Experienced Electrician! Here to Answer Any and All Growroom Electrical Questions

Renfro

Renfro

Well-Known Member
nopifarms said:
New Question for anyone that can answer: I’m looking to get a dehumidifier that is running 220V - Single Phase. My building has 208V - 3 Phase.

Will the dehumidifier work without any issues? If not what are some measures I can take to make this work on my end?
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Not advisable. Motor loads designed to run on a 240 volt feed will run slower and hotter and draw more current. This would be bad for your compressor and likely result in premature failure. Other than getting a dehumidifier that is designed for 208 volt operation you are limited to a costly transformer that would fix the issue but likely cost more than a new dehumidifier.

Something to consider, you could have the electrical service changed to better suit growing.

Justkickinit420 said:
This may of been asked before bit there is 4K responses so I’m just gonna ask.
How do I turn an outlet into 220 that is currently 110?
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First make sure nothing else is on the circuit. (seen people blow up their microwave and shit this way lol)

Locate the circuit in the breaker panel, you need to isolate it's neutral wire and hot wire. Turn off that breaker and pull it, disconnect the black wire from the breaker. Disconnect the neutral wire for that circuit from the neutral bus. Mark that neutral wire with some red or black tape to designate it's hot. Now using a double pole breaker of the correct amperage for the wire gauge, connect both the old neutral and hot wires to the breaker and stab it. Now the neutral side of that circuit is the other hot leg for your 240 volt feed. If you have any lighting or whatnot on that feed you will find out lol.
 
Maccatheclown

Maccatheclown

Member
Hey everyone, anyone got some info about flipper relays,
So far I’ve come to the conclusion that homemade ones unless rated for 600v are a burn hazard....

Can you use them with a digital ballast?

What about an led driver to power 2 seperate sets of boards?
 
Renfro

Renfro

Well-Known Member
Maccatheclown said:
So far I’ve come to the conclusion that homemade ones unless rated for 600v are a burn hazard....
Click to expand...
For sure. Lamps are fed voltages in the 300 - 400 volt range. A contactor rated for 250 volts isn't gonna be happy.

As to the LED driver, you would want contactors that are rated for a DC voltage that exceeds the voltage it will carry.

Digital ballasts will generally need to have a timer setup that turns them off for a few minutes at each flip. This is because they have error detecting circuitry that detects a lamp failure and whatnot. The flip will generally make them scram. So if you flip at 12:00 you should have the ballasts power down at 11:59 and power up at 12:01.

Always have a backup ballast/driver. If you have one die you lose two lights, not just one.
 
Maccatheclown

Maccatheclown

Member
Renfro said:
For sure. Lamps are fed voltages in the 300 - 400 volt range. A contactor rated for 250 volts isn't gonna be happy.

As to the LED driver, you would want contactors that are rated for a DC voltage that exceeds the voltage it will carry.

Digital ballasts will generally need to have a timer setup that turns them off for a few minutes at each flip. This is because they have error detecting circuitry that detects a lamp failure and whatnot. The flip will generally make them scram. So if you flip at 12:00 you should have the ballasts power down at 11:59 and power up at 12:01.

Always have a backup ballast/driver. If you have one die you lose two lights, not just one.
Click to expand...
Awesome that’s the info I needed! I’ll scrap the idea for my digis then but I’ll keep it in mind for my led lit future!
My guess is that running dc through an ac rated relay is a big no no?
 
Renfro

Renfro

Well-Known Member
Maccatheclown said:
My guess is that running dc through an ac rated relay is a big no no?
Click to expand...
Most contactors have a voltage rating for both, so it might be rated 600 VAC and 100 VDC.

You can use an AC rated contactor for a DC feed BUT it should have an AC rating that is 5 or 6 times greater than the DC voltage it will carry. This is due to the continuous nature of DC power causing contacts to weld closed.
 
Renfro

Renfro

Well-Known Member
Maccatheclown

Maccatheclown

Member
Renfro said:
Most contactors have a voltage rating for both, so it might be rated 600 VAC and 100 VDC.

You can use an AC rated contactor for a DC feed BUT it should have an AC rating that is 5 or 6 times greater than the DC voltage it will carry. This is due to the continuous nature of DC power causing contacts to weld closed.
Click to expand...
Awesome man I thought along those lines but didn’t no if it was a rule or just something my head had put together by not wanting to die while experimenting lol. In your opinion what would be the max dc voltage you would run through A 250v ac rated relay?
does the rule of multiplication apply to amps as well as volts or are dc amps and ac amps the same in those case, thanks heaps for your help by the way man, I got excited before and forgot my manners last post :bigjoint:
 
Renfro

Renfro

Well-Known Member
Maccatheclown said:
In your opinion what would be the max dc voltage you would run through A 250v ac rated relay?
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40 - 50 VDC would be the max I would be comfortable with but at 25 VDC the contacts would last longer. If building a flip it's good to use contactors with piggy back / slave contacts. You wire these such that a contactor has to physically open before the circuit for the coil voltage is completed for the contactor on the other side of the flip. This way there can't be a condition where a contactor welds closed and the other one closes also doubling the load on the ballast/driver.

You can see in this image of my flip box that I built, there are two siemens 40 amp contactors with the piggy backs.

piggyback.PNG
 
Maccatheclown

Maccatheclown

Member
Renfro said:
When switching DC voltages the arc is what wears out contacts. In high voltage DC control circuits an arc suppression diode is often implemented to prevent premature failure of the contacts.

This helps explain that concept, and other similar methods of mitigation.

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Thanks man I’ll keep reading and come back to pick your brain again if I need to and if your still willing to share your knowledge, thanks again man your a legend!
Renfro said:
40 - 50 VDC would be the max I would be comfortable with but at 25 VDC the contacts would last longer. If building a flip it's good to use contactors with piggy back / slave contacts. You wire these such that a contactor has to physically open before the circuit for the coil voltage is completed for the contactor on the other side of the flip. This way there can't be a condition where a contactor welds closed and the other one closes also doubling the load on the ballast/driver.

You can see in this image of my flip box that I built, there are two siemens 40 amp contactors with the piggy backs.

View attachment 4508958
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Can’t thank you enough honestly this is why I love the herb, the people and the community! Peace man :bigjoint:
 
Thebigyin

Thebigyin

Active Member
I bought an inline ac infinity t6 fan, it looks like it has an American style plug on it and I live in the UK, any ideas on converting it to run on UK power supply?
 
Dee Muney

Dee Muney

Well-Known Member
Hey guys!

I just purchased a Prism Lighting Science 315w Ceramic Metal Halide CM 120/240V Ballast
& a Sun System LEC 315 RA CMH Remote Reflector w/ a Phillips bulb.

This would be my first time running a somewhat high intensity light and just wanted to be as safe as possible. I am not very clear on the electrical aspects of the circuit breakers and ballast output and so on.

I attached an image of my circuit breaker info. Any help would be greatly appreciated :|

Rating 125 Amps Max
 

Attachments

Renfro

Renfro

Well-Known Member
Dee Muney said:
Hey guys!

I just purchased a Prism Lighting Science 315w Ceramic Metal Halide CM 120/240V Ballast
& a Sun System LEC 315 RA CMH Remote Reflector w/ a Phillips bulb.

This would be my first time running a somewhat high intensity light and just wanted to be as safe as possible. I am not very clear on the electrical aspects of the circuit breakers and ballast output and so on.

I attached an image of my circuit breaker info. Any help would be greatly appreciated :|

Rating 125 Amps Max
Click to expand...
A 315 only pulls about 2.7 amps at 120 volts. Not a big load by any means.
 
lokie

lokie

Well-Known Member
Thebigyin said:
I bought an inline ac infinity t6 fan, it looks like it has an American style plug on it and I live in the UK, any ideas on converting it to run on UK power supply?
Click to expand...
An excellent fan I went with the S8 to run 3 tents.



Amazon customer question.

is it 110v only or 220v compatible as well?

Yes.....page 16 of the owners manual say "STEP 6...Lastly, plug the power adapter into an AC power outlet. The adapter is rated at 100 to 240 V AC.
50/60 Hz and a plug adaptor can be attached to make it compatible to various outlet types"
That power adapter plugs into the thermal controller, the thermal controller is where you select the running modes, temperature settings/units, fan speed and other parameters. The fan motor is DC and voltage is supplied by the controller. Hope this helps and answers your questions!

BillyJoe
· December 20, 2017
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Yes, this unit can handle 220v....with the right plug connector. The fan runs on 24V DC. The power pack (transformer) that comes with the unit can work on 110-240V. The plug end however is a standard 110v plug, so it will require an adapter for a 220 wall socket according to what standard you have. Typically available for a couple of dollars.

dbc
· December 21, 2017
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Hello there,

Thank you for taking the time to reach out to us with your product question! The CLOUDLINE T6 controller is able to be powered by a 100-240V wall adapter voltage range.

Thank you for your question!

Kind regards,

Andrew Avila
AC Infinity

Amazon.com: Customer Questions & Answers

www.amazon.com






Looks like you need an adapter similar to this to mate to your outlet.
Universal US/UK/AU To EU AC Power Adapter 2 Pins Travel Converter ...
 
lokie

lokie

Well-Known Member
Dee Muney said:
Hey guys!

I just purchased a Prism Lighting Science 315w Ceramic Metal Halide CM 120/240V Ballast
& a Sun System LEC 315 RA CMH Remote Reflector w/ a Phillips bulb.

This would be my first time running a somewhat high intensity light and just wanted to be as safe as possible. I am not very clear on the electrical aspects of the circuit breakers and ballast output and so on.

I attached an image of my circuit breaker info. Any help would be greatly appreciated :|

Rating 125 Amps Max
Click to expand...
You need to consider what else is on the circuit with the light.

"Gen LTG", translated to General Lighting, is vague.


A circuit near max may take the load of the bulb but the initial firing may blow the breaker.
 
Thebigyin

Thebigyin

Active Member
lokie said:
An excellent fan I went with the S8 to run 3 tents.



Amazon customer question.

is it 110v only or 220v compatible as well?

Yes.....page 16 of the owners manual say "STEP 6...Lastly, plug the power adapter into an AC power outlet. The adapter is rated at 100 to 240 V AC.
50/60 Hz and a plug adaptor can be attached to make it compatible to various outlet types"
That power adapter plugs into the thermal controller, the thermal controller is where you select the running modes, temperature settings/units, fan speed and other parameters. The fan motor is DC and voltage is supplied by the controller. Hope this helps and answers your questions!

BillyJoe
· December 20, 2017
Leave a Comment
| Do you find this helpful? Yes No
| Report abuse
Yes, this unit can handle 220v....with the right plug connector. The fan runs on 24V DC. The power pack (transformer) that comes with the unit can work on 110-240V. The plug end however is a standard 110v plug, so it will require an adapter for a 220 wall socket according to what standard you have. Typically available for a couple of dollars.

dbc
· December 21, 2017
Leave a Comment
| Do you find this helpful? Yes No
| Report abuse
Hello there,

Thank you for taking the time to reach out to us with your product question! The CLOUDLINE T6 controller is able to be powered by a 100-240V wall adapter voltage range.

Thank you for your question!

Kind regards,

Andrew Avila
AC Infinity

Amazon.com: Customer Questions & Answers

www.amazon.com






Looks like you need an adapter similar to this to mate to your outlet.
Universal US/UK/AU To EU AC Power Adapter 2 Pins Travel Converter ...
Click to expand...
Yes I got an adaptor and it works great on 240v, good to know that I can run the fan on 24v DC, as it happens I've got a solar array set up, 24v truck battery powering some stuff in my garage, I'm planning to run a modded Wilma system in the future running pumps and air curtains using my solar system, thanks for info, most appreciated.
 
Dee Muney

Dee Muney

Well-Known Member
Renfro said:
A 315 only pulls about 2.7 amps at 120 volts. Not a big load by any means.
Click to expand...
So you would think it’s safe to run? I really don’t have much anything else running in the apartment besides the basics. Fridge, AC, stove which barely gets used. I have tv’s but I don’t really use those much either.
 
Renfro

Renfro

Well-Known Member
Dee Muney said:
So you would think it’s safe to run? I really don’t have much anything else running in the apartment besides the basics. Fridge, AC, stove which barely gets used. I have tv’s but I don’t really use those much either.
Click to expand...
Of course. It would take 3 of those 315's to draw almost as much power as the average microwave oven.
 
Dee Muney

Dee Muney

Well-Known Member
lokie said:
You need to consider what else is on the circuit with the light.

"Gen LTG", translated to General Lighting, is vague.


A circuit near max may take the load of the bulb but the initial firing may blow the breaker.
Click to expand...

Are you referring to the circuit model or catalog number? Im a little confused as to the Gen LTG or General Lighting.

There wont be much else on the circuit besides fridge, stove (which is rarely used), Microwave and the AC unit.
I am also going to be running an AC infinity Cloudline S6 fan and a few small fans. Overall i dont think I have too high of a load.

I am the only person that lives here and appliances are not used often.
 
lokie

lokie

Well-Known Member
Dee Muney said:
Are you referring to the circuit model or catalog number? Im a little confused as to the Gen LTG or General Lighting.

There wont be much else on the circuit besides fridge, stove (which is rarely used), Microwave and the AC unit.
I am also going to be running an AC infinity Cloudline S6 fan and a few small fans. Overall i dont think I have too high of a load.

I am the only person that lives here and appliances are not used often.
Click to expand...
The circuits in the pic you posted are labeled as "gen ltg."

"much else on the circuit besides fridge, stove (which is rarely used), Microwave and the AC unit."

I once had a circuit work fine until the dryer AND microwave ran at the same time. Circuit blown.

rarely used or not, if everything on that circuit is running at the same time how close are you to the max current drain?

When the light comes on it is dim and warms up. During this warm up time the bulb draws more current than when it is at its brightest.

If your circuit is near max to start, the "Warm Up" time has the potential to blow the circuit.
 
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