First timer need advice please!

[ajr1030]

Hello all! First timer here so any and all advice is very much welcomed and appreciated!

So two part question:

Question 1:

I have a 2x4x60 grow tent. I still have to buy the light. I definitely want to do LED. Would a 600W light suffice or should I go a different route and if so, what?

Question 2:

I’m really worried about fire hazard. As of now the two wall outlets are standard 3 prong outlets. I don’t know anything about electricity. Between the light, fans, humidifier/AC, I don’t know if it’s enough. Do I need to address that or is that a non issue if I use surge protectors?

Thank you for your time and answers!

 

[RookieJuana]

Hello all! First timer here so any and all advice is very much welcomed and appreciated!

So two part question:

Question 1:

I have a 2x4x60 grow tent. I still have to buy the light. I definitely want to do LED. Would a 600W light suffice or should I go a different route and if so, what?

Question 2:

I’m really worried about fire hazard. As of now the two wall outlets are standard 3 prong outlets. I don’t know anything about electricity. Between the light, fans, humidifier/AC, I don’t know if it’s enough. Do I need to address that or is that a non issue if I use surge protectors?

Thank you for your time and answers!

Hi! Welcome! I am pretty new myself and don't offer a whole lot of advice on here as I am still learning everyday. That being said, I worried about these exact same issues so I think I can provide some help at least... First of all, that 600 watt LED will be perfect! No worries there. Secondly, as long as you have surge protectors, you will be just fine. You wouldn't believe all of the things attached to just one surge protector, in my grow space. You can take a surge protector that has six additional outlets, and plug one into each three prong outlet in your wall, for a total of 12 outlets. I also use the surge protectors to plug an extension cord or two in. I hope this helps!

 

[RookieJuana]

I welcome others to please correct me if I'm wrong!

 

[Dwight Monk]

A "600W" LED will vary on the brand and size of light (how big a footprint it has), so not like a 600W HPS is same as another brand 600W HPS in example. AC's have a pretty big draw/spike to them when they come on, might cause you problems with keeping circuit on, but again depends on the draw of your light and other things on that circuit, so not sure if a clear cut answer to that, though may be many folks here that know enough on that subject to give better advice.

 

[RookieJuana]

=)

 

[RookieJuana]

Hello all! First timer here so any and all advice is very much welcomed and appreciated!

So two part question:

Question 1:

I have a 2x4x60 grow tent. I still have to buy the light. I definitely want to do LED. Would a 600W light suffice or should I go a different route and if so, what?

Question 2:

I’m really worried about fire hazard. As of now the two wall outlets are standard 3 prong outlets. I don’t know anything about electricity. Between the light, fans, humidifier/AC, I don’t know if it’s enough. Do I need to address that or is that a non issue if I use surge protectors?

Thank you for your time and answers!

In my 4x4x7, I have two 300w Galaxy Hydro LEDs, and that is enough to bring 4 plants to flower. After flower I added another just to be on the safe side of avoiding airy and fluffy buds. For your tent, 600w led will be perfect but I will add, don't buy the cheapest one you find on Amazon!! You get what you pay for! So at least go down the middle as far as price is concerned, and you can always upgrade later if growing is your thing!!

 

[Dwight Monk]

Pretty sure the lights I have in my boxes are 600W LED, footprint of box is only 14" x 23" and not sure they would cover much bigger area than that. In my shed I'm using around 2' x 3' footprint and running two 900W LED, they cover the space pretty good but wouldn't have very good coverage on the outside of a 2' x 4' space in my opinion. Look thru some of the Sponsors here, as they will tell you what area they think their specific lights will cover:
Sponsors | 420 MAGAZINE ®

Also you can wander around in the Journals section and see what folks are running in a similar size space/tent and how well that is working for them. Just keep in mind there is so many variables and best to not compare to others grows or expect to end up with the same thing right out of the gate (can be a sharp learning curve so to speak, as not quite as simple as throwing some vegetable seeds in the garden and just watering them, not as complicated as some like to make it but it's still involves learning and luck and a few other things ).

 

[PE636]

Surge protectors, like the household circuit they plug into, can only handle a certain amount of current regardless of how many plugs they have. Any decent ones I've seen are clearly rated. Avoid cheap dollar store type equipment at all costs. You say there's two plugs.. Do you know if they are on the same circuit?

 

[PE636]

If you can have any light you want I vote for an HLG320xl, that's what I have in my 2x4 and it kills it. 310w actual draw.

 

[StoneOtter]

Hi ajr1030, your light will be one of the most important things you have. Look to have a footprint the size your tent is. If you use the sponsors here there's a discount and help choosing. Some of these new lights are fantastic. I use older cob tech. so I really have no other suggestion.
Surge protectors protect your equipment from line spikes and such things. You'll figure out if you need another circuit if the breaker or fuse blows on you.
Happy growing.

 

[Old Salt]

Question 1: I have a 2x4x60 grow tent. I still have to buy the light. I definitely want to do LED. Would a 600W light suffice or should I go a different route and if so, what?

If the light is truly 600W, you'd have more than enough light. I very much doubt that the light you are considering is 600W. Some manufacturers will claim an equivalency, although I've never seen the data to back that up. Others will add up the maximum power handling capacity of the individual LEDs or COBs and give that number. These lights generally are driven far below that value. Look for the the wattage it draws from the wall. Chances are that 600W light draws less than 150W. You need a minimum of 30W per square ft. I used the King X6 Dimmable 1800W COB LED Grow Light in the same sized tent, and found I could probably use more. If I had to do it again I'd buy two of the King X4 Dimmable 1200W COB LED Grow Lights for that tent. It lets you spread the lights out giving you a more even light intensity over the entire canopy.

Question 2: I’m really worried about fire hazard. As of now the two wall outlets are standard 3 prong outlets. I don’t know anything about electricity. Between the light, fans, humidifier/AC, I don’t know if it’s enough. Do I need to address that or is that a non issue if I use surge protectors?

I highly recommend a GFI outlet, such as those used in bathrooms to prevent shocks. To find out how much current you need add up the requirements for each device, and divide by 110. Leave room for the unexpected. My 2' X 4' tent has a:

• 500 W light;
• 70W in-line fan;
• 20W fan over the plants;
• 400W ceramic heater; and
• 10W ultrasonic humidifier.

Thus the total electrical load with everything on is about 1000W or 9 Amps. There is also a timer and ZooMed Hygrotherm on the circuit with insignificant power requirements. All of this is on a dedicated 15A circuit. Most homes have two or more receptacles tied to a single breaker or fuse, and you need to check for that. Hopefully this will help you decide whether your circuit has enough power available.

Two other safety items i recommend are a smoke detector in the room with the tent, and a CO2 detector if you plan on using a CO2 supply.

 

[Dwight Monk]

Pretty sure the lights I have in my boxes are 600W LED, footprint of box is only 14" x 23" and not sure they would cover much bigger area than that. In my shed I'm using around 2' x 3' footprint and running two 900W LED, they cover the space pretty good but wouldn't have very good coverage on the outside of a 2' x 4' space in my opinion. Look thru some of the Sponsors here, as they will tell you what area they think their specific lights will cover:
Sponsors | 420 MAGAZINE ®

Also you can wander around in the Journals section and see what folks are running in a similar size space/tent and how well that is working for them. Just keep in my there is so many variables and best to not compare to others grows or expect to end up with the same thing right out of the gate (can be a sharp learning curve so to speak, as not quite as simple as throwing some vegetable seeds in the garden and just watering them, not as complicated as some like to make it but it's still involves learning and luck and a few other things ).

Ok looked thru my notes, the boxes are 300W and my 2x3 shed space I'm using are 2 600W LED lights (not sure on actual draw on those, but as said in someone else's post what it draws is more important than what they "label" it as, hence why I said can't compare LED lights by label as they can be quite different than each other). You can look thru my first Journal link in my sig and see where I started and where I went, been doing this for three years now, my picture thread link will have pics of what I currently have going (or currently grown), so you can see the slow evolution of my skills

 

[Old Salt]

Just another quick note. Your light determines your harvest. Folks with those 600W lights might get an ounce or two. My first grow using the King X6 was about 5 oz. My last grow with it was about 8 oz.

 

[Dwight Monk]

Just another quick note. Your light determines your harvest. Folks with those 600W lights might get an ounce or two. My first grow using the King X6 was about 5 oz. My last grow with it was about 8 oz.

And the other 800 variables as results will vary by Strain, and Medium, and Nutrients, and the gravitational pull of the moon in your location, etc....etc... .....

I'm still using the El Cheapo brand LED's and will move up to something better in the near future, but can be a good place to start as not everyone is cut out for it so to speak, as if it causes you nothing but stress and frustration you are better off just buying the stuff, as some folks have a green thumb (or luck on their side) and others can pretty much kill anything living . So not always good to go all out and spend a ton of money on something that will sit in your attic (as resale value on "used equipment" is similar to driving a car off the dealer lot as the value drops like a ton of bricks right off the get go).

 

[Pennywise]

Maybe talk with @SmokeSara from Mars-Hydro, I'm sure she can point you in the right direction. Sara is a factory rep from Mars-Hydro.

 

[Pbass]

Welcome @ajr1030 ! This place is awesomely packed with pot growing brain power! You definitely are in the right spot to learn how grow the best buds you can. Even though I have a light deficiency, I am infatuated with them! I have a Viparspectra Par450, it pulls 202w at the wall, barely enough for two plants. I'll get the lower end of the oz. range most likely. LED quality, lens technology, spectrum range is important too, not all LED's are created equal!

I also have a variety of cheapo/McGruber'd lights. I have two that are called "1000w" but I guarantee they are pulling less than 100w each, plus they are loud and the spectrum isn't fantastic. If you want 600w true, you are going to need more than one "600w" light. I have a CFL concotion I call Frankenstein V.1, it's (5) 2700k and (5) 5000k CFL's. Probably pulling about 185w at the wall. It outdoes my Chinese Frankenstein V.2 with (4) "80w" Cob LED's by a fair shot.

My two pennies! Cheers, luck to your grow!

 

[ajr1030]

Man I didn’t expect such a quick and detailed response from you all thank you so much! Means a lot!

 

[ajr1030]

ONE MORE QUESTION!

With the set up I’d like to be able to grow two plants with average yields for the respected strain. If I do everything right is this doable with two plants or should I stick to one?

Thanks again!

 

[Old Salt]

Are you getting the 5' tall tent to fit the height of the space? Five feet is not much vertical room as you lose most of it to your containers, the space between your light and the canopy, and the light and ventilation space above it (which may or may not have a carbon filter. You can easily end up with less than two feet for your plants. The tents up to five feet tall are best used from seedling through veg, and SCRoGs. I did grow in mine using NugBucket's Mainline/Manifold method, but my plants grew into and over the light.

Our sponsor Gorilla Grow Tents has a 2' X 4' X 7'-8' tent. There are clones of the 7'-8' tall tents sold in Canada under the Greenleaf and Fusion Hut brands that sell for under $180 CAD. They've only been on the market for six months or so. I bought one and the quality is right up there. My five footer will be used for veg, and seed production.

 

[Old Salt]

ONE MORE QUESTION!

With the set up I’d like to be able to grow two plants with average yields for the respected strain. If I do everything right is this doable with two plants or should I stick to one?

Thanks again!

Check out the Journal in my signature block. There are four plants with eight colas each in that, my first grow.