Problem: power strip overloaded!

[KarlJay]

For some reason, my power strip that was running all my lights started resetting [turning off]. It's rated at 15amps, and was working just fine before.

I would just add another, but it's on a timer.

I'll probably just get another timer and run two timers on two outlets.

However, I'm trying to make the room more 'automatic'

Q. Does anyone know of an alarm type device that goes off when something turns off?

maybe a powerstrip that beeps when it resets instead of just resetting...

I'll look for a heavy duty power strip, but 15 amps is what most outlets are rated at. Mine is using a 20 amp breaker and runs several outlets, so I might have to run a new line off a new breaker as I expect I'll be getting 2 more 600W HPS lights.

Funny thing about this is that I'm running the exact same number of lights, the only thing that changed is that I got rid of the table and set the plants on the floor, the light setup is exactly the same.

 

[oldhippie64]

it could have tripped for several reasons like the breaker has grown weaker or is exposed to more heat then before, all I can do is guess without be able to test. I've installed power loss sensing equipment for factories etc haven't seen any for the home or plug in models.

 

[jlt1202]

Anyone have any info for a quick guide to setting up your room on a seperate breaker and having room on its own so i dont have to worry about the load i have on my house. If you could link or post under me that would be great,

Thanks,

 

[oldhippie64]

I'm not sure what kind of guide you need/want but below will help find what wire and breaker needed. hope it's helpful.


. Assuming everything is 120v you need to know how many amps you need from the panel. so find the amps of everything and add them up to get your total amperage. if they only have watts listed use math to figure amps, watts/volts= amps. if you use watts of HPS/MH bulbs to find amps you will be a little off due to the power loss of ballast so it's better if you use amps from name plate. The NEC (national elec code) says you can put up to 80% of a breakers rated value on it, that means 16A max on a 20A breaker ,12a max on a 15A breaker, 24A max on a 30A breaker. if you need a 30A breaker to cover everything it may be advisable to break things up into 2 circuits cause plugs/switches should have same amp rating as the breaker they are on.

ok we know what breakers are needed we can see what wire size we need. wire sizes/amperage list below
14awg=up to 15 amps
12awg=up to 20 amps
10awg=up to 30 amps

 

[KarlJay]

Anyone have any info for a quick guide to setting up your room on a seperate breaker and having room on its own so i dont have to worry about the load i have on my house. If you could link or post under me that would be great,

Thanks,

It might not be cost effective to do this. Depending on your house, if you pay someone to come in and run a new line or lines to your grow room, you might end up paying way more than it's worth. Copper wire is not cheap anymore and you'd probably have to drill holes in the wall to run the wires.

However, you MUST not overload your system. I've heard many stories of fires caused by grow rooms.

You might want to take the time to draw a map of your house, then go out and shut off every breaker. Turn them on one by one and find out exactly what is connected to what.

I was running some loads from an ext cord to stay off the one line.

I think I'm pretty much at the limit of what I have and I'm thinking about running a new line for the HPS.

I'm kinda lucky as I'm in the later stages of a remodel, so running a wire is pretty simple.

If you have a 220V, you can run the lights off of that to keep it off the other lines.


One other idea is that you can stop using somethings on another line so as to free up some amps or if you are going to do this long term, LEDs might be the way to go.

 

[jlt1202]

Well what im looking at is a older home (1920)'s with plaster walls X o, so nothingis easy haha. but my idea was that i have a 200 amp breaker box, i was going to get a dedicated breaker with a line ran up the side of my house contained by a small pipe, (because my box is in the basement) then into my room upstairs so that i can have a couple plugs that i can put on the ceiling (because i built a wood frame inside the room for hangign lights)

 

[KarlJay]

Well what im looking at is a older home (1920)'s with plaster walls X o, so nothingis easy haha. but my idea was that i have a 200 amp breaker box, i was going to get a dedicated breaker with a line ran up the side of my house contained by a small pipe, (because my box is in the basement) then into my room upstairs so that i can have a couple plugs that i can put on the ceiling (because i built a wood frame inside the room for hangign lights)

Mine was built in the 1930's so I know about those 'pre-drywall' homes.
I have a line that goes outside and then into a room thru a wall, so it can be done. I don't know if modern code allows it or not.

I'm not an expert, but I think there are two main concerns about wire: thickness and distance. I made it simple by just using the thicker wires.

Someone else will have to chime in about how far you can run a wire before you should upgrade to the next thickness.

If you budget allows, you can just have someone come out and bid the job, you should get several bids and compare. Ask them what they would do.

Is there any way you can run this thru the walls using fish tape [wire puller]?

I ask because I think going outside the house is going to raise the cost.

If you have a tight budget, you could have it bid, ask about what options they have that are still within code, then do it yourself and have someone inspect it or run the wire yourself and have someone finish and inspect it.

 

[jlt1202]

I would probly be able to pull it up wall i think i might just just a 2x2 square in wall and frame it so i have somthing to work this against the plaster.

I suggest that people dont contract people to aid in grow rooms for electic or remodeling, expecialy during growing. Simply for the reason of descretness, if i personlly wasnt trained in electricty i would be out looking for a close freind or someone who has set up their own system and pay them instead of a stranger from Bill and Joes Electric and after they see your shit come by next day after work with some freinds and guns X O. I worry more about other people then i do about police were im from.

but running it up the wall will probly be my best option i just ahve to hope that its a strait shot to the basement from my room and it should be a breeze from there. Also if i was going to add a breaker to my 200 amp breaker box, what size breaker should i use for my room, would 25 amps work or should i play it safe and run it on a 50amp?

 

[KarlJay]

25, 50 ?? What kinda wire are you running!!!??

Everything in my grow room is run off of 20 amp breaker!

You don't want to run a bigger breaker than the wire is rated at, but I'm sure you already know that.

Have you considered running 2 20amp runs?

 

[jlt1202]

Running 2 wires on seperate breakers? mabe should split veg and flower rooms? that would probly work out then.

I have helped people with many electical service on box i just never worked on MY house and had to use MY money to fund it haha so i just dont want to realy over do it but i also dont want to under do it and burn my house down ahah

 

[KarlJay]

I've rewired my entire house except 1 220v run that I don't use. I don't know everything, but I've got my house to work.

1. Having separate rooms for veg/grow would be NICE... IF you have the extra room. Being spread out is very helpful for accessing the plants and giving them room to go wide.

2. When I was suggesting 2 runs, you can do that in the same room.

Example, I have tapped runs in order to put an outlet where I wanted it. I simple find a place to cut, add a junction box, splice in a run, add an outlet. _IF_ I think the load will be high, I'll buy a new breaker, and run from the box. I think a breaker is about $20/30 range and maybe 10/20' more wire, but will handle higher loads.

If you go with 1 room, just buy 2 breakers run 2 wires, probably 12/2, side by side to the room. Set up however many outlets you want on the lines.

One other note about outlets. If you buy an outlet strip, you might pay MORE than just buying several boxes and outlets.
Also, many timers/devices take up too much room to share the outlet. If you setup 3 separate spaced out outlet boxes with 1 outlet each, it'll be more usable than 1 box with 3 outlets.

I noticed this when I put the timer in my 2 outlet box, the timer is so large, I can't put another timer in the same box. I would have been better off with 2 outlet boxes with 1 outlet in each and spaced them 4" apart.

One other note:
I was told by a guy at a welding shop that solid wire doesn't drop amperage like an ext cord or non-solid wire does. I don't know if this is true or not.
... In other words, it's worth the time to build a multi-outlet setup, space out, made with 12/2 solid wire vs ext cords and power strips.

 

[oldhippie64]

Mine was built in the 1930's so I know about those 'pre-drywall' homes.
I have a line that goes outside and then into a room thru a wall, so it can be done. I don't know if modern code allows it or not.

I'm not an expert, but I think there are two main concerns about wire: thickness and distance. I made it simple by just using the thicker wires.

Someone else will have to chime in about how far you can run a wire before you should upgrade to the next thickness.

If you budget allows, you can just have someone come out and bid the job, you should get several bids and compare. Ask them what they would do.

Is there any way you can run this thru the walls using fish tape [wire puller]?

I ask because I think going outside the house is going to raise the cost.

If you have a tight budget, you could have it bid, ask about what options they have that are still within code, then do it yourself and have someone inspect it or run the wire yourself and have someone finish and inspect it.

to answer some of your question unless you have a local code saying otherwise you can run things outside you don't need to put it in pipe if the cable is rated for sunlight exposure ordinary romex(NM or house wire)isn't rated as such needs to be UF-b

yes the distance you need to run wire can affect what size you need. but it's not till you get close to 150' away from panel you need to worry about that. that almost never happen in a house

fishing wires in old homes can be easy depending on where you need to go and framing methods used. sometimes a small chain is best tool for for this job

that wielder guy is wrong, it's not a solid or stranded thing, it's the size of the wire in the extension cords and length that causes the trouble. most are plugged into 20 amp circuits and are 50-100' long and are made of 16 or 14awg wire. Now you are undersized and if you add the wire from panel to cord at the point you need to increase wire size.

 

[jlt1202]

to answer some of your question unless you have a local code saying otherwise you can run things outside you don't need to put it in pipe if the cable is rated for sunlight exposure ordinary romex(NM or house wire)isn't rated as such needs to be UF-b

yes the distance you need to run wire can affect what size you need. but it's not till you get close to 150' away from panel you need to worry about that. that almost never happen in a house

fishing wires in old homes can be easy depending on where you need to go and framing methods used. sometimes a small chain is best tool for for this job

that wielder guy is wrong, it's not a solid or stranded thing, it's the size of the wire in the extension cords and length that causes the trouble. most are plugged into 20 amp circuits and are 50-100' long and are made of 16 or 14awg wire. Now you are undersized and if you add the wire from panel to cord at the point you need to increase wire size.

Might just run a smaller diameter pvc pipe on the outside containing 2-4 wires from box to my room (which is like 20ft up from the box) and that should save me time from running cords inside..... tryed to do some wiring in my kitchen other day to fix plug that had been cut in the past from people stripping the house years ago X ( bastards right? Anywho! when i went to run wire down wall i had 2 studs HORIZANTAL with in 4 ft X ( /facepalm lol

thanks for that info

 

[KarlJay]

Ok, so if the welder was wrong, what is the difference between running a solid wire and a fine stranded wire? I know fine stranded wire is used when the wire is going to move a lot, like an ext cord.

I don't know if solid wire is cheaper or not, but what's the advantage to solid wire?