Electrical help

Hello all,

we have a 2600w grow and have an old house with old wiring, we have it running all different ways, since the grow is in the basement the kitchen is right above it, so we have an extension cord from the kitchen through the air vent powering one light, we then have another extension cord running down from behind the washer powering the a/c, lastly we have another extension cord plugged into an outlet below our breaker box powering the other two lights.

however when we have really anything on upstairs, (tvs lights etc), we always flip a breaker.

we have the ability to plug into two 240v outlets from either the oven or dryer or both, is there something that will make all this work? we dont have 240v cords

any help would be appreciated

thanks

Invest in a 240v plug + cord to seperate breaker panel. 30a will be way more than enough. run your lights & ac off that and run your fans and anything else off the washer or panel plug @120v.
or call in an electrician to upgrade your panel and/or put new breakers in and dedicated lines for your grow, two 120v 15a or 20a lines would be fine.

240v plugs for the ballasts and you mean wiring it so that we wire an outlet to the breaker or what?

i would scrap what he said what amp is ur 240 breaker?

if ur breaker is 240 10a you can run 2 1000W lights at around 2.4amp ea a 600w would be about 2 amp to that's 7 so be safe and then run ur ac off the 120v and fans ect that should stop the breakers tripping

myself im in the uk and my entire grow room is on a 15a breaker and that is a 400w light 3 fans 2 computer servers a games server and i still have 3amp to play with i can also run 4 1200w heaters from that breaker on there own with out it tripping

Nitro1990 said:

i would scrap what he said what amp is ur 240 breaker?

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Thanks Nitro, I just suggested the expensive easy safe way. Good question tho. Ovens and dryers are usually 30-50amps each?
If you want to save money wire an outlet off the breaker, like you said godfather.
Just be safe. Make sure everything is connected & grounded properly etc.

You got a great setup ....For a fire. I would do it right, unless you want Murphy's Law to slap you in the face (Anything that can go wrong, Will go wrong.) A fire would destroy all the work you have put into growing your cannabis plants and it would all be a waste. Hire an electrician or friend who knows what they're doing, and do it right. Best of luck, and Hope you get your grow room setup and wired like you want. Peace and Smoke on...

Mr.J420 said:

Thanks Nitro, I just suggested the expensive easy safe way. Good question tho. Ovens and dryers are usually 30-50amps each?
If you want to save money wire an outlet off the breaker, like you said godfather.
Just be safe. Make sure everything is connected & grounded properly etc.

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sorry dude never meant it to sound that bad

i was just saying if he run it straight from the mains breaker and installs a new breaker he will have to run new 2.5/3.0mm wire for the 240 but if he had the 240 already in he could just run his lighting from that then the ac off the 110/120v some ovens(electrical) yees they are between 30/50 amp i put a 45amp in on a cooker for safety

if you don't want to get an electrician or try DIY ( not a good idea if you have no experience w/ electric). try something like this
http://www.horticulturesource.com/ph-ec-tds-meters-test-kits-for-water-soil-timers-instruments-calibration-solutions-c35/ecoplus-50-amp-timer-box-comes-with-ecoplus-digital-timer-734105-p1970/?osCsid=8957defb95f16ee672ad7bb3637d8bc6
its made for 50 amps but I have seen smaller.find out how many amps your dryer line is & get one rated for that.it would be cheaper to wire 2 dedicated 20 amp outlets to your room if you can do it or have a buddy that is capable but to hire an electrician,my guess is the above contraption will be about the same price or cheaper & you don't need to bring in an outsider

nitro, in the US electricity is totally different.-he cant buy 3 mm wire,he needs 10 gauge wire for up to 30 amps,220 in the us is not a single hot wire but 2 diferently phased 110 volt legs & a 1000 watt light will draw over 4 amps at 220.

I have been running my 220v AC unit off a piece of romex wire i got at the hardware store . I just bought a pigtail that fits my dryer outlet already wired into the wall "like your welder socket acording to other post " and then wired a box on the other end the type that fits into stud wall. In that box i wired the receptical that i needed to run the AC unit . In your case you could get a 240V spider box wired to the end of cord . All they are is like a 6 way spliter that gives you 6 20AMP 120 v plugs . They are used on construction job sights all the time . Some water and fire restoration places use them alot to plug into homes dryer socket to run big dehumidifiers and fans after houses flood . I'll look for a link . http://www.google.com/aclk?sa=l&ai=C2nDatEHITpvdCYWziALWvv3-C6vK-dMB8_WYqxfbyIWtSggCEAEg68WdBmDJBqABwOy3_wPIAQeqBA9P0CDZm_xPSDsDoaQT9naABZBOugUTCMPlu-Tyw6wCFQczQgodZGoX_8AFBQ&sig=AOD64_3YnBODQvXdVyXfHz7E_rY6STsj_Q&ctype=5&ved=0CB8Q9A4&adurl=http://www.rkdms.com/redirect?c=167218840&en=27&cl=269&u=http%3a%2f%2fwww.toolup.com%2fvoltec_09-00375_temporary-power-box.aspx&kw={keyword}

I gotta agree with the "get rid of all those cords. Your set-up (now) is a definite fire potential, the #1 cause of grow room failures. High amperage electricity is serious. I understand it and built a panel housing everything electrical and the line(s) in all home runs (from the panel) I am lucky because I had a 240V 50 Amp breaker siting in my panel empty, just waiting for me to come along. Imagine my smile when I found this out...
Good luck. Get an Electrician (be child's play for one) and do it safe and right...