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Precaution I know very little when it come to electrical. As I interpret it my circuit breaker for my family room is 15 amps since the switch has a big 15A on it. So I went and added up all the electrical devices in that room to determine how much amps it uses. I calculate 14.8A for my fish tank alone and 11.5A for the entertainment. How can this be wouldnt that mean the breaker should have tripped? What am I not getting?
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I just realized I forgot to include the three heaters on the tank into the tanks ampage but that just furthers my confusion. -
The ratings you see on the labels are the maximum when the item is running.
If you have a 35w bulb in your 40w fixture it is only drawing 40/120= 0.3amps when turned on.
Most breakers have a time delay built into them, so you can excede their rating for a short period of time.
Sometimes a breaker will stick. Doesn't hurt to turn it off and check to see if all the items you think are on that circuit really are. You could have 2 or more circuits.
If you want a real time reading of how many amps you are using you need one of these
'Dear Lord,' the minister began, with arms extended toward heaven and a rapturous look on his upturned face. 'Without you, we are but dust ...'
He would have continued but at that moment my very obedient daughter who was listening leaned over to me and asked quite audibly in her shrill little four-year old girl voice, 'Mom, what is butt dust?'Comment
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I did turn it off and both the tank and the tv went off. So I know the one breaker runs the whole living room. I am trying to figure out if I can run another thing without tripping the circuit everytime it comes on.Comment
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Brian, can you list all the wattages for the different usages?..heaters, pumps, filters, tv, etc. I have a feeling your breaker is doing the job. The total wattage divided by 120 gives the amp draw. Also keep in mind that heaters are cycling on and off so it's not a continuous load and unless the thermostats are exactly at the same settings then they may be turning on and off at different times.
As Bob pointed out, a 35W lamp pulls less than a third of an ampere. I have my whole fish room on one circuit.
If you need I can put an amprobe on the circuit and see what's going on.
MarkWhat are the facts? Again and again and again--what are the facts? Shun wishful thinking, ignore devine revelation, forget what "the stars foretell", avoid opinion, care not what the neighbors think, never mind the unguessable "verdict of history"--what are the facts, and to how many decimal places? You pilot always into an unknown future; facts are your only clue.
Robert Anson HeinleinComment
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hi brian the chances are great that everything does not operate at the same time this why your breaker doesn't trip i assure you if it did you would be tripping your breaker if you plan on running some more high amperage items in your tank you should add a dedicated circuit for your tank let me know if i can help
scott
beam me upComment
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hi mark we must have been typing at the same time...lol...
scottbeam me upComment
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In your first post you said your tank is pulling 14.8 amps? That means you have 1776 watts worth of power being used. I'm skeptical as an Eheim 2217 only draws 20 watts. I don't remember what filters or pumps you're using but even a 1 HP pump, huge by our standards, uses 746 watts and most of our equipment doesn't get within screamin' distance of 1 horsepower.
MarkWhat are the facts? Again and again and again--what are the facts? Shun wishful thinking, ignore devine revelation, forget what "the stars foretell", avoid opinion, care not what the neighbors think, never mind the unguessable "verdict of history"--what are the facts, and to how many decimal places? You pilot always into an unknown future; facts are your only clue.
Robert Anson HeinleinComment
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So here is what I got
TV 221W 1.8A
Speakers 240W 2.0A
Cable 17W 0.1A
PS3 135W 1.1A
Iwaki 140W 1.3A
MH 1 415W 3.5A
MH 2 400W 4.0A
T12 330W 2.8A
2262 80W 0.7A
Heaters 600W 5.0A
Total 2413W 20.9AComment
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Now I know the heater and the PS3 wont be used all the time but I am trying to figure out the max amperage used so I can figure out the impact of adding things to the tank. Some of what I thought was the amp label on the item must have been something else by what you are saying in taking watts divided by 120 to get the amp. So during the day I am using 12.3 on the tank alone plus 3.9 for the tv. So normally by this calculation I use 16.2A when I get home from work and watching tv.Comment
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OK, your speakers are only pulling 240 watts at full blast, at reasonable volume they're probably pulling half an amp or less...probably a lot less, as 60W is still uncomfortably loud.
Your PS3 is only pulling max amps when it's crunching max bytes, same for the Iwaki.
MH2 is pulling 3.33 amps, not 4
330 W of T12 lamps is eight 4' bulbs. You have that many?
You heaters are cycling on and off like I mentioned. If one or two are carrying the load and the settings are different enough, you may not be cycling all of them anyway.
Still, you're loaded up pretty good.
If it was me I'd put an amprobe on it and see what is actually being used. You may have one of those "nevertrip" breakers, though as new as your house is, that's not likely.
LMK if you want me to check it out.
MarkWhat are the facts? Again and again and again--what are the facts? Shun wishful thinking, ignore devine revelation, forget what "the stars foretell", avoid opinion, care not what the neighbors think, never mind the unguessable "verdict of history"--what are the facts, and to how many decimal places? You pilot always into an unknown future; facts are your only clue.
Robert Anson HeinleinComment
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The T12 is two 6' bulbs at 165W each. The amp for MH2 comes right off of the ballast. Are you coming to the meeting next month at my house? If so we can check it out then. I want to add another MH I am just worried that the draw will be to much for the circuit to handle 3 MH.Comment
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If you arent coming then i will go pick up one of those Kill a watt meters.Comment
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I should be there Brian, barring catastrophe. A 6' T12 should only draw about 65W. Is it an HO?Originally posted by Darbex View Post
MarkWhat are the facts? Again and again and again--what are the facts? Shun wishful thinking, ignore devine revelation, forget what "the stars foretell", avoid opinion, care not what the neighbors think, never mind the unguessable "verdict of history"--what are the facts, and to how many decimal places? You pilot always into an unknown future; facts are your only clue.
Robert Anson HeinleinComment
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What are the facts? Again and again and again--what are the facts? Shun wishful thinking, ignore devine revelation, forget what "the stars foretell", avoid opinion, care not what the neighbors think, never mind the unguessable "verdict of history"--what are the facts, and to how many decimal places? You pilot always into an unknown future; facts are your only clue.
Robert Anson HeinleinComment
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