The Most Dangerous Grow Room Component

I know electricity and i know she scares me sometimes

110, 277/480, 24vdc...it can all kill you, neutral wires in a three phase 4 wire system can kill you, because....its not the volts that kill, its the amount of current the circuit sees...ie your load. 1200 watts on a 20 amp circuit continues duty

I believe Jorge said it best in one of his videos.. all things power-based above waist level and properly mounted.. all plants/liquids stay below... not exact words, but pretty solid and nothing to misunderstand.

I made electricity my bitch. I wired up my whole grow with 5 circuits by myself.

Arr arr arr arr arr

Doing electrical works is a risky business, at some point you will probably be tampering with the main circuits, Although in essence it's all simple circuits and wiring without a socket tester how do you actually know every wire you put in is ok? Your things may still turn on but they could have no earth, some things will turn on still if the Live and Neutral are the wrong way but this can cause short circuits (fire)

Tread carefully, if you set up a grow and it burns down a house and someone dies, YOU are liable, It is Manslaughter.

This is where the REAL risk in growing is, if your electrics fuck up and you hurt or kill someone, or even just cause fire damage.


My Greatest advice to anyone doing their own electrics is simple, buy a socket tester. Not expensive and it could save your life, let alone your plants.
The tester will tell you if the wiring has been done wrong (earth missing L/N switch and several other things)

WeedChip said:

Doing electrical works is a risky business, at some point you will probably be tampering with the main circuits, Although in essence it's all simple circuits and wiring without a socket tester how do you actually know every wire you put in is ok? Your things may still turn on but they could have no earth, some things will turn on still if the Live and Neutral are the wrong way but this can cause short circuits (fire)

Tread carefully, if you set up a grow and it burns down a house and someone dies, YOU are liable, It is Manslaughter.

This is where the REAL risk in growing is, if your electrics fuck up and you hurt or kill someone, or even just cause fire damage.


My Greatest advice to anyone doing their own electrics is simple, buy a socket tester. Not expensive and it could save your life, let alone your plants.
The tester will tell you if the wiring has been done wrong (earth missing L/N switch and several other things)

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Yes. Verify any circuits you work on are in fact dead. Plug something in and check it. Get a multimeter and double check it. Get a socket tester to ensure it is done properly after the fact.

hey guys, i'm new here and planning a grow. i have a 400w hps. my ? is about the ground. my apartment has no ground, just the 2 slot plugs. what do i do? is it ok to just get a adapter to plug it in??? please help! thx

best thing to do is get an electrician to take out the outlet and check for a ground.

they would most likely do it hot unless there was an issue but its advised for anyone else to turn off the power to the outlet.

it is most likely bx cable and the armor is the ground. need to check the clamp inside the box to make sure the armor is inside the clamp and the clamp is snug.

use a meter and test that the box is grounded. install a ground pigtail to the box. make up splices with a pigtail if needed. install a new 3 prong outlet and restore power.

test with a meter or polarity tester.

Never put your ballast on the ground. 2 reasons why.

A) Heat rises so might as well mount them up high where the exhaust fan can vent it right away.
B) Water leaks on the ballast and shorts shit out and or kills you. lol

be careful ppl.

I have been working on greenhouse wiring since I was a kid and have been zapped by 120v many times and once by 240v right across the chest. In most cases it is not harmful but there is potential danger if you are locked, grounded, sweaty hands or if the wire somehow penetrates your skin. Even phone lines can zork you a bit if it the wire stabs past your skin. Working on hot wiring is very lazy lol.

Cheaping out on wiring can get you into trouble. Overloaded or damaged/corroded wiring, timers, extension cords and connections will heat up. Most of the time the breaker will do its job but inspect your wiring regularly and overbuild it.

GFCI is a great idea for an extra layer of protection. When it senses an unbalanced load between line and neutral it will kick off.

This is what electricity can do. That was my bedroom...I ws very careful with my grow rooms power...didnt put a second thought to my lizards heating lights on a non grounded non GFCI outlet. Lost everything i own...and my pets which was worse.

I have free access to 10 Sodium halihde lamps with built in balast for 400 watt bulbs designed for outdoor parking lot use. Are they dangerous, do they use too much elec, and are they to hot. They are free?

Bear33 said:

I have free access to 10 Sodium halihde lamps with built in balast for 400 watt bulbs designed for outdoor parking lot use. Are they dangerous, do they use too much elec, and are they to hot. They are free?

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If you put them all on 1 circuit yes it would be a probem. Keep the amps under 80% of the curcuit and you will be good. 400 watts uses a little under 4 amps so you could safely get 3 on a 15 amp breaker. running 110/120 that is.

great info in this thread!

Budwolf77 said:

Be safe and don't overload your breakers. I have not had any problems with power surges. If you got 10 things plugged into one socket be prepared for problems. Try to spread it out if you can. I had a closet with a lot of fluorescents and had harvested my crop. I had a false wall where the closet was. I removed it and put my clothes back in. I was using dirt so clean up was fast and cleaning was quick, now here's the part to remember. While at work I got a call from my neighbor saying my house was on fire. NOT from my closet but from the fireplace I presume. The house burned down. This was at night. The next morning I went to the closet and there was my light still Connected to the closet rod by some wires that I just had not taken down yet. The light's just sitting in the corner even thought not plugged in or anything told the fire fighters something may have been going on here. Just a fluke. But I learned the hard way always totally clean up any signs. I did not get into any trouble but the landlord was hawking me after that.

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Probably because you burned down his property.

I have a line above water all my electrical connections 4 feet off floor

http://youtu.be/aJypSVZo37Y they sell theese units that are like a cannister you hang in your grow room that are filled with that powdery stuff fire extinguishers use and they work like a sprinkler system. if there is a fire they spray in like a 10 foot diamiter of where they are.... ------> http://www.htgsupply.com/Product-Watch-Dog-Automatic-Fire-Extinguisher-12kg.asp

http://youtu.be/3OOUEZuTvZQ

can wait for free energy, need some magnet experimentation to run the setup lol

Cali Cali said:

Ever seen an HPS light bulb explode.... Hot burning gas is strewn everywhere.... Pretty fucking gnarly...

Just saying...

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One way to avoid this from happening (I've been replacing and servicing outside HID lights for 15 years); when a HID light doesn't come on, or goes off and on during "Lights On", replace it immediately! This is why these lights burst sometimes, but if replaced, you won't spew shit all over your nice plants that will be a pain in the ass to clean up.

Another important safety factor for ANY grow room/space: A Fire Extinguisher. Mount one (or more) in the grow room and show other household members where it is, and how to use it in case you aren't there to put a fire out.

Shivaskunk said:

View attachment 2510030This is what electricity can do. That was my bedroom...I ws very careful with my grow rooms power...didnt put a second thought to my lizards heating lights on a non grounded non GFCI outlet. Lost everything i own...and my pets which was worse.

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A prime example of the FUD that this thread expouses. Not necessarily meant to single you out, as I have read every post in this thread.

My statement is; Don't be/act stupid, and you won't get stupid results.
There are a few posts that were to the (real) point and have value... most of the others, see FUD.
Personally speaking from 3+ decades of non-catastrophical electrical usage/installation/troubleshooting/fixing/and redesign, the majority of the time being an electrical installation specialist.
Yes, I've been shocked on 120 & 220VAC circuits (mostly fixing others' foolery), and including installing multiple whole house panels, hot. And yes, I've made mistakes of my own. Point being, if you don't do something completely braindead stupid you will live to appreciate and learn from it... If you do, chock another win for Darwin.

As I post this, I see Bear33's post "blah blah free sodium halihde lamps... are they dangerous? blah blah"... WTF. Stick your tongue in the socket, lemme know.
And then 'craftymofo's reply of 'Math!.. What's real world experience good for?!'

Harsh? Maybe. But at least this thread is smarter for my contribution.
C'mon kids... it's just a few wires. If you can't figure it out, you don't deserve to play the game... If you feel the need to 'hire a professional', good on you, you've got more money than sense... must've done something right, somewhere.

To more poignantly address the thread, and reiterate a previous post, the most dangerous component is the person 'in charge'.
Call me what you want. I've been there, done that, and lived to tell the tale.