. size of your roof etc.. a gas supply would work the same for everyone who's got one.
 
kingofshiba

kingofshiba

Member
skunkd0c said:
That's true i am sure, although perhaps a generator if sound insulation is also employed is less conspicuous than a big windmill or lots of solar panels strapped to your roof
that is if you are not in a medical state and want to keep things on the low-key

peace
Click to expand...
Being the only person on your street with solar panels covering every tile and half a dozen windmills spinning on top of your house trying to power your grow might just be more conspicuous than using the electricity in the first place.. :lol:
 
skunkd0c

skunkd0c

Well-Known Member
MoNoXiDe211 said:
how much does it really increase your electric bill? I guess if you have a huge grow. Small grow I wouldnt really worry about the electric bill causing problems. just pay your bill when it comes.
Click to expand...
i agree pretty much, but it does increase your bill a fair amount although unless the garden is very big its all explainable
my grow increases my electricity bill by 400% over normal usage

an electric fire is 3kw , a portable air conditioner 3kw+ it is acceptable to have 2 of these running in a house
that's 6kw+ that's a pretty big garden plenty of folk have large bills for regular things
folk running lots of computers, game servers/ computer network can easy run 3+kw 24/7 which would be the equivalent of 6kw 12/12

peace
 
kingofshiba

kingofshiba

Member
MoNoXiDe211 said:
how much does it really increase your electric bill? I guess if you have a huge grow. Small grow I wouldnt really worry about the electric bill causing problems. just pay your bill when it comes.
Click to expand...
It's not the money involved with the bill that's an issue.. as obviously using gas to make electricity will cost a lot more! It's the fact that a residential property has a limit to how much power you can draw before things start to look dodgy.
 
dbkick

dbkick

Well-Known Member
um, they make generators that are powered by several different types of fuel including natural gas. fin?
 
dbkick

dbkick

Well-Known Member
they also make small nuclear reactors capable of powering say a big subdivision , got 50 million laying around? if yes you can probably buy one.
 
skunkd0c

skunkd0c

Well-Known Member
kingofshiba said:
Being the only person on your street with solar panels covering every tile and half a dozen windmills spinning on top of your house trying to power your grow might just be more conspicuous than using the electricity in the first place.. :lol:
Click to expand...
my thoughts exactly lol

can just imagine it now, the neighbors talking "you seen that big windmill on that house at the end of the street"
"yeh i have, that one that smells of cat piss ? , yeh thats the one LOL

"not only that he has a solar farm in the back garden, who does this cunt think he is , the national grid"

tensions would flare, neighbors get jealous
 
dbkick

dbkick

Well-Known Member
ah sorry about the "fin?" part. Took a look at your thread and I see you can grow weed. fin hasn't a chance!
Carry on with the excellent ideas!
 
kingofshiba

kingofshiba

Member
skunkd0c said:
my thoughts exactly lol

can just imagine it now, the neighbors talking "you seen that big windmill on that house at the end of the street"
"yeh i have, that one that smells of cat piss ? , yeh thats the one LOL

"not only that he has a solar farm in the back garden, who does this cunt think he is , the national grid"

tensions would flare, neighbors get jealous
Click to expand...
Haha! :lol:

I think paying the bill and having a fucking good cover story is still the way forward. We might live in the future but turning gas into electricity in your home is not part of it... however windmills and shiny panels on your roof are :)
 
skunkd0c

skunkd0c

Well-Known Member
old people need to keep warm, they always be wasting power, just pretend you are a pensioner with old bones
and lots of electric fires lol, you can buy your electric and gas from separate companies neither of which need to know

you can have high bills as long as you pay for them i do not think they will worry after all its money they care about
i am not sure how much truth is in the claim that electric companies or government agencies spy on electric usage
this is normally something some Americans say from certain states who also talk about smart meters and surges etc

but if it worries you its always good to eliminate those worries anyway you can

peace
 
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