electrical problems

[greenfriend]

unfortunately i am stuck growing in a bedroom of my apt, and when i have a 1000W HPS, 400HPS, tons of CFLS, inline fans, etc. all running at once the circuit breaker will occasionally shut off. is there any way to get around this problem w/o expensive electrical upgrades. right now i am only cloning so power consumption is okay but i will soon be flowering with all lights. thanks.

ps has anyone ever ran 3 phase power into residental home, does it work?

 

[Growdude]

unfortunately i am stuck growing in a bedroom of my apt, and when i have a 1000W HPS, 400HPS, tons of CFLS, inline fans, etc. all running at once the circuit breaker will occasionally shut off. is there any way to get around this problem w/o expensive electrical upgrades. right now i am only cloning so power consumption is okay but i will soon be flowering with all lights. thanks.

ps has anyone ever ran 3 phase power into residental home, does it work?

The only thing you can do besides just running less light, 1400 watts seems like alot for a apart, is find another circuit from another room or wherever and split the load between the 2.

 

[clanchattan]

heres what i would do.

1 - you know what breaker is tripping so in order to limit the amp draw i would take a small plug in radio and turn it up so you can hear it (a lamp would work too). turn off the breaker that you have all your growing on and then plug the radio into your outlets in the apt. to find the next, closest, power. then run an extension cord to where your growing and take some of your equipment off of the overloaded circuit. its a lot cheaper than having major electrical work done.

you don't find 3 phase in residential in the u.s. thats mainly for commercial/industrial applications.

your two phase with the right WIRING, 240v circuits could handle just about any thing you could throw at it as far as lighting goes for a huge garden but the wiring in most homes is not set up for this kind of thing. hope this helps.........

 

[PUFF MONKEY]

upgrade the breaker for the room...usually cost around $6...if the exsisting breaker "occasionally" trips, then a breaker with double the rating should be fine.....

 

[benamucc]

go check out your breaker box. see what kind of appliances in your house are drawing what. kitchens and large appliances are usually 20a. jacuzzi's 60. hotwater heater 30. if the breaker you're on (bedroom outlet i assume) then it's most likely a 15 and you could be ok to put in a 20, but check the outlet and make sure it will handle it ok.

as always be careful with electricity. it's dangerous and can pose a fire risk. (thats my disclaimer)

 

[clanchattan]

fires are started by upping the breaker size. the wire from the breaker is a certian size and IS the limiting factor of how many amps a given circuit at a given voltage can handle.

#14 wire is rated for 15amps
#12 wire is rated for 20amps
#10 wire is rated for 30amps

if you replace a 15a breaker with a 20a breaker you better be sure of the wire size or you have a fire waiting to happen.

breakers are thermal rating switches that cut the power when the wire reaches a certian temperature. if you put a larger breaker in you are able to carry more current than the wire was designed to carry, you build up heat and you run the risk of a fire.

 

[JBonez]

Shut off the breaker that normally trips when you overload, that way that circuit has been isolated. As stated above, get a lamp or small radio or something, and go to a different room a plug in to an outlet. If the lamp or radio turns on then you are on a different circuit. Now that you have found a different circuit, you can run an extension cord from that circuit into your room to provide the supplemental electricity needed without overloading the original circuit. Thats what i had to do, my grow room has 3 outlets on a 15 amp breaker, so im using power from another circuit to power my additional equipment.

**Its also important to know how many amps each item is pulling. On a 15 amp circuit, you wouldnt really want to exceed 12 amps** hope this helps!

 

[NorCalHal]

unfortunately i am stuck growing in a bedroom of my apt, and when i have a 1000W HPS, 400HPS, tons of CFLS, inline fans, etc. all running at once the circuit breaker will occasionally shut off. is there any way to get around this problem w/o expensive electrical upgrades. right now i am only cloning so power consumption is okay but i will soon be flowering with all lights. thanks.

ps has anyone ever ran 3 phase power into residental home, does it work?

Clanchattin is correct man. Just upping the breaker without knowing EXACTLY what wire guage is ran is the biggest reason for grow fires.

So your in an apt. IF you know electrical, you can splice into your Dryer plug, which is usually a 30-40 amp 240 breaker with appropriate wire.
If you know what I am talking about at all, holler and we can get into more detail about that.

But, if you are not sure ( I mean ANY doubts), then do not go that route.

Your 1000w HPS will draw about 9 amps @ 110. Your average bedroom outlets are 15 amp, but usually have 2-3 outlets on one 15 amp breaker.

So, as clanchattin said, isolate what outlets each of the breakers control.
I would only run the 1000wHPS and maybe a small circuatory fan on one breaker.

You can run the 400 and blowers off any other breaker(outlet).

It's all about distributing the grow room electrical between the breakers man.