The word “fire” is used to describe potent hydroponics marijuana, but fire is an enemy of marijuana growers.
As more and more people discover the joys and profits of indoor hydroponics marijuana growing, there are more and more worries about fire dangers.
The fundamental concerns are how you source and use electricity for your grow room equipment, and how you protect your hydroponics grow room from heat, sparks, circuit failures, bad wiring, fire-prone equipment, and other things that cause fire.
Start with the fact that many hydroponics marijuana growers set up their indoor garden in a closet or bedroom.
They plug lights, fans, light movers, chillers, air conditioners and other high-load electrical devices into a 10-15 amp wall outlet.
But in most cases, the wall outlet is ill-equipped to handle the electrical load.
There are many things that can be problematic in your grow house electrical supply system.
The wiring and/or outlet might be old, damaged, frayed, shorted, or otherwise compromised.
The circuit box and breaker that supports the outlet may be inadequate to handle the increased electrical load.
Most wall outlets are on a 15-amp, 120 volt circuit.
There are several outlets loaded into that one circuit.
One 1,000 watt metal halide or high pressure sodium light draws 9 amps at 120 volts.
So just by using one of those plugged into a wall outlet, you have already significantly maxed your circuit.
When you max a circuit you create big problems.
Your circuit breaker (if it’s working properly) may shut down your circuit because you’ve overloaded it.
Your wiring may heat up, flame up, short out or otherwise fail.
The results can range from the inconvenience of having your hydroponics gear shut down intermittently, which damages your equipment and interrupts the orderly provision of light, water and other factors to your plants.
If a fire starts, the local fire department is likely to visit your hydroponics grow room.
I don’t need to tell you how bad that can turn out for you.
Because hydroponics marijuana grow room fires are often caused by electrical issues, examine your main panel, circuit breakers, wiring, extension cords, and outlets.
You want to make sure that all electrical infrastructure is absolutely without flaw, that the rated loads are adequate for the amp draw you intend to run on that circuit, extension cord, outlets, etc., and that your circuit breakers are new or almost-new and totally reliable.
I’ve installed one 30-amp circuit for every 1000-watt light in my hydroponics marijuana grow room.
This included a new circuit breaker and new wiring.
Hydroponics grow lights put out lots of heat and fire can come if you place grow room structures or materials such as poly plastic, light hanger cords, or anything else that’s flammable too close to your lights… especially HID bulbs.
Another source of grow room fires are fans, C02 burners, chillers… anything that uses electricity or has a flame built into it.
Only get the highest quality electrical appliances for your grow op, and make sure if you use a C02 burner that it’s one with redundant safety features that do an auto-shutoff at the slightest hint of trouble.
Your plants will survive without added C02, but they won’t survive a C02 burner-caused fire!
To prevent electrical fires and electrocution risk, consider investing in a hydroponics electrical interface device such as those made by Powerbox.
These devices include a GFCI circuit breaker that shuts down your electrical flow when conditions are likely to cause electrocution or fire.
Powerbox makes a variety of hydroponics electrical interface devices that provide safety while also enhancing the longevity and usability of hydroponics lights, ballasts and other hydroponics gear.
I also recommend you get a total grow room monitor/controller alert system like the wireless SmartBee system that’ll alert you via text if your hydroponics marijuana grow room temps are going up past where you want them.
I’m fortunate enough to be able to stay home and monitor my hydroponics marijuana grow room 24/7/365.
Yes, I’m a slave to my plants, but I pay close attention to what’s going on in my grow ops and I have a fire extinguisher handy in case I sniff smoke and witness fire.
The bottom line is, I want fire marijuana, but I don’t want fire in my marijuana grow room:)
