Reef Central Online Community

Go Back   Reef Central Online Community > General Interest Forums > Reef Discussion
Blogs FAQ Calendar

Notices

User Tag List

Reply
Thread Tools
Unread 11/23/2010, 11:30 AM   #26
scubasteve06
Jeeper Reefer
 
scubasteve06's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Clemson, SC
Posts: 1,171
I use two outlets only because they are accessible where my stand and tank is. I use a surge protected GFCI power strip I got from office depot that powers my 2 powerheads, return pump, skimmer pump, and two heaters and fan for my T5's. The other outlet has the same power strip with a maxijet 1200, T5 power supply, and VHO ballast plugged in it. I'd say one outlet would be fine, but make sure you have a surge protected GFCI power strip that all your equipment is plugged into. I have my power strips mounted off the ground screwed into my stand legs so unless we have a 3' deep flood come through my house they should never get wet and have the chance of blowing a fuse, creating a spark or starting a fire (god forbid).


scubasteve06 is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 11/23/2010, 11:38 AM   #27
hvacman250
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2010
Posts: 733
In addition, find out what else is on that circuit. If you are worried about wife or kids using the additional outlets, cover them with the safety plugs and dont use them.

By code, there are only supposed to be 6 outlets per circuit.


__________________
220 in-wall reef, 10 clown pairs, 4 fry tanks, 18 grow-out tanks

Current Tank Info: 220 in-wall reef, clownfish breeding/growout system, 20L coral QT and 29 fish QT
hvacman250 is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 11/24/2010, 10:19 AM   #28
iwishtofish
Registered Member
 
iwishtofish's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Southern Maryland
Posts: 4,949
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris27 View Post
Everyone of us could tell you what we have hooked up to one receptacle, but it's worthless data and should under no circumstances be a deciding factor on your part.

You need to do some sleuthing and use that data to do some math. Turn everything on, and then shut off the breaker, find out every last piece of electrical equipment that runs on that breaker and add up all the current draw. Most items will have either current or power listed, to convert power to current divide it by 120.

For example, your living room has two lamps with 100W bulbs, so that's 200/120=1.7A, a phone charger which is .2A, a TV which draws about 2A, an entertainment system that draws 8A and possibly an iron or vacuum which cold draw anywhere from 10-15A.

So adding it all up nets roughly 20A, so adding anymore power hungry devices on that circuit isn't really a good idea.
Quote:
Originally Posted by hvacman250 View Post
Best guess is 836 W of power/120 V = 6.96 amps. Even if you are on a 15 amp circuit, you're fine.

Other notes: other power comsumption on that circuit MAY cause a breaker fault, i.e. vacuum, hair dryer, TV, etc.

For continuous duty, dont run more than 80% capacity. 12 amps on a 15A, 16 on a 20A.
Thank you, Chris27 and hvacman250, for the consumption-figuring methodology! I bumped the tank consumption to 1000w, which gave me an estimate of 8.3 amps draw: hopefully not too bad on the 20a circuit. Obviously, I'll still have to be conscous of what else might be run on the circuit.

Quote:
Originally Posted by scubasteve06 View Post
I use two outlets only because they are accessible where my stand and tank is. I use a surge protected GFCI power strip I got from office depot that powers my 2 powerheads, return pump, skimmer pump, and two heaters and fan for my T5's. The other outlet has the same power strip with a maxijet 1200, T5 power supply, and VHO ballast plugged in it. I'd say one outlet would be fine, but make sure you have a surge protected GFCI power strip that all your equipment is plugged into. I have my power strips mounted off the ground screwed into my stand legs so unless we have a 3' deep flood come through my house they should never get wet and have the chance of blowing a fuse, creating a spark or starting a fire (god forbid).
scubasteve06, I appreciate the tip on keeping the electrical work up high. This will all be in a basement, so I'll do that!


iwishtofish is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
GFCI: Installation of wall outlet unit Reefugee Marine Aquarists Roundtable of Sacramento (MARS) 25 01/21/2009 10:09 AM
Dedicated wall outlets? benf Lighting, Filtration & Other Equipment 19 11/29/2006 05:21 PM
Any recommendation on electrician to install wall outlet? tonggao Greater San Francisco Bay Area Reef Forum 1 08/19/2006 02:19 PM
Where To Purchase Wall Outlet 1076/2? simple_joe Tunze 3 05/16/2005 03:26 PM
Help ! I need a wall outlet overflow 1074/2 ! cyberpeter2000 Tunze 5 06/02/2004 08:05 PM


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 10:26 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2025, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Powered by Searchlight © 2025 Axivo Inc.
Use of this web site is subject to the terms and conditions described in the user agreement.
Reef CentralTM Reef Central, LLC. Copyright ©1999-2022
User Alert System provided by Advanced User Tagging v3.3.0 (Pro) - vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2025 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.