Need help understanding electrical

I have 4 1000w lights to hook up and I'm having a hard time grasping the concepts of voltage and amps. I have a 30 amp circuit, a 20 amp circuit, and a 20 amp circuit that also runs a grinder pump so I would rather not use that one for lights. I understand that you only want to use 80% of the amps on any given circuit but I'm a bit lost when factoring in voltage. How can I even tell if it is 110 or 220? Sorry if this has been answered before but there are only so many hours in the day and I get lost scrolling through old posts sometimes. It seems to me that I can't run 2 1000w on one 20 amp but 3 1000w on the 30 amp seems too much too. Please help me understand because nothing is getting installed until I know it is safe.

The best way to determine outlet voltage is with a multimeter.
240v circuits have 2 circuit breakers tied together in the panel, so if those circuits are on individual breakers they are probably 120v circuits.
I've also read that continuous loads derate the circuit to approx. 65%.
@Renfro might be able to shed more light on this.

GBAUTO said:

The best way to determine outlet voltage is with a multimeter.
240v circuits have 2 circuit breakers tied together in the panel, so if those circuits are on individual breakers they are probably 120v circuits.
I've also read that continuous loads derate the circuit to approx. 65%.
@Renfro might be able to shed more light on this.

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If that's the case they are all 120v. So one on the 20amp and 2 on the 30 amp max?

You have two phases in your breaker panel. The phases are offset 180 degrees. Each phase to neutral is 120 volts. Phase to phase is 240 volts, thus the double pole breaker for 240 volt circuits.

P(watts) = I(amps) x E(volts)

The 30 amp circuit you have, is that 120 volts or 240 volts? A 30 amp 120 volt feed would be kinda odd but it does happen, sometimes for older window AC units.

If the 30 amp is dedicated (only one receptacle on the circuit) then it would be simple to change it to 240 volts and therefore double to watts you can run on that circuit. You would change the breaker to a double pole breaker, and locate the neutral wire for that circuit and take it off the neutral bus and put it on the double pole breaker along with the black wire that was on a single pole breaker. Now you have both legs going to the receptacle. Just have to make sure you grab the right neutral lol.

The Grow Room Whisperer has SPOKEN!

Were it my grow I would be looking at taking the 30 amp circuit and switching it to 240 volts and use it to feed a titan helios lighting controller. I prefer the ones without a built in timer, this way you can use it with a reliable digital timer that won't lose time if the power goes out. You can get ones with dual trigger cords, each controls receptacles on one side of the controller. This allows you to run two timers, one for veg and one for flower.

Renfro said:

You have two phases in your breaker panel. The phases are offset 180 degrees. Each phase to neutral is 120 volts. Phase to phase is 240 volts, thus the double pole breaker for 240 volt circuits.

P(watts) = I(amps) x E(volts)

The 30 amp circuit you have, is that 120 volts or 240 volts? A 30 amp 120 volt feed would be kinda odd but it does happen, sometimes for older window AC units.

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I think it is a 120v considering it is one breaker not two tied together. I will check it with the multimeter when I can.

Renfro said:

If the 30 amp is dedicated (only one receptacle on the circuit) then it would be simple to change it to 240 volts and therefore double to watts you can run on that circuit. You would change the breaker to a double pole breaker, and locate the neutral wire for that circuit and take it off the neutral bus and put it on the double pole breaker along with the black wire that was on a single pole breaker. Now you have both legs going to the receptacle. Just have to make sure you grab the right neutral lol.

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I like this idea but I will be calling an electrician for this job. I don't mess with the breaker box, I'll change an outlet but the live shit is not for me. I do have another 30 amp breaker right above the one for my room that as far as I can tell isn't being used. Not sure if that used to be the laundry room or something. House is over 30 years old and electrical was updated in 2011.

Renfro said:

Were it my grow I would be looking at taking the 30 amp circuit and switching it to 240 volts and use it to feed a titan helios lighting controller. I prefer the ones without a built in timer, this way you can use it with a reliable digital timer that won't lose time if the power goes out. You can get ones with dual trigger cords, each controls receptacles on one side of the controller. This allows you to run two timers, one for veg and one for flower.

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I just got the trolmaster controller for my flower room and my veg tent has a simple timer at the moment. That's a good point about power outages I will have to be careful of that. Thanks for all the info Renfro your knowledge is a blessing on these forums!

MissTHC said:

I like this idea but I will be calling an electrician for this job. I don't mess with the breaker box, I'll change an outlet but the live shit is not for me. I do have another 30 amp breaker right above the one for my room that as far as I can tell isn't being used. Not sure if that used to be the laundry room or something. House is over 30 years old and electrical was updated in 2011.

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If you genuinely feel uncomfortable doing it, go ahead and call an electrician... but replacing breakers is fairly simple. Id say just about as simple as changing out a receptacle, just a lot more intimidating without having done it or having a lot of experience.

Just watch a few quality YouTube videos on the topic, read about electrical safety when working in your breaker box, and shut the main breaker off before even taking the cover off. As long as your not having to trace wires or run wire, it won't take long to switch the breakers out, and save you a couple hundred bucks on calling an electrician to come do it.

Good luck!

HydroKid239 said:

The Grow Room Whisperer has SPOKEN!

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Haha love it.

BluntMoniker said:

If you genuinely feel uncomfortable doing it, go ahead and call an electrician... but replacing breakers is fairly simple. Id say just about as simple as changing out a receptacle, just a lot more intimidating without having done it or having a lot of experience.

Just watch a few quality YouTube videos on the topic, read about electrical safety when working in your breaker box, and shut the main breaker off before even taking the cover off. As long as your not having to trace wires or run wire, it won't take long to switch the breakers out, and save you a couple hundred bucks on calling an electrician to come do it.

Good luck!

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I think you're right. It looks pretty straight forward and doable. I have only been a homeowner for 2 years and I have learned so many new skills in that time. I guess it's time to learn another!

Do have someone look at your situation, the 30 amp 120 volt circuit(s) is making me wonder if someone put in bigger breakers than the wire can handle. If you know 10 gauge wire by looking at it, you might check.

if youve never done it befor id say get an electrician i wouldnt recommend trusting random people on you tube. like renfro said those titan controllers with a trigger cord are nice i got mine setup just outside the grow room i had a licensed electrician do it wasnt that expensive 4ft of wire and a breaker

I had my friend/mentor who owns a remodeling business over with his crew today to install my mini split and add a tee from my gas line to the co2 generator. I asked him about it while he was running electrical and even he had to call his electrician just to be sure since he had never seen a 30amp on a 120 circuit. From what I gathered it looks like the previous owner changed a 240v circuit that had a double breaker to two single 30 amp breakers one of which is no longer attached to any outlets that I can tell. I was told I just need a different breaker...I'm paying the $90 service fee and getting the electrician back out, it will take them 10 minutes and it will be done right. I would have asked my friend to do it while he was here and in the box but they would have had to go to the store for a new breaker. The more I look into this the more confused I get but I did watch him install a new breaker and he gave me some basic electrical advice while he worked so at least I'm a little less intimidated by the actual breaker box which is a good start. I did find out that I have another 15 amp circuit in that room so at least I have plenty of power for the 4 lights I currently have. They will be daisy chained together and controlled with the trolmaster.

120volt 30amp plugs are common. That’s what 90% of RVs a designed to plug into.

Renfro said:

Do have someone look at your situation, the 30 amp 120 volt circuit(s) is making me wonder if someone put in bigger breakers than the wire can handle. If you know 10 gauge wire by looking at it, you might check.

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Exactly. You know about the story of my dad saying that all we had to do was replace the breaker with a 30 Amp. Then the house is on fire and the fire department is there. The neighbors also get some excitement, lol.

Renfro said:

Were it my grow I would be looking at taking the 30 amp circuit and switching it to 240 volts and use it to feed a titan helios lighting controller. I prefer the ones without a built in timer, this way you can use it with a reliable digital timer that won't lose time if the power goes out. You can get ones with dual trigger cords, each controls receptacles on one side of the controller. This allows you to run two timers, one for veg and one for flower.

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I run this. A dedicated 240v circuit connected to my controller. I use Sentinel. Each side of the controller has its own timer to plug in to and each side you can plug in up to 4 1000w lights making a total of 8 all together split between 2 timers. My LEDs are daisy chained so they actually only take up 2 outlets. There are a few different controllers with various outlets depending on how many lights you intend to run. Just don't exceed the total allowable wattage on the circuit LOL

ThaMagnificent said:

There are a few different controllers with various outlets depending on how many lights you intend to run. Just don't exceed the total allowable wattage on the circuit LOL

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Yeah on my titan I run the side lighting for both rooms, one on each side. Make sure the circuit ampacity doesn't exceed the controllers max amps as it's contactors have limitations. You can literally run the full wattage on either side of the controller, flip style.