electrical problems

[Baja Big Dog]

It's a bit more than I wanted to spend to be totally honest but felt like I had to go for it to have the piece of mind like you say, not to mention additional safety. It looks like w 4-1,000watt ballasts on 240v will pull just under 20amps in total, which will be all good on a 10g 30amp circuit.

Thanks again to everyone who helped out with this!

And Ill bet your power company sends you a Christmas card!!

Keep us informed how your power bill looks after you fire up these monsters!! Its gonna be exciting...

 

[Proliferation]

hey pro, with 4-1k watt lights sounds like your grow is gonna be large, i dont think you have to worry about watching t.v.

it won't be too huge...I'm thinking anywhere from 24-36 plants but am probably going to start out in the room with just 24 ebb and grow sites. I'm willing to install 4 lamps in that space to see what kind of yeild I can get out of more light. I don't quite feel like 2 lamps and light movers is enough so am just going to sport for the 4 stationary lamps.

The RF interference was of concern bc I didn't want it to knock out my TV or anyone else close to the interference. I wasn't really sure how severe if at all it was but just brought it up bc I didn't want to loose TV service.

large is a relative term my friend....most of my "real" experience with grows to date has been >100 plants but has always been with 3 or 4 other investors....and water under the bridge at this point

 

[Proliferation]

And Ill bet your power company sends you a Christmas card!!

Keep us informed how your power bill looks after you fire up these monsters!! Its gonna be exciting...

good pal of mine in area w same lighting set up (4-1k's) estimated $875 per month for his lights. another pal of mine w a dozen lamps and a large house has just over $3k per month electric bill.

I'm excited, but not for the freakin bill....lol

 

[Baja Big Dog]

good pal of mine in area w same lighting set up (4-1k's) estimated $875 per month for his lights. another pal of mine w a dozen lamps and a large house has just over $3k per month electric bill.

I'm excited, but not for the freakin bill....lol

Any concerns about the power company sharing your new found usage with the local law enforcement folks???....

 

[Proliferation]

Any concerns about the power company sharing your new found usage with the local law enforcement folks???....

This use to be something of great concern to me and I do still think about it from time to time, however, here are my honest thoughts that have come from my own and friends experiences. So long as you pay your bill on time, all the time, and don't give the electric company a reason to think you are stealing electricity, than you probably don't have much to worry about. I also suggest asking others here on 420 w opps this size already. I believe Hogdady was spending 1,200/month for his previous set up before movers.

When you fall behind on your bill and they notice it's way higher than last years at the same time than they may "flag" your bill but that is mostly due to your own fault of not paying on time and usually by "flag" they are interested in the electrical meters working properly and/or getting their money....not coming through your property and looking for things like grow opps. If they don't want you to use power anymore they will simply shut it off. And for chirst sake, tell them you run multiple servers out of your home office, own a small welding company in the garage, anything that makes logical sense...get creative. Again, all sorts of things that could be using tons of power behind the doors of peoples homes and the electric company isn't there to investigate, or even worry about it so long as you pay legitimately. Think of how many investigations they would go on that would lead to completely legal activity where that residence just used a lot of electricity for whatever the reason may be. It would be a huge waste of time, money and in the end, only cutting into their own profits.

I think on the flip side of this coin that if you had a 6K a month bill coming out of a tiny 900sq ft cabin it could start to get weird but not necessarily for a 4,000sq ft home. It's really hard to tell what people's habits are, what they do with their electricity and ALL the DIFFERENT scenarios that could account for that much usage. The reason we all get concerned is bc of what we are growing and the legal impacts of being caught. But that doesn't mean the electric company is out looking for grow opps. So in the end we get caught up in a mind set that we wouldn't be in if we were doing something legal like grow vegetables out of the house. That bill could be 10 times more out of sight and still no issue with the electric company, or concern on our end bc of what would happen if they did come out to see a big indoor vegetable garden...nothing. It's all about mindset IMO.

In the end I think its something to be educated on and careful about but does seem to become more a physiological game involving paranoia than reality.

Someone please give me a genuine legitimate story otherwise bc I would like to know. It's just that it seems that even things like the Tennessee Pot Cave was busted not only bc of how much power they used but also bc they were attempting to steal it and the house was clearly vacant. It's all about making smart decisions and mindset if you don't want to get caught doing ANYTHING illegal, again just my opinion.

 

[Hogdady]

In the end I think its something to be educated on and careful about but does seem to become more a physiological game involving paranoia than reality.

I couldn't agree with you more. Granted, there may actually be some instances where utility co's have contacted LEO, but I have never heard of an actual case where they did soley for the reason of too much usage. They are in the business of selling energy, not selling their customers. An interesting sidelight....now that the utility co's are going to smartmeters, it would be easy to pinpoint those customers that have high usage periods in 18-6 or 12-12.

 

[Baja Big Dog]

I couldn't agree with you more. Granted, there may actually be some instances where utility co's have contacted LEO, but I have never heard of an actual case where they did soley for the reason of too much usage. They are in the business of selling energy, not selling their customers. An interesting sidelight....now that the utility co's are going to smartmeters, it would be easy to pinpoint those customers that have high usage periods in 18-6 or 12-12.

It would great to hear some "real live" stories, we have all heard the "rumors" that have gone around, hopefully we can get some input, I am not worried as I keep my grow legal size, and I do have some kilns for slumping glass art that if I had to I could use as bait!!

As far as the power company not turning you in because they are in the business of selling power, and why would they turn you in?? Well, most of them are public utilities, and if there was a way to find something illegal (like growing pot) they would turn you in, regardless of weather they make money off of you or not!!

Hopefully someone chimes in with some real information!!!

 

[o2much4me]

yes

Watts = Amps x Volts (remember WAV)
Watts / Amps = Volts
Watts / Volts = Amps

Wire size Load Carrying Capacities American Wire Gauge table and AWG Electrical Current Load Limits with skin depth frequencies

 

[Hogdady]

Well, most of them are public utilities, and if there was a way to find something illegal (like growing pot) they would turn you in, regardless of weather they make money off of you or not!!

i guess i'm gonna have to disagree BBD. with the current metering system (smartmetering), they would have little trouble identifying potential gro-ops. if you are unfamiliar with the smartmeters, they transmit usage data 24/7 to the utility co. i have gone to the utility co's website and seen my personal usage in graph form broken down by hour to hour usage. when i was using 52k of lites they would run from 9pm to 9am. how many homes are using 5200 watts of energy @ 3am?

 

[Baja Big Dog]

i guess i'm gonna have to disagree BBD. with the current metering system (smartmetering), they would have little trouble identifying potential gro-ops. if you are unfamiliar with the smartmeters, they transmit usage data 24/7 to the utility co. i have gone to the utility co's website and seen my personal usage in graph form broken down by hour to hour usage. when i was using 52k of lites they would run from 9pm to 9am. how many homes are using 5200 watts of energy @ 3am?

Your not disagreeing with me Hog...you are saying what I have been preaching...be careful because "BIG BROTHER" is watching!! (and Im not a paranoid person!!!)







Are you guys looking at me!!

 

[Hogdady]

Your not disagreeing with me Hog...you are saying what I have been preaching...be careful because "BIG BROTHER" is watching!! (and Im not a paranoid person!!!)







Are you guys looking at me!!

groovy....

 

[Proliferation]

I couldn't agree with you more. Granted, there may actually be some instances where utility co's have contacted LEO, but I have never heard of an actual case where they did soley for the reason of too much usage. They are in the business of selling energy, not selling their customers.

Agreed! If you have given your neighbors or other people reason to be suspicious and LEO start to investigate they may look at your power bill. If they notice it is what they consider "unusually" high than they have one more little piece of the puzzle against you as far as conducting a search of your property. However, high power usage is usually not the sole purpose for investigations or busts, it's usually one piece of the puzzle. Think of all the people in small towns in Nor Cal that have been growing for 15-20 years. I think it's all about your approach and making smart decisions.

As for smart metering (which I don't have) I guess the utility company could start to write different algorithms to recognize power spikes that occur at the same time and duration within their system. However, even if this code could spot such power usage there is still no guarantee that its a grow opp...only that it has the power signature to be one.

Furthermore, it could be a grow opp but they can't tell what you're growing and if in fact its illegal. Again, we're talking TONS of investigative work on their end that would be expensive, lead to no guaranteed busts, and in the end would be cutting their profit margin....not only through the few busts they would find but the added investigative costs. Public utility or not they are still in the business of making money and while I'm not suggesting they condone illegal activity they are certainly not out on hunt for it.