Amp question for you electric pros???

So I came across a power cost chart and it mentioned that you shouldn't draw more than 75% of the rated amps of the circuit. So here is my question- my grow space has a 16 amp circuit. I have 130w of cfl which draws about 1.5 amps. A blower that draws 1.2 amps at full power. And a 1k HPS lamp that draws 9 amps. A couple smaller fans that probably draw another amp. So that's about 12-13 amps that I will be drawn.

Is drawing 13 amps from a 16 amp circuit too risky? Anyone know an electrician they can ask? Thanks ahead.....

Depends on the wires in the house.


Odds are your fine with 13a thru a 16a breaker,... but for safety's sake make SURE the wiring in the house can actually pull the 16a that the breaker will allow. (which means if you really question it, have an electrician come out and test the circuit)

im no electrician but it depends of wires as well...
example...
5-6years ago my grannys houe we got electrician to wire up a new cooker and when everithing was done and he turn the cooker on HE BLOWED THE FUSEBOX...becose house was old and they were aluminium wires...they are the most useless things ever...so end of the they we had to spend prob round 5000e to get full house re wired.just to be in the safe side...

best things for you would go some electricians or DIY forums...
good luck with your grow:thumbsup:

I work on the other side of the meter so I'm certainly not a pro on house wiring but I have never heard of a 16A breaker. If I'm wrong (1st time today lol) no offence meant but please check that rating again. Peace Jack

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Originally Posted by GoFish104

I work on the other side of the meter so I'm certainly not a pro on house wiring but I have never heard of a 16A breaker. If I'm wrong (1st time today lol) no offence meant but please check that rating again. Peace Jack

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we def have 16amp here in irl and back in estonia..+ we are selling 16amp b in shop where i work :D:jointsmile:

This is easy to calculate, but I won't do it for you....there are formulas for calculating load on circuits in watts or amps precisely, (look up Ohm's Law) and you should be precise...there is no mention of voltage here and any calculation involving power should...Is Ireland 120V or 220V? because that can either double or cut in half the amperage ya'll are talking about....here's a good way to tell if your getting close to the limits of a circuit, regardless of voltage, but be careful doing this and don't get shocked, and you don't need an amp-probe or meter....fire everything up on that particular circuit so it's drawing max amps, wait a few minutes, and go feel the breaker...if it's hot, your over amping it or drawing more than the 75% (which is just a guideline btw) I have seen circuits drawing 105% of rating and not blow the breaker...If the breaker is cool or just warm, your probably ok...this is assuming you have relatively new copper conductors and tight connections everywhere else in the circuit, Yes, aluminum wiring is crap!...A circuit can fail under very light loads if there is a loose connection ANYWHERE in that circuit...plugs, recepticles, loose wire nuts, etc. Loose connections are generally the number 1 cause of circuit failures...loose connection causes heat from resistance, drawing more amperage, compounding the problem until something overheats and burns from too much heat. Heat is the enemy cuz heat = resistance and resistance = more electric being used...anytime you feel anything too hot in an electrical circuit be it cord, plug, breaker, whatever, it can indicate a potential problem (read FIRE HAZARD!) Now I'm no electrician, but my two best bros are both masters and they tell me if a breaker blows 3 times, replace it...If your pushing the limits of a circuit, look for hot stuff...I've seen extension cords cause lot's of problems because nobody accounts for voltage drop over any distance in a circuit...so, if your running 2 or 300 feet of extension cord on a 120v circuit...by the time it gets to the end of the line there may only be 80-85 volts available, depending on wire size...the bigger the wire, the less line loss...lower voltage means higher amperage, so 10 amps on a 15 amp circuit w/breaker over a long distance will kick the breaker. Here's something else to consider...it is very rare for an appliance or any kind of load to draw the entire amount it's rated for...in other words, if a light or toaster says it draws 2.5 amps, it may actually only be drawing 2.1 and the only way to ck that is with a clamp on amp meter. Make friends with an electrician...I know my two bros party, so there are plenty who do...

I hate talking about electricity when I'm real high...I may just be confusing ya'll...I'm just trying to put things in terms anybody can understand...I hope I'm helping.:( Bottom line on electricity is: If your not sure enough to risk your life on it, have an electrician ck it out.

You guys are Awesome!!! Thanks for the replies! I'm surprised none of you said to replace the circuit breaker.

GoFish104 - I never heard of a 16 amp circuit breaker either but that's what this little sucker says.

So I spoke with my pops this morning (who has been in construction longer than I've been alive ) and he said I should replace or add a circuit breaker rated to handle more amps. Luckily the circuit breaker panel has one slot left for an addition. Even luckier on top of that is that the circuit I am using is located right next to the available slot.

So this is what will be done - Once I have the new circuit breaker rated for 20 amps I will switch off the service breaker, then remove the 16 amp circuit breaker and remove the wires from the back. Once wires are removed they will be tied into the new breaker and then placed into the last slot. This should now allow me to run my growroom without any elec probs.

Thanks y'all!!!!!!

If I understand you plan on using a larger breaker on the original wires. NO NO NO The breaker is to protect the wires & must be no larger then the rating of the wire. If I misunderstand "Opps sorry". If you can determine the size & type, copper or Alum. of the wires you can decide if you can use a larger breaker but the odds of the wire being larger then needed are pretty small. Peace Jack

Go Fish is right....DON'T DO THAT! That is a guaranteed fire hazard!!! The wire size dictates the breaker size and the wire that is rated for 16 amps will not handle the additional amperage without serious overheating problems....you will HAVE to pull larger wire capable of handling the 20amp breaker and the 16 will not work safely!!! There is NO SHORTCUT! If you feel you need a 20 amp circuit you will have to run new wire capable of safely handling 20 amps over the distance from the breaker panel to the closet, 20 amps rated recepticles and the 20 breaker....you cannot upgrade a portion of a circuit, you must upgrade the ENTIRE circuit. Now having said that, if you have an empty slot in the breaker panel, it's not that hard to add an additional circuit, be it 15, 16, or 20 amps and start splitting the load of your grow between 2 circuits! You make friends with an electrician yet????

Thank you GoFish104 and TANKJR for your replies, you two got me thinking.

I can't really run a new line without cutting into the walls. Since I rent this place I am limited. So what I decided was to draw the 2-3 amps for my veg cab from another nearby outlet on a different circuit than the 16a line. This way I can use the 16a circuit line for just the 1k light and be fine.

Do you think I'll be fine running the 1k on a 16a line? Should right?

My only other option would be to try to trade with someone, my 1k for a 600w. But I'd rather not......

check first what wires you have..turn the power circuit off and un screw the socket..you will see then that are they 1.5 2.5 or 3.5..
cos i had 670w before behind 2.5 core what is normal wire for lights..
and when i bought the wire the man in the electrical shop said thats it allright?
mayby he was right mayby he was wrong..but it did work for me..

Hey Dextor007. I Did check the wires, 14-2 600v rated to carry no more than 15 amps. Gofish104 was right about the wiring not being able to support more than what the original breaker is rated for. My thought process for wanting to add a larger breaker on the same line was that I wasn't ever going to run more than the 13 amps so I just didn't want the breaker to break. But now with more careful thinking, I'm just going to use the two circuits instead of one.

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Originally Posted by CanGroIt

Hey Dextor007. I Did check the wires, 14-2 600v rated to carry no more than 15 amps. Gofish104 was right about the wiring not being able to support more than what the original breaker is rated for. My thought process for wanting to add a larger breaker on the same line was that I wasn't ever going to run more than the 13 amps so I just didn't want the breaker to break. But now with more careful thinking, I'm just going to use the two circuits instead of one.

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lol
smart thinking batman:thumbsup::jointsmile:
at least you asked a question about amps,las time i asked how do tap powerlines:D they told me to stay away:D

LOL Dex!....and your still alive to tell about it, aren't you? ;)
You guys have questions on basic electricity ask us before you do anything could get you into trouble ok? We'll try to keep you alive! Good idea about splitting off some of the load on that circuit and spreading it over two circuits....this will keep you safe and growing for years to come. Always look for the simplest way to solve a problem first, then go to the complex dangerous solutions only as a last resort! Here's a tip if you MUST use extension cords to do this....get the heaviest cord (thickest wire) you can afford if you are going to run it any distance at all....it's always better to have too big a wire, than too small! Much much safer too! If you think 12ga wire will handle it, buy 10ga, to be sure! Or in Dex's case if 2.5mm looks good, go for 3, or 4 even! Larger wire costs more, but it takes a lot more abuse than small wire, and 10ga will be near impossible to overload without tripping the breaker, (and that's what is supposed to happen on an overload situation) even at 100yds distance from the panel.

by code your allowed to use 80% of your overprotection device (breakers, fuses, disconnects, ect)so do the math 20 amp brk u can have a 16 amp load on it,any higher amps & u will have a fire, this is y we have the nec( national electrical code) book & its over 500 pages.

Yes, very true...except that he's in Ireland...NEC does not apply there. 75% or 80% of total load are both just safety guidelines....electricians have no control over what someone plugs into that outlet after they leave...thus the safety parameters in the NEC...other countries are not so organized about it...It probably is 75% in Ireland. This is a global website...wouldn't it be cool if the whole world had to deal with electrical inspectors??? LMAO! I saw a guy once trying to use multiple adapters on the plug of his arc welder trying to plug it into a 120V 15 amp circuit so he "could do a little welding" on his car...it was a 240v 40amp welder (that's 80 amps @ 120v!)...He ignored my warning it would not work...didn't hang out long enough to see if it worked for him or he burned his house down or what...LOL! Hopefully the breaker tripped first! :D

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Originally Posted by TANKJR

Yes, very true...except that he's in Ireland...NEC does not apply there. 75% or 80% of total load are both just safety guidelines....electricians have no control over what someone plugs into that outlet after they leave...thus the safety parameters in the NEC...other countries are not so organized about it...It probably is 75% in Ireland. This is a global website...wouldn't it be cool if the whole world had to deal with electrical inspectors??? LMAO! I saw a guy once trying to use multiple adapters on the plug of his arc welder trying to plug it into a 120V 15 amp circuit so he "could do a little welding" on his car...it was a 240v 40amp welder (that's 80 amps @ 120v!)...He ignored my warning it would not work...didn't hang out long enough to see if it worked for him or he burned his house down or what...LOL! Hopefully the breaker tripped first! :D

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you seemed to know a lot about electricity:jointsmile:
any chance that you could help me out a bit,if you wouldnt mind:jointsmile:

Around here 1500w devices are VERY common. All of it CSA approved. That's 12.5a @ 120v. or 83% of the max load on a 15a circuit. So I don't see why you couldn't run 12.5a of devices on your 16a circuit. (which probably has the same wire as our 15a circuits... and as mentioned previously, it's the *wire* that's important for safety.)

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Originally Posted by CanGroIt

So I came across a power cost chart and it mentioned that you shouldn't draw more than 75% of the rated amps of the circuit. So here is my question- my grow space has a 16 amp circuit. I have 130w of cfl which draws about 1.5 amps. A blower that draws 1.2 amps at full power. And a 1k HPS lamp that draws 9 amps. A couple smaller fans that probably draw another amp. So that's about 12-13 amps that I will be drawn.

Is drawing 13 amps from a 16 amp circuit too risky? Anyone know an electrician they can ask? Thanks ahead.....

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Hey,
I'm an electrician and to be honest I find it had to imagine a 16amp trip switch in the board. 10 amp for lights, 20 amp for sockets and wall heaters. 32 amp for cooker and 40 amp for showers. That's how a board is set up in my mind. If you have a 16amp trip switch then you can up it to 20 amp provided the cables in the circuit is 2.5mm twin and earth. i.e. you will see a brown, blue and bare middle earth wire. The brown and the blue need to be 2.5mm squared 'each'. Then the socket circuit has been wired correctly. Have an electrician call round to check the circuit and take out the 16amp and replace it with a 20amp. Don't do this yourself, there will be a lot of live copper in the fuse board. At least then you can be sure your lights wont go out while you are gone.
Good luck with it
Silent Leprechaun