# Tapping dryer plug for grow room



## Onion69420 (Aug 4, 2020)

Weird question:
Im setting up a legal growroom in my basement. I have a 220v lighting controller that will supply juice to my 6x600w lamps.
I dont want to add a circuit and i recently converted to a gas dryer, therefore my 30amp 220v  3 prong dryer outlet is unused.
What i want to do is plug in a dryer cord and then hook the ends up to the light controller.
If i understand a 3 prong dryer correctly it is 2 hots and a neutral/ground.
The light controller has connections for 2 hots and a ground.
Can i hook up the ground/neutral of the pigtail to the green ground connector of the light controller?
Im only gonna draw 15 amps at 220 which i believe will be fine for the #10 dryer wire.


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## afjes_2016 (Aug 4, 2020)

What are the electrical specs for the light controller. Does it have a name plate on it with electrical information. This is what you need to go by. Need to know what the over current device rating should be.

This is the first step.


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## bud16415 (Aug 4, 2020)

In theory you are fine in what you are thinking.



To restate what @afjes_2016 posted. The dryer outlet is powered by a 30 amp 220 volt breaker in your panel. The equipment you are attaching if it malfunctions wants to have its power cut out once it reaches 15 amps max by the sound of it. So in the event of a failure your lamp wires could melt down and cause a fire as the 30 amp breaker wouldn’t cut out in time.



The first question is does this box you are powering up have its own over current device rated at 15 amps or whatever the device needs to protect itself or does it require you to supply it power that has proper over current protection.



I’m not a pro and just wanted add my two cents as I see you are not a pro also.

We can ask afjes_2016 if it could be as simple as removing the 30 amp breaker and replacing it with a 15 amp?


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## geochurchi (Aug 4, 2020)

Hi, there would be no problem to down size the breaker, what type of cable supplies the dryer outlet?
Geo


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## Onion69420 (Aug 4, 2020)

I havent bought it yet, but the light controller can supply power for up to 8x1000watt lights


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## Onion69420 (Aug 4, 2020)

Oh and here is a picture of the cable


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## Onion69420 (Aug 4, 2020)

Looking closet at the unit is says on the bottom 50 amps input, so i dont think it would hurt to run a 30amp input?


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## geochurchi (Aug 4, 2020)

it will operate on a 30 Amp circuit, or at least not at full capacity, you really need to get the correct specs before you do anything else.
Geo


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## Sparky617 (Aug 4, 2020)

Grow room for marijuana?  Even if legal to do in your state, not a great idea to do this in a house.  The humidity required will kill your house.


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## Onion69420 (Aug 4, 2020)

Nah i got the HVAC all set up, its gonna be in a sealed grow tent with a dehu and dual hose a/c


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## afjes_2016 (Aug 5, 2020)

.

First step is not complete yet. No specs given except.



> I havent bought it yet, but the light controller can supply power for up to 8x1000watt lights



Ohm's Law anyone?

Bud16415 explained the importance of reasoning behind knowing the specs.

From what I see in the pics of the "cable" all I can read is NM B which really means nothing. Does not tell what the gauge is. All I see is a white jacket/sheathing romex.

.


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## geochurchi (Aug 5, 2020)

Type NM B is Romex but it doesn’t show the gauge, to many unknowns.
Geo


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## Onion69420 (Aug 5, 2020)

Its 2 comductor #10


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## Jeff Handy (Aug 5, 2020)

A breaker is designed to protect the house wiring, not what is drawing the current.
It is an over-current protection device for the wiring. 

Hopefully, the lighting controller has its own 
safeties built in.


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## Burgy (Aug 5, 2020)

Hey Onion.  Check out Titan LED.  They manufacture LED grow lights out of their Arizona factory.  I can get you information if needed.  Titan has had beta sites set up in order to have Titan's brand compared to other brands which are primarily coming from China.  Thanks


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## afjes_2016 (Aug 5, 2020)

.

Ohm's just whispered in my ear that -
8,000 watts/240v = 33.33 amps

10 gauge is good up to 30amps
And this may be considered a continuous load (multiply by 1.25) - pulling full power for more than three hours. This is why the name plate (specs) is so important. I don't think the lights will cycle on and off so my reasoning for a "continuous load". Even if you may not have the unit pulling full capacity (only a couple out of 8 lights) it still needs to be wired for full capacity (name plate rating).

_First step is still not complete._

Yes, a circuit breaker is to protect "house wiring" - however, if there may be a fault/short in the appliance and it wants to draw more than anticipated then the circuit breaker should do its job and "kick off". But we can only know what amp rated breaker (and to match the gauge conductors with it) once we know the specs on the unit. A link to the unit may help eliminate a lot of guess work which could be hazardous.

.


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## Onion69420 (Aug 5, 2020)

afjes_2016 said:


> .
> 
> Ohm's just whispered in my ear that -
> 8,000 watts/240v = 33.33 amps
> ...


The controller im going to purchase is for UP TO 8x1000 watt lights, im only going to run 6x600watt lights which is about 15 amps


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## slownsteady (Aug 5, 2020)

Wherever you are buying the controller from should be able to provide you with the specs. If it can't or won't, don't buy it from there. And there is always the manufacturers website. Do your homework dude. Just repeating the question without adding more info is no answer at all. There are folks here who can help you read the specs if you need it.


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