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gixxer600
01/31/2007, 05:04 PM
How many watts can an outlet handle safely. I would like to build an electric panel but I do not have the room for it plus I don't have the slightest clue on how to build one. Currently I am using 2 power strips, but I want to add 3 250w halides to my system. Don't want to come home to a house on fire.

gixxer600
02/01/2007, 12:15 AM
Anybody.

megaspoot
02/01/2007, 12:19 AM
I would like to know too.....As I'll be running quite a few things from one socket

jkreefer
02/01/2007, 12:24 AM
1800 watts on a 15 amp circut----2400 watts on a 20 amp circut

megaspoot
02/01/2007, 12:28 AM
we can check how many amps is in the circuit by checking the fuse box?

gixxer600
02/01/2007, 12:46 AM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9130109#post9130109 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jeffkluse
1800 watts on a 15 amp circut----2400 watts on a 20 amp circut

That would be for the whole set of outlets for that circuit right. Can I simply change the 15amp to a 20 amp. Or does it require alot of rewiring.

billr
02/01/2007, 12:59 AM
You can change a 15 to a 20 as long as your wiring is big enough to handle the 20. Good luck.......

aclos3
02/01/2007, 01:59 AM
DO NOT just change a circuit breaker from 15 to 20 amps. In almost every case, if the wiring is 12 gauge, it will already have a 20 amp breaker. If it has a 15 amp breaker, you can almost be certain that it is 14 gauge wire.

Also, you'll need to determine what other outlets are used on that breaker. Usually that breaker will serve several rooms worth of outlets, and if you are running things like TV's, computers, etc.. .you will need to take their load into consideration.

If this is for your 125, you may want to think about adding a dedicated circuit before you move into the world of halides. On our 125, we added a 20 amp circuit to the room before we even moved the tank in. The tank did not have halides at the time, but we were running a few computers and the living room stereo and tv on the same 15 amp circuit. Now the tank has over 1000 watts just in the lights, which would be consuming over half of the 15 amp breaker alone... just for the lights!

mg426
02/01/2007, 02:40 AM
I use 4 twenty amp circuits to support my 125. All are GFIC I have never had any problems.

gixxer600
02/01/2007, 09:15 AM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9130400#post9130400 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by aclos3
If this is for your 125, you may want to think about adding a dedicated circuit before you move into the world of halides.
That's my problem. I do not where to start on how to add another circuit. Does anybody know how much an electrician would charge. I called several electricians, but they said they need to see the home. I am currently on vacation and won't be home for a week.

jkreefer
02/01/2007, 07:48 PM
aclos3 is exatly right, if the breaker is a 15amp its only going to have that wire size pulled to the panel, and would not be suitible for a 20 amp circuit.

4 20 amp circuts for a 125 is a bit extreem, but is much better to err on the extra side, than the not enough side. also, you might end up going bigger, i have a 55 and now in the process of a 210 build. I have 2 dedicated 20 amp circuts for 650 watts of heaters, 400 watts of pumps, 1600 watts on lights, and a 1/3 hp chiller.

jkreefer
02/01/2007, 07:50 PM
btw, electricians in your area will cost anywear from 60-100 per hour

billr
02/02/2007, 01:56 AM
Best to get someone who knows what they are doing. Even if it cost you a few big ones to just find out would be better than loosing everything...........

JohnnyM2
02/03/2007, 12:01 AM
Regarding adding a circuit, if your panel is big enough to add a breaker, an electrican can add the breaker and run the one or two outlets you use for your system to that breaker which will then be dedicated to your system. Not a big job. Should cost less than $200. Note that code says you cannot put more than 80% of the rated capacity on a circuit, so for a 15 amp breaker you can put 12 amps; for a 20 amp breaker you can put 16 amps. If you need to run 15 amps on a 15 amp breaker, you may need to upgrade your wiring. Depending on the distance from the panel and the difficulty of running new wiring, that could get expensive. All of your equipment should have an amperage draw listed but may only have watts. To convert watts to amps, divide the watts by your line voltage to get amps. Note that things like chillers require a lot more current draw to start up than to run, which is why you don't want to put 15 amps on a 15 amp breaker. If you start blowing fuses, take it as a warning and call in an electrician.

atoa
02/03/2007, 10:48 AM
My electricity was a major PITA. I went through 3 different electricians. Make sure you get somebody with a clue. I found that if they know how an AFC breaker works then it is likely that they know what their doing. If they never heard about AFC breakers then you probably don't want them for this application.

BTW, get AFC breakers - they are more safe because they detect arcs. The first time the electrical work was done they ran 6 wires to the fish room. The wire insulation broke while being pulled through the conduit. This problem was detected by the AFC in comparison to a regular breaker that didn't trip. This definitely saved me from potentially having serious problems.

Running 6 new wires was very difficult so changed the design by running 3 lower gauge wires from my main panel with a 40 amp breaker. Then we put a circuit panel in the fish room with two 20 amp AFC breakers. Every circuit has a GFCI outlet with more regular outlets in series being GF protected.

When getting an electrician, ask them if they know how an AFC breaker works and how it is supposed to be wired. I ended up wasting money and time because I hired an electrician that tried to share the ground between the circuits.

You may want to get a outlet wiring/GFI checker (i got mine in HD) and plug it into every outlet to verify that your circuit wiring is correct. I used it to validate the work of the electricians and found wiring problems in the circuits that were immediately corrected.