Marijuana Horticulture: The Indoor/Outdoor Medical Grower's Bible

instead of 170°F (77°C). This simple procedure saved about 25 kWh per month. But do not turn the water heater any lower than 130°F. Harmful bacteria can grow below this safe point.
    The electric company might call to ask if you were aware of your increased electricity bill. This is nothing to worry about. Simply reply that you are aware of the electricity being used. If you like to make excuses, some appliances that draw a lot of electricity are: electric pottery kiln, arc welder, and hot tub. If the situation warrants, take showers at a friend’s house or at a gym, use a Laundromat, and never use any electrical appliances.
    The meter reader may think it is strange to see the electric meter spinning like a top during the middle of the day when nobody is home. Change the daylight cycle to be on at night, so the meter reader sees the meter when the lamps are off. Growers tend to know exactly when the meter reader is coming around. Now meter readers are using high-tech telescopes to read the dials on the meter and storing the readings in an integrated digital entry device. The informationis then dumped into the larger computer at the central office. One friend had his meter replaced by the power company. The company had noticed a major change in electricity consumption at the residence and thought that it could be due to a defective meter, so the meter was changed, but no difference was realized. Large electricity consumers may use a heavy-duty commercial power meter.
    Some people bypass the meter or figure out some other way to steal electricity. This is a bad idea. If you are stealing electricity from a power company, they might find out. Stealing electricity is a very good way to call unnecessary attention to your growing operation. If you steal electricity, you are making it easy for someone from the power company to investigate you. Of course, some people have stolen electricity for years and gotten away with it, and they might get away with it forever. Ironically, one of the main reasons that people steal electricity in the first place is because of security. If conspicuous electricity consumption is a problem, a generator will help.
Generators
    Generators can supply all the electricity necessary for a grow room, and you can grow “off the power grid.” Reliability, ampere output, and noise are important to consider when shopping for a generator.
    Buy the generator new. It should be water cooled and fully automated. Start it up, and check its noise output before purchasing. Always buy a generator that is big enough to do the job. A little extra cushion will be necessary to allow for power surges. If it fails, the crop could fail! Allow about 1300 watts per lamp to be run by the generator. The ballast consumes a few watts as does the wire, etc. A 5500-watt Honda generator will run four lamps.

     
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    A circuit with a 20-amp fuse, containing the following items
    1400-watt toaster oven
         100-watt incandescent light bulb
    + 20 watt radio
    1520 total watts
    1520/120 volts = 12.6 amps in use
    or
    1520/240 volts = 6.3 amps in use
    The above example shows 12.6 amps are being drawn when everything is on. By adding 9.2 amps, drawn by the HID to the circuit, we get 21.8 amps, an overloaded circuit!
    There are three solutions:
Remove one or all of the high-amp–drawing appliances and plug them into another circuit.
Find another circuit that has few or no amps drawn by other appliances.
Install a new circuit. A 240-volt circuit will make more amps available per circuit.
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This generator produces 4000 watts at full capacity.
    Honda generators are one of the most common found in grow rooms because they are reasonably priced, dependable, and quiet. But, they are not designed to work for long periods. One grower I met hooked up a generator to a six-cylinder gasoline motor. It could run five lamps with ease, but it guzzled a lot of gas. Diesel motors are more economical to run, but noisy, and the toxic fumes reek. Always make sure gasoline or diesel-powered generators are vented properly. The exhaust produces carbon monoxide, which is toxic to plants and humans.
    Gasoline generator motors can be converted to propane, which burns much cleaner, and the exhaust may be used as a source of CO 2 .

This generator on wheels provides complete “off the grid” security. Check into their consumption and maintenance before purchasing. Some models make quite a bit of noise that must be muffled. You can park it