Newbie grow room setup help! Don't want a FIRE

[djbigshot]

Hi guys I'm new to the site and growing and would greatly appreciate your help with setting up my grow room. First the room is going into the closet in the basement where my electric water heater is located. The space is roughly 4w X 7L X 7 H , but do to the location of the water heater and other pipers in the closet the space that I really have available to me is really 4W X 2L X 7H. I have painted the 3 side walls and floor with flat white paint.

MY CONCERNS:

of course is safety FIRE!!! lol noooo but seriously fire!
So here is my planned setup for the space I have an air cooled hood(the ones with the glass) which will run a 400w HPS bulb.
A can fan exhaust fan that runs at 279 CFM that I plan on attaching to my 12 inch carbon filter and run it through my hood and out of the room into the rest of the basement ( which is finished and we use sparingly more storage than anything).
I also have a free standing oscillating home fan along with a second clip on fan that I plan to run in the room.

My question and major concern is I have only really one wall outlet close to the room and I want to know if that outlet will support all the electrical needs for that room. Like i said we are not down there a lot and there isn't anything else plugged into that outlet or really anything else in the basement running constantly. There is a TV in the basement on another outlet used very sparingly other than that it's just the lights to the basement that go on when I'm down there.

So do you think that one wall outlet will safely run my equipment? 400W HPS in cooled hood, exhaust fan & two fans? Thanks in advance for your responses!

I hope to add some pictures of the space once I have it up.

My first grow will be 3 Auto's in 3 gallon buckets and I will run a 18/6 cycle for veg and then switch to 12/12 during flowering
P.S Water heater is on it's own circuit breaker.

 

[Alienpus]

First thing you have to do is check what else is on the same circuit as that outlet. Usually there are several outlets daisy chained together and often a light circuit also on the same breaker. Exhaust fans are about 100W, the others 50W, and the ligth 450W, so say 700Watts/120Volts = 5.8Amps. This is perfectly safe for one outlet as long as you have good quality extension cords. Just make sure you don't have more than 7Amps/850W anywhere else on the circuit if it is a 15A breaker.

 

[djbigshot]

Thanks bro for your response it's much appreciated. Here is another question for you can I run a 600W Hps with a 400w ballast with a so called turbo on it. To be clear I purchased this used and I was told I was buying the 400w unit so I was ok with it as that is what I wanted. But just know while giving everything a look over I opened up the hood & checked the bulb and it turns out to be a 600HPS thought I was getting the 400 to be clear. But now my new concern is can I run it with the 400w ballast without issue? I did turn on the ballast and the bulb fired up no problem at all. Does that mean it's firing at 400W tops? which I'm ok with bc again thought i was buying 400HPS. What if any are the dangers or disadvantages of running it in this fashion? Thanks again.

 

[go4snypr]

you also dont need to switch lighting time for autoflower plants, they "auto flower"...regardless of the lighting, autos start growing, and flower themselves based on age, not based on darkness. I would leave them on 18/6.

 

[go4snypr]

Thanks bro for your response it's much appreciated. Here is another question for you can I run a 600W Hps with a 400w ballast with a so called turbo on it. To be clear I purchased this used and I was told I was buying the 400w unit so I was ok with it as that is what I wanted. But just know while giving everything a look over I opened up the hood & checked the bulb and it turns out to be a 600HPS thought I was getting the 400 to be clear. But now my new concern is can I run it with the 400w ballast without issue? I did turn on the ballast and the bulb fired up no problem at all. Does that mean it's firing at 400W tops? which I'm ok with bc again thought i was buying 400HPS. What if any are the dangers or disadvantages of running it in this fashion? Thanks again.

All of my ballasts have different options for wattage. I leave them on 750 most of the time, it has not done any damage to my bulbs...yet....and my bulbs are 1000w

 

[djbigshot]

you also dont need to switch lighting time for autoflower plants, they "auto flower"...regardless of the lighting, autos start growing, and flower themselves based on age, not based on darkness. I would leave them on 18/6.

How about the question on the ballast and bulb set up thanks

 

[djbigshot]

All of my ballasts have different options for wattage. I leave them on 750 most of the time, it has not done any damage to my bulbs...yet....and my bulbs are 1000w

does that mean your bulbs are only firing 750? Hmm

 

[Weaselcracker]

You'll be completely in the safe zone for electrical draw if that's all you have on the circuit. It helps ease my paranoia to go around periodically and feel the cords - the connections where they plug into the wall, the timers etc. Feel the connections, they might be warm which is fine but if you notice anything getting hot, or discolored/burnt there is a problem. I mounted my timers etc. on to a fire proof backing board. With a little effort you should be able to make that spot very safe against fire and sleep better at night.

 

[Alienpus]

Thanks bro for your response it's much appreciated. Here is another question for you can I run a 600W Hps with a 400w ballast with a so called turbo on it. To be clear I purchased this used and I was told I was buying the 400w unit so I was ok with it as that is what I wanted. But just know while giving everything a look over I opened up the hood & checked the bulb and it turns out to be a 600HPS thought I was getting the 400 to be clear. But now my new concern is can I run it with the 400w ballast without issue? I did turn on the ballast and the bulb fired up no problem at all. Does that mean it's firing at 400W tops? which I'm ok with bc again thought i was buying 400HPS. What if any are the dangers or disadvantages of running it in this fashion? Thanks again.

A 400W ballast can spark up a 600w bulb, my bulb manufacturer (hortilux) does not recommend it, they say a matching bulb will put out better light. Some ballasts are multi-watt, selectable or automatic, dimmable, boost ect. How about a make and model on that ballast?

 

[go4snypr]

does that mean your bulbs are only firing 750? Hmm

yes

 

[djbigshot]

A 400W ballast can spark up a 600w bulb, my bulb manufacturer (hortilux) does not recommend it, they say a matching bulb will put out better light. Some ballasts are multi-watt, selectable or automatic, dimmable, boost ect. How about a make and model on that ballast?

The ballast is a Galaxy select A Watt 250w-400w electronic HID Ballast m#902483 and you can select the wattage you want etc..

 

[Alienpus]

The ballast is a Galaxy select A Watt 250w-400w electronic HID Ballast m#902483 and you can select the wattage you want etc..

It does work and it is not dangerous just not recommended, the bulb will put out only 400w, 450W with the turbo. According to your manufacturer :

"The internal components of the ballast are designed to send the correct voltage and current for the rated lamp. Mixing lamps and ballasts will result in premature failure and will void the manufacturers' warranty."

And here in the instructions https://sunlightsupply.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/product/GalaxyLegacy_Instructions.pdf they say to match the bulb with the ballast.

Bulbs don't stay productive that long, and people have been under driving bulbs without problems since these things came out, it's a used lamp, I would do a grow or two then change to the appropriate bulb.

 

[djbigshot]

It does work and it is not dangerous just not recommended, the bulb will put out only 400w, 450W with the turbo. According to your manufacturer :

"The internal components of the ballast are designed to send the correct voltage and current for the rated lamp. Mixing lamps and ballasts will result in premature failure and will void the manufacturers’ warranty."

And here in the instructions https://sunlightsupply.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/product/GalaxyLegacy_Instructions.pdf they say to match the bulb with the ballast.

Bulbs don't stay productive that long, and people have been under driving bulbs without problems since these things came out, it's a used lamp, I would do a grow or two then change to the appropriate bulb.

Awesome glad to see I won't have to worry. I want to thank you and everyone else who took the time to respond it's so greatly appreciated. Nice to know I go somewhere and get some questions answered!

 

[SparkNShred]

Hi guys I'm new to the site and growing and would greatly appreciate your help with setting up my grow room. First the room is going into the closet in the basement where my electric water heater is located. The space is roughly 4w X 7L X 7 H , but do to the location of the water heater and other pipers in the closet the space that I really have available to me is really 4W X 2L X 7H. I have painted the 3 side walls and floor with flat white paint.

MY CONCERNS:

of course is safety FIRE!!! lol noooo but seriously fire!
So here is my planned setup for the space I have an air cooled hood(the ones with the glass) which will run a 400w HPS bulb.
A can fan exhaust fan that runs at 279 CFM that I plan on attaching to my 12 inch carbon filter and run it through my hood and out of the room into the rest of the basement ( which is finished and we use sparingly more storage than anything).
I also have a free standing oscillating home fan along with a second clip on fan that I plan to run in the room.

My question and major concern is I have only really one wall outlet close to the room and I want to know if that outlet will support all the electrical needs for that room. Like i said we are not down there a lot and there isn't anything else plugged into that outlet or really anything else in the basement running constantly. There is a TV in the basement on another outlet used very sparingly other than that it's just the lights to the basement that go on when I'm down there.

So do you think that one wall outlet will safely run my equipment? 400W HPS in cooled hood, exhaust fan & two fans? Thanks in advance for your responses!

I hope to add some pictures of the space once I have it up.

My first grow will be 3 Auto's in 3 gallon buckets and I will run a 18/6 cycle for veg and then switch to 12/12 during flowering
P.S Water heater is on it's own circuit breaker.

Hi djbigshot, welcome. Here's something you might like to read.

Fire Safety: How do you prevent a disaster?

Hello everyone. Here is my question. How do you prevent a grow room fire? Do not let this happen to you. For those of you who don't know I had a horrendous fire in my grow room. For those that do know, Thank you for all your love and support. Everyone here has been a godsend of love and...

www.420magazine.com

Best wishes, be safe!

 

[SparkNShred]

Aaaaaand, I just replied to an ancient thread. I gotta pay closer attention. Sorry.

 

[TorturedSoul]

Get a good 400-watt bulb. Underdriven HID bulbs have a shift in their (spectral) output. It's not a major issue, but it's unlikely to help your yield. Also, unless the bulb that came with the setup you've bought is still sealed in its original package, it'll be used with an unknown number of hours on it.

If you can afford to, buy the best bulb you can get. Yes, the theoretical maximum an Eye Hortilux bulb can produce is only about 10% more than that of the next highest rated brand - but that'll be more than the difference in bulb cost. Another way of looking at it is: You'll be buying the same amount of electricity each month, either way - best to get all the use out of it that you can.