1000w MH too much?

[GREENIE_420]

I had a friend tell me (he has a big fat green thumb) to watch out and be careful with a 1000w MH because it pulls enough power that the electric company notices the change in power usage and you are "flagged". He said that it pulls around the same wattage as a dryer!!! well no one does laundry 24/7 so you will be attracting "heat" !! My friend has a tendency to stretch the truth but it makes sense because I never understood how grow houses get busted by "heat output" but i have heard of people became curious when there are 2 or 3 central heat and air units ruuning alot and no one ever seems to be home. I only want to grow 4 plants at the most but i got this light for free, do i need to downsize?

 

[Rosebud]

I run a 400 and a 600. My electricity went up 50 dollars a month when I started. I do not worry about it. I think if you pay your bill on time no one cares. It could be a new hot tub. They run 24 hours.

 

[Hushpuppy]

Your friend doesn't know what he or she is talking about. A 1k light is the equivalent of having 10 100watt light bulbs on in your house. Also an electric dryer runs at around 3500-5500 watts. A hair dryer set on hot pulls 1500 watts. If that attracted attention then every teenage girl and half the teenage boys in the US would get busted every morning while getting ready for school.

The only time the electric company will flag you for electrical usage is if you don't pay the bill. I have had friend whose electricity usage more than doubled in a month for reasons other than nafarious ones, and the electric company did nothing but send them a bill.

Trust me that you have nothing to worry about electrical or heat signature. The more important thing to remember is to control the smell and to tell NOBODY about it.

 

[Hushpuppy]

I wouldn't trust that friend for important information. That 1k watt light will work very nicely for a grow space of about 5'x6' or a 4'x7'. Any bigger space than that and it will be hard to get light out to the edges of the space. You need to read all of the information here that you can. at the tops of every thread are "stickies" that are threads of information that will greatly serve you in growing. Welcome to the club if you have any questions just ask.

 

[GREENIE_420]

My grow area is 2'x10' Or 3'X10' and cannot be changed only smaller, I only want to grow 4 plants, what do you suggest? can I make this work? also my light was given to me (1000w MH) and two ballast it doesnt come(nothing at all) on and it doest look burnt, nothing is loose inside the wires and springs are connected. Im not sure its the correct ballast they have no writing on them, how do i test it or know if its the right one?

 

[7greeneyes]

the ballasts have literally NOTHING written on them? ...that's odd

 

[Hushpuppy]

Your space is very do-able. I would figure to set up a 3'x6'. You could grow 4 very nice plants in that space. However ther is much to do and think about, and learn about before you ever plant a seed or take a cutting.

The first thing is to determine if the light that you have is viable. The only way to do it (if you are not an electronics engineer) is to plug it in and test it the hot way. Did it come with any kind of reflective fixture or a "cool tube" for the bulb to sit in?

Once you know that the lights are going to work ok then you need to(if you are not already a veteran grower) do some serious reading on how to grow Marijuana inside. It is very different from any other plant and must have very specific needs met in order to give you any bud worth smoking.

Growing MJ inside is a great and rewarding hobby but it requires a considerable amount of investment of money, effort, and time. Without this serious investment the reward will be frustration and disappointment. We will be glad to help you along in this but you must be willing to do your homework as well. If you would like to talk specifically with me you are welcome to PM me, or you can continue to post here and all of us here will chime in with ideas and tips along the way.