Electrical questions, post em here!

jimmyspaz

Well-Known Member
Define backstabbing please. All the connections I am doing are 20 amp plugs and sockets with the screws (properly looped on the screw, insulated with liquid electical tape (great sfuff) and then reinsulated with reqular electical tape).

Is backstabbing those plugs with the pins that pierce the insulation and make the connection? I never have used those, they scare me!
They are the units where you strip a bit of wire and shove it in a hole on the back ofthe plug.Use the terminal screws like you are doing and you will be alright.:joint::joint:
 

strictly'dope74

Active Member
ok i started talking to someone on this site they were asking me question on hydroponics, now i can admit i dont know alot about growing, now into our discussion we started talking about lights now this individual started telling me that they were going to use a light rated for 75 watts and it only need 17 watts to fully power this light. i disagree, lights rated for 75watts need all 75 watts of power to run at full capasity am i wrong? they were also saying the output is rated in watts and i think its measure in lumens! please some answer this question to put an end to this on going argument, because i'm not admitting i'm wrong until im proven wrong, cuz when i'm wrong i will admitt it i just dont think i'm wrong about this.
thank you
 

Maccabee

Well-Known Member
That sounds like someone telling you that a "75 watt equivalent" CFL only uses 17 watts.

A 75 watt incandescent uses 75 watts. A 75 watt CFL will use 75 watts too, but the true wattage of CFLs is usually obscured on the packaging as they like to emphasize the higher "equivalent" wattage used to market them in the place of incandescents.
 

ACSCorp

Well-Known Member
Thanks jimmyspaz. Yeah I agree, that's a bad idea. Any connection that is even slightly loose is bad. It can cause sparking and/or arcing. Overengineering when using electricity is always te best bet.
 

Enigma

Well-Known Member
That sounds like someone telling you that a "75 watt equivalent" CFL only uses 17 watts.

A 75 watt incandescent uses 75 watts. A 75 watt CFL will use 75 watts too, but the true wattage of CFLs is usually obscured on the packaging as they like to emphasize the higher "equivalent" wattage used to market them in the place of incandescents.
That is all a marketing ploy.

A 75w equivalent CFL will use less. I saw that the other day at Lowe's. In big print is the wattage equivalency and in small print at the bottom is the actual wattage and light spectrum. It wasn't easy to read.. but I found it.
 

Maccabee

Well-Known Member
Yup, it's a marketing ploy all right. But the real wattage is always on the package somewhere.

On the other hand, the color temp isn't always which is a pain in the ass.
 

BigBudBalls

Well-Known Member
Voltage is a measure of electrical potential--think of it as water pressure in a system of plumbing (an imperfect analogy, but decent for this purpose.) Amps is a measure of current, or the speed with which electricity is moving through a circuit at the specified voltage
.
I usually refer the Current/Amps/I as volume of the flow.

But good post. Sums things up quickly.
 

BigBudBalls

Well-Known Member
They are the units where you strip a bit of wire and shove it in a hole on the back ofthe plug.Use the terminal screws like you are doing and you will be alright.:joint::joint:
Should have left him in the dark about them dang things! One of them 'what he don't know won't hurt him' type thing.

The machines I work on have them for all terminal strips. But we use ferrules that when crimped down are square, so there is a much larger contact area. (plus the majority are just 24VDC. Though a few 230VAC. but the heavier loads are all screwed down)
 

BigBudBalls

Well-Known Member
ok i started talking to someone on this site they were asking me question on hydroponics, now i can admit i dont know alot about growing, now into our discussion we started talking about lights now this individual started telling me that they were going to use a light rated for 75 watts and it only need 17 watts to fully power this light. i disagree, lights rated for 75watts need all 75 watts of power to run at full capasity am i wrong? they were also saying the output is rated in watts and i think its measure in lumens! please some answer this question to put an end to this on going argument, because i'm not admitting i'm wrong until im proven wrong, cuz when i'm wrong i will admitt it i just dont think i'm wrong about this.
thank you

He was talking about a CFL.

Watts is energy use NOT light output. (in a nutshell, and a huge confusion here)
Some lights are more efficient in the electricity to light conversion.
So his 17W CFL give as much light as a 75W incandescent bulb.
The CFL manufacturers are SO hip to marketing ploys.
(I have yet to see a CFL give nearly the same light and an incandescent)
 

ownage al

Active Member
Hey, I've been looking for a thread kind of like this... I actually have a 175 watt metal halide floodlight. It has the normal green ground and black and white outputs.. but it doesn't rig up to a 120v cord properly... This was just an extension cord i used and spliced the end... I also tried using a plug i bought from the hardware store... and no light, only a little ballast hum... But no light at all in the bulb (its a brand new bulb... and light)


I can get the instruction manual off the site... Its scored for 277 but on the website and the guy i bought it from he said u can use the 120v application.


I know 277v wiring is for warehouses, because of the way energy transfer through's or some bullshit, but i only have 120v here.


http://www.daybrite.com/Instruction_Sheets/db_hidin/87625370.pdf


If you need to know more about this lite... heres the manufactures' website for the light


Day-Brite HID Products


Thanks.
 

ownage al

Active Member
Hey, I've been looking for a thread kind of like this... I actually have a 175 watt metal halide floodlight. It has the normal green ground and black and white outputs.. but it doesn't rig up to a 120v cord properly... This was just an extension cord i used and spliced the end... I also tried using a plug i bought from the hardware store... and no light, only a little ballast hum... But no light at all in the bulb (its a brand new bulb... and light)


I can get the instruction manual off the site... Its scored for 277 but on the website and the guy i bought it from he said u can use the 120v application.


I know 277v wiring is for warehouses, because of the way energy transfer through's or some bullshit, but i only have 120v here.


http://www.daybrite.com/Instruction_Sheets/db_hidin/87625370.pdf


If you need to know more about this lite... heres the manufactures' website for the light


Day-Brite HID Products


Thanks.

I think i solved the problem, i haven't tried it yet, but im about too.....

this was a reply from the guy i got it from

"
I told you it can be run with 120V because it can be run with 120V. 277V is a very common voltage to run lights such as these with.

The ballast is a mulit tap ballast meaning it is possible to run it with many types of voltages. But with a multi tap coil you have to change the tap to run at the voltage you prefer. To do this you will need to open the main cover. Then take the two screws out on either side of the aluminum reflector and pull the aluminum reflector and light assembly away. This will now show you a bunch of wires. You will notice that the white wires will be labled with different voltages and one labled "com" do not touch that wire. Leave it as is. The 277V wire will be wired. Unscrew the wire nut for this wire and pull that wire out and use electrical tape or heat shrink to cover the exposed end. Now find the wire that is labeled 120V and remove the black heat shrink. Wire this where the 277V wire was. Now put everything back together and plug your light in. It will not be very bright right away. It takes a little while for a bulb to heat up."
 

jimmyspaz

Well-Known Member
One thing to watch out for, make sure the stripped piece of 277 volt wire is reinsulated (I just use a wire nut) as it will be live and can arc if it comes into contact with ground,i.e.the case.
 

Maccabee

Well-Known Member
Yeah, I'd use a wire nut or heat shrink, something better than a piece of electrical tape for that. And be careful when working on the ballast. The capacitor can store power even when the transformer is off.

You might want to read this over before doing this modification if you're not familiar with basic electrical concepts and ballast construction:

Electricity Explained | BGHydro

Or take the thing back to the guy who sold it to you and have him rewire it, if you expected it to be ready to operate at 120V (presuming it wasn't mail ordered.)
 
Top