noob question about electricity

[SweetSoca]

the instructions that came with my inline fan say i need a "110/120 Volt AC, 60Hz fuse or circuit breaker protected power source"... what the heck is that? i've never really tampered with circuits before, and i'm trying to keep this grow box a secret...

is it ok if i just connect everything (250cfm inline fan, oscillating fan, & 400hps light) to a power strip? i just need a cheap, safe and easy way to do this

 

[kubefuism]

IMO, I believe the inline fan directions is the legal department for the company to cover their ***. What they are specifying is the power source for the fan to run from. Your electric in your house is controlled by either a fuse box or circuit breaker. Have you ever put to many lights on then turned on a toaster, and your lights popped and went off? This is your circuit box protecting you. Commonly, all houses have 240 volt incoming that is split to run 120 volt outlets in your house. As long as your house has not had speciality electrical work done, your house should meet requirements. Your fan should just be a polorized plug (one prong fatter than the other) that will be fine in a power strip. Good luck... and never play with electricity :watchplant:

 

[lyfr]

i have a 200 cfm, 2 oscillating, 400hps, and a little water pump on a 15amp circuit. make sure the power strip has a cut off(?) at 15 amps. probably not the best way to do it but mines been goin for a year and nevr tripped the breaker or burned my house down.

 

[G_48911]

i may be wrong but i dont think its a good idea to have your hps hooked into a power strip.your fans should be fine though.

 

[kubefuism]

P.S. You might want to do some math and make sure you don't blow a fuse when your timer turns everything on at once. Or if your bad a math, get your power strip together, turn everything on that's attached to the strip, Kill power to the strip (unplug), then complete the circuit (plug-in). If things don't turn on, you blew a fuse or are just asking too much from one plug. Try and split the power usuage between different plugs. That will reduce the chance of a surge. .......................But you'll probabaly be fine with everything in one power strip.

 

[lyfr]

i may be wrong but i dont think its a good idea to have your hps hooked into a power strip.your fans should be fine though.

i agree, i run everything but light on a strip...and the light goes direct(to other outlet)

 

[G_48911]

yea dude,thats a fire hazard.i think my ballast says that it is to be hooked directly to the wall/timer.besides..i'd rather spend five bucks on a new timer or whatever than to lose my house over it.its just too unpredictable.even if you tried it and it didnt seem like anything happened at first,you could have a fire forming inside your wall..imho...just not worth it man.

 

[lyfr]

i feel all cords at both ends every every few minutes for the first hour or so when i start or change anything electrically. i continue to check all cords/outlets once per day. no gaurentee's but you might get lucky and find a small problem instead of a big fire!

 

[G_48911]

thats a good idea,you can never be too safe.

 

[kubefuism]

We also don't have all the facts of the environment to succesful gauge wither or not it will be a hazard. The strip could have a max amp range of 12-18. The extremes of these greatly detremines how much can be supported. The final call on what should be done, should be guided by your comfort level. If you feel its not right, change it. If you feel it is right, double check your work to prevent a fire.

 

[Growdude]

We also don't have all the facts of the environment to succesful gauge wither or not it will be a hazard. The strip could have a max amp range of 12-18. The extremes of these greatly detremines how much can be supported. The final call on what should be done, should be guided by your comfort level. If you feel its not right, change it. If you feel it is right, double check your work to prevent a fire.

:goodposting: Dont go over 80% of the rating on the strip and you will be fine.
Nothing wrong with using a strip for lighting as long as the total load is below 80% of the breaker rating.

400 watt light only draw about 3.8 -4.0 amps plenty of room for a couple fans and what not.

 

[SweetSoca]

i wanna be safe so i'll plug the 400hps ballast directly to my wall w/ the timer, and use the Tripp Lite PS7224 (15A, 120V) for my fans. sound good?

i'll check the cords periodically, see if they get too hot .. if god forbid a fire start (lol) at least ill have a detector and extinguisher..

 

[Growdude]

i wanna be safe so i'll plug the 400hps ballast directly to my wall w/ the timer, and use the Tripp Lite PS7224 (15A, 120V) for my fans. sound good?

i'll check the cords periodically, see if they get too hot .. if god forbid a fire start (lol) at least ill have a detector and extinguisher..

Unless your sure there two seperate circuits the total current draw on the 15 amp breaker is the same.

To be safest use 2 circuits from the panel if possible.

 

[SweetSoca]

i believe my house has two 'circuit breakers', i looked at the box downstairs, and one says 'main' the other 'range' ... there is some other stuff on the diagram i dont understand..

but how do i find the "breaker rating"

thanx

 

[milehigh]

i believe my house has two 'circuit breakers', i looked at the box downstairs, and one says 'main' the other 'range' ... there is some other stuff on the diagram i dont understand..

but how do i find the "breaker rating"

thanx

ok open the box, you should have alot of switches. there will be individual ones for large app. like stove(if electric),dryer, etc. if you electrican who built the house wasn't a worthless pos he would have labled every circuit(each switch is a circuit). depending on how new or big your house is, either there will be a circuit for each room or a circuit to split between rooms. if not labled heres what you do. go into every room and turn the light on, and try to plug something into the outlet(alarm cock, cell phone charger, anything that will tell you if the outlet is working), and start flipping switches. start on one side of the box and flip a switch. go inside and find the room or rooms that lost power. note that on peice of paper and go to the next switch. remember to check the whole house. some electricians get lazy and you could have a bed room upstairs running on a circuit and then he has an outlet tied in the basement. will take a lil time and a helper would be nice, but worth every second. trust me at two in the morning when your dog bust through your bedroom door followed by smoke and flames coming down the hall way, every second counts!!!

 

[milehigh]

oh yeah and once you have a list of what switches(breaker) runs what rooms just look at the switch that controld where you wanna grow. it will have a nuber on it, on the actual switch. probably will be a 15 but if your lucky you'll score a 20!!!