LED? Or hire an electrician and go HID?

[4Dutchess]

Not sure he means by "110 from separate halves" but I get the gist of it. He is saying to use one 240v circuit (2-pole breaker) to supply power to two 240v outlets for lights. The 120volt circuit is only used for control power. Some fixtures or timers will have a control relay (think: contacts that can be opened or closed by remote control) that requires an external power source. The power source can be a 120v source from just about anything (switch, photocell to follow actual daylight cycle, computer program, etc...) using the old wiring for this shouldn't be an issue.

Running equip at a higher voltage is slightly more efficient. Even though actual power (wattage) is the same, running at higher voltage (240 vs 120) offers less resistance and draws less current. This means components in a ballast run a little cooler. You won't see it on your power bill though.

Definitely run a new 120v circuit for other equipment such as circ fans and exhaust fans.

This is your original advice that Im probably going with........
Lights on a single 240v 20 amp circuit
New second circuit 120v for other equip
My roofer friend whos going to help me with the roof jacks asked.......
Are the jacks damperd in the pipe or on top??
What kind of dampers?
He said a damper opens and closes and Im assuming when air is flowing it opens?
Do I run hood exhaust only when lights are on? I would think yes??
Wheres the best place to buy correct jacks??
Thank you!!!

 

[msdt]

Don't tell him how many watts , most people have no idea what watt is, wrong language, just tell him you few circuits added, use arc fault or gfci breakers for safety

If an electrician doesn't know what watts are, he shouldn't be one! Watts is voltage X current. Amperes is watts divided by voltage. Voltage is watts divided by ampere. Also, the formula E over IR is handy. E=Voltage, I=amperes and R=resistance.

However, having said that, I've encountered 98% of all contractors, who don't know what the heck they are doing! The same may go for electricians, I don't know as I did all of my wiring and plumbing. I did do all contractor work until I got disabled. Now, I am physically unable to do any of it. It is so frustrating to hire experts who don't know the basics!

 

[Honz]

To be a licensed electrician, the local jurisdiction requires the tradesman to pass an exam usually consisting of 100-125 questions in a given time period of 3-4 hours. This is in addition to required schooling and OJT. I'm sure most licensed electricians know that watts =power (Volts x current x power factor). This is a pretty basic area of knowledge. Give some credit to us trades people. Without us, construction and industry wouldn't be able to survive.

I've been a Master Electrician since 1998, and licensed Journeyman for four years prior to that. Most of us are hard working and take pride I. Our work. Don't let a few bad eggs give us all a bad rep. Sorry if you have had bad experiences.

 

[4Dutchess]

To be a licensed electrician, the local jurisdiction requires the tradesman to pass an exam usually consisting of 100-125 questions in a given time period of 3-4 hours. This is in addition to required schooling and OJT. I'm sure most licensed electricians know that watts =power (Volts x current x power factor). This is a pretty basic area of knowledge. Give some credit to us trades people. Without us, construction and industry wouldn't be able to survive.

I've been a Master Electrician since 1998, and licensed Journeyman for four years prior to that. Most of us are hard working and take pride I. Our work. Don't let a few bad eggs give us all a bad rep. Sorry if you have had bad experiences.

Im going LED but going to wire the room with.............
Single 20amp 240v circuit
Second 20amp 120v circuit
Im going to wire it with the 240 also in case I go with MH
Im going to also replace the rooms receptacles and use them for minor stuff maybe. Although I have left things plugged in the current receptacles in the room (phone charger,TV, etc.) I want to be safe and sure with new lines.
Honz, is this thinking correct??

 

[Honz]

That's the way to go!

 

[4Dutchess]

That's the way to go!

I just got my tent.
Which filter is for intake?
Charcoal filter for exhaust?
Because of LED i will need to separate fan/filters for for intake and exhaust and Im not sure which kind theyre are many

 

[Honz]

You want the charcoal filter on the exhaust up high. Charcoal will absorb odor. You should filter your intake too, just to keep from sucking in dust and bugs. Some cheap furnace filter material will work. Intake should be low so you get good air flow from bottom to top. Remember, you want to push air into the tent, not suck it out.

You can hang your LED in the tent and any heat created will be sucked out with the exhaust. No need for a separate exhaust fan. Def get a small fan, oscillating if possible, to blow gently on your plants.

Once you get everything installed and set up, test-run everything for a few hours. Put a temp/humidity sensor inside. With the light on and fans running your temp should climb slightly amd humidity go down. With light off temps should drop and humidity go up.

Once you have plants in there they will hep keep humidity up. You really Shouldn't have to worry at all about humidity unless you live in the southwest like I do. In that case you may need to add a humidifier.

 

[BC grower]

I am also a master electrician. Just keep in mind if you have decideded to use led lights (and have 220v plug installed), that your specific led can run on 220v first of all. Second of all if it is capable of 220v you know how to wire it as most come with a standard 120v cord.

Good luck and happy growing

 

[BC grower]

On a personal note one of my set ups sounds very similar to yours. In one area I have a 4x9 flower tent and a 5x5 veg tent. I currently have 2 dedicated 20A 120v circuits. The first circuit runs my LED in my flower tent 1350w total true draw. The second runs my LEDs in veg tent (400w true draw when on veg) plus my in line fan and small circ fans (approx 240w).

 

[Honz]

Listen to BC Grower! Connecting to the wrong voltage can be catastrophic! Be sure to read manufacturers instructions!

 

[4Dutchess]

Listen to BC Grower! Connecting to the wrong voltage can be catastrophic! Be sure to read manufacturers instructions!

Basically dont over load the lines. Thanks!!

 

[4Dutchess]

You want the charcoal filter on the exhaust up high. Charcoal will absorb odor. You should filter your intake too, just to keep from sucking in dust and bugs. Some cheap furnace filter material will work. Intake should be low so you get good air flow from bottom to top. Remember, you want to push air into the tent, not suck it out.

You can hang your LED in the tent and any heat created will be sucked out with the exhaust. No need for a separate exhaust fan. Def get a small fan, oscillating if possible, to blow gently on your plants.

Once you get everything installed and set up, test-run everything for a few hours. Put a temp/humidity sensor inside. With the light on and fans running your temp should climb slightly amd humidity go down. With light off temps should drop and humidity go up.

Once you have plants in there they will hep keep humidity up. You really Shouldn't have to worry at all about humidity unless you live in the southwest like I do. In that case you may need to add a humidifier.

Got it Brother!!! Thank you!! the out takes fan will suck all I need? All the way from the intakes roof jack?
No need to bring air in with separate fan. awsome! Someone said a 8" Grow Bright double layer duct filter for intake and it looks like I would stop the intake duct before the tent with that filter and then continue duct inside tent on the bottom. The out take duct, fan and smell filter will be strong enough to draw from the intakes damperd roof jack and across the tent. nAnd the out take duct is at top of tent. YES!!

 

[msdt]

To be a licensed electrician, the local jurisdiction requires the tradesman to pass an exam usually consisting of 100-125 questions in a given time period of 3-4 hours. This is in addition to required schooling and OJT. I'm sure most licensed electricians know that watts =power (Volts x current x power factor). This is a pretty basic area of knowledge. Give some credit to us trades people. Without us, construction and industry wouldn't be able to survive.

I've been a Master Electrician since 1998, and licensed Journeyman for four years prior to that. Most of us are hard working and take pride I. Our work. Don't let a few bad eggs give us all a bad rep. Sorry if you have had bad experiences.

I'm sincerely sorry if I caused any pain. I did not mean to do that. I've never hired an electrician, as I said, so I can't say anything negative about them.

But, when it comes to contractors, I've had seven. The best one, never showed up when he promised, nor did he call. He quit at 2pm each day, while starting at 10am. Every single day, I found major screw ups by him. When the day arrived for the crane to install the sunroom, instead of 2" X 4" lumber, he used 2" X 6" where the sunroom attached. I had to hand chisel all of the excess off.

I missed one mistake, which lead to leaks. At that point, we had a falling out. I was unable to get up on the roof and seal the leaks. Long story short, my beautiful sunroom is falling apart.

So, please forgive me for sharing my experience with licensed contractors. Someday, I will take the contractor's exam, just for the heck of it.

I did not mean any offense to you. My apologies.

Alan

 

[TorturedSoul]

To be a licensed electrician, the local jurisdiction requires the tradesman to pass an exam usually consisting of 100-125 questions in a given time period of 3-4 hours.

Aren't those open book tests, lol? But, yes, every electrician ought to know those formulas (since most people who've had a science class or two in high school have learned them).

Remember, you want to push air into the tent, not suck it out.

I've always heard you want to push air out of your tent, not into it - that you want a slight negative pressure. That way, if you have any leaks, you won't be pushing odor and hot air out of them instead of out of the carbon filter (and lights' exhaust, if you are able to do two separate runs).

Basically dont over load the lines. Thanks!!

I've been told a good rule of thumb is to try to use no more than 80% of your electrical system's capacity. And to balance the load across your electrical panel as much as possible.

I'm probably not the best person to give electrical advice, though... My home's electrical system is so old that much of its wiring is composed of (only) two wires, each on their own separate run, and wrapped around "posts" every so often. Hey, if knob & tube wiring was good enough in the 1880s, lol... But seriously, if this describes any other forum members' setup, well, I feel for you.

instead of 2" X 4" lumber, he used 2" X 6" where the sunroom attached.

That's odd; 2"x4"s are cheaper. What justification did he give?

At that point, we had a falling out.

I assume it involved small claims court (or a higher "tier" court, if your damages were greater than small claims court would have allowed you to collect)?