Info to chew on....

Recently one of rui members had a close call with a fire in his op...
I thought now might be a good time to discuss some fire prevention...

i will try to make a short list covering some basic things ,but you know you just cant cover it all , there is just no way to prevent human error ..but we all need to be more fire savy...

so.....

1- keep a fire extinguisher handy. NOT IN the op, but where it can be reached easiely...

2- electrical over load safety.... this is a big one ...

you should never ,never , over load your plugs... so what do you do,
lets face it .. not all apartments. residences ,garages are set up for growing .. if you try to put 25 amps on a 15 amp plug your going to have a fire... not if but when...

80 % of the load is recomended on outlets .. you can have a 20 amp breaker but a 15 amp plug ..check the rating of the plug its the first thing in line to the breaker.... why do they do this.... $$$$$$ when building the structure.

3- exposed lamps... all lamp mfg recomend installation in a fixture.. lamps are not designed to be exposed to sudden temp changes such as water splashing on them from a spray bottle or what ever might come in contact with it ... cool tubes eliminate this problem ... a must have .. if you have an exposed lamp.. it could eventually burst.... bursting of the outer envelope of the lamp can expose you to, broken shards of glass, ultra violet rays.. eye and skin burning etc. depending on lamp type ....

4- extension cords.... the only thing Tesla never thought of... cheap china imports..... your cord needs to be rated to the maximum amount of load you intend to use it for .. plus 20 % 10 amp load -- 15 amp cord
you should not put 20 amps on a 20 amp cord... 80 % rule applies

5- timers.. not all timers are created equal.. most timers are for running xmas lights ... if you have one dump it .. get a timer rated for the load you intend to put on it ... heavy duty timers are usually 20 amp... 80 % rule applies here also.....

I have not begun to cover all the things that should be covered .. but try to use good comon sence... dont plug 10 different things into 1 plug...

all electrical products have a mfg tag that always gives ratings for it. if you have a product that doesnt have one dont use it .... ever , toss it .

if your not sure about the way your going about a certian install.. ask some one who is qualified.. a local electrician can help, most are eager to take half your grow for 10 minutes of there time ...lol

seriously dont cut corners, number one mistake.. IT WILL BE OK TILL MORNING
there is plenty more to cover so chime in and give your suggestions .. just dont clog the thread with your horror stories .. save those for another thread...


good luck... my your buds smlie upon you....

Great posting, im going to go home and check a few things myself

i have a question though, when you say plus are you literally meaning one socket, cause you know how wall plugs have two places to plug into, is that entire thing normally only rated 15amp, or are each individual sockets 15amps each?

Great Thread + Rep.

+ rep man, ALWAYS be safe than sorry. I have done HOURS of research on things like this, READ BEFORE YOU D.I.Y

don't circuit breakers and GFCI's stop this from happening though? i thought that was the whole point in having them

As an old electrician, this would be the first I've ever heard of the actual regular 15 or 20 amp outlets being ANY different, other than the size of the wire running from the outlet to the breaker . . . 14/2 = 15 amp . . . 12/2 =20 amp.
Are you sure there's a difference in the actual outlets?
In housing, 15 amp circuits are for general lighting, etc while you'll find your 20 amp circuits in the kitchen, where the extra load is needed . . . 20 amp is what I want in my grow areas, if possible.
15 amps is sufficient, as long as you're not trying to run HID lighting along with, let's say, a space heater.

I can't fathom there being any diff in the actual outlet hardware. Once you get to 30 amps, then the actual plug-ins may change.

"you can have a 20 amp breaker but a 15 amp plug ..check the rating of the plug its the first thing in line to the breaker.... why do they do this.... $$$$$$ when building the structure." ???????????????????????????????????????

Maybe in Europe?

ya most plugs a rated for the total load on the duplex out let it self usually stamped on the front of the out let..

bobbyboy34 said:

Great posting, im going to go home and check a few things myself

i have a question though, when you say plus are you literally meaning one socket, cause you know how wall plugs have two places to plug into, is that entire thing normally only rated 15amp, or are each individual sockets 15amps each?

Click to expand...

gfi , afci do to some degree prevent shorts of this type... how ever gfi is basicly for a surge to ground . while afci or arc fault cuircuit interupter . help stop arcs witch ocur in the line or cord .. you can technically over load these devices as well as the breaker if non of those things basicly occur .... over loading of a circuit can ocur with the breaker never poping .... 20 amp breaker on 15 amp plugs....

bobbyboy34 said:

don't circuit breakers and GFCI's stop this from happening though? i thought that was the whole point in having them

Click to expand...

ya there are diferences in plug ratings for residential use ... most 15 amp plugs are used in residential... 20 amp only if the electrican up grades the plug to the customer.... you can use 15 amp in baths & kit. most just need to be on gfi breakers ... remember alot of us are growing in apts.. the worst offenders.. chaep on everything .. dont make the mistake of up grading your plugs to 20 amp than think you can increase the load .. 20 amp plugs on 14 / 2 is still just 14/2 wire

MrFishy said:

As an old electrician, this would be the first I've ever heard of the actual regular 15 or 20 amp outlets being ANY different, other than the size of the wire running from the outlet to the breaker . . . 14/2 = 15 amp . . . 12/2 =20 amp.
Are you sure there's a difference in the actual outlets?
In housing, 15 amp circuits are for general lighting, etc while you'll find your 20 amp circuits in the kitchen, where the extra load is needed . . . 20 amp is what I want in my grow areas, if possible.
15 amps is sufficient, as long as you're not trying to run HID lighting along with, let's say, a space heater.

I can't fathom there being any diff in the actual outlet hardware. Once you get to 30 amps, then the actual plug-ins may change.

"you can have a 20 amp breaker but a 15 amp plug ..check the rating of the plug its the first thing in line to the breaker.... why do they do this.... $$$$$$ when building the structure." ???????????????????????????????????????

Maybe in Europe?

Click to expand...

in AUS 10 amp and 15 amp plugs are different.
15 amp plugs have a wider earth plug so you cant put them into 10 amp sockets.

as you know it is not verry often that a builder / elaect./ home owner ... puts in the most expensive electrical devices... you see it all the time 20 amp breakers with 15 amp plugs... a good rule of thumb is 80 % of the rated load .. than you a building in safety at the onset ... price dif at the depot 59 cents for a 15 amp plug .. 2.59 for 20 not much math needed ... when your doing 500 plugs in an apt.

remember there are 2 facets to a plug .. male the cord end ... female the wall side... most 20 amp female plugs have a right angle at the neutral side of the the inlet

remember there are 2 facets to a plug .. male the cord end ... female the wall side... most 20 amp female plugs have a right angle at the neutral side of the the inlet

Click to expand...

so give us an example of an accessory over load on a 51 line

me, im running one 600watt ballest @ 6a
a 120+/- watt air pump 2-3a
small 20-40 watt fan
ph controller -20 watts (lol, really tho less than 20watts)

im sure this setup will not cause a fire, i have nothing else running in on that plug, yet in that room i do have a 200watt large fan on sometimes, but i don't think thats all over 15a, im sitting around 12-13

speaking of male plugs.... you should never use a cord with out a ground lug... cheap cords with none are exactly how you defeat a gfi... you should never plug an appliance in with out a ground.... ever...... elct. shock is just one touch away with all the water in hydro...... all our ops ahould start with good grounding.. you would be surprised how many panels i have looked into and the ground wire is just hanging there... you can buy a cheap tester to check line condition , a really good investment ....

if you stick to the 80 % rule or under.. you are usually safe... just remember that its really easy to come along later and plug that one extra thing in ...

bobbyboy34 said:

so give us an example of an accessory over load on a 51 line

me, im running one 600watt ballest @ 6a
a 120+/- watt air pump 2-3a
small 20-40 watt fan
ph controller -20 watts (lol, really tho less than 20watts)

im sure this setup will not cause a fire, i have nothing else running in on that plug, yet in that room i do have a 200watt large fan on sometimes, but i don't think thats all over 15a, im sitting around 12-13

Click to expand...

one other thing to often times it is comon for electricans to run several rooms on one 20 amp brkr .. say 2 bed rms, hall, closets... no kidding .. a way to test this is filck of one brkr teat with a light on the plugs you might be really surprised how much is tied in to that brkr

to many of us under rate the need for an extinguisher.... its a fact lots of fires can be delt with in the first few minutes.. an extinguisher is your firstline of defense ... i have 5 in my residence ... 1 in garage... 2 in my op.... small will never get big if im around....

hey fg... hope this helps...
most modern structures have a circuit panel.. in that is a series of breakers that are designed to blow or trip at the onset of over load.

the wire size is usually determined by a set of # s indicating the wire size and # of conducters or wires not incl the griound wire... 14/2 is # 14 gauge wire, 2 conductrs
the rating on the brkr determines the value it will trip.. 20 amp.. 20 amp trip
often times a structure will have multi rooms on on brkr...sometimes more..