Grow room electrical and general safety

[nivek]

so, i have been mad at work, not my day job has me ticked,, but busy in my studio renovating my light panel to the specifications suggested by some most useful 420 members. most thanks.

now, i think i have it to spec now,, starting with the correct wire, 14/2 house wire with ground. i took the liberty to add an additional 2 bulb light fixture to the panel, an executive decision based on confidence gained through most excellent advice. and adding up the extra amps, not many. thanks again

all wired up but the extension cord was a weak link so it was replaced and then this,

and the back,,

some tidying up, some tape and i think it's good to go,,

inspector will be here soon,, cheers

 

[Ascended]

A quick thought (and maybe someone can correct me if I am wrong) but I noticed how tight you have the wires on the back of your board, and I have to ask how firmly attached is your light boxes (i.e. do the wiggle at all when you bump the backing board?). The reason I ask is because it doesn't look like you took some sandpaper to soften the edges of your bore hole (they look rough and torn like the drill bit just cut through), and I worry that if the boxes aren't solidly attached they could wiggle and cause a cutting to the outer protective casing of the wire which could lead to problems down the line. Maybe I am over thinking it though. Also (another possible over think lol) to save from the occasional cut and scrape from the exposed screws on the back you can try putting a drop of silicone on them to protect you, it should also allow you to easily remove the screw if and when you need to, also helps isolate them in the rare case of a spark or arc happening though that is almost impossible with your current (no pun intended) set up.

Otherwise it look like great setup.

 

[Alienpus]

You are counting your power usage and basing your decisions on the math

Looks good, the bends and the 14/2 are a little tight, but in this context if nothing is moving around don't give it a second though.Like Ascended pointed out, nothing should wiggle or move, it is a requirement with this type of wire and box.

 

[nivek]

thank you all for helping with this project. i feel so much more confident about this set up. i did think about the corners and edges where wear might take place,, i am confident that no movement at all will take place there, also i have little caps installed over any sharp screw end, but i sure like the silicone idea, and will use it on the next panel, gracias.

it's not the last of my electrical issues, as in i need to solve my heating issues, least by next winter,, spring seems to have sprung here,,

this in our yard yesterday, cheers agin, nivek

 

[OlderGrower]

I see you opted for the metal boxes over the plastic boxes. I hope you used ground pigtails to bond the boxes to the circuit because if you did not you are asking for big trouble, if the line side of the circuit comes into contact with the metal box and it is not bonded to the circuit, nothing will happen until the box is grounded, at which time current will flow through what ever bonds it to earth. Chances are what will be bonding it to earth will be YOU and the current will now be traveling through you to ground. This is not a good thing since it has the potential to kill you. If you bond the box to the ground (uninsulated wire) the current will take the path of least resistance which will be the ground wire back to the panel and short out the circuit.

As for the heater, that really needs to be on a separate circuit then your lighting and other devices you are using for your grow. I realize you are only using CFLs and your lighting load is low because of it but chances are your circuit is only a 15 amp circuit, which means you are on #14 gauge wiring, and since your lights are on for over 3 hours at a time that circuit now has a continuous load on it which mean the maximum capacity of that 15 amp circuit is now 12 amps. A heater could easily bump you over that amount for total rampage of the circuit.

I do happen to be a licensed inside wireman, which means I am licensed to wire all residential, commercial, low voltage and industrial wiring. The only electrical I am not qualified to do is high power transmission lines. While each state has their own amendments to the NEC, the NEC is the standard by which they all start with.

If you have any specific questions I am always free to not only answer your questions but if you want I can give you the specific sections from the NEC where each section of the question is covered.

be safe my friend, it is the BEST way to grow.

 

[nivek]

Hey OG,, thank you for the post, and your concern,,

I am not sure I understand completely your first point there,, do you mean,, did I use the grounding wires inside the metal boxes to connect the grounding wires to the metal boxes as well as to each other? Wow, I messed that up,,

Are the metal boxes grounded as well?? Is that it??

Cheers

 

[OlderGrower]

Hey OG,, thank you for the post, and your concern,,

I am not sure I understand completely your first point there,, do you mean,, did I use the grounding wires inside the metal boxes to connect the grounding wires to the metal boxes as well as to each other? Wow, I messed that up,,

Are the metal boxes grounded as well?? Is that it??

Cheers

Sorry for some reason the quote part of the posts is not working for me, weird!

The point I was trying to make about the metal boxes is this. In the back of the metal box you will find a small hole which is threaded. Sometimes where this hole is, it is raised but not always. This threaded hole is designed by the manufacturer to install a ground pigtail to bond he metal box to the circuit. All a ground pigtail is, is a piece of either bare or green #12 wire either wrapped or under a #10 machine screw by using a ring terminal. The screw is by code required to be green, but as far as safety goes it can be any color but should be green to comply with NEC. The other end of this wire is then attached to the bare ground wire of the circuit. This creates a bond, or path for electricity to take in the event that the black wire (Line side of the circuit) should ever come in contact with the metal of the box. If that should happen while the ground pigtail is in place, the electricity will travel back to the panel through the bare conductor to the panel where it is bonded to the earth through a ground rod which is installed at the 1st panel of the service. The reason for this is because if that step is left out, and the box becomes energized by the L1 or lie side of the circuit (Black wire) the electricity will just sit there as potential energy until it has a path to ground. Now say this happens and you go into your grow area to water your plants or just do daily maintenance. You touch that metal box with you hand or any part of your body with bare skin and you have just completed the circuit to ground since your feet at touching the ground. If the electricity enters your left hand say, it will travel through your body to where you are touching something that is in contact with the ground. Hopefully for you your bare elbow is touching the metal post of your tent and it only goes through your hand up to your elbow and down the metal pole of your tent which will give you a painful but not deadly shock. But if it goes through your hand, up your arm to your chest then down through you body to your feet, there is potential for that electricity to travel across your heart at which time there is the potential for your heart to stop. The heart can stop working with as low as .06 amps. Also as soon as you create a path for that electricity to travel through your body you have essentially created a ground fault, which will allow current to flow until either the circuit is broken or the breaker trips. Best case, you are on a 15 amp breaker and it trips at 15 amps, but it only takes as little as .06 amps to kill you.
I realize this is long winded, and may be more information then you care to hear, but your safety is very important to me. I have been working with electricity for over 20 years, and know friends who have died from it. Many of us in the trade tend to say, the most dangerous person around electricity is someone who has a little bit of knowledge. That is when it sneaks up and bites you the hardest.

 

[MRXC]

I'm a happy farmer with my electrics my outlet has 240v at 16 amps

And my grow only pulls 654 watts so no worry's over here. But just be carfull with electrics i have had a shock before from dark electrics in a work shop 480v at 32 amps try my arm ... Hurts ass hell

 

[nivek]

Ok then OG,, thanks for that, and mrx, thanks as well,, cheers

OG, please,, i think I get that,, I dont speak electicaleese, much,,

Is that different than grounding the 3wires grounding wire to the box? Does that accomplish the same goal?

Thanks agin,,

 

[OlderGrower]

Ok then OG,, thanks for that, and mrx, thanks as well,, cheers

OG, please,, i think I get that,, I dont speak electicaleese, much,,

Is that different than grounding the 3wires grounding wire to the box? Does that accomplish the same goal?

Thanks agin,,

Yep that is the same so long as the wire going to the next box is also grounded to the same ground wire that is connected to the box. They all have to be connected together

If you think that was confusing try reading the NEC book. That makes what I said sound clear as a bell. It is written by lawyers in legal mumbo jumbo.

 

[TokinElf]

this is a great thread! thanks nivik for being saftey smart and asking

 

[nivek]

Thanks Tok,, sucking the knowledge from those that have it,, that's what this site is the best for,, imo,,

Cheers to you and great folks like oldergrower and others before him/her,, cheer to y'all

 

[Smokyjoe]

Just came across this thread while browsing the forums, and I think it's important. Safety first, safety always.

I know some growers get reckless. I was looking at a house I wanted to buy a few years ago. One room had a built in bookcase that seemed a little unsteady. I messed around with it a bit, and it swung open to reveal a hidden grow room. Very cool little setup, since it included a lot of space and a half bathroom. But there was a rat's nest of wiring they'd connected (sloppily) to the junction box. There were wires that were just twisted together. It was a fire waiting to happen.

Glad you're being safe about it. I wish everyone was that smart.

 

[Auggie]

I preach safety constantly. I get the occasional eye roll from someone half my age - that's ok. A wet floor, sharp edges, hot surfaces, moving machinery - our work places are dangerous. And (as I've stated before) I have a healthy respect bordering fear about electricity.

As a younger man, I was an EMT and ER Tech. I have seen a couple of electrocutions. One man lived through it and wished he didn't. The other died horribly. I will never forget the smell of cooking human flesh. Ugh - I will prolly dream about it tonite now. Dammit.

I have spent the "off season" for my cloning operation retooling the mother room. Three new 1000wt Gavita lights with 20 inch movers over three 4 x 8 tables will hold 18 or more moms, and a Trane three ton AC unit. The clone storage and aging unit is a new 10 x 10 Virtual Sun tent with two 600 wt HIDs. Safety was always the first concern.

~ Auggie ~

 

[nivek]

I preach safety constantly. I get the occasional eye roll from someone half my age - that's ok. A wet floor, sharp edges, hot surfaces, moving machinery - our work places are dangerous. And (as I've stated before) I have a healthy respect bordering fear about electricity.

As a younger man, I was an EMT and ER Tech. I have seen a couple of electrocutions. One man lived through it and wished he didn't. The other died horribly. I will never forget the smell of cooking human flesh. Ugh - I will prolly dream about it tonite now. Dammit.

I have spent the "off season" for my cloning operation retooling the mother room. Three new 1000wt Gavita lights with 20 inch movers over three 4 x 8 tables will hold 18 or more moms, and a Trane three ton AC unit. The clone storage and aging unit is a new 10 x 10 Virtual Sun tent with two 600 wt HIDs. Safety was always the first concern.

~ Auggie ~

Oh, just a small grower then,, ::

Heya,, cheers to safety,, and to you for chimin in,,

Most of your operation sounds like stuff I have only read about,, seriously serious,,

 

[Auggie]

Most of your operation sounds like stuff I have only read about,, seriously serious,,

Ya, know ... it really doesn't cost THAT much more to do it right. My HID units were worn out. When I bought them they were state of the art, gee whiz technology. No more. I've had the ballasts for five years, the bulbs for 18 months. And that is CONTINUOUS use. I was getting power surges, half second light dimming and flickering ... is it a worn out ballast? A bad light? The cost of new ballasts and bulbs are so close to the cost of a Gavita light is really not that different. I dim the lights to 600 watts (most of the time), changed over the ventilation a bit so that the warm air is vented from the top of the room; more efficient AC ... The resulting savings in electricity is (over the last two months) about 20%. Not sure about summer ... we'll see. But the girls LOVE those lights.

Recovery time from clipping is faster, they have a dark green color ... healthy moms make healthy babies. When they didn't know I was around, I have caught my moms singing in three part harmony. The troll that lives in the room sometimes joins in, he has a rich baritone that goes well with the girls voices.

~ Auggie ~

 

[nivek]

haha,, so when you get goin it's like a barber shop in there,, wonderful image indeed,, cheers for it,, ,, and reps,,

 

[uptheholler2]

I am constantly amazed at some of the rigging jobs that I have seen in grow rooms that I am called in to solve plant issues. I wanted to make a couple of points.

- Invest in an electrical fire approved fire extinguisher. I cannot believe the number of folks that think that all you have to do its hit the breaker and "Voila!" an electrical fire will go out! It does not work that way! Once plastic starts to burn it keeps on burning. I am sensitive to burning having spent 3 months in burn therapy when I was younger. Buy it check it oftenand keep it handy.

- A battery powered smoke detector in a room is also a good idea in most grow rooms. I understand in super clandestine grows like in apts and the like that it is tough.

- Touch your boxes and ballasts once in a while- often times I have found that in my barn if a gang box, outlet or cord begins to feel warmer than normal ....."Houston We have a problem!"

-Be sensitive to more than just the smell of buds. A hot or plastic kind of smell is a sure sign of problems. I went into a grow room to check on a spider mite problem for a friend of a friend kind of thing. Walking in I asked if he had been using shrink tubing or something since as soon as I walked in I could smell plastic. The owner said that he couldn't smell anything. After checking the extension cords that were literally hung on nails in the grow room I found two that were melting where they were laid over the nails on a 2x4 attached to two 1000 watt lights. The cords were powering fans and had actually started to melt where they were draped over the nails. Plus they were nicked up badly where they had been used previously to power a weed eater!! Needless to say I told the guy that mites were the least of his problems in this case! He didn't seem too worried and I told him what he needed to do and got the heck out of Dodge. You what they say about Stupid....you can't fix it! Great thread and as always...Best of luck in all you grow!

 

[Smokyjoe]

Three new 1000wt Gavita lights with 20 inch movers over three 4 x 8 tables will hold 18 or more moms, and a Trane three ton AC unit. The clone storage and aging unit is a new 10 x 10 Virtual Sun tent with two 600 wt HIDs.

Have you considered just rolling smaller joints?

 

[Smokyjoe]

Invest in an electrical fire approved fire extinguisher.

Never had to use one, but I never go without one. That's so much insurance for such a small cost, especially when you consider the possible consequences of not having one.

I follow the same philosophy with my first-aid kit, which takes up two toolboxes. Never had to use it, but if the need arises, I have enough tape and bandages that I reckon I'd have a 50% chance of saving a guillotine victim.