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Question about titan helios light controller

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chronnie49

Well-Known Member
Alright so I am going to start my second grow once i move in a couple weeks and have been looking into lighting controllers. I am looking at the titan helios 4 light controller that hooks up to 240v, but this is where i got confused. It has 4 outlets that will accept either 120v or 240v cords, but if its hooked up to a 240v breaker and say i plug in a 120v fan, wouldnt that screw up the fan since its supposed to run on 120 not 240? Or is that option only for equipment that will run on both voltages? As you can tell i dont have much electricial experience so i just want to make sure i dont screw anything up. I' am going to be growing and living in a 30 foot travel trailer with access to a 50 amp breaker, kind of an odd growing situation i know but its gonna be interesting. Thanks for any advice and info.
 
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chronnie49

Well-Known Member
After more research i found i cant plug a 120 into a 240 which i figured. I did find something called a step down transformer. Would i be able to plug that into one of the sockets on the controller and plug 120v accessories into the transformer?
 
chuck estevez

chuck estevez

Well-Known Member
chronnie49 said:
After more research i found i cant plug a 120 into a 240 which i figured. I did find something called a step down transformer. Would i be able to plug that into one of the sockets on the controller and plug 120v accessories into the transformer?
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as long as it steps down from 240 to 120, yes
 
Sire Killem All

Sire Killem All

Well-Known Member
chronnie49 said:
After more research i found i cant plug a 120 into a 240 which i figured. I did find something called a step down transformer. Would i be able to plug that into one of the sockets on the controller and plug 120v accessories into the transformer?
Click to expand...
You are gonna want to run ur lights on 220/240 if you only have an 50amp breaker. Buying a stepdown would be more costly then runnig 120 lights for ur fans and such.and 4 balast on 120 would max ur amp load
 
chuck estevez

chuck estevez

Well-Known Member
Sire Killem All said:
You are gonna want to run ur lights on 220/240 if you only have an 50amp breaker. Buying a stepdown would be more costly then runnig 120 lights for ur fans and such.and 4 balast on 120 would max ur amp load
Click to expand...
he wants to run his lights on the 240 volt, then use a transformer to step down one of the plugs to 120 for his fans. I just didn't understand his amps question
 
A

adower

Well-Known Member
chronnie49 said:
Alright so I am going to start my second grow once i move in a couple weeks and have been looking into lighting controllers. I am looking at the titan helios 4 light controller that hooks up to 240v, but this is where i got confused. It has 4 outlets that will accept either 120v or 240v cords, but if its hooked up to a 240v breaker and say i plug in a 120v fan, wouldnt that screw up the fan since its supposed to run on 120 not 240? Or is that option only for equipment that will run on both voltages? As you can tell i dont have much electricial experience so i just want to make sure i dont screw anything up. I' am going to be growing and living in a 30 foot travel trailer with access to a 50 amp breaker, kind of an odd growing situation i know but its gonna be interesting. Thanks for any advice and info.
Click to expand...
Actually on the Helios 4 there is a spot where you can plug a 120v device in. Most people use a Timer or fan in this spot.
 
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chronnie49

Well-Known Member
Sire Killem All said:
You are gonna want to run ur lights on 220/240 if you only have an 50amp breaker. Buying a stepdown would be more costly then runnig 120 lights for ur fans and such.and 4 balast on 120 would max ur amp load
Click to expand...
Thanks for the info. Im not concerned as much with cost as safety. I thought it would be nice to be able to plug everything into one unit
 
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chronnie49

Well-Known Member
chuck estevez said:
he wants to run his lights on the 240 volt, then use a transformer to step down one of the plugs to 120 for his fans. I just didn't understand his amps question
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From what i understand the amps will be double if running 120. Say a 1000w pulls 10 amps on 120 but around 5 amps on 240. Is this not right?
 
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chronnie49

Well-Known Member
chuck estevez said:
are you wanting to run your lights on 120 volt, cause you don't need a step down to do that.
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No lights will be 240. I can always use a regular 120 outlet for fans but i just wanted to see if its possible and safe to use the step down on one socket on the helios to keep things organized and clean looking. I have a friend who is a union electrician who is gonna set everything up so ill get his opinion too.
 
chuck estevez

chuck estevez

Well-Known Member
chronnie49 said:
No lights will be 240. I can always use a regular 120 outlet for fans but i just wanted to see if its possible and safe to use the step down on one socket on the helios to keep things organized and clean looking. I have a friend who is a union electrician who is gonna set everything up so ill get his opinion too.
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I would just have your friend run a neutral wire and use one of the lines from your 240 volts and then you'll have 120volts
 
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Stevie51

Active Member
The Helios 4 lighting controller not only requires a dedicated 30 amp 240 volts circuit, but it also requires a 120 volts wall receptacle. This is necessary because the electromagnetic solenoid (relay coil) that mechanically pull and hold the contacts of the contactor closed is rated to operate at 120 volts. That's the purpose of the trigger cord on the lighting controller, and thus will also allow the use of the 120 volts receptacle on the front of the controller (2 amps max) to switch the fan on when the lights are on.
 
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chronnie49

Well-Known Member
Stevie51 said:
The Helios 4 lighting controller not only requires a dedicated 30 amp 240 volts circuit, but it also requires a 120 volts wall receptacle. This is necessary because the electromagnetic solenoid (relay coil) that mechanically pull and hold the contacts of the contactor closed is rated to operate at 120 volts. That's the purpose of the trigger cord on the lighting controller, and thus will also allow the use of the 120 volts receptacle on the front of the controller (2 amps max) to switch the fan on when the lights are on.
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Ok gotcha thank you. Its my sisters trailer and havent seen the lay out yet so might havta have my friend move some sockets around, but to me half the fun is desigining the grow space. Once i move ill take pics and get opinions on design.
 
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