quick wiring question

[MrGreenFingaz]

Hey whatsup, i am in the process of supplementing my grow with cfl's. I have bought the sockets, cords, plugs and bulbs. the problem is that the cords have no + or - markings..

Okay, there are 2 wires coming from the mogul socket, one is black, one is white, both have no markings. Also, the screws in the plug that im wiring it into are both silver so i was also wondering which prong is positive, the fat or skinny? Thanks.

[Tokudai]

The right side, or skinny prong is the "Hot" prong (if you are located in the USA). I don't know about int'l wiring

The hot should go to the bottom of the socket, which is the black wire coming from the mogul socket. The white should go to the threads of the bulb. This should be easy enough to check.

[Weed4Life]

Black is your hot and the white is your nuetral, just hook them up color for color and wire nut them.Tokudai is correct on the prong theory.

[higher4hockey]

AC is both postive and negative, thats why its called AC(alternating current) it switches from negative to postive once every second.

like weed4life said, the white is the neutral (grounded) and the black is the hot(ungrounded)

[Laredo]

AC is both postive and negative, thats why its called AC(alternating current) it switches from negative to postive once every second.

like weed4life said, the white is the neutral (grounded) and the black is the hot(ungrounded)

true, if it were 60Hz, but electricity is much higher than that, alternating many many many times a second....

sorry, stoned factoid...

[higher4hockey]

everything runs on 60 hertz in the US, Europe is 50. thats why you should never, if you're traveling to Europe, take your alaram clock with you. alarm clocks measure time by the hertz which is sixty, so if you take it to europe where it runs at fifty, you will be late.


i'm an electrician ;)

edit: correction from my previous post: it switches from postive to negative not once every second, but sixty times.

[Laredo]

my bad, i'm thinking radar...

i'm not an electrician, and do appologize for my stoned comment. and now that i see your pm, it all comes back in a flood. yeah, the number of hz is the number of times the current alternates in one second, therefore, 60Hz cycles 60 times a second. thanks for getting me straight.

[MrGreenFingaz]

yea, im in north america so im pretty sure it'll be the same. Also what happens if u wire them wrong and run them? tx 4 the replys.

[higher4hockey]

your shit wont work.

if you remember to hook em up white to white and black to black you'll be fine.

remember that the little prong on the plug is where the black one goes, and the big prong is where the white one goes.

also, you probably know this, but whenever working with electricity, make sure its de-energized (turned the hell off)

[Tokudai]

Also what happens if u wire them wrong and run them?


your shit wont work.

Not True - a light will work just fine. Some electronic devices may not work or be damaged, but I personally have never found one. The risk of electrical shock from touching an exposed part is (generally) increased by not running them in polarity though. Not worth it, since you know which is which, then wire it up the safe way.

[MrGreenFingaz]

yea, have like 100w xtra for the lower branches from flouros for ~$30, i used metal-strapping and screwed the sockets to peices of wood which i have the supports to hold it up drilled into. Should be good when theyre done :rasta:

[madeline]

But aren't European plugs different from ours? I accidently was sent water pumps from England, the guy forgot I was in the USA and sent me UK-style with round plug-ins instead of slotted like we have here and Canada. Needless to say the pumps did not work and are still laying around here, collecting dust.

[MrGreenFingaz]

yea i knew there was something diff in Europe than here in North America, i just always thought it was voltage at which stuff runs, never knew that the plug-ins were shaped diff also, nowi do i guess.