220V MH system saves money?

[clsanchez77]

BTW, the shock at 220v is much greater than that of 110v. Assume V=IR (last time I checked) If the resistance of the human body is fixed (not dependent on voltage), the amperage is directly driven by voltage, so simplu put, twice the voltage is twice the amperage.

Ive hit the leads of a 120v wiring a live outlet (disconnected the wrong breaker) and it hurt...I remember my whole arm jolting back. I've been told 220v can throw you back. Obviosuly, either can kill you in the right condition.

 

[Entropy]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6523322#post6523322 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by clsanchez77
BTW, the shock at 220v is much greater than that of 110v. Assume V=IR (last time I checked) If the resistance of the human body is fixed (not dependent on voltage), the amperage is directly driven by voltage, so simplu put, twice the voltage is twice the amperage.

Ive hit the leads of a 120v wiring a live outlet (disconnected the wrong breaker) and it hurt...I remember my whole arm jolting back. I've been told 220v can throw you back. Obviosuly, either can kill you in the right condition.

I guess I was thinking of getting shocked by an item on the circuit more than grabbing onto bare wires. I know you all have everything hooked to a GFIC breaker/outlet anyway, so no worries.

 

[clsanchez77]

Did...I am currently broken down and getting ready to start new wih a 90. I wont be doing anything in 220v myself. Tank size is not large enough to justify the extra work in wiring and everything else.

Is GFI available in 220, I assume it is, just never saw it before?

 

[lastin1]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6522814#post6522814 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Entropy
Not sure I understand that statement. A 120v circuit would carry more amperage than a 220v circuit for the same load, so in theory the 120v is deadlier. And as Gregory Hines once said, "It's not the volts. It's the amps."

Current may be what kills, but 240 volt is still a lot more dangerous. What you're forgetting is that 240 volt doesn't halve the current available at the outlet. In fact, the reason why 240 volt is even used is so you can push more power through the same wires.

 

[tangelo_]

If at all possible, I would run 240 to your tank room. At least you have it there if you need it. I have stacks of books on electrical theory if you want to debate it. If I had the option I would run a full time pump and lights if I could on 240.

 

[Entropy]

With the price of copper at Home Depot these days, I think I will stick to good old 12/2. I don't have a system big enough to justify 220v anything anyway.

 

[WY_REEFER]

Not sure I understand that statement. A 120v circuit would carry more amperage than a 220v circuit for the same load, so in theory the 120v is deadlier. And as Gregory Hines once said, "It's not the volts. It's the amps."

That is right, AMPS are what kill.
50 mA will kill with the rigth voltage.
Your house probably has a 50 amp service

So if ohms law says I=V/R
Then
AMPS=220/human body resistance

This will give your body 2X what it would be at 120.

The reason motors dont get twice the amps is they have seperate windings for 220V. There is also inductance involved witch cuts the amps back when the motor is up to speed.

 

[BeanAnimal]

I dunno about YOUR house but mine has a 200 AMP service. As a side note I had to bug that 200 AMP service entrance cable to the wire coming from the pole HOT. The local electric company will not do it, they just come retape the connection when your done... lazyasses.

Did I mention that I have a 30x30 ranch style house

Bean

 

[clsanchez77]

I have a 100 amp service and it is limited to that because I am in a 35 year old condominium.

So recapping page 1, we have beaten to death :
:hammer: How voltage, amperage and power (watts or kw-h) relate
:hammer: Ohm's Law (V=IR)
:hammer: Safety issues and causes between 110 vs 220
:hammer: There might or might not be a energy savings between the two for use with ballasts and pumps based on lower amp draw per pole and better load balancing within the house

What was the question

So Untamed12, are you still here

As tangelo_ said, If I were building new for a large tank, I would run the wires to have since the copper is cheap. I would suppose that if I had several pumps and several MH fixtures, I would use it for the lower amp draw and balancing across the poles. But I would think that for any tank smaller than 300ish (largest stock tank that I know of), there wont be any real benifit other than novelty.

I wont be using it on my next tank, a 90, but will consider it when I build new in a few years.

 

[BeanAnimal]

My 75 has it's own subpanel. Why? Becuase it was easier and took up less room than 3 seperate breakers in the main panel.

Circuit 1 LIGHTS
Circuit 2 PUMPS
Circuit 3 Heaters
Circuit 4 Controller and electronics

Overkill yes, but on the other hand a ballast or heater failure will not take down the pumps or vice versa.

Bean

 

[Therbligs]

Is GFI available in 220, I assume it is, just never saw it before?

Yes. Even Home Depot stocks them. Pools and Hot tubs are the big users for these GFCI devices in the home. I have a 60amp (Big A@@ Breaker) with 6 gauge run to my hot tub.

 

[clsanchez77]

I figured something that big, the protection would be in the breaker panel, like an arc-fault breaker. My condo's pool has the GFI for the light in the breaker. The pump is external and above the ground so I dont think there is any protection.

I like the idea of the subpanel, couldn't do it where I leave now though, another idea to pencil in for new construction.

I have on my last aquarium (65g) 4 GFI's. I spread the lights, cirulation and heaters across three that way if one tripped, I did not loose an entire 'life support' conponent. The fourth was a spare.

 

[hahnmeister]

To reply to an old question...of you check out the mfg websites for ballasts, and compare the %efficiency you will see that the higher the voltage, the better the ballast performs. This is true of T5s and halides I know. The benefit is in that you will most likely be getting a better performing ballast...less wattage to get the same results. Also, there are some ballasts that need 220v, so what was said before (1000wattHQI is only 220v)...to have it and not need it is better than needing it and not having it...Ill go with that.