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

[PHIL GUY]

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


heres some pics

[PHIL GUY]

[Phishy]

this is easier for me to do then explain
you just need to keep running them in line
alot of cuts of wire (approx 4", better to have more)
they are marked positive and neg on the outlets, you should have 2 wires of each color on the receptcle except the last one
green screw is ground (bare copper)(balck pos)(white neg)
the switch goes in front of the line you want to turn off
you'll want it on a ground fault circuit

w-s-w-r-w-r-w-r-w-r(neg)
b-s-b-r-b-r-b-r-b-r(pos)
g-s-g-r-g-r-g-r-g-r(ground) s=switch, r+recpetable, w+b are wire colors

not sure what you are running them in with, I have a 30amp dedicated to my tank equipment

Are you going to plug "the board" into a wall? Or is it goiogn to be directly wired to the circuit?

[Phishy]

some basics
receptacle
http://electrical-online.com/wiringareceptacle.htm
switch
http://electrical-online.com/lightsandswitches.htm
your wires will just go to the rec not a light

[crvz]

Having that many outlets on one circuit can be a hazards in and of itself. Make sure you know how much current you're putting through it. I'm sure it's limited to 20a or less.

[PHIL GUY]

Originally Posted by Phishy

this is easier for me to do then explain
you just need to keep running them in line
alot of cuts of wire (approx 4", better to have more)
they are marked positive and neg on the outlets, you should have 2 wires of each color on the receptcle except the last one
green screw is ground (bare copper)(balck pos)(white neg)
the switch goes in front of the line you want to turn off
you'll want it on a ground fault circuit

w-s-w-r-w-r-w-r-w-r(neg)
b-s-b-r-b-r-b-r-b-r(pos)
g-s-g-r-g-r-g-r-g-r(ground) s=switch, r+recpetable, w+b are wire colors

not sure what you are running them in with, I have a 30amp dedicated to my tank equipment

Are you going to plug "the board" into a wall? Or is it goiogn to be directly wired to the circuit?

im going to plug the board to a wall...im alreay using that many wires to the wall and never had no problems with the braker going off in my garage.. ive had it this way with no problems over 1 year

1 plug to 10, another plug to 10 and a 3rd plug for the 4 outlets to the right of diagram for my timers


some of the stuff you wrote above looks chineese to me,lol...can you show me how to hook 2 of them together with a diagram and then ill know how to copy cat the rest of them..thank you

[PHIL GUY]

Originally Posted by crvz

Having that many outlets on one circuit can be a hazards in and of itself. Make sure you know how much current you're putting through it. I'm sure it's limited to 20a or less.

i can run it to 3 different outlits in my house to be on the safe side, but ive been using all my stuff to one outlet for over a year with no problems

[Shaqinwi 65]

I'm new with aquariums and I'm a mechanical (not electrical) engineer but I've wired homes for 20+ years and do the electrical on automated test equipment at work and I can safely say that you should NOT do what you are attempting in your drawings.

Number one: Do as crvz suggested and add up the current draw of everything you are wanting to plug in. It will (should be) be listed somewhere on all of the components, in the owners manuals or online.

Number two: look at the circuit breaker or fuse that is for the outlet you are pluging into and see what it is rated for ... probably 10 Amps

Now see if the current required exceeds the circuit breaker (or fuse), if it does'nt you are okay, if it does go to plan B (explained later)

Suggestions:

1. Use power strips instead of the home made box. You can plug one power strip into another ... some even have an outlet on the side just for daisy chaining and some will have mounting holes which is what you want.

The 2 major causes of home electrical fires are undersized wires (which you are going to check like suggested above) and arcing wires. Every connection of every one of those little jumper wires between the outlets you want to wire is a potential place for arcing. Not worth the risk.

2. (this is plan B) Most homes built after the 70's will have 2 circuits (circuit breakers or fuses) per room. See if there is another one close by (by turning the circuit breakers off and seeing what outlets go off) and run an extension cord to it and daisy chain half of your power strips to it. But mount everything.

Good luck.

[PHIL GUY]

Originally Posted by Shaqinwi 65

I'm new with aquariums and I'm a mechanical (not electrical) engineer but I've wired homes for 20+ years and do the electrical on automated test equipment at work and I can safely say that you should NOT do what you are attempting in your drawings.

Number one: Do as crvz suggested and add up the current draw of everything you are wanting to plug in. It will (should be) be listed somewhere on all of the components, in the owners manuals or online.

Number two: look at the circuit breaker or fuse that is for the outlet you are pluging into and see what it is rated for ... probably 10 Amps

Now see if the current required exceeds the circuit breaker (or fuse), if it does'nt you are okay, if it does go to plan B (explained later)

Suggestions:

1. Use power strips instead of the home made box. You can plug one power strip into another ... some even have an outlet on the side just for daisy chaining and some will have mounting holes which is what you want.

The 2 major causes of home electrical fires are undersized wires (which you are going to check like suggested above) and arcing wires. Every connection of every one of those little jumper wires between the outlets you want to wire is a potential place for arcing. Not worth the risk.

2. (this is plan B) Most homes built after the 70's will have 2 circuits (circuit breakers or fuses) per room. See if there is another one close by (by turning the circuit breakers off and seeing what outlets go off) and run an extension cord to it.

Good luck.

thanks for your reply.. i just dont understand something.. i have now about 12 to 16 plugs plugged into one outlet now and no problems with a couple of power strips also.. why would this cause a fire, if i already have 16 things hooked up already for over a year now....id you can see in diagram.. when done, its going to have 3 plugs..coudnt i just run each one to a different outlet in my house with no hazzards? my tank sits kinda in a dining room/walk through room.. so i can hook one plug to an outlet in the dining room and just around the corner is the living room, i can hook one cord in there to..THIS IS NOW MY NEW PLAN FOR MY BOARD, HOOKING 3 CORDS TO DIFFERENT OUTLETS(MAKING SURE THERE NOT ON THE SAME CIRCUIT) woudnt that work?

my house was built in 2003 if that helps any with the circuits..you were saying something about houses built after the 70's

[PHIL GUY]

thank you all for your time

[Shaqinwi 65]

Originally Posted by PHIL GUY

THIS IS NOW MY NEW PLAN FOR MY BOARD, HOOKING 3 CORDS TO DIFFERENT OUTLETS(MAKING SURE THERE NOT ON THE SAME CIRCUIT) woudnt that work?

Yep, that is the best and safest aproach.

Go to a building supply center or even Walmart and look at all the different types of power strips (there are dozens) and I'll bet you you'll be able to find exactly what you need or a combination of devices that will work for you. Also look for things like stick on wire tieing devices and get some wire ties so you can tie up all your cords.

Happy hunting and post some "after" pics

[hng]

Phil, I'm real nervous about this project. First, I agree you've got to do something, cause the way you have things plugged in under your tank is a fire waiting to happen - mounting electrical outlets to a hose containing running water? No! No! Second, I think the daisy chain of outlets is also pretty dangerous too. You'll need to mount all of those outlets inside individual boxes and then mount those boxes on something away from the tank and moisture. You'll probably overload the circuit if you plug 40 things in (why do you have 40 things to plug in?). I think you need to rethink this one carefully. I am worried and I don't want you to do anything to endanger your home and life.

[Rick O]

Phil you need to be real careful. You are messing with something that has the potential to kill you or burn your house down. Just because you have gotten away with it for a year doesn't mean you can't have problems down the road. Anything that is near our tanks is exposed to a certain amount of salt in the air. Over time this salty air corrodes the copper inside electrical outlets. Eventually the outlets don't conduct electricity the way they were meant to. This can cause a buildup of heat and a higher amp draw. If you're lucky the breaker will trip. If you're not you will have a fire. Add to this some wiring that is not up to code and you multiply the problem. I would follow the advice given previously to use power strips but even then you need to pay attention to amp ratings and stay well within the limitations of the outlet they are plugged into. Most household outlets are going to be rated for 15 amps. And that means 15 amps for every outlet on that circuit. There may be several outlets on that circuit (TV, DVD player, lamps, etc). Most of our tanks can easily go over 15 amps in power, especially with things like MH lamps and such. It would pay you to know exactly what your electrical needs are and then if need be hire an electrician to come in and install the appropriate outlets/circuits to handle your needs.

If you or anyone else ever needs advice on things like changing out an outlet or installing a GFIC or something along those lines there's plenty of people that can help you out here but with something like you're wanting to do it gets complicated and you really need a professional.

[Doug1]

Oh ya trust me SW and Electrical are a deady combo

[motorslave]

Originally Posted by Rick O

Phil you need to be real careful. You are messing with something that has the potential to kill you or burn your house down. Just because you have gotten away with it for a year doesn't mean you can't have problems down the road. Anything that is near our tanks is exposed to a certain amount of salt in the air. Over time this salty air corrodes the copper inside electrical outlets. Eventually the outlets don't conduct electricity the way they were meant to. This can cause a buildup of heat and a higher amp draw. If you're lucky the breaker will trip. If you're not you will have a fire. Add to this some wiring that is not up to code and you multiply the problem. I would follow the advice given previously to use power strips but even then you need to pay attention to amp ratings and stay well within the limitations of the outlet they are plugged into. Most household outlets are going to be rated for 15 amps. And that means 15 amps for every outlet on that circuit. There may be several outlets on that circuit (TV, DVD player, lamps, etc). Most of our tanks can easily go over 15 amps in power, especially with things like MH lamps and such. It would pay you to know exactly what your electrical needs are and then if need be hire an electrician to come in and install the appropriate outlets/circuits to handle your needs.

If you or anyone else ever needs advice on things like changing out an outlet or installing a GFIC or something along those lines there's plenty of people that can help you out here but with something like you're wanting to do it gets complicated and you really need a professional.

The smart money is one heeding this advice. Read that post several times and let it sink in. It could save your life.