Total amps

670420grower

670420grower

Well-Known Member
wazzup fellas,

Got a tad question. Would definitely want to be on the safer side with power, so here's a question. Currently have 2 600 watt & a 1 400 watt Grow Lights. Question is, is it safe to power up all units with a 20 amp breaker. Only thing plugged in is a small fan (rated @ 1.0 amp) Any comments would definitely help out. Thanks a million!
 
charface

charface

Well-Known Member
I would do it but im nuts.
I would make sure to stagger the startup time so no two were satrting at the same time.

I think a rule of thumb is not to exceed 85% of the breaker rating.

It would also be reassuring to check
to be sure the wire all the way from breaker to light is rated for 20 amps.

Some people simply upgrade from
a 15 amp breaker To a 20 without upgrading the wire.
Not a good idea from what I understand.

I only know because I was gonna make that mistake but read into it first.
 
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Well-Known Member
20 AMP breaker is likely using 12 AWG wires thus would have lots of capacity
Dr. Jekyll

20 AMP breaker using 14 AWG would be loading the circuit but not tripping it
Mr. Hyde

BTW: we are not certified electricians, our opinions are only that.
 
670420grower

670420grower

Well-Known Member
Thanks for the valuable feedback everyone. been reading a lot via online and just wanted to make sure that i was on the same side, in terms with power usage.
 
topfuel29

topfuel29

Well-Known Member
Watts = Volts x Amps
2200 watts would be the total load you can put on a 20amp breaker using 110v

Don't plug that all in on one receptacle
15 amp outlet can only take 1440watts at 110v
You can melt the outlet and burn the house down

You only wanna load a circuit up to 80% of capacity.

IMO- if your gonna be growing there for a long time invest in a dedicated 220v line for the grow room.

Good Luck on Your Grow
 
ChingOwn

ChingOwn

Well-Known Member
What topfuel said is true I just tailored the math to 20A with an explanation

A 20A breaker should only carry 2400W continuously. However we should only size the load for the circuit to run 80% continuously or 1920W.

However most breakers do not trip instantaneously when they reach 20A. Most are thermal magnetic. This means that for a low value fault such at 30 or 40 amps the thermal portion of the breaker comes into effect and eventually trips the breaker due to heat. If a hard fault of a few hundred amps occurs the magnetic portion of the breaker will trip instantaneously, thus saving yo babies and the house...Trust me Im an imagineer
 
SnapsProvolone

SnapsProvolone

Well-Known Member
ChingOwn said:
What topfuel said is true I just tailored the math to 20A with an explanation

A 20A breaker should only carry 2400W continuously. However we should only size the load for the circuit to run 80% continuously or 1920W.

However most breakers do not trip instantaneously when they reach 20A. Most are thermal magnetic. This means that for a low value fault such at 30 or 40 amps the thermal portion of the breaker comes into effect and eventually trips the breaker due to heat. If a hard fault of a few hundred amps occurs the magnetic portion of the breaker will trip instantaneously, thus saving yo babies and the house...Trust me Im an imagineer
Click to expand...
I feel retarded after reading this. ^^^
 
670420grower

670420grower

Well-Known Member
thanks topfuel. Finally getting the whole info on the actual load calculations, appreciate it. I will make sure to only plug in and not a tad more (@ 80% load). Will consider the 220v switch, maybe at a later time. Thanks, so excited, this is my first indoor grow.
 
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