Bills, Bills, BUSTED

T

Tamemoe

Well-Known Member
YOOO my fellow 420 peeeps was up
I have not posted on here for a while now; but I have been reading a good bit about growing; and might just grow some of these plants of GoD.

I got a question first. We all know that when ya got 400watt lights going 12/12 or 24hrs a day your bills increase which leads to a bust. My question is how much will it go up if I run enough light for 2 plants? And how much light do I need for 2 mother plants?

I read the thread about the bills increasing "x" amount but anyone in the bizz of electricity and can help me out.
~tamemoe
 
If getting busted for higher power bills is a concern you could use CFLs. It should be easy to get enough for personal use without too much electrical consumption. You can also try to economize everywhere else to balance out your increased consumption. I've read that one 1000 watt lamp shouldn't be a red flag.

Sorry I can't actually answer your questions...but the answers are in these forums somewhere if you do a good search. It also depends on how much the electricity costs where you live, and what your current use is.
 
I really think you should dig into this forum:

How to Grow Marijuana - 420 Magazine

Do a search on "lumens".

Make sure you are familiar with all aspects of growing and are set up and ready before you germinate your seeds
 
Tamemoe said:
I got a question first. We all know that when ya got 400watt lights going 12/12 or 24hrs a day your bills increase which leads to a bust. My question is how much will it go up if I run enough light for 2 plants? And how much light do I need for 2 mother plants?
Click to expand...

You'll need to know your cost/kw hour, which should be listed on your electric company's web site.

You can then use the calculator at this site below to give you a close approximation of your monthly cost.

Calculate your electric cost:
How much electricity does my stuff use?

And just because your electric bill goes up "substantially" there would have to be some other probable cause for the police to obtain a warrant. You could have added a 1500 watt space heater (for example). Which could explain the bump.

Grow with caution, not paranoia.

S.F.
 
lol isn't the proper level of caution equal to paranoia? Good input SF...
 
tHAnks for the tips. I gotta say most of it is paranoia but I am being my frist time thinking about growing and not really knowing what to expect from any compaines. Besides I'm thinking like oh shit THEY KNOW!! They know b/c my bills have gone up $10 they know I'm growing bud. I'll flip a shit if I see a pig driving close to my house. But those feelings will go away ^^, right?!!!>!
~Tamemoe
 
He's right though man, running a 400w 12/12 only bumped my consumption by like $17/month. So nothing to get too worked up over, just offset that by saving electricity in other places.
 
I know we're not exactly answering your original question of what power lights you need to use, but I too experienced a similar ambivalence about the whole "question" surrounding growing. There are tons of posts about the benefits of growing your own as opposed to shopping on the street. I'd like to think I did a little research of the laws of my state, the penalties that could be imposed and the obvious factors that I can control (service guys, neighbors, cleaning lady) before I decided to take the plunge. Until more reasonable laws are passed, I just think you have to a "risk-assessment", and once you are truly comfortable (inside yourself) with growing, that paranoia you mentioned, yes will go away.

Sorry for the long winded answer.

S.F.
 
Well I was looking into buying a grow tent and having it in my addict set up with a carbon filter and a 400 watt light (or however much light I need for 2 plants) <----(psstt thats a question) And have my plants growing for my own use and not have to worry about going on the streets and asking for some bud and getting some mid or some kush for a price I know I should not be paying.
~Tamemoe
 
That sounds pretty respectable. I'm a newbie here with growing so I can't say with affinity that a 400w for two plants isn't total overkill. I've got a 400w for an EcoGrower system you can see here:

General Hydro EcoGrower System - 420 Magazine Photo Gallery

Probably utilizing about the same space as you mentioned. I could think of several reasons why two plants probably will bring some disappointment, especially if they both turn out to be male, and you're 6ish weeks in from seeds. You increase your odds with more plants as well as have better yields. Plus you won't be bummin from having to start over...

If you check out the grow journals, you'll see a ton of guys that are using those tents, and your location (attic) and the addition of the carbon filter all seem plausible.
 
Tamemoe said:
Well I was looking into buying a grow tent and having it in my addict set up with a carbon filter and a 400 watt light (or however much light I need for 2 plants) <----(psstt thats a question) And have my plants growing for my own use and not have to worry about going on the streets and asking for some bud and getting some mid or some kush for a price I know I should not be paying.
~Tamemoe
Click to expand...

Hi my friend. It seems what you want to grow, especially with a tent could easily be done with CFLs. Wouldn't take much energy and is much easier to cool the whole tent. Poke around in the grow journals and you will find many successful grows. Just reading them will give you many ideas. Some of them are so stealth it's funny.

It might help with feeling comfortable about growing. :surf:
 
Hi my friend. It seems what you want to grow, especially with a tent could easily be done with CFLs. Wouldn't take much energy and is much easier to cool the whole tent. Poke around in the grow journals and you will find many successful grows. Just reading them will give you many ideas. Some of them are so stealth it's funny.

It might help with feeling comfortable about growing.
Click to expand...

I have read some crazy ones. One peep got a letter than some people will be coming in his apparent for like a once every 5yr check up and he was 8weeks in his grow but he kept his herbs growing. He was one loyal dude.
But ya I'll go check out the tent journals. Just need to figure out which tent. Which Carbon filter; and which lights to buy.
~Tamemoe
 
Tamemoe said:
I have read some crazy ones. One peep got a letter than some people will be coming in his apparent for like a once every 5yr check up and he was 8weeks in his grow but he kept his herbs growing. He was one loyal dude.
But ya I'll go check out the tent journals. Just need to figure out which tent. Which Carbon filter; and which lights to buy.
~Tamemoe
Click to expand...

Yea, especially find out the one's that are toxic to our plants. No kidding, people get them off ebay and other places. Beware to of to good to be true deals.
420 Magazine > THE GROW ROOM > Growers Forums
Cabinet, Closet, & Grow Room Setup
Click to expand...

Sorry, messed up the link, but now you know where to look. :surf:
 
OK, You said you need lighting for 2 mothers, Now are you gonna bloom them, or just keep them as mothers? my buddy has 3 mothers he keeps just for cloning, and he just keeps them under a 18 inch 4 bulb flourescent with 24 hours of light. They are really nice mothers, and if you keep them prunned and fed, they can keep for up 15 years like this. He's running 4 bulbs that r 15 watts each for a total of 60 watts worth of flouro's on them & they are beautiful.. so if you just want to keep them for cloning, thats the route Id take. Hope this helps...
 
Just two plants, a 2x4 tent with a 400 watt HPS would be a great setup. A 400 watt light and a couple of fans won't amount to anything on your power bill. A TV set can draw more than 400 watts. My tent grow is about 2500 watts including lights and fans. Just a slight increase on the bill but nothing to worry about.

Watch you tent brand/quality. A cheap ebay tent may not be so cheap if it is toxic to you plants. My understanding is the tents with white interiors have had more issues than the tents with mylar interiors.
 
Thanks for the comments peeps; I'm thinking of going with a one 400 watt CFL for my lightin and some simple fan with a carbon filter.

Well Screwnuts33 got any brands that are good grow tents. I have been looking around on ebay. :/ so I'm not sure which one to buy. Let me know which ones you think are good.
~Tamemoe
 
hey tamemoe, i was runnin cfls at first because I was really paranoid about being caught because of an electricity usage spike. But after seeing a couple forum pals have $300 to even $600 and not set off an alarm, i figured my $30 bill spike wont make any noise. And it hasnt. I always read into stories of ppl getting caught cultivating, and it almost is never the electricity company reporting you(tho they have in the past), its usually a neighbor saying that there is suspicious activity, or your friend ratting you out to cop a deal.
Jus make sure to pay your electric bill on time every month so they have no reason to look more in depth into your usage. You can do what a forum pal of mine does. He over pays his bill by a couple dollars each month, so his amount due is always a bit lower than his actual bill. Weird concept but he's running 4 bloombox's in his house and has had no probs.

Tamemoe said:
Thanks for the comments peeps; I'm thinking of going with a one 400 watt CFL for my lightin and some simple fan with a carbon filter.

~Tamemoe
Click to expand...

Tame, if you're getting a 400w cfl, why not just get a 400w hps (jus wonderin)?
 
AlriGHT cool. I pay my bills on time so I'm hoping that a increase in my bill will not stir the pot too much so it spills onto my lap. So now it's time for some research. I gotta look into some lights to buy as well as some good grow tent (anybody know a good brand), carbon filter, soil, and neuts.
Peace
~Tamemoe
 

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