How do you deal with power outages when growing under lights?

tstick

tstick

Well-Known Member
Ok, this has happened a couple of different times. The power goes out in the neighborhood and stays out for several hours. How do you deal with it in terms of photoperiod? If the lights go out right in the middle of "day" time, then how long can they be out before the plant starts to sense that things are not right? Can power outages cause a plant to go into flower prematurely or possibly stress the plant and cause it to hermie?

And, if the power goes out, can a battery-powered camping lantern or something like that suffice until the power comes back on?



Thanks
 
D

dirtpower

Well-Known Member
tstick said:
Ok, this has happened a couple of different times. The power goes out in the neighborhood and stays out for several hours. How do you deal with it in terms of photoperiod? If the lights go out right in the middle of "day" time, then how long can they be out before the plant starts to sense that things are not right? Can power outages cause a plant to go into flower prematurely or possibly stress the plant and cause it to hermie?

And, if the power goes out, can a battery-powered camping lantern or something like that suffice until the power comes back on?



Thanks
Click to expand...
When I grew inside and the power went out, I uses a Coleman battery powered lantern that took 8 D sized batteries...worked for me....I also used a Titan lighting Delay timer for when we would get a micro outage and it would delay the light from coming on for 15 min so the bulb could cool down before relighting.
 
tstick

tstick

Well-Known Member
It doesn't have to be a certain minimum number of photons getting to the plants, then….right? -just so long as SOMETHING is "on" to keep them in "day" mode…right? The reason I ask is because I know that some people say that even the tiniest amount of light that penetrates through a pinhole in the seam of a grow tent, might cause the plant to throw a herm….So, by that same measure, it shouldn't take much light just to keep the plants happy until the power comes back on within a few hours or so….?

Cool! I have one of those old, big, fat battery lanterns that I could use…just need to buy a new big, fat battery for it! LOL!

Thanks again!
 
hotrodharley

hotrodharley

Well-Known Member
tstick said:
Ok, this has happened a couple of different times. The power goes out in the neighborhood and stays out for several hours. How do you deal with it in terms of photoperiod? If the lights go out right in the middle of "day" time, then how long can they be out before the plant starts to sense that things are not right? Can power outages cause a plant to go into flower prematurely or possibly stress the plant and cause it to hermie?

And, if the power goes out, can a battery-powered camping lantern or something like that suffice until the power comes back on?



Thanks
Click to expand...
http://www.walmart.com/ip/21174257?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=0&adid=22222222227015580419&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=40872378872&wl4=&wl5=pla&wl6=78765544472&veh=sem



Living in Alaska and using Chugach Electric your power is going to go out and may stay out a long time. $190 buck at Wal Mar
 
tstick

tstick

Well-Known Member
Thanks for the responses! I really appreciate them. Yes, I have been thinking about an emergency generator…but most of our power outages are under a couple hours at the most. I guess it shouldn't be as much of a worry as I first thought! PHEW! :)

Thanks again!
 
hotrodharley

hotrodharley

Well-Known Member
tstick said:
Thanks for the responses! I really appreciate them. Yes, I have been thinking about an emergency generator…but most of our power outages are under a couple hours at the most. I guess it shouldn't be as much of a worry as I first thought! PHEW! :)

Thanks again!
Click to expand...
Read up a bit about the cyber threat to the national grid. Saw an engineer the other night saying if the power goes out by design (from hackers intent on locking us up) that it could be up to 4 months in some regions to actually get power back. I keep gasoline at all times. Use gas stabilizer in it to store long term. Just a thought.
 
vostok

vostok

Well-Known Member
You don't need much light at all to keep your babes happy,

once the lights go out ...!!!

a light sensitive switch turns on my 12v flouro tube, the type you get at an auto store 12\18 inches long

it runs of an old car battery, and I check it every 12 months or so

you can get these light sens. switches at most shops that sell cfl bulbs etc or ebay

mines been running about 15-18 years now ...no hassle

ensure you plug it into the timer of your main light

otherwise it will come on when your main lights are off

good luck
 
D

dirtpower

Well-Known Member
vostok said:
You don't need much light at all to keep your babes happy,

once the lights go out ...!!!

a light sensitive switch turns on my 12v flouro tube, the type you get at an auto store 12\18 inches long

it runs of an old car battery, and I check it every 12 months or so

you can get these light sens. switches at most shops that sell cfl bulbs etc or ebay

mines been running about 15-18 years now ...no hassle

ensure you plug it into the timer of your main light

otherwise it will come on when your main lights are off

good luck
Click to expand...
DANG! never thought of an photo switch. Damn good idea.
 
hotrodharley

hotrodharley

Well-Known Member
Geronimo420 said:
http://www.apc.com/products/resource/include/techspec_index.cfm?base_sku=SRT8KXLT&total_watts=200&ISOCountryCode=ca&gclid=CPemlN7T68gCFRCpaQodWsMDOg

pretty expensive, but if you can afford it, it's the best thing you can have and you can plug it to a generator, it will stabilise the power
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I wouldn't plug my amp in without a power conditioner. Musical equipment is too expensive and too hard to replace. Line voltages can vary from 105-135 volts on a normal power grid for 115V current.
 
Dr. Who

Dr. Who

Well-Known Member
hotrodharley said:
Read up a bit about the cyber threat to the national grid. Saw an engineer the other night saying if the power goes out by design (from hackers intent on locking us up) that it could be up to 4 months in some regions to actually get power back. I keep gasoline at all times. Use gas stabilizer in it to store long term. Just a thought.
Click to expand...
25K automatic for the home op. Propane

The house and barns are run by a tractor PTO unit. Just got my hands on the old 75K that ran the old jail from our county seat. They could not "sell" it as it sat on a single wall diesel tank and the EPA has deemed those as banned. I bought it from the scrapper that was going to strip the copper out and sell for scrap value. I gave him 10% more and stole the sucker for 3250.00! The real cost is in the building of the steel and fiberglass dual wall tank......Getting done!
This is and automatic that will sit on a tank of 1400 gallons! Bring the hackers on!

Out here in the real country. We loose power and measure outage time by 1-3 days vs hrs......Spring time and mid winter - every year.
You learn to rely on generators.

Doc
 
hotrodharley

hotrodharley

Well-Known Member
Dr. Who said:
25K automatic for the home op. Propane

The house and barns are run by a tractor PTO unit. Just got my hands on the old 75K that ran the old jail from our county seat. They could not "sell" it as it sat on a single wall diesel tank and the EPA has deemed those as banned. I bought it from the scrapper that was going to strip the copper out and sell for scrap value. I gave him 10% more and stole the sucker for 3250.00! The real cost is in the building of the steel and fiberglass dual wall tank......Getting done!
This is and automatic that will sit on a tank of 1400 gallons! Bring the hackers on!

Out here in the real country. We loose power and measure outage time by 1-3 days vs hrs......Spring time and mid winter - every year.
You learn to rely on generators.

Doc
Click to expand...
People not from Alaska hear about the place very little. We get chinooks off the North Pacific that roar in with gusts well over 100 MPH and leave thousands of trees down and across power lines at times. Like I said we take the food and stick it in snowbanks during the winter. You have to check it to keep it from freezing so no probs there. But everything else sucks when it's dark and your flower room is sitting in the total darkness. Not even any sunlight to let in. Man, you have one hell of a set-up there. I like it!!!!!
 
Dr. Who

Dr. Who

Well-Known Member
hotrodharley said:
People not from Alaska hear about the place very little. We get chinooks off the North Pacific that roar in with gusts well over 100 MPH and leave thousands of trees down and across power lines at times. Like I said we take the food and stick it in snowbanks during the winter. You have to check it to keep it from freezing so no probs there. But everything else sucks when it's dark and your flower room is sitting in the total darkness. Not even any sunlight to let in. Man, you have one hell of a set-up there. I like it!!!!!
Click to expand...
I spent my time in design and my money in actual building....The only minor frustration was the advance in lighting from CDM. My electrical system was designed around HPS and the money was spent that way....just as it all gets up and running - BOOM, CDM hits the streets......I'll play with the dual arc bulbs for awhile.

Drop me a line if your so inclined and I can go over the whole building from the ground up.

Doc
 
hotrodharley

hotrodharley

Well-Known Member
Dr. Who said:
I spent my time in design and my money in actual building....The only minor frustration was the advance in lighting from CDM. My electrical system was designed around HPS and the money was spent that way....just as it all gets up and running - BOOM, CDM hits the streets......I'll play with the dual arc bulbs for awhile.

Drop me a line if your so inclined and I can go over the whole building from the ground up.

Doc
Click to expand...
When I start back up I will and thanks! A lot of oil companies going bust up there - mainly subcontractors - so I'm hoping for some good buys on a large generator and for a welding rig.
 
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