Electrical ? for 5200 watts

sourdieselyumyum

Well-Known Member
what would I need a electrician install in a basement to run 2000 watts 12/12 flip flop so 4000 total and 1200 watts 18/6? any help would be appreciated
 

loftygoals

Well-Known Member
If you're going to be running a load for more than 3 hours you can only run at 80% of the circuit rating. So you need 6500w for lighting alone.

Then depending on what you're planning and your climate you need to add water pumps? Fans? Air pumps? AC? Chillers? Who knows? You haven't said what you're planning!! :D
 

redi jedi

Well-Known Member
2000 watts on a flip is still 2000 watts...the difference is you will be using 2000w 24 hours a day instead of 12 hours a day. This is a good thing if your power is monitored by a smart meter.
 

loftygoals

Well-Known Member
2000 watts on a flip is still 2000 watts...the difference is you will be using 2000w 24 hours a day instead of 12 hours a day. This is a good thing if your power is monitored by a smart meter.
That's right... but if a dedicated circuit is going in anyway then better have it capable of running 4000w all at once IMO. There will inevitably be times when both areas light up at the same time by mistake or timer error etc (unless the areas are wired up via a control relay to make that impossible by only allowing power to one set of lights at a time). But you are right of course... 2000w in each area for 12 hours is still 2000w and you could get away with basing the circuit on that staggered load. But then what do I know? :)
 

redi jedi

Well-Known Member
That's right... but if a dedicated circuit is going in anyway then better have it capable of running 4000w all at once IMO. There will inevitably be times when both areas light up at the same time by mistake or timer error etc (unless the areas are wired up via a control relay to make that impossible by only allowing power to one set of lights at a time). But you are right of course... 2000w in each area for 12 hours is still 2000w and you could get away with basing the circuit on that staggered load. But then what do I know? :)
A flip box is a series of relays that divert power from one ballast to two lights, or I should say it alternates the power from one light to the other after 12 hours using a timer to trigger the flip. So its impossible to have both lights running at the same time, even if the timer fails or the relays fail. The worst case scenario is no flip or no power to either lights. So you don't need a circuit to handle 4000w unless there are plans to go bigger down the road.
 

redi jedi

Well-Known Member
what would I need a electrician install in a basement to run 2000 watts 12/12 flip flop so 4000 total and 1200 watts 18/6? any help would be appreciated
You didnt say what voltage your ballasts require but the formula to calculate is watts divided by voltage equals amps x 1.25
 

sourdieselyumyum

Well-Known Member
why 6500 watts? 4 1000 watt ballast 2 600 watt ballast 3 8 inch phresh hyper fans plus 3 16 inch oscillating fans. so with 2 1000 watts 2 600 watts and 3 fans on at same time averages out to right around 30 amps at one time at 120v
 

ttystikk

Well-Known Member
I hate flip boxes. They're a waste of money that could be spent buying more ballasts, lol

The answer here is really simple; install or use the existing dryer plug. Most of these are 240V @30A = 7200W max, 5760W continuous using the 80% rule.

You could run everything you said, plus pumps and fans, AND have both sides of your flip on for a few minutes with no trouble at all.
 

ttystikk

Well-Known Member
its plug is 240 then converts to 6 standard 120v plugs
And then run high power ballasts off the 120V? That's just stepping on your own dick, dude- run the high power stuff like lights and AC at 240V whenever you can. Settle for 120V only when it's not possible. The difference is efficiency, heat and longevity of components. Higher voltage is better.
 

ttystikk

Well-Known Member
@ttystikk

Following your advice I would use my 220v for my leds 10 lights @4000watts. How would you go about connecting them all and hanging them from the ceiling ? Cord management etc and what other pieces of electrical equipment would you recommend running in addition?

Timers, surge protectors etc?
I'm not a licensed installer, I can't give you instructions. The best I can do is help you with specific questions.
 
Ok so im a qualified electrician from the uk and I use a 32 amp breaker with 10 inch scrubber multiple dehumidifiers and a lot of fans with 7 600 watts any more lights than that and your close to tripping because of your other things that are running I recommend rigging that shit up for that type of set up though
 
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