Electricians?? Advice wanted.

[Chefbjy]

Hey all not a plant problem more of a power issue. I'm thinking of running a helios8 but think it will still pop my breaker. I'm not drawing the full 8000watts that it can run just 2 maybe 1900 watts including fans. Not sure what circuits are which but have several double pole 15amp breakers on different circuits.

My question is will I be okay to run the helios8 just plugged in to that circut? There's other breakers I could probably tap into but would have to do some wiring that isn't in my field of expertise. I don't have the materials to hard wire it so was hoping I would be okay running the 240v draw from the helios8 on the double pole 15amp breaker without problems. Planning on running 1600 watts so I won't really be maxing out the draw..that's not counting fans and exhaust though. I have an ac running on a different circut that is also a double pole 15 amp breaker and had fans and a 1000watt light running at the same time without tripping but I don't want to start a fire or pop breakers with the helios8. Was just going to get a plug to wire into my used helios8, the guy ran it to a basic 120 outlet with a 240v breaker and was wondering if a 120 plug would be okay as well as long as it was on a the correct breaker?

[Flockshot]

I got a little confused along thee way, but if you fill a circuit till the breaker trips, you are borderline on fire already. Your wires will be getting warm to the touch. Fifteen amp circuits should not pull more than 12 amps max. Twenty amp circuits 15 amps or so max. A 20 amp circuit at 110v is good for maybe 1600 watts total. A 15 amp 110v is good for about 1300 watts total.

Don't overload your electrical circuits. The cost is too high.

[Chefbjy]

That's what I thought gbauto I just don't want to overload the circuit when the switches click on. I'm sure I'll be okay with the box, but I may just put the tent in another location on a designated circuit for heat since I'm not using it. Plenty of power there just trying to make it a convenience 😉.

[AllwaysLearning]

I'm a journeyman electrician for 30 years. NEVER PUT 220 TO A 110 OUTLET ! you never know who might plug something in there by mistake. You should only run at 80% of the breaker to be safe according to the National electric code. Hope this helps.

[Flockshot]

I see people on here changing from 15 to 20 amp breakers on a number 14 wire circuit, I see people tapping in to dryer circuits. It's like pot growers are oblivious to the dangers of mishandling electricity. How many fires, I wonder?

[9fingerleafs]

DrPhoton i think dan can help you. Nobody knows more about electronics than he

[Chefbjy]

Yeah I tried to tag him in my journal but he must be writing another book or knee deep in research 😆. He's a busy guy hard to catch him sometimes 😉.

[LosTweed]

This seems like an ominous topic,electric work and workarounds should be left to an electrician...

[Chefbjy]

I know DrPhoton has a degree in electronics and there are some smart people here LosTweed. You'd be surprised at the info you can get here on gwe 😉.

[LosTweed]

Cool, I look forward to more knowledge from you all! Just dont want anyone to wind up zapped

[Mr.furley]

Chefbjy, do you have pictures of the cord end and by chance how it's wired to the unit?
you would have to rewire an outlet For it to accommodate if it's 220v you need two hot/leads on the receptacle back to the breaker box. I personally would not consider this safe with pieces and parts from 110v at least until I understand more about what you're trying to do.

[Chefbjy]

Okay so the cord end was disconnected but I haven't been able to check the plug itself I'm going to use. I was going to connect a standard 120 plug to the box the box runs 120 and 240. The draw however from the box requires it being hooked up to a 240v breaker. The double pole breaker is two 120v two 15amp so I'm wondering if the box helps with the load... KingKush has a helios8 maybe he can help.

[Mr.furley]

Ok I looked up helios8 and the diagram shows being wired to dedicated 50 amp 240v and two 120v is this correct to your unit? I'm not sure if all three need to be plugged in at once or it runs 120 volt or 240 volt.

The helios8 should definitely help with your load if you're putting the helios8 its own circuit in your main breaker box, this however also requires that you're not overloading your main circuit box. is it 200 amp? 100-amp? a subpanel? How many circuits are in the Box already? these all play a factor in overloading. As long as you use the right amperage breaker the right wire size 50amp double pole and 6/2 or 3 wire and are not overloading your main box I would think this unit would help but I don't have a helios8 myself.

[RosettaStoned]

What exactly are you asking? Can you use a 120 volt Male plug end?? Or the 15 amp breaker? The numbers are just for load, everything is wired or connected the same just different size wires or connection points. So in theory you can use whatever as long as it's not overloaded and correctly wired.

[RosettaStoned]

I did. Can't tell what you're asking. You say he had it ran to a basic 120 outlet. How was it connected to that outlet? When you say 120 plug, do you mean putting a Male plug end on the cord from the helios?

[KingKush]

RosettaStoned
I didn't attach a plug to my Helios Controller, but I suppose you could and just use it like a dryer or oven plug in. That is the working theory behind it. I just ran my romex wire straight into my Helios and it runs just fine. No option to kill other than at the breakers but that's the only drawback, (or hooking up to a UPS would be super smart, no worries about power glitches)

[Chefbjy]

Yes he had it plugged into a washer dryer outlet. I can't remember if it was a 220plug. I'll be having someone come and take care of it for me 😉 thank you for the assistance.

[KingKush]

Chefbjy
How I thought out, and ultimately set my Helios 8 is in this manner:
Run it off 240v like a clothes dryer or cooking oven. But you don't need any plugs, just some extra house wiring perhaps. One strand of Romex (3 wire) wire should run between your Helios box and the breakers

A hot should run into a 15amp breaker (A)
A hot should run into a different 15amp breaker(B)
A ground should run into the ground strip.

All three strands directly connect to your Helios box and the breakers (that's what it did)

Does this make sense? Hooking it up is crucial but easy, plug and play, just make sure you can read your multimeter correctly to ensure you turned the power off to those breakers before
you connect the new wiring

That gives me 30amps @240v which is like 6000watts

Cheers, use your multimeter bro to make sure connections are dead before you touch them!

[Chefbjy]

Makes sense it's a short run to the box and I have worked in the field just never hooked one up so I'll go the safe route and run straight through the wall to the breaker box. I just wanted to pull the box off of that circuit with just a standard plug into the outlet. Thought the box handled the load. It's all double pole in my box. We're talking 30+ years this home was manufactured. I'll be getting a pro to take a look just thought I could run that circuit with the box taking the load and not my breaker.

[RosettaStoned]

@kighkush
Nor am I. I know a few. What you did sounds the easiest to me. So does that mean each switch is wired to it's own 120 volt 20 amp breaker essentially? Or both switches run off 240 volt and the combined 20 amps?

[KingKush]

Chefbjy

The Helios is designed to run 240v only, so you will need to run two hot wires. The only way to install two hots in your breaker and get 240v is by using two different breakers. If I plugged into one breaker, it would be 120v. But using two means that you get 120v + 120v . It's literally exactly like hooking up a clothes dryer or oven. Not too hard or complex.


All this does is drop your amperage.
So at 4000w I'm only pulling ~20amps instead of 40amps @120v
I chose this route and 240 so I could utilize my existing circuitry and breaker panel. I just run all 3 of my lights with a single dryer wiring.

[hycheese]

Is this fixture selectable between 120/240 via a switch? 1900 watts is 16 amps @120v, a 15 amp breaker should only be loaded to 80% of nameplate or about 1500 watts - which is why every 120v electrical device sold in the USA is rated at 1500 watts or less.

[DrPhoton]

Sorry Chefbjy i could not get to you sooner, i have been very busy and unwell. I seen your tag and this thread but just could not comment without looking at the data sheet first. 240v in 120v distrubuted sources, is from a two pole or two phase tap which is used together to gain 240v.

As for the capacity for cable and breakers. The breakers are usually rated for less than the capacity of the cable itself. In order to prevent the cable acting as a fuse and burning up. The minimum capacity of the circuit and breaker depends on standards and code for the country with which the wiring is done in. I am outside the US so cannot comment on these. But the datasheet for the helios requires a 50amp circuit, which would likely be beyond the standard circuits. Which would require a dedicated wiring circuit in order to satisfy the required installation specifications.

If you do not intend to use the full rated power input for the controller and instead only utilize the capacity that your current circuit is rated for. This is fine, just be sure that the average current usage is less than the breaker is rated for, just to be on the safe side. The current capacity of cables change widely depending on the environment and installation.

Sorry if i have missed anything, let me know if you need any further info. I have just finished building and wiring my new living quarters. ^.^

[Chefbjy]

Thank you DrPhoton I'll see what I can do...I'm going to have to hard wire it to a bigger breaker just to be safe. 😉 sorry to hear you're not well...hope you get better soon.

[starramus]

I am a tadbit worried. Have any of you paid your IBEW union dues?

[hycheese]

been paying since the 1987 NEC code cycle, retired now but still drive by the ibew daily so that still counts.

[starramus]

Be sure, and utilize one of these. Otherwise you might end up as the load, and your power rating will most definitely be exceeded.

https://www.tequipment.net/?gclid=CjwKCAjw4avaBRBPEiwA_ZetYrN0XvsoiFJObUgv-syFH2ipViFPX0w-v2_ARcwZiB7nco3DbO1ncxoCvooQAvD_BwE