I wonder

gwheels

Hobby Farmer
This is a tricky one. I have a 15 amp circuit in the garage and a tiny freezer on it.

I want to put my 4 x 4 tent out there. My free light is an 600 watt min HPS.

How much of a surge does a freezer take...when it kicks on is where it is tricky? (what is the max power of light you would run on that circuit with the freezer).

5 amps for the freezer.

600 watts is 5 amps

15 amp circuit maxed out is 12 amps but the surge is going to pop it i think. If i have to i will put the HPS in the bloom room and take out a bar or two to make it work.

this is to start all outdoor seeds. My bloom and veg areas can not hold vegtables...geeze there is barely room for the cannabis. :D
 

Artisan_tek

Insanely Active Member
im dealing with the same issues right now.

they say a 15 amp breaker can take a load of 1400w if being used more than 3 or 4 hours at a time. I think normally its like 1800w is the max load if your not running things more than 3 hours at once.

compensating for a/c and refrigerators is difficult. im trying to figure out what the inertia start up wattage is of an a/c im using. its 515w but they say it could take up to 3x as much wattage as what your a/c is rated for. and this would be at start up and certain intervals during use.

Not having a bigger breaker just fucked up my first chuck before i even got started. :mad:
Now im just praying i have enough wattage for the a/c to kick on and off without popping it just using the normal setup i have.
Im guessing its going to be the same for you and the refrigerator. try to find the surge or the inertia startup wattage for your make and model.
 

Now1more

Super Active Member
I replaced my 15 amp with a 20 amp. That circuit runs all my incandescent bulbs (4) in the basement plus, 6 -1,000w LEDs, 1 600w HPS, 2 small dehumidifiers, 2 fans, a humidifier, a small space heater, and an environmental controller. I just ran everything through separate heavy duty surge protected power strips. I'm pushing it bigtime! I'm afraid to even plug in a power tool.
 

Woody

New Member
switching the breaker its not that big of a chore, the newer the breaker box the easier(pull out the old push in the new). i know people fear those breaker boxes, till they actually change a breaker. just remember if you do change it, the same style or model line needs to be used. example a square d homeline needs to be replaced with a square d homeline. as a disclaimer i have to say i am not an electrian, but i did stay at a holiday inn express last night.
 

gwheels

Hobby Farmer
i will check the breaker box and wire and make sure its all good. A 20 amp spot for that 15 amp would actually save me thinking about it.

And its a garage...it needs a 20.

At my other house i had a freezer in the garage and my vape would pop the breaker if the freezer came on and thats 4 amps i think. It wont take long to find out.

:D

If its a pita i will pull a light from the bloom room (240 watt 4k board). That is 2 amps so i think it will work no matter what. Thanks for the advice i watched my dad change the breakers. I can youtube it and get it done no problemo.
 

Woody

New Member
utube can be your friend for sure.
if freezer is old, the compressor could be drawing to much at startup, it happens when they get old, not really a bad thing. that is another kinda easy fix. just get the numbers off the unit, then find a hard start kit for it. basically a capacitor.
 

Big Perm

Budtender
i will check the breaker box and wire and make sure its all good. A 20 amp spot for that 15 amp would actually save me thinking about it.

And its a garage...it needs a 20.

At my other house i had a freezer in the garage and my vape would pop the breaker if the freezer came on and thats 4 amps i think. It wont take long to find out.

:D

If its a pita i will pull a light from the bloom room (240 watt 4k board). That is 2 amps so i think it will work no matter what. Thanks for the advice i watched my dad change the breakers. I can youtube it and get it done no problemo.
Well. It had a 15 amp breaker in it for a reason. You can't just go throwing a 20 amp breaker in there and call it good. Otherwise, you could just put a 100 amp breaker in there and call it a day. Wiring in a second circuit isn't that hard to do, I'd look into that.
 

gwheels

Hobby Farmer
BP is correct. the wiring will not handle a 20.

In Canada for a 20 amp you have to use that yellow wire which is 1 step up past the standard household wire. I have 3/4 of a roll of each of them from wiring projects.

I will learn to live with it OR i will move the freezer. It should pop pretty fast if its going to.

and i can go with less light if it can keep the tent warm enough. It is just for vegging stuff to go outside to keep soil out of the room.
 

BigBallzWillie

BE THE BALL
Don't use a hard start on your freezer unless it's broken.

Try it out as is, I think you will be OK.

I could not rec putting the 20 fuse in, but if I knew for sure what was on that line and what the load is, I don't think there's a problem with that. Might not be "According to Hoyle", but it wou;ld work.

Yeah, yeah, I know about the codes, blah, blah. You're not supposed to back wire your panel to your generator during a blackout either.......I got news for you, lol...fuck the police
 

gwheels

Hobby Farmer
at some point i want a 20 in there anyway. an electric impact gun can dim the lights pretty good on a wheel axle nut.

And toyotas usually need the fronts done at around 120 to 150k miles...im getting there on the camry and the rav...the good news is its exactly the same everything so its the same job X2. lol.
 

Now1more

Super Active Member
I put in a 20 amp on the suggestion of a 75 year old electrician. He said that all the breakers in the house would have to be pulling juice to pop. Take it for what it's worth. I know we're a little backwards here in Maine.
 

H.A.F.

a.k.a. Rusty Nails
For what it's worth, I found a separate lighting/wall outlet circuit near my grow room and ran a heavy gauge extension cord (only about 6 feet) to run one grow area (light/exhaust/fan). One power strip.
 

gwheels

Hobby Farmer
I pull about 2500 watts for my hobby. I won't push it I have a pool pump going to work in 6 weeks or so. And I'm a baking fiend even the dog is getting fatter

I can sort it out.
 

Woody

New Member
wow! this sure raised attention, in a way i`m glad. i did make one mistake, i should have ask gwheels what country he was in. so gwheels canada is different from the usa when it comes to how we handle residential electricity. for that i`m not saying i`m wrong about the advice because theoretically for your application it is sound, but check with someone local. i do apologize for not asking first where you were. this only pertains to the breaker itself, not the hard start, i`m about to explain that because it looks like there is misunderstanding on it.
on to the usa side of things. now one of my problems from my disease is my mind is starting to slip. with the attention this drawn it made me doubt what i said. so when in doubt find out. i called 2 master electricians that i know one was an old boss the other was the teacher of a master electrician class my boss made me take. according to these people there is nothing wrong with what i stated if the home already has breakers installed. i mean really most of usa homes already have 20amp breakers minimum.
ok now let me explain what a hard start does and how it will help 90% ac units, this also includes anything type of cooling unit that uses a compressor. the other 10% are high efficiency units that have a similar system installed. as i stated the hard start is basically capacitor, a capacitor is similar to a battery because it is a storage device for electricity. a compressor already has a capacitor on it, the companies that build the units does the bare minimum. by adding the hard start the unit has more power than needed to kick on, it improves efficiency by more than 50%. the name of the kit makes a layman think it fixing a major issue, i reality it makes compressors more efficient, gives it a longer life and saves on the utility bill.
the reason i even comment at the beginning is that people fear electricity which it is rightfully so, it is dangerous very dangerous. i`ve seen 2 men die form from high power, one was because he had a small hole in his gloves the other was worried about getting something done instead of the power he was handling. so i would know first hand what this caan do to the human body, and i wouldn`t point anyone in a direction where that could happen. like most things if you respect its power and use the right tools to protect yourself (insulated, like rubber handle covers or heavy rubber gloves) its not that big of deal. just like your medical doctor please get a second opinion.
now i`m going to edit my original post, then i have a date with some animal cookie, sorry this was so long winded but i felt like i needed address it.
 

Artisan_tek

Insanely Active Member
wow! this sure raised attention, in a way i`m glad. i did make one mistake, i should have ask gwheels what country he was in. so gwheels canada is different from the usa when it comes to how we handle residential electricity. for that i`m not saying i`m wrong about the advice because theoretically for your application it is sound, but check with someone local. i do apologize for not asking first where you were. this only pertains to the breaker itself, not the hard start, i`m about to explain that because it looks like there is misunderstanding on it.
on to the usa side of things. now one of my problems from my disease is my mind is starting to slip. with the attention this drawn it made me doubt what i said. so when in doubt find out. i called 2 master electricians that i know one was an old boss the other was the teacher of a master electrician class my boss made me take. according to these people there is nothing wrong with what i stated if the home already has breakers installed. i mean really most of usa homes already have 20amp breakers minimum.
ok now let me explain what a hard start does and how it will help 90% ac units, this also includes anything type of cooling unit that uses a compressor. the other 10% are high efficiency units that have a similar system installed. as i stated the hard start is basically capacitor, a capacitor is similar to a battery because it is a storage device for electricity. a compressor already has a capacitor on it, the companies that build the units does the bare minimum. by adding the hard start the unit has more power than needed to kick on, it improves efficiency by more than 50%. the name of the kit makes a layman think it fixing a major issue, i reality it makes compressors more efficient, gives it a longer life and saves on the utility bill.
the reason i even comment at the beginning is that people fear electricity which it is rightfully so, it is dangerous very dangerous. i`ve seen 2 men die form from high power, one was because he had a small hole in his gloves the other was worried about getting something done instead of the power he was handling. so i would know first hand what this caan do to the human body, and i wouldn`t point anyone in a direction where that could happen. like most things if you respect its power and use the right tools to protect yourself (insulated, like rubber handle covers or heavy rubber gloves) its not that big of deal. just like your medical doctor please get a second opinion.
now i`m going to edit my original post, then i have a date with some animal cookie, sorry this was so long winded but i felt like i needed address it.
Great info woody! Electricity is very dangerous so anything like installing a new breaker or wiring I’m calling in an electrician

@gwheels be careful man !!!!
 

gwheels

Hobby Farmer
No worries man. for now its just plugging it in and testing the load with the stuff on.

:)

I dont run my vapes in the garage anymore...once i got the script the vapes went on the kitchen counter.


The 20 amp project can wait for warmer weather...it snowed today...global warming is over because no one is driving...SOLVED..

The garage should be easy.
 

BigBallzWillie

BE THE BALL
.................................... i called 2 master electricians that i know one was an old boss the other was the teacher of a master electrician class my boss made me take. according to these people there is nothing wrong with what i stated if the home already has breakers installed. i mean really most of usa homes already have 20amp breakers minimum.
...........
Don't be offended but that part I bolded is extremely flawed reasoning and potentially illegal. You can't just switch in a 20 amp breaker on a 14 gauge wire circuit and be within code in this country. Should be the first thing out of a "Masters" mouth. 20 amps goes on 12 wire. 15 amps you can use 14 wire. There are many 15 amp circuits in a typical house in the usa.
 
Top