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Electricians?? Advice wanted.

Chefbjy

Chefbjy

New member
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?
 
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.
 
Yeah they are double pole though not single. So they should pull close to 240 correct? I've been running 1000watt on that circuit with minor pops when useage is high in home...hairdryers vacuum etc. But only when I maxed the load. Will it trip if I use the box? Thought the box was supposed to keep the breaker from overloading?
 
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 😉.
 
When you look inside a breaker panel, you'll see 2 large feed wires at the top. They each connect to a vertical buss bar for each feed. There is 120v to ground on each leg and 240v leg to leg so a double gang breaker is for a 240 volt circuit.
 
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 😉.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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!
 
It's just like setting up a dryer, and instead of having a plug-in, the wire is hard wired into the Helios box. It's pretty basic electrician work if you look into house codes. You got it bro, it's super easy just plug and play, but you gotta bend some
Copper.
 
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?
 
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)
 
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.
 
I wasn't familiar with how they are supplied with power. The only other thing is it has to be 240 right? When you say double pole breakers do you mean it has two hots? It's a common misconception that "split" breakers are 240 when really the are just two breakers on the same pole. Not saying you don't know the difference but wiring isn't your forte, like you said. Not trying to be condescending either
 
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