electrical safety

[WantDaChronic]

hey im just wondering what would be the best kind of power board to use when growing in a wardrobe using a 400watt hps and 2 fans??? hasnt over loaded or anything yet, but im just concerned when it comes to storms :thumbdown

 

for example, today it started hailing out of the blue, melted in 5 mins and stopped raining in 20 but there was a fair bit of thunder and lightning going which worried me....is easy to blow globes and start fires if your not carefull :thumbdown

 

basically what im after is a power board that when its over loaded with power, shuts off for like 15 mins and has the ability to kill the connection before any damage can be done.....is that even possible? should be :scratchin

 

dont wanna spend a severe amount of money but there is nothing better than peace of mind :smoke

[nouseforaname]

hey,

It depends how worried you are.. If you know a sparky you can find out which 15 amp line you are running off and swap the brekaer at the power box to a RCD(residual current device) basically measures power in to power out.. Not just turning off when overloaded... Not very expensive to buy(under10$) but if you get a legit sparky in probably 80-100$.. If you cant do that your other option is a 10amp(2400 watt) power box, like they use on job sites for power tools.. Ill attach an old pic to show ya . . these are rcd controlled and between 75-125$... The only problem is a 400 and few fans wouldnt trip the powerbox, could probably put your computer off it aswell if ya wanted... How old is the ballast and how hot does it run?

Anyhow hope that helps some dazz

[Tom]

It's a good idea to use those "bodyguard" plugs as well, the ones that switch the power of if you touch something live.

 

[porkchop]

you only need a cheap 4 way board ( about $2 from bunnings) and they are rated to 10 amps. you said a 400 lamp plus a couple of fans, thats only about 2 amps. as far as RCDs go they are for personal protection for plug in appliances, eg sticking a knife in a live toaster. saying this I strongly recomend to ALL to have RCDs / safety switch installed in your switchboard for yours/familys protection. don't worry about storms harming your ballast and lamp , computer and electronics yes. and lamps don't blow and start fires. what starts fires are old electrical appliances (eg old frigde) with a buildup of flammable dust near switching componets ( near the motor) and in turn they spark and the dust catches fire. here a simple rule : total watts / 240 v = total amps. oh yer I'm a sparky If you need any more info I'll be here :smoke

[WantDaChronic]

am using a chea $3 one from woolie, i got ripped

 

im just after something that will cut the power for like 10 mins to the light when we have a small blackout...its just that i saw it turn off then back on straight away once and it scared the shit outter me everything was all fine and dandy, i was about to turn it off as i heard the storm and just b4 i got to the power point the power went out then back on like 1 second later...basically the light was flickering like crazy, wouldnt fully light up and was making a weird humming noise it stayed off untill it was nice outside :thumbdown

 

i just dont like electricity, well really dont trust it as it has hurt me alot in the past so im not wanting to risk my babies....btw if your wondering how i got fried, christmas lights suck