Anyone grow hydroponics?

Kaneman · 01-22-2010, 10:48 AM

No, not weed. My Grandma got me an Aerogarden for a wedding present and we grew a shitload of Basil and Parsley, which was pretty cool to have handy and not have to pay $3 everything I wanted it in my dinner.

I have a spare room that never gets used so I was thinking about trying to grow some tomatoes or cucumbers or something. I would much rather do it outside, but our house is completely shaded. I've got a buddy with a 600W light up in his attic he said I can have. (He got busted, but not growing tomatoes, lol)

I wonder what it would cost to run a 600w light for 18 hours a day? Anyone have any experience with this?

Trip · 01-22-2010, 10:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kaneman

I wonder what it would cost to run a 600w light for 18 hours a day? Anyone have any experience with this?

Find out your $ - kW/hr cost on your electrical bill.

Rider · 01-22-2010, 10:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kaneman

No, not weed. My Grandma got me an Aerogarden for a wedding present and we grew a shitload of Basil and Parsley, which was pretty cool to have handy and not have to pay $3 everything I wanted it in my dinner.

I have a spare room that never gets used so I was thinking about trying to grow some tomatoes or cucumbers or something. I would much rather do it outside, but our house is completely shaded. I've got a buddy with a 600W light up in his attic he said I can have. (He got busted, but not growing tomatoes, lol)

I wonder what it would cost to run a 600w light for 18 hours a day? Anyone have any experience with this?

Your pulling 5 amps on that bulb alone. You better not have anything else on that breaker when you turn it on assuming it's just a 10 amp breaker. The inrush current would pop the breaker if you have anything else on there drawing power.

Trip · 01-22-2010, 11:00 AM

just a guess for Texas based on the info I could find is about 9-13 cents a kilowatt hour. Don't know how accurate that is though.

Say you were at 10 cents pulling a 600W bulb, that would be $1.08 a day if you ran it 18 hours a day. That's dependent on your electrical rates being fixed at 10 cents though.

Particle Man · 01-22-2010, 11:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trip

Find out your $ - kW/hr cost on your electrical bill.

Or run an extension cord from your neighbord

Kaneman · 01-22-2010, 11:05 AM

$.116 per hour they tell me. It took me an 8 minute phone call just to find that out. Assholes.

Anyway, so $30 a month? Not sure if that seems worth it or not.

Rider, my buddy just had it plugged into a regular ol' socket. Had some fans and other "closet accessories" too, never had any trouble. But I know shitall about electricity.

Trip · 01-22-2010, 11:07 AM

Yeah, price wise it's not usually worth it. It's more worth it to control the freshness of ingredients and what you put into it.

LeeNetworX · 01-22-2010, 11:38 AM

My grandfather used to grow hydroponic tomatoes in 5-gallon buckets full of sawdust. Those things would get HUGE. Those got all of the sun they needed, however - I'm not sure how much minimum sunlight they would require.

Kaneman · 01-22-2010, 12:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LeeNetworX

My grandfather used to grow hydroponic tomatoes in 5-gallon buckets full of sawdust. Those things would get HUGE. Those got all of the sun they needed, however - I'm not sure how much minimum sunlight they would require.

Sunlight would be awesome, I'd love to not be completely shaded here.

OneSickPsycho · 01-22-2010, 01:44 PM

I'd say a 600w setup might be a bit overkill for growing a couple tomato plants.

01-22-2010, 10:48 AM	#1
Kaneman AMA Supersport Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Odessa, TX Moto: 2000 Honda CBR1100XX Blackbird Posts: 4,931	Anyone grow hydroponics? No, not weed. My Grandma got me an Aerogarden for a wedding present and we grew a shitload of Basil and Parsley, which was pretty cool to have handy and not have to pay $3 everything I wanted it in my dinner. I have a spare room that never gets used so I was thinking about trying to grow some tomatoes or cucumbers or something. I would much rather do it outside, but our house is completely shaded. I've got a buddy with a 600W light up in his attic he said I can have. (He got busted, but not growing tomatoes, lol) I wonder what it would cost to run a 600w light for 18 hours a day? Anyone have any experience with this? __________________ 1982 Honda XR80 - blown motor, 1993 Kawasaki ZX6D - sold, 2001 Suzuki Bandit 1200S - sold, 1984 Honda Magna - sold, 2001 Kawasaki ZRX1200R - blown motor, 2007 Suzuki DL1000 V-Strom - totalled, 2003 Yamaha FZ1 - sold, 1994 Honda Magna - sold, 2001 Honda CBR600F4i - sold, 1998 Suzuki DR350 - stolen, 1989 Honda Super Magna - sold, 2007 Yamaha Stratoliner, 2000 Honda CBR 1100XX Blackbird

01-22-2010, 11:05 AM	#6
Kaneman AMA Supersport Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Odessa, TX Moto: 2000 Honda CBR1100XX Blackbird Posts: 4,931	$.116 per hour they tell me. It took me an 8 minute phone call just to find that out. Assholes. Anyway, so $30 a month? Not sure if that seems worth it or not. Rider, my buddy just had it plugged into a regular ol' socket. Had some fans and other "closet accessories" too, never had any trouble. But I know shitall about electricity. __________________ 1982 Honda XR80 - blown motor, 1993 Kawasaki ZX6D - sold, 2001 Suzuki Bandit 1200S - sold, 1984 Honda Magna - sold, 2001 Kawasaki ZRX1200R - blown motor, 2007 Suzuki DL1000 V-Strom - totalled, 2003 Yamaha FZ1 - sold, 1994 Honda Magna - sold, 2001 Honda CBR600F4i - sold, 1998 Suzuki DR350 - stolen, 1989 Honda Super Magna - sold, 2007 Yamaha Stratoliner, 2000 Honda CBR 1100XX Blackbird

01-22-2010, 11:38 AM	#8
LeeNetworX SFL Expatriate #1 Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: ATL Burbs Moto: '09 Triumph Speed Triple Posts: 4,712	My grandfather used to grow hydroponic tomatoes in 5-gallon buckets full of sawdust. Those things would get HUGE. Those got all of the sun they needed, however - I'm not sure how much minimum sunlight they would require.

01-22-2010, 01:44 PM	#10
OneSickPsycho Ride Like an Asshole Join Date: Feb 2008 Moto: nothing... Posts: 11,254	I'd say a 600w setup might be a bit overkill for growing a couple tomato plants.