Quick Help Needed - Extending Lamp Cords

Hey folks. Just realized I forgot to factor in extra lamp cord length when building my new room. I need help quick as I got a bunch of ladies sitting in the dark that need their sunshine badly!

I can't wait to order actual lamp cord extensions on ebay, I'll have to make it work with whatever home depot can provide.

My ballasts are mounted outside of the room on the wall. I have removed the lamp cords from the reflectors, so basically I have the ballast plug on one end, and the three bare wires on the other. I have run the lamp cords into junction boxes for now, and then plan will be to get 15 ft lengths of cord and run them from the reflector to the junction box.

I'm on my way to get the rest of the supplies I need, but I need some help first.

Can someone please tell me the appropriate kind of wire I will need to extend my lamp cords an additional 15ft?

I have a brand new, unused generator extension cord that I can chop up. It's 10 gauge, 3 wire. But it's only rated for about 60degrees celcius, and I'm not sure if lamp cords need to be heat rated for above 105 degrees celcius or not. If it does, what does home depot offer that will suit my application?

Thanks everyone for your quick replies!

And I have a certified electrician who will be inspecting everything too, he's a close friend and I'm 100% legal medical grower anyway, so no worries there. I just want to have everything done right the first time.

Not sure what you mean by 60 decs.celsius, wires are generally rated by amps, #10 gauge wire is rated to 30 amps and I believe you shoud be ok.

In addition to the amps and gauge, the insulation is also rated to withstand a certain temperature. Most extension cords are rated at 60 degrees max. Heat rated cords have an insulation that can withstand 105 degrees celcius. This is stamped on the cord itself. The lamp cords that come with most reflectors are rated at 105 degrees. Just wondering if this is necessary, or if I can safely use extension cords with lower heat rating.

Hmm i think if your cords are rated to handle it then you should be fine.

60 degrees Celsius is 140 fahrenheit so unless you plan on having a fire in your grow room i think you should be fine, unless you severely over load your wiring in which case you would probably have a fire on you hands anyways...
Did i hear you right though that you are extending your wiring from you ballast to your hoods past 15 feet, if so I'm not sure that's such a good idea from what i have read voltage starts dropping due to resistance past 10 feet from the ballast.

Funny psilo, pmsl

It does seem very much like overkill to me too, but the lamp cords that come with the reflectors are rated at over 100 degrees, so it got me thinking maybe they have to be for some reason. And yes, I am extending from 10 feet to 25 feet total. Most hps lamp extension cords are 15 feet in length, and most reflectors come with a 10 ft length cord, so I didn't think that distance would be a problem. Hmmm. Anyone else know?

kenny ken 77 said:

Funny psilo, pmsl

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Sorry I'm not familiar with the acronym whats PMSL?

Buggins said:

It does seem very much like overkill to me too, but the lamp cords that come with the reflectors are rated at over 100 degrees, so it got me thinking maybe they have to be for some reason. And yes, I am extending from 10 feet to 25 feet total. Most hps lamp extension cords are 15 feet in length, and most reflectors come with a 10 ft length cord, so I didn't think that distance would be a problem. Hmmm. Anyone else know?

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The reason they are probably rated so high is because of the chance of a fire with such powerful equipment once that insulation burns off from the heat of a fire you would have a dead short which would be a lot worse than just a fire, it would create a lot more fire and electrocute anyone who didn't know that you have to kill the source of the power before you can kill an electrical fire and that throwing water on a live electrical line is bad. I think you will be just fine with the 60c rated wire as long as you don't over load the wire, when you over load a wire it starts generating heat and can eventually melt away the insulation of the wire causing a fire. As far as the voltage drop goes the distance of the cord from the wall to the ballast is insignificant, and since it is the ballast job to regulate current to the bulb i would assume having lower voltage than the ballast puts out could cause some problems.

[edit] I really would suggest talking to your electrician friend to find out what he thinks about extending the cord from the ballast to the lamps, I'm not an electrician but i do have a rudimentary understanding of how electricity works and this seems like a bad idea to me, at the very least I'm guessing you are going to lose some lumen out put.

I will for sure, but your reasoning sounds logical to me. I'm going heavier gauge anyway, which should reduce any heat build up from flowing current.

Well there should be no heat at all as long as the wire is not over loaded, if a wire is warm to the touch it is a good sign that it is over loaded.

psilocybindude said:

Sorry I'm not familiar with the acronym whats PMSL?

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PMSL = piss myself laughing. ROTFL=roll on the floor laughing. Lol!=laughed out loud. I hope you don't think I was being offensive mate.

I am a electrician. I have extended my lights about 10m away from the ballasts. As for the cable you described that's fine but you do need to check the striking distance for your ballast as you haven't mentioned what wattage your lamps are. I know for 600 watt lamps your striking distance is 15m so you should be fine. Your main worry is making sure all the terminals are connected properly and secure.

Buggins said:

I will for sure, but your reasoning sounds logical to me. I'm going heavier gauge anyway, which should reduce any heat build up from flowing current.

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What do you mean heavier gauge? you said you have 10 ga. that's more than enough for your lamp. the next size is 8 gauge and that's a bit of an overkill.

kenny ken 77 said:

PMSL = piss myself laughing. ROTFL=roll on the floor laughing. Lol!=laughed out loud. I hope you don't think I was being offensive mate.

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Nah man, i didn't think so based on what you said i had just never heard it before so i was curious.

SeriousWeedSmoker - thanks for chiming in. I run Quantum 1000 watt digital ballasts with eye hortilux super hps bulbs. My total run from ballast to bulb will be 25 feet (roughly 7.5 meters). I am super anal about all my connections, so everything will be done perfectly to code. I will not cut costs and mess around with half-assed electrical and put my family in danger, period.

I actually just got back from home depot and purchased a roll of black insulated 14/3 wire at home depot today that is rated for 90c. My stock lamp cords are 16 gauge, some even 18 gauge, so this is much more heavy duty than the stock equipment. Can't wait to get this room done.

DeeTee - I mean heavier gauge compared to the stock lamp cords. I did some checking around last night, and anything heavier duty than 14 gauge is just money wasted, so I stuck with 14.

Thanks all for your help.