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Post by creimes on Oct 6, 2012 23:59:33 GMT -5
Hey everyone, just looking for some feedback on running dedicated A/C circuit(s) for my equipment rack.
2 UPA-1's - 800 watts
1 UPA-500 - 450 watts
UMC-1 - 50 watts
USP-1 - 50 watts
Ultra Sub10 - 350 watts
Pioneer Transport - 8 watts
PS3 - 100 watts
Mac Mini - 85 watts
LG PC3d 50'' - 300 watts (Guesstimate)
Total of - 2193 watts Estimated
I'm going to run 12/2 wiring but just wondering if using one 20 amp breaker which will supply 120v x 20w is 2400 watts total should be good enough. Also if using regular 20amp plugs or hospital grade is any better.
Anyone who has experience and or has done this sort of thing can give feedback on the best way to do dedicated circuit(s) would be appreciated.
Thanks Chad
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Post by AudioHTIT on Oct 7, 2012 0:36:36 GMT -5
If you have 1 run of 12/2 then a 20A breaker is the best you can do, and a good choice for this situation. Wouldn't hurt to pull a second run if you can, you know how these things multiply, but for now running everything on a single circuit will reduce the possibility of ground loops. Some feel hospital plugs grip better, I have enough trouble pulling plugs out of a standard socket.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 7, 2012 10:05:50 GMT -5
> If you have 1 run of 12/2
Consider pulling 12/3 and using split plugs (as used in kitchens, two breakers). You get double the watts and still have a common ground, avoiding ground loops.
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LCSeminole
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Res firma mitescere nescit.
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Post by LCSeminole on Oct 7, 2012 13:30:13 GMT -5
I had two separate 12-2 lines of romex pulled as there was just a very nominal price difference. My electrician allowed me to buy the romex, outlets and breakers, which definitely saved me money in the end.
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Post by solarrdadd on Oct 7, 2012 14:45:20 GMT -5
Hey everyone, just looking for some feedback on running dedicated A/C circuit(s) for my equipment rack. 2 UPA-1's - 800 watts 1 UPA-500 - 450 watts UMC-1 - 50 watts USP-1 - 50 watts Ultra Sub10 - 350 watts Pioneer Transport - 8 watts PS3 - 100 watts Mac Mini - 85 watts LG PC3d 50'' - 300 watts (Guesstimate) Total of - 2193 watts Estimated I'm going to run 12/2 wiring but just wondering if using one 20 amp breaker which will supply 120v x 20w is 2400 watts total should be good enough. Also if using regular 20amp plugs or hospital grade is any better. Anyone who has experience and or has done this sort of thing can give feedback on the best way to do dedicated circuit(s) would be appreciated. Thanks Chad chad, keep in mind that the listed ratings are the maximum that the devices will impose on the circuit; you can expect to draw much less than your calculations. having said that i do recommend installing a dedicated 20a 125v circuit for your gear for a variety of reasons. you will know exactly what's on the circuit.
you will know that it's not going to be affected by other devices being used in your house (for the most part).
you will have piece of mind with knowing you have the best possible setup for sending power to your gear.ok, i know someone else recommend using 12/3 and that's a good idea; think future expansion). use 20a breakers for the circuits. i recommend using HG (hospital grade) receptacles as they have far superior tension at the connection point for your device plugs over standard receptacles; use 20a receptacles, of course. i also recommend that if you do run the 12/3, just go ahead and install a 2-gang box, and go ahead and wire in your 2 circuits--one to each receptacle; then it's done. of course if you don't want to dedicate that second circuit then go ahead and install the 2-gang box and 2 receptacles wired to one circuit, and, cap off the second unused circuit with a wire nut. best of luck, ground and bond everything according to NEC and you will be fine. if your not sure, have a licensed electrician do the work for you. |
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Post by creimes on Oct 7, 2012 19:39:36 GMT -5
Thanks everyone for the responses so far, i'm only going a distance of about 15-20 feet from the panel. I was looking at Romex 12/2 wire at the local hardware store, I think a single 20 amp will be good for now and can always add another circuit later if needed, as of future upgrades, won't be much going on for some time now as I now have that mortgage payment thing lol.
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Post by ansat on Oct 7, 2012 21:52:44 GMT -5
Thanks everyone for the responses so far, i'm only going a distance of about 15-20 feet from the panel. I was looking at Romex 12/2 wire at the local hardware store, I think a single 20 amp will be good for now and can always add another circuit later if needed, as of future upgrades, won't be much going on for some time now as I now have that mortgage payment thing lol. 12 g would be fine. Though if I am going to run a wire I always run 12.3. You can also wire two circuits to one outlet by removing the bridge. sent from my phone. sorry for the short response. Tony |
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sorbe
Sensei
"Don't cross the streams..."
Posts: 673
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Post by sorbe on Oct 7, 2012 23:16:32 GMT -5
chad, keep in mind that the listed ratings are the maximum that the devices will impose on the circuit; you can expect to draw much less than your calculations. having said that i do recommend installing a dedicated 20a 125v circuit for your gear for a variety of reasons. you will know exactly what's on the circuit.
you will know that it's not going to be affected by other devices being used in your house (for the most part).
you will have piece of mind with knowing you have the best possible setup for sending power to your gear.ok, i know someone else recommend using 12/3 and that's a good idea; think future expansion). use 20a breakers for the circuits. i recommend using HG (hospital grade) receptacles as they have far superior tension at the connection point for your device plugs over standard receptacles; use 20a receptacles, of course. i also recommend that if you do run the 12/3, just go ahead and install a 2-gang box, and go ahead and wire in your 2 circuits--one to each receptacle; then it's done. of course if you don't want to dedicate that second circuit then go ahead and install the 2-gang box and 2 receptacles wired to one circuit, and, cap off the second unused circuit with a wire nut. best of luck, ground and bond everything according to NEC and you will be fine. if your not sure, have a licensed electrician do the work for you. This is almost exactly what I had pulled to my HT. I used 100' feet of metal power conduit around the outside of the house with 10/3 wire and a 20AMP 240Volt circuit breaker with one hot leg to each of a pair of orange hospital grade isolated ground & surge suppression duplex outlets. Thus a total of 4 outlets of 20amp receptacles. The metal conduit provided the regular ground with the shielded ground wire inside being the isolated ground. This guaranteed minimal antenna like effects from the ground and very clean power overall. www.leviton.com/OA_HTML/ProductDetail.jsp?partnumber=8380-IGOP.S.> The contractor had to install "Tamper Proof" outlets to pass inspection(NEMA rules on TR in homes), but then came back afterward and put the final ones in. |
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Post by creimes on Oct 8, 2012 0:36:50 GMT -5
Thanks everyone for the responses so far, i'm only going a distance of about 15-20 feet from the panel. I was looking at Romex 12/2 wire at the local hardware store, I think a single 20 amp will be good for now and can always add another circuit later if needed, as of future upgrades, won't be much going on for some time now as I now have that mortgage payment thing lol. 12 g would be fine. Though if I am going to run a wire I always run 12.3. You can also wire two circuits to one outlet by removing the bridge. sent from my phone. sorry for the short response. Tony yeah 12/3 would be an okay choice, and grab a dual 20 amp breaker, I could then run 2 - 20 amp circuits which would be more then enough, I would rather just run enough plugs that I wouldn't need a power bar for the amps, just use one for the pre/pro's and sources and such. |
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Post by ausman on Oct 9, 2012 0:30:26 GMT -5
depends on the power use idle oppose to running..
I seem to remember the ps3 posting 350-400 watt whilst in use..
for tv's note the if it's dc type you might need a wattage calc, iec type min 300watt/600watt unless stated otherwise, especially when looking at 50+ inch tv's
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Post by creimes on Oct 10, 2012 21:29:33 GMT -5
. www.leviton.com/OA_HTML/ProductDetail.jsp?partnumber=8380-IGO[/quote] Hey sorbe where did you get these from, I can't even get 20A Hospital grade plugs at the electrical supply companys unless I special order them, all the have is white commercial grade 20A plugs, and is there a need for the surge protection, I heard some cause the amplifier to not get enough power when needed. Thanks, Chad Also does anyone know anything about in-line AC filtering |
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Post by ansat on Oct 10, 2012 22:14:50 GMT -5
Hey sorbe where did you get these from, I can't even get 20A Hospital grade plugs at the electrical supply companys unless I special order them, all the have is white commercial grade 20A plugs, and is there a need for the surge protection, I heard some cause the amplifier to not get enough power when needed. Thanks, Chad Also does anyone know anything about in-line AC filtering[/quote] Dont worry about ac filtering unless you get noise (i did have noise). If you decide that you need extra outlets your best bet is wiring extra plugs in the room. Most high quality amps have surge protection built in and do not require anything additional. But that being said I did not wire enough plugs and I use the emotiva cmx2 for the xmc5 and a upa7 (on the same cmx) and I use a monster powercenter for all the components that I got at a going out of business sale and a cheap surge protector for the rack lighting, rf and ir blasters, and anything else that is not wired into the system. I have 2 20 amp circuits and 2 15 amp. One15 for the projector and one 15 for the lights. Each outlet in the theater room is run to my component area and I made dual male patch cables just to power what is needed. It is a overly complicates mess and since I take the stand that wire is cheap. I ran way more then I needed. As for plugs I just used commercial grade 20 amp plugs sent from my phone. sorry for the short response. Tony |
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Post by creimes on Oct 10, 2012 22:25:32 GMT -5
Awesome thanks Ansat, I went and bought 4 of those 20A commercial grade plugs, I have 2 dbl boxes for the total 4 plugs, they are all going in the same spot where Im putting my equipment rack, I have 12/2 wire as I couldnt find any 12/3 other then 250ft rolls. I have to wait until I'm in the house to see what type and brand of breaker I will need, but other than that I should have most everything needed, I know a guy here that works for an electrical company so I'll see if he will hook it up for cash.
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Post by creimes on Oct 11, 2012 17:02:20 GMT -5
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Post by The Mad Norseman on Oct 11, 2012 17:47:32 GMT -5
I don't really understand the desire for "Hospital Grade" outlets. Seriously, for our use standard grade commercial outlets are just fine and are much less expensive. I have two dedicated 20Amp circuits, each with their own duplex now installed, and they're both high quality, have a snug fit, and have superb connectivity. Each was less than $10... (With all this "Hospital Grade" talk - we're starting to border on "$2,000 speaker cable" territory!  ). |
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Post by creimes on Oct 11, 2012 17:50:10 GMT -5
lol...exactly, I went and purchased 4 commercial grade 20A plugs from a local supplier for a total of $9 so thats prob what i will stick with.
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Post by roadrunner on Oct 11, 2012 18:06:54 GMT -5
I only paid $12.85 for my "Orange" 20A Hospital Grade Outlet from a local hardware store. I was shocked to hear such high prices by some of the stores you guys shopped at.
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Post by creimes on Oct 11, 2012 18:09:47 GMT -5
That's what happens when you live in Canada..lol..we pay way more up here for stuff
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LCSeminole
Global Moderator
Res firma mitescere nescit.
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Post by LCSeminole on Oct 11, 2012 18:32:59 GMT -5
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Post by roadrunner on Oct 11, 2012 18:50:11 GMT -5
Good find, LC. It looks like my local Hardware Store was offering very competitive price for outlets. |
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