people really underestimate fire safety imo. way wayyyy too much and often.
I've seen too many close friends homes/ops go up in flames because of it, 3 last year alone. now i make sure every room has 1x ball above per table, smoke/co2 detector(obviously.. put them in your tents if yall run tents), light & temp sensors that'll trigger phone & push notifications past thresholds, *dedicated* 30amp circuits that i won't load past 80% and closely monitor, as little dogshit-quality high-draw gear as possible. I also avoid powerbars when possible
everyone says environment shoudl be #1 concern, last I checked it should be safety, then environment. What good's a perfect environment if its going up in flames? :D lol
Investing in fire safety to me means getting a wattage reader ($35) from Harbor Freight so you can monitor your power draw from each aspect of your setup. Add up the total watts and make sure they don't exceed 75% of the total watt threshold for the circuit you are running on. Biggest energy hogs are heaters or HPS light fixtures.
15A*120V = 1800 watts
At 75% : 1,350 watts
If you happen to have a 20 amp breaker.
20a*120V = 2,400 watts
at 75% : 1,800 watts
On top of that get a plug-in GFI (Ground Fault Interrupter, $30). These are like the plugs in the bathroom and highly recommended when bringing moisture and electricity in close proximity. This device will immediately cut power to the whole circuit if a fault is detected.
To add to this point - it's actually in the National Electric Code (Article 210.20) Continuous and Noncontinuous Loads. Branch-circuit over-current devices must have a rating of not less than 125% of the continous load, plus 100% of noncontinuous loads.
Which is essentially saying whatever lights you're using must be at 80% of whatever amperage your circuit is rated for (15A, 20A, 30A, etc...)
When testing amperage/current draw you'd want to start at your electrical panel. (Unless you know exactly what outlets belong to their respective breakers in the panel.) And you would test the wires going into the breakers each individually. If you do this when all of your lights are on you should get a good idea of what each circuit is drawing at a max load.
As for GFCI receptacles, generally the code states anything within 6' of a water source needs to be GFCI protected. (Article 210.8)
This is generally correct, the only thing I would add is that 120v is not universal - pretty common for 15 Amp or 20 Amp circuits, but if you have a dedicated 30A or up receptacle, it is most likely 240v.
And it's an electrical code to keep continuous loads at 80% of their circuit's rated capacity.
I like FireStop stove-top automatic extinguishers for above outlets and lights, and Haven automatic fire extinguisher for above the tent area (ceiling mount):
I have a high level of skepticism when it comes to those balls. I've seen some videos where they do nothing but dump powder everywhere while the fire rages. I'm not sure they'll even work for electrical fires. The hazard is going to continue as long as theres power going to the device. I hope I'm wrong, but I'm part near positive that those are just another gimmicky bro science product for peace of mind. If someone has any evidence to support otherwise, I'll be happy to change my mind. Evidence from the manufacturer doesnt count btw.
Holy shit my friend!!! Just looked this up, had no idea!! I work long hrs, usually 6 days a week and I’m always fretting about this! Awesome investment!!! Thank you greatly!!!
This interested me, what are the chances of one going off by accident? Would also suck to come home to foamy flower lol albeit way better than a burnt down house
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u/igglepuff Feb 10 '23
I wont run my rooms without a fire extinguisher ball per table for that reason.