Problems with electricity and 1000w.

[ShaneFalco]

Hey so im new here, but i really need some help with my electrical circuit! I dont know if this is the area to post it, if not any mod can move it to where it belongs.

I have had a 1000w with ballast hooked up to my circuit in a bedroom with a timer in the outlet. Its been fine for a year. One day i came home, and the timer was hanging a bit out of the wall and it was past the time the lights normally come on. I noticed very quickly my timer was completely fried when i tried to reset it and use it again. So in i went to the grow store here in CO, and got a 2nd timer free, as soon as i plugged the ballast into the timer, that timer fried as well. Now a t5 set that uses about 100w on a different circuit has stopped working as well, and my fridge in my kitchen has stopped working( the circuitboard had black burn marks on it, had to order a new ciruitboard). My toaster also stopped working. So now currently im literally afraid to plug in my fridge and new toaster, and im in mid grow. And when i do plug in my 1000w manually, some of the outlets click on some of the walls nearby. This hasnt happened the whole year prior. I had a friend come over and check the outlets and said they were giving off 128 volts. Is there anything i should attempt to figure out before i call out an electrician to my house to see what is wrong with my outlets or even my ballast drawing too much power?

I believe the amp is a 20 amp circuit, but i will have to check. Any help would be greatly appreciated. :smoke1:

 

[Hushpuppy]

It sounds like your ballast is shorting internally and drawing more current but not enough to trip the breakers, only enough to stress them for an extended period of time. I suspect that the breakers in the box have either heated to the point that they are damaged or the panel busses have scorched and are now building resistance.

You need to have an electrician evaluate your breaker box and circuits. Then you need to have him route a 30a circuit that is dedicated, to your grow space.

 

[DrFever]

You got to remember SAFETY FIRST your very lucky most people caught growing is from house fires NEVER EVER plug ballast and timer directly into a wall circuit that is looking for trouble....
Most timers you buy in a store are not capable of with standing surges from a 1000 watt ballast and yes voltage supplied to a ballast might be considerably lower or even higher then what its rated for..... We never really know what power were getting ... there for transient spikes,surges,swells, and sags are brief and do occur ( most electrical in your grid area is shared with in a 2 - 5 block radius if everyone fires up a hair dryer at same time surges can and will happen cause of more draw of power
but all you need is a little arc in the connection and melting of plug and or timer will occur
You need a power bar/surge protector this will stop any more occurances like this happening plug power bar into wall then timer into power bar then ballest to timer and it will never happen again Cheers DOC

NOTE #### Now don't go buying some cheap power bar cause all it will do is trip on you all the time

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

If your timer had come partially unplugged, it can arc and cause it to burn/fry. Sometimes old outlets just do not hold plugs in securely. I would recommend checking the outlet first. Then it is important to know exactly what is on the circuit you are using. I don't think that you need to go with a 30 amp circuit if you do decide to run a dedicated circuit. A 20 amp should serve a 1000W grow just fine.

 

[TokingTiger]

had something almost exactly happen.. the short from one of the prongs coming out created an arc in the circuit at a junction box. fixed it, bought a new timer and everything been good for a long time. as long as you have a 15 amp and not much anything but that light on that circuit, it should be fine.

 

[ShaneFalco]

thanks guys, will try it out, let you know how it goes next week.

 

[chazmaine420]

You got to remember SAFETY FIRST your very lucky most people caught growing is from house fires NEVER EVER plug ballast and timer directly into a wall circuit that is looking for trouble....
Most timers you buy in a store are not capable of with standing surges from a 1000 watt ballast and yes voltage supplied to a ballast might be considerably lower or even higher then what its rated for..... We never really know what power were getting ... there for transient spikes,surges,swells, and sags are brief and do occur ( most electrical in your grid area is shared with in a 2 - 5 block radius if everyone fires up a hair dryer at same time surges can and will happen cause of more draw of power
but all you need is a little arc in the connection and melting of plug and or timer will occur
You need a power bar/surge protector this will stop any more occurances like this happening plug power bar into wall then timer into power bar then ballest to timer and it will never happen again Cheers DOC

NOTE #### Now don't go buying some cheap power bar cause all it will do is trip on you all the time

Dr.
When you say never to plug ballast and timer directly into a wall plug i assume you mean to use a surge protecter in between. Or is there something else?

 

[Hushpuppy]

yeah, use a quality surge protector to protect the ballast from surges within the house circuit