2 x 20A circuit installation for grow expansion

llamas

llamas

Well-Known Member
:leaf::mrgreen::leaf:

Just wanted to make a post with some shots of my electrical expansion, prepping for a new 600w HPS as an upgrade to my 400w HPS I currently use for flower. I need more power because I am at max of what is available to me right now, only 1 15A circuit.

I am NOT an electrician, I do not recommend others doing this themselves.

I have several electrician friends who I have gone on job with and assisted with installations exactly as I am doing. So I understand fully each step.

The goodies all ready to go, 2 x 20A circuit breakers and all things needed to get em working, just need a bong rip to start bongsmilie


new.work.jpgnew.work2.jpg20a.breakers.jpg


Got the cabling run and all tacked in place, started to install the sockets into the boxes and TICK, flower room went night night :wall: The flower room is on the other side of the wall, behind the sockets in the next shots.


new.c1.jpghalf.way.jpg

I will finish the wiring and install the circuits into the breaker box tomorrow in the AM way before the flower room is due to shut off, so I can move the entire setup on to the new circuits when I start it all back up.:mrgreen:
 
llamas

llamas

Well-Known Member
Started early today!

Good thing I did, After the 'nice' guy at the mom and pop electrical store talked to me for like 25 minutes about DIY and how not many ppl do it. He sells me a 20A circuit breaker that did not work. Good thing he only had 1, and I had to buy the 2nd one from Home Depot.

Since mom and pops are closed on sundays :cuss: I just exchanged his non working one at Home Depot since they are the exact same unit, and they are dumb enough to think they sold me a broken one.

Finished all the wiring of the sockets then had to figure out the breaker bullshit. Nothing like your 1st DIY electrical job and you have to start troubleshooting why 1 circuit does not work. I learned alot from this, and that is exactly what I wanted. So that in another year when I want to expand again, into a different area of my house and use an entire room, I will be ready todo it all myself.

Project Complete!

If anyone can see anything that I have done that is not correct, or needs to be looked at, PLEASE TELL ME. (yes it is red to white)

sockets.jpgintobox.jpgbreakers.installed.jpgcomplete.jpg
 
llamas

llamas

Well-Known Member
Well the flower room just went to sleep, and its 45 minutes late. So it took me 45 minutes to install and troubleshoot the problem with the breakers, I call that success for my 1st self install.

As well my house has not burnt down, and tbh I have thought about it all day non stop, when the timer went out for the flower room it was like a wave of, YOU DID IT.

:leaf::mrgreen::leaf:
 
WeeGogs

WeeGogs

Active Member
fucking hell, are you in the usa ?

is all electric consumer units and all your mcb`s/rcd`s as old as that ?

fucking hell the electrical equipment you use for home protection in usa is like something from the 1960s in the uk !!!
 
llamas

llamas

Well-Known Member
WeeGogs said:
fucking hell, are you in the usa ?

is all electric consumer units and all your mcb`s/rcd`s as old as that ?

fucking hell the electrical equipment you use for home protection in usa is like something from the 1960s in the uk !!!
Click to expand...

My home is from well before the 1960's

But other than just trolllololoing on nothing, can you actually see anything I have done wrong?
 
dtp5150

dtp5150

Well-Known Member
WeeGogs said:
fucking hell, are you in the usa ?

is all electric consumer units and all your mcb`s/rcd`s as old as that ?

fucking hell the electrical equipment you use for home protection in usa is like something from the 1960s in the uk !!!
Click to expand...
i saw a maple leaf in one of the pictures...
 
llamas

llamas

Well-Known Member
What a difference just a few sockets dedicated to the grow make!@

I ran my setup off of 1x 15amp socket through 15' of extension cord previously, and was always trying to figure out where to plug in the vacuum when I need to clean up, or the work lights for trimming. Now I no longer search for a socket!

wyteboi said:
looks very good LL .... i looked at your pics.... it dont get any better.







soil
Click to expand...
Just what I needed to put my mind at rest :mrgreen:
 
sonar

sonar

Well-Known Member
I don't understand why you UK and European guys think our electrical distribution system is so outdated. It's actually ahead of Europe in a lot of respects.

An RCD is just a type of GFCI (ground fault circuit interrupter). Here in the US they are mandated by code in several areas either as a circuit breaker, or as a receptacle. All they do is prevent electrocution from faulty equipment. Meaning, if an internal wire of a metal toaster breaks off and comes in contact with the metal case, it dectects the current leakage and kicks. With most things being at least partially plastic, this isn't as big a concern as it used to be. The reason they aren't mandated by code on every circuit is because they have a tendency to mis-trip at time. Imagine going away on vacation and having the GFCI to your fridge trip for no reason.

Also, our MCCD (molded case circuit breakers) serve a similar function to the MCB (miniature circuit breaker) but can handle much heavier loads. They need too since we generally run 120/240v in the US so our operating currents our much higher. Lower voltage requires higher current to achieve the same wattage. Trust me, your system is no more safer than ours. Doing a little research, in fact, I've noticed that our electricians are held to a much higher stander. Our electrical code is exhaustive and updated every four years as new issues arise. All with safety in mind. You talk as if the UK is decades ahead of North American, which clearly isn't the case.

OP, your wiring job looks solid to me. Nice work. So 2 20amp circuits? That's quite a bit of juice. :)
Comes out to 2400w per circuit. It is code in the US and general practice to only use 80% of those 2400w, but at any rate, you have 1920w per circuit to work with.
 
llamas

llamas

Well-Known Member
sonar said:
.....
OP, your wiring job looks solid to me. Nice work. So 2 20amp circuits? That's quite a bit of juice. :)
Comes out to 2400w per circuit. It is code in the US and general practice to only use 80% of those 2400w, but at any rate, you have 1920w per circuit to work with.
Click to expand...
Ya I figured if I was going to run dedicated circuits, why run 15A. I ran 2x 20A so that this grow area will have more than enough for any future needs.

Thanks for your input, much appreciated. +rep
 
sonar

sonar

Well-Known Member
Yeah 15A are hardly ever used anymore. With all the power hungry appliances in modern homes, the only thing they are really good for is lighting circuits, and even then they are rarely used these days. It's trade standard in new construction to keep lighting circuits separate from receptacles. The idea is that if a receptacle trips, the room will still have lights. It also keeps the lights from dimming for that split second when, say, the fridge kicks on.

You used the appropriate size wire for a 20A circuit correct? In the US, it would be 12 gauge (12AWG). I'm not sure what the equivalent up north would be. 2mm maybe?
 
K

Kdn

Member
sonar said:
I don't understand why you UK and European guys think our electrical distribution system is so outdated. It's actually ahead of Europe in a lot of respects.

An RCD is just a type of GFCI (ground fault circuit interrupter). Here in the US they are mandated by code in several areas either as a circuit breaker, or as a receptacle. All they do is prevent electrocution from faulty equipment. Meaning, if an internal wire of a metal toaster breaks off and comes in contact with the metal case, it dectects the current leakage and kicks. With most things being at least partially plastic, this isn't as big a concern as it used to be. The reason they aren't mandated by code on every circuit is because they have a tendency to mis-trip at time. Imagine going away on vacation and having the GFCI to your fridge trip for no reason.

Also, our MCCD (molded case circuit breakers) serve a similar function to the MCB (miniature circuit breaker) but can handle much heavier loads. They need too since we generally run 120/240v in the US so our operating currents our much higher. Lower voltage requires higher current to achieve the same wattage. Trust me, your system is no more safer than ours. Doing a little research, in fact, I've noticed that our electricians are held to a much higher stander. Our electrical code is exhaustive and updated every four years as new issues arise. All with safety in mind. You talk as if the UK is decades ahead of North American, which clearly isn't the case.

OP, your wiring job looks solid to me. Nice work. So 2 20amp circuits? That's quite a bit of juice. :)
Comes out to 2400w per circuit. It is code in the US and general practice to only use 80% of those 2400w, but at any rate, you have 1920w per circuit to work with.
Click to expand...
Dont waste your breath on Wee, sonar I already explained what you have in the quote above several months ago, and IIRC you did too :) obviously he doesnt pay any attention to facts when they are presented.
Everytime someone makes a post similar to this, him or his side kick stepaniesloan come into the thread and shit all over it, which would be fine if they knew what they were talking about.
 
llamas

llamas

Well-Known Member
sonar said:
Yeah 15A are hardly ever used anymore. With all the power hungry appliances in modern homes, the only thing they are really good for is lighting circuits, and even then they are rarely used these days. It's trade standard in new construction to keep lighting circuits separate from receptacles. The idea is that if a receptacle trips, the room will still have lights. It also keeps the lights from dimming for that split second when, say, the fridge kicks on.

You used the appropriate size wire for a 20A circuit correct? In the US, it would be 12 gauge (12AWG). I'm not sure what the equivalent up north would be. 2mm maybe?
Click to expand...
Yep its the same up here, I used 12 gauge wire. Guess I never did an actual full equipment listing. My bad.
 
sonar

sonar

Well-Known Member
Kdn said:
Dont waste your breath on Wee, sonar I already explained what you have in the quote above several months ago, and IIRC you did too :) obviously he doesnt pay any attention to facts when they are presented.
Everytime someone makes a post similar to this, him or his side kick stepaniesloan come into the thread and shit all over it, which would be fine if they knew what they were talking about.
Click to expand...
Haha, I thought this conversation seemed oddly familiar. Just found the old thread from back in July. "Scotland is some kind of electrical generation mecca..." I laughed out load when I read that.

How Many 600's On A 30amp?

llamas said:
Yep its the same up here, I used 12 gauge wire. Guess I never did an actual full equipment listing. My bad.
Click to expand...
Yeah wasn't sure with the metric system and all. Red neutral is a first.
 
llamas

llamas

Well-Known Member
sonar said:
....

Yeah wasn't sure with the metric system and all. Red neutral is a first.
Click to expand...
Red neutral because I am cheap. The wire is used here for 240v heater installations in your garage, the guy referred to it as 'heater wire', he had some he wanted to sell me cheap so I was in.:mrgreen:

Now its time to decide what to plug into the new outlets. I am pretty sure I have my heart set on this for the new HPS.

600W/1000W Lumatek Electronic ballast 120V Super Lumens
 
llamas

llamas

Well-Known Member
llamas

llamas

Well-Known Member
sonar said:
Looks like you're all set man.

What do you plan on growing out first?
Click to expand...
Well!

These are close to finishing, so I think I am going to move over to the 600W on them and see how it goes.

https://www.rollitup.org/indoor-growing/481759-400w-week-5-9-black.html

After they are done on the 21st of Nov. Then I imagine the next full run through will be these little ladies, after they give me some clones.

https://www.rollitup.org/grow-journals/481682-dr-greenthumb-fire-hydrant-feminized.html
 
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