Electrical Question - Too much draw for one socket?

tygger · 02/27/2006, 02:38 PM

I have no clue about this subject and just wanted to ask before I go burning down the house.

Not unlike too many other setups, I'll have two 250w MH (500w total), 96w PCs, 300w heater, 93w Mag9.5, 80w total in powerheads, about 50 watt refuge light, and a Euroreef CS6-1 w/ Sedra pump that's about 45w.

In the future, I'll add a auto top off and maybe moon lights.

I plan on plugging this all into a regular socket in the wall that has not been modified. I plan on replacing the standard socket with a GFCI. Other than that, do you guys foresee any problems with plugging all this into a standard house socket??? Is this too much draw from one socket?

If it is, what do I have to do to make this work?

Thanks

anjhof · 02/27/2006, 02:50 PM

I am sure someone who is an electrician will add to this thread, but until then I'll share with you my recent experience. I have the exact same lighting as you, same heater, same size pump in the sump, plus about 100w of powerheads, an autotop off, 2 fans for the lights, and a G3 skimmer. Basically the exact same set up. If you have nothing else running on this circuit, and assuming you have a 20 amp circuit - you would be fine. HOWEVER, I also had a big screen tv, stereo, subwoofer, dvd player, etc all plugged into the same circuit. I happened to plug in a vaccuum while the lights were on and pop - I tripped the circuit breaker. I had my friend come over and we added up the amps running on just the fish tank - it was about 12-13. Safe to say I was living dangerously. So, we added a 20 amp GFI outlet just for the tank. I think it cost about $150 - which probably cost about $100 in parts - and $50 for his time. The lighting alone was about 6 amps and the heater was 3 amps. Just by taking those off the circuit - you are much better off.

BeanAnimal · 02/27/2006, 02:51 PM

500 lights
100 pc
300 heater
100 mag 9.5
100 ph
050 fuge
050 skimmer

=1200 watts

This will likely be fine on a 20A circuit. It will be pushing the limits of a 15A circuit. This also assumes nothing else in the house is on the same circuit. You will not likely have FIRE problems, rather you will tend to trip the breaker for the circuit.

Also please use a high quality commercial power strip, not the junk sold at lowes or wal-mart.

Bean

BeanAnimal · 02/27/2006, 02:53 PM

also be aware that if you have one device that causes a groudn fault, then everything on the circuit will go down. If you can run this off of two or more branch circuits you will be much farther ahead.

tygger · 02/27/2006, 05:26 PM

Thanks guys. I have NO idea what is or isn't on this circuit. By circuit, I'm guessing it doesn't just mean what's plugged into this particular outlet.

How can I tell what's on a particular circuit???

BeanAnimal · 02/27/2006, 05:30 PM

Turn everything in the house on and plug a loud radio into that outlet. Flip breakers until the radion turns off. Whatever else in the house turns off when the radio tunrs off is on the same circuit.

Psyire · 02/27/2006, 06:12 PM

Your breaker box should have labels of some kind, one would think.

lvreefer · 02/27/2006, 06:23 PM

A dedicated circuit is always best practice. However not all of us have the funds or the experience to pull it off. You should be fine with your tank as long as you are running it on a circuit that doesn't have or will ever have any appliances hooked to it. So no kitchen, garage, or bathroom outlets on the smae circuit. Also be careful with the vacuum cleaner.

BeanAnimal · 02/27/2006, 06:28 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Psyire
Your breaker box should have labels of some kind, one would think.

Dunno how many panels you have looked at but...

there are a few things in life you can count on.

1) Breaker panels are never labled or never labeled correctly or logically

2) Most telephone linemen don't label the block they punch a circuit down on, even though they should

3) that when give the chance, a contrator will wire most of the house on the one circuit you need for your aquarium.

Bean

2crazyreefers · 02/27/2006, 08:06 PM

For the price if you can it is worth having dedicated service for your tank. I had two 20 amp circuits put in for my 180 which gives me plenty of room for any future toys.

Entropy · 02/27/2006, 08:37 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by BeanAnimal
Dunno how many panels you have looked at but...

there are a few things in life you can count on.

1) Breaker panels are never labled or never labeled correctly or logically

2) Most telephone linemen don't label the block they punch a circuit down on, even though they should

3) that when give the chance, a contrator will wire most of the house on the one circuit you need for your aquarium.

Bean

Wow.... Amen!

It is better to run a dedicated circuit, and that is what I ended up doing, but your setup is not that out of control and will survive on a standard 15amp outlet as long as nothing else is hooked to it.

tygger · 02/28/2006, 07:48 AM

The tank is in a bedroom, so is it safe to assume that everything in that room is connected to the same circuit? The bedroom also has a bathroom connected to it... hopefully they are on different circuits.

I'll check the circuit box to see if the labels make any sense and do that "radio" test.

Just out of curiousity, about how much does a dedicated circuit cost? eg. equipment cost and labor cost?

If I only knew what I was getting myself into when I started this hobby...

anjhof · 02/28/2006, 08:53 PM

Assuming the electrical work was set up as you would expect, and I imagine to "code," everything in the bedroom would be on one circuit, and the bathroom would be on another one.
As long as you know someone who knows what they are doing, the dedicated circuit should not cost that much - maybe $200 - depending on how much conduit they have to run and how easy it is to run it in your bedroom from your circuit breaker box. Personally, the $200 is worth the piece of mind - not to mention it will give you the flexibility to add more things if/when needed.

cateyes · 02/28/2006, 09:04 PM

just curious::::

when an electrically inclined friend runs a dedicated line for you, are you supposto have it "inspected"?

BeanAnimal · 02/28/2006, 09:25 PM

It depends on where you live. Some people will insist that you pull a permit to do such work... that is nonsense. The only problems that will ever arise are if the house burns down and this cicruit is the cause, or you go to sell the house and the "home inspector" notices the "upgrade" and finds that it is not to code.

If you do the work to code, then you will not ever have a problem. With regards to doing such an upgrade to code... well that is easy enough.

So no... you really don't need to get a permit or inspection on an item like this (even if I lived in some silly boro or town the "required" it, I would not waste my time or money doing so.)

I am sure the "pull a permit for everthing" types will admonish my response.

02/27/2006, 02:38 PM	#1
tygger Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Northern VA Posts: 1,631	Electrical Question - Too much draw for one socket? I have no clue about this subject and just wanted to ask before I go burning down the house. Not unlike too many other setups, I'll have two 250w MH (500w total), 96w PCs, 300w heater, 93w Mag9.5, 80w total in powerheads, about 50 watt refuge light, and a Euroreef CS6-1 w/ Sedra pump that's about 45w. In the future, I'll add a auto top off and maybe moon lights. I plan on plugging this all into a regular socket in the wall that has not been modified. I plan on replacing the standard socket with a GFCI. Other than that, do you guys foresee any problems with plugging all this into a standard house socket??? Is this too much draw from one socket? If it is, what do I have to do to make this work? Thanks

02/27/2006, 05:26 PM	#5
tygger Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Northern VA Posts: 1,631	Thanks guys. I have NO idea what is or isn't on this circuit. By circuit, I'm guessing it doesn't just mean what's plugged into this particular outlet. How can I tell what's on a particular circuit??? __________________ 15g Nano 72g reef + 29g sump/fuge

02/27/2006, 08:06 PM	#10
2crazyreefers Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Vt. Posts: 733	For the price if you can it is worth having dedicated service for your tank. I had two 20 amp circuits put in for my 180 which gives me plenty of room for any future toys. __________________ My 4 part recipie for my acros = calcium - alk - flow & luck.

02/28/2006, 09:04 PM	#14
cateyes Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: OliveBranch, Mississippi Posts: 2,773	just curious:::: when an electrically inclined friend runs a dedicated line for you, are you supposto have it "inspected"? __________________ some things in life are not meant to be understood... just accepted.... Current Tank Info: 150 gallon mixed reef, 35ish gallon RBTA tank..

02/27/2006, 02:50 PM	#2
anjhof Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Huntley, IL Posts: 746	I am sure someone who is an electrician will add to this thread, but until then I'll share with you my recent experience. I have the exact same lighting as you, same heater, same size pump in the sump, plus about 100w of powerheads, an autotop off, 2 fans for the lights, and a G3 skimmer. Basically the exact same set up. If you have nothing else running on this circuit, and assuming you have a 20 amp circuit - you would be fine. HOWEVER, I also had a big screen tv, stereo, subwoofer, dvd player, etc all plugged into the same circuit. I happened to plug in a vaccuum while the lights were on and pop - I tripped the circuit breaker. I had my friend come over and we added up the amps running on just the fish tank - it was about 12-13. Safe to say I was living dangerously. So, we added a 20 amp GFI outlet just for the tank. I think it cost about $150 - which probably cost about $100 in parts - and $50 for his time. The lighting alone was about 6 amps and the heater was 3 amps. Just by taking those off the circuit - you are much better off.

02/27/2006, 02:51 PM	#3
BeanAnimal Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Pittsburgh Posts: 20,772	500 lights 100 pc 300 heater 100 mag 9.5 100 ph 050 fuge 050 skimmer =1200 watts This will likely be fine on a 20A circuit. It will be pushing the limits of a 15A circuit. This also assumes nothing else in the house is on the same circuit. You will not likely have FIRE problems, rather you will tend to trip the breaker for the circuit. Also please use a high quality commercial power strip, not the junk sold at lowes or wal-mart. Bean

02/27/2006, 02:53 PM	#4
BeanAnimal Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Pittsburgh Posts: 20,772	also be aware that if you have one device that causes a groudn fault, then everything on the circuit will go down. If you can run this off of two or more branch circuits you will be much farther ahead.

02/27/2006, 05:30 PM	#6
BeanAnimal Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Pittsburgh Posts: 20,772	Turn everything in the house on and plug a loud radio into that outlet. Flip breakers until the radion turns off. Whatever else in the house turns off when the radio tunrs off is on the same circuit.

02/27/2006, 06:12 PM	#7
Psyire Premium Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Alberta, Canada Posts: 1,870	Your breaker box should have labels of some kind, one would think.

02/27/2006, 06:23 PM	#8
lvreefer Registered Member Join Date: May 2003 Location: Sin City Posts: 1,163	A dedicated circuit is always best practice. However not all of us have the funds or the experience to pull it off. You should be fine with your tank as long as you are running it on a circuit that doesn't have or will ever have any appliances hooked to it. So no kitchen, garage, or bathroom outlets on the smae circuit. Also be careful with the vacuum cleaner.

02/28/2006, 07:48 AM	#12
tygger Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Northern VA Posts: 1,631	The tank is in a bedroom, so is it safe to assume that everything in that room is connected to the same circuit? The bedroom also has a bathroom connected to it... hopefully they are on different circuits. I'll check the circuit box to see if the labels make any sense and do that "radio" test. Just out of curiousity, about how much does a dedicated circuit cost? eg. equipment cost and labor cost? If I only knew what I was getting myself into when I started this hobby...

02/28/2006, 08:53 PM	#13
anjhof Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Huntley, IL Posts: 746	Assuming the electrical work was set up as you would expect, and I imagine to "code," everything in the bedroom would be on one circuit, and the bathroom would be on another one. As long as you know someone who knows what they are doing, the dedicated circuit should not cost that much - maybe $200 - depending on how much conduit they have to run and how easy it is to run it in your bedroom from your circuit breaker box. Personally, the $200 is worth the piece of mind - not to mention it will give you the flexibility to add more things if/when needed.

02/28/2006, 09:25 PM	#15
BeanAnimal Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Pittsburgh Posts: 20,772	It depends on where you live. Some people will insist that you pull a permit to do such work... that is nonsense. The only problems that will ever arise are if the house burns down and this cicruit is the cause, or you go to sell the house and the "home inspector" notices the "upgrade" and finds that it is not to code. If you do the work to code, then you will not ever have a problem. With regards to doing such an upgrade to code... well that is easy enough. So no... you really don't need to get a permit or inspection on an item like this (even if I lived in some silly boro or town the "required" it, I would not waste my time or money doing so.) I am sure the "pull a permit for everthing" types will admonish my response.