POWER

[fireman25]

Here's what I want to do ......
2 x 600w lumatek ballasts...not sure of amp draw ????
2 x stealth f6 6" inline fans... 1 amp/fan
3 x 6 bulb 2' florescent...mine are made by powertrip...not sure of power draw???
misc small fans total of maybe 7...not sure of power draw???

Small window a/c....not sure on what I could use in this room. Room is 11 x 9.

Here's whats available....
one 20 amp and one 15 amp fuse.

Will this work with with or without using an a/c? How do I figure out amp draw for equipment? If this does work what size a/c could I use, if any?

fireman25 Reviewed by fireman25 on 11-13-2011. POWER Here's what I want to do ...... 2 x 600w lumatek ballasts...not sure of amp draw ???? 2 x stealth f6 6" inline fans... 1 amp/fan 3 x 6 bulb 2' florescent...mine are made by powertrip...not sure of power draw??? misc small fans total of maybe 7...not sure of power draw??? Small window a/c....not sure on what I could use in this room. Room is 11 x 9. Here's whats available.... one 20 amp and one 15 amp fuse. Rating: 5

[bigsby]

Do a little more homework. All of this information is readily available.

There are different kinds of 600w ballasts (dimmable, dual, single, etc.) and each will draw different amps. You can calculate total amps or simply look at the technical details on just about any website that sells them. I doubt any of them pull more than 2 amps.

Why 2 fans? You will only need one properly sized fan unless you are cooling the lights in a closed loop separate from the grow exhaust.

Do you live in a hot climate? If you get the exhaust right you may not need an AC.

35 amps will be more than sufficient.

[fireman25]

The lights will be on there own closed loop exhaust and the second fan will be to vent the area. The lumatek ballasts are dimmable 600w hps with "super lumens" swithced on. I haven't been able to find a solid answer on how many amps these use when running. Dont live in a really hot area but during the summer the grow rooms ambient temps without a/c can reach 95 for a few weeks to 2 months.

[bigsby]

Sorry - I got my amps wrong, at least in your case. @240v they average between 1.8 - 2.3 amps. But I'm guessing you will be running it at 120v in which case it will pull roughly 5 amps. Incidentally Lumatek makes SWEET dual 600w ballast but you need a 220v line to run it. There are a number of versions of the 600w ballasts. Google these terms without the quotes "lumatek 600w dimmable ballast amps" and you will find your answer. Once you get the total number of amps required by your setup add 10% as a margin of error. And remember, a 20 amp wire is no use if the outlets are not rated for 20 amps. Well, not exactly correct. You can still carry 20 amps across the line but no more than 15 amps per 15 amp rated receptacle. So you can work around this by plugging in to multiple receptacles adding up to 20 amps total... All I'm saying is that if you plan to pull 20 amps out of a single receptacle then make sure it is rated to carry 20 amps.

You can run your amp question through wolframalpha.com with the terms "600 watts 120 volts" without the quotes and you'll get the answer or you can search for an online calculator.

Now that I've done your homework we can say with limited confidence that you should be fine with 35 amps between two circuits. I say limited b/c we don't know all the details of what else you plan to put on those circuits but you should be fine. Put your lights, fans, and other grow room plugins on the 20 amp line and the AC on the 15 amp line (check the amps needed obviously).

[tinytoon]

If you are like everyone else then exspansion is in your future. If you are in your own home and dont plan on going anywhere then do it right and put in a subpanal. Are you using the old glass fuses?? or are they circuit breakers?? If you are running the old glass type fuses then take extra care as the wiring is most likely as old as the fuses.