Healer

I have two 20 amp circuits running 4000W of lights. Is that OK? I think I can handle cutting an extension cord as you instructed (as long as the timer instructions tell me exactly what to do with the black, green and white extension cord wires, in plain English), thanks, glad I don't have to cut into house wiring. Would I have to cut my light wiring though or is there a way to just plug things into this timer after rigging up the extension cord? How many lights can I plug into each timer? Would I need to get two timers and do all this with both of them for the two separate circuits? Is the timer I linked the right kind? There are so many on that site, none that I saw looking like the one Booty and JG posted a pic of, and the descriptions and info about them pretty much might as well be in a foreign language to me. Why do they make it so complicated instead of just plugging things in?

buzzmobile

Look at the electromechanical timers. I don't think you need a 7 day timer if all you are going to do is turn your lights on and off. If you have plugs on the end of your light cables you will have to cut them off. The timers are direct wired so plugs are going to be useless. Cut the plug as close to the end as possible. In the future if you want to wire them back to a plug you can do that easily. White wires go on silver screws, black wires go on brass colored screws and the ground wire goes on the green screw. The LINE and LOAD terminals are marked on the box. There's nothing complex to worry about. Remember that LINE is the power coming from your breaker panel to the timer. That's all there is to it.

Water heater timer is what I have been using for years. Lowe's and Home Depot both carry these.

tripps

If you don't want to cut your plugs off( I didn't), just wire an outlet or 2 to the timer, and plug the lights into that. I have an intermatic 2 pole, so I have two outlets on 2 different circuit powering 4 lights.

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Healer

I see a section on that site for "electronic time switches" and "mechanical time switches" but not electromechanical. I don't know what the 7 day thing is about, don't want a timer I have to reset each week though.

I can remember that about LINE, especially with your post to refer to, but as soon as the protective plastic/rubber covering around scary, dangerous electricity is removed it becomes complex. I started growing in a house built in the 30's, outlets only had two holes so I had to use adapters for all 3-pronged plugs including grow lights. I ran thousands of watts there and people told me that was really dangerous. So I moved, this place was built in the 90's, all outlets have three holes and two 20 amp circuits were set up just for lights which I thought would end the danger but now "15 amp" timers don't even handle 1000W without burning and melting and to really be "safe" (unless a bulb explodes) I have to select from a bunch of partially assembled products, remove my lights' nice 3-pronged plugs I finally got the right outlets for and figure out how to attach their wires to these other timers and them to power cords. Hey if I have to splice into cords and everything could I use those severed light cords to plug the timers in?

This seems simpler. I don't know what an intermatic 2 pole is, but I also have two outlets, each with two plug receptacles on separate 20 amp circuits, so two plug in spots per circuit, powering eight lights. Is this anything like your setup, and could I do what you're writing about with mine?

nDanger

Jamesgang, maybe I missed it, but are you running a digital ballast or magnetic on that 1000 that draws 12 amps? I'd like to see just what the energy 'savings' are going digital. I just bought (and love) a new CAP next-gen 400/600 ballast to go along with the other lumeteks', and know I'm pulling less than 20 amps with 2-600's and a 400.

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tripps

You can run 2 1000w, or 3 600w, on each 20 amp circuit, I wouldn't go much over that. You would just interrupt each line to your outlets by hooking it to the timer. There is a wiring diagram that comes with the 2 pole intermatic, I don't know if it's really a layman type job, but you seem pretty handy. I think I'm laid off after this week, maybe I could take a ride up and wire it for you, .

PS The second timer in booty's post is the intermatic, sold at Homedepot or any electric supply house, single pole handles one circuit, 2 pole handles 2 circuits.

__________________
I may very well be laughing at you, not with you.

"The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance-it is the illusion of knowledge"-Daniel Boorstin

"Tell me and I forget, show me and I remember, involve me and I understand." John Gay

Hi! It's me... the girl from the bus...Remember? The last tour? Well...Information is not knowledge. Knowledge is not wisdom. Wisdom is not truth. Truth is not beauty. Beauty is not love. Love is not music. Music is THE BEST...Wisdom is the domain of the Wis (which is extinct).

"If I cannot laugh in Heaven, I do not wish to go there."- Martin Luther

First journal Soil
Second journal Hempy
Third Journal Ebb and Flow

Indiegurl

Oh god don't use extension cords! Buy some damn 12/2 wire from the hardware store at least.

If you want to wire your timer off of an electrical outlet the best thing to do is to get a steel utility box with the back missing (box extender). This box extender will screw onto the existing steel box inside the wall. Get some 12/2 armored cable (bx) and a proper steel box connector and your wire will connect to that box extender and run to the timer. This eliminates the hokey connection of using extension cords. On of these days im going to replace my own plastic timer with that same HD intermatic one. I have two sitting in my basement that I salvaged from a jobsite. One of these days... i will write a DIY of doing it and take some pictures... one day

Indiegurl

aaaaaat ahh boy!

Dr. Funkenstein

Thanks for revamping this thread.

I will soon be firing up my 1000wHPS for the first time, and reading through this has made me paranoid.

I've heard a 1000w can easily melt a timer and cause fires. I went through a lot of trouble to get the right amount of power to my grow space, and I'll be damned if some timer is going to be the death of me or my grow.

As of now, I had planned to simply plug in my light/ballast to an outlet rated at 20amps, with a day night timer rated at 1350 watts using a gfci power strip for surge protection. I had only planned to run the 8" exhaust fan and this light on this outlet/breaker alone.

Everytime I read about these intermatic timer boxes, I'm completely lost. I've seen them at the hardware stores and there are no places to plug appliances into. If I'm plugging my power strip into the wall outlet, and everything else into my power strip mounted up high, where does this timer come into play?

So far, I've only dealt with a HOT5 lamp, so I am not really sure what to expect with an HID lamp.


EDIT: Sounds like I need to get one of these HD intermatic timer boxes, and a seperate outlet. Mount them to a board, wire the outlet to the timer so that I can plug my light into it without cutting the chord. Now, would I be able to wire a chord with a plug to the timer that I could plug into my GFCI power strip? I still need a place to plug in my exhaust fan, and I'm trying to keep all power at a safe level.

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Indiegurl

Funk...

The HD intermatic (that myself and everyone else keeps talking about) is a device that you need to hard wire. ... I'm going to write a pictorial DIY for it this weekend!!!!