electrical question

[matt b]

ok so how many watts can one outlet handle? i know some are dif but i live in a kinda old house and have never done any upgrades or anything. so will my 75 with powerheads, pumps, T5 lights, fans, etc be ok on just two outlets?. or how dose anyone else do it? i know not everyone out there re wires there house just for fish tanks

 

[jrthomas40]

do you have them all on a surge protector??

 

[matt b]

Originally Posted by jrthomas40
do you have them all on a surge protector??
yes they are all on a controller or surge protector

 

[matt b]

and how easy is it to switch to GFI? and remember ive never done anthign like this

 

[acrylic51]

Regardless if it's a GFCI or not, if the line is overload or pushing it's capacity you run a chance of tripping the breaker.....You need to figure out your tank draw and try to divide it between the 2. Are the 2 outlets on the same cirucuit? If that's the case you still might have issues......On a 15amp circuit I wouldn't recommend using more than 11 or 12 amps max all the time.....As you get closer to the max of 15 your looming close to the edge IMO.....

 

[scsinet]

A 15 amp, 120 volt receptacle can handle anywhere from 1,650w to 1,875w. It varies depending on the voltage available at the outlet, which varies depending on your house's wiring, the distance from your breaker panel, the home's distance from the utility transformer, etc, etc, etc.
For a 75g tank, I'd wager that two circuits are not ecessary, but as Acrylic mentioned... running close to maximum wattage with a tank is not usually the best idea because tanks pull that much for very extended time periods.
The best suggestion I can give is to get something called the kill-a-watt (see picture). The version in the picture is about $20 + shipping. It'll tell you exactly what your amperage, voltage, and wattage draw is, as well as keep a running count of how many KW/h you consume, so you can figure out what your tank is costing you. I use mine around the house all the time to make sure my appliances aren't bleeding me dry.
If you are pulling more than 1,300 watts or so, you may consider splitting it up across a couple circuits, but I'll bet you find you are under that. Most tanks don't draw as much as you'd think.

 

[stdreb27]

All that is assuming you don't have another outlet connected to that circut somewear else in the room.

 

[scsinet]

Originally Posted by stdreb27
All that is assuming you don't have another outlet connected to that circut somewear else in the room.
Which is usually true.

 

[stdreb27]

Originally Posted by SCSInet
Which is usually true.
Is it usually one breaker for each outlet? Maybe we have had red necks wiring my housing or something. I've never lived in a house like that. Unless we have done that.

 

[jonthefishguy]

There are usually multiple outlets to one breaker. If you flip a breaker to off, numerous plugs might shut off which points out which ones are all on the same breaker. GCFIs' are always on circuits where water is near by such as in bathrooms, outside plugs, and near kitchen sinks.

 

[scsinet]

Originally Posted by stdreb27
Is it usually one breaker for each outlet? Maybe we have had red necks wiring my housing or something. I've never lived in a house like that. Unless we have done that.
No, I meant it's usually true that there are multiple outlets to a breaker.
Most bedrooms have one breaker that handles all of the outlets and the light in the room. New homes have AFCI breakers on the bedroom circuits.
All of the lights on a particular floor in common rooms (dining room, foyer, living room, hallways, etc) are split across two breakers
All of the outlets in the same rooms I listed above are usually divided up across any number of breakers... depends on the electrician doing the wiring, but it's usually not a clean divide by room... usually one breaker kills outlets in at least two rooms, but not necessarily all the outlets in either of those two... ya know???
Kitchens have a dedicated 20A circuit for the fridge, disposal, dishwasher, and microwave (one circuit for each), then have two or more 20A GFI circuits for countertop outlets. Washers and gas dryers also each have a dedicated 20A circuit, which are NOT GFI protected.
All outside outlets typically share one or two 15A GFI circuits, and a lot of times several bathrooms share a 15A circuit, protected by one GFI. Othertimes, each bathroom has it's own, GFI protected circuit.
So there's your typical residential breadown. Again though... things vary wildly depending on who wired the house, and if your house is older, the chances are fewer breakers control more things. Houses in the 1940s and earlier often have the entire house wired to run off as much juice as a single room gets these days.

 

[worshrag]

the first time you trip a breaker the spring gets weaker, and eventually it wont have enought power to trip them and you will have a fire. so dont get into the habbit of tripping them.

 

[stdreb27]

Originally Posted by SCSInet
No, I meant it's usually true that there are multiple outlets to a breaker.
Most bedrooms have one breaker that handles all of the outlets and the light in the room. New homes have AFCI breakers on the bedroom circuits.
All of the lights on a particular floor in common rooms (dining room, foyer, living room, hallways, etc) are split across two breakers
All of the outlets in the same rooms I listed above are usually divided up across any number of breakers... depends on the electrician doing the wiring, but it's usually not a clean divide by room... usually one breaker kills outlets in at least two rooms, but not necessarily all the outlets in either of those two... ya know???
Kitchens have a dedicated 20A circuit for the fridge, disposal, dishwasher, and microwave (one circuit for each), then have two or more 20A GFI circuits for countertop outlets. Washers and gas dryers also each have a dedicated 20A circuit, which are NOT GFI protected.
All outside outlets typically share one or two 15A GFI circuits, and a lot of times several bathrooms share a 15A circuit, protected by one GFI. Othertimes, each bathroom has it's own, GFI protected circuit.
So there's your typical residential breadown. Again though... things vary wildly depending on who wired the house, and if your house is older, the chances are fewer breakers control more things. Houses in the 1940s and earlier often have the entire house wired to run off as much juice as a single room gets these days.
lol I rented a drafty old house, well shack built during the depression, almost the whole house was wired to one breaker, it sucked.
(sorry to hickjack the thread)