help on electrical(im making a 20 duel outlet power station with 20 recepticals - Page 6

pito · 03-09-2008, 01:30 PM

Thanks for the help. My dads an electrician so I'll just have him do it.

Fly Guy · 03-09-2008, 01:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pito

Thanks for the help. My dads an electrician so I'll just have him do it.

If your dad is an electrician, you should show him some pics of mine. Say, "look what this guys Dad built him".

Maybe he will try to make an even better power supply and you will benefit in the crossfire.

Ratpack · 03-09-2008, 01:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fly Guy

If your dad is an electrician, you should show him some pics of mine. Say, "look what this guys Dad built him".

Maybe he will try to make an even better power supply and you will benefit in the crossfire.

Let's see the pics of yours. I may build them for my tank.

Fly Guy · 03-20-2008, 02:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ratpack

Let's see the pics of yours. I may build them for my tank.

sorry.....missed this post. Here ya go. the first two pics are of the original. 14 sockets, 3 of which on timers and the rest with individual toggles. Every line appropriatey fused for the load demand. Supplied by a 30 amp breaker in the house main

The third and fourth pic, the new improved one we lost the fuses altogether and went to individual breakers for each outlet and added indicator lights.

Rippey · 03-20-2008, 06:52 AM

The third pic remindes me of 60's area tech with the switches and lights lol. If you took that back in time and put it on Staretrek you would stunn pll. Looks good!

Ratpack · 03-20-2008, 08:21 AM

Very nice. I will have to look at what I need to do that. Although I am not sure I need that much sophistication yet.

TheBeak · 03-20-2008, 08:59 AM

..missed the last page. good call on the powerstrips.

rider · 07-27-2008, 02:19 PM

[quote=PHIL GUY;1285365]how do i join each one in a chain reaction by connecting them all together..the outlit in my wall has 2 places to add a plug soo im going to add 10 recepticals to ech outlit.. im going to mount them all on a 24inch by 24 inch board, then a thinner piece off wood on top to hide all the wires and make it clean looking..my question is...........how do i hook them all side myside.. i noticed on all the outlets a bought(i bought 2-10 pack boxes) i saw 2 screws on each side with an extra green bolt on top im thinking that for a ground?.. i have no experiance with electric

heres a pic of my mess of wires now and some pics of the idea i want to do..ill be putn this board on the inside wall of my stand..id like to add some switches to the row of pumps and another switch to the 4 outlets to the left of drawing......i just dont know where to strt adding the wires to connect them all

bad idea. if we set aside the code violations alone. those 2 plugs are connected to several other plugs in your house. it is rated probably at 15 amps. how many things are you pluggin into it and how much power do they draw in watts please.

Rippey · 07-28-2008, 03:01 PM

OK here is some references.

American Standard. 60-Hertz
120 V A.C. @ 15 Amps is 1800 Watts
115 V A.C. @ 15 Amps is 1725 Watts
110 V A.C. @ 15 Amps is 1650 Watts

Europe.. 50-Hertz
220 V A.C. @ 15 Amps is 3300 Watts
240 V A.C. @ 15 Amps is 3600 Watts

You will need to test your line voltage to see what you will have at the drop point. Under load your voltage will drop. Also depending on closeness to substations, your volts can easily go up or down 3 volts. The hertz should not affect the wattage, but a pump must be design to work with that hertz. Or it will not work at all or change the ratings on it. If you give me more detailed information on all the volt\amp\watt rating on all the stuff on the line your gonna run i can tell you exactly what the total is. It won't matter if you know the volts and amps on some and volt and watts on others.

wharyat · 07-28-2008, 03:42 PM

Circuits should always be designed on load, not electrical usage -- especially in our hobby. Most of the products we use (pumps/PHs specifically) are inductive meaning current will flow through them but they don't completely convert it into heat or mechanical energy. You can easily meet a 20A load while only using 1800W.

My tank for example, consumes 946W but it occupies 1146VA of my 2400VA circuit.

If I only look at the wattage of my equipment, I would only need a circuit to supply me with 7.8A. When you consider how much current is flowing, I actually need 9.6A.

Rippey · 07-29-2008, 05:07 AM

You are using the VA formula which is Volts*Amps= ??VA. That's almost equivalent as watts. VA will always match W in an equal way. Yes you can't go based on what a pump or other may go by. A pump can pull more based on load from pushing water up or though something or how dirty the filter is. Along with many other factors. A UL listed electrical appliance like a motor should not pull more then its ratings over time or else safety mechanisms shall shut it down. AKA with an induction, its usually a thermal fuse stuck in the iron plates close to the windings. Almost all ratings are usually based on the appliances max draw at a non fail high stress.

wharyat · 07-29-2008, 10:51 AM

VA is completely different than watts. They are different measurements. One measures load, while one measures usage.

You cannot say that a 15 amp circuit will supply a certain amount of watts, you need to know your apparent power i.e. VA. If the majority of your line load is resistive, than you can more easily get away with looking at just wattage, although it's still bad practice.

Rippey · 07-29-2008, 11:57 AM

I would go based on watts since its consider "true" power. As VA is "apparent" power. Here is a link on additional reading http://www.powervar.com/Eng/ABCs/CalcVAWATTS.asp
Also I have in closed a pic of my UL listed receiver that gives you both ratings (Watts & VA @ 120v) Either way it goes i pull 3.25 RMS.

wharyat · 07-29-2008, 01:46 PM

Your receiver pulls around 4.2 amps under full load, the watt rating is telling you how much energy is being turned into true (i.e. tangible) power -- heat and mechanical energy. You need to read the article you linked more closely. Circuits are calculated on flowing current, not wattage.

Rippey · 07-30-2008, 12:35 PM

I am aware its done by amps, that's the force. I bet it was a pain to gauge amps on that receiver with the primary load being based on unjulating current of sound. My amp meters would never catch it quickly enough to check. I'll find a small ac motor some time that has both ratings, and play with it to see the difference, i really aint going to learn unless i try.

Watts awnsers