Is it alright to run all my electrical things off of one outlet???

[Snowbdr1613]

I have been running everything off of one socket for a while now...and i was just wondering if this is alright or bad??? I have a 600w hps... a few airpumps...a fan...a few cfls....a 4ft fluroescent fixture...and maybe a few other things at times.... Is this alright??? cuz i have been doing it for a while..?? thanks..

[turtle420]

Well, so far, you're posting here... so I assume you haven't burned down the house.

If possible, spread out the load over various outlets.
It has worked so far, but if I were you, just to be on the safe side, spread 'em. :)

[Snowbdr1613]

Ok thanks....yes i am going to have 4 outlets in my grow room pretty soon...so i wont have to run an extension cord into my grow room...

[Shovelhandle]

put your hand on the outlet and cords. They may be a little warm but shouldn't be hot to touch.

Shov

[Snowbdr1613]

yea....the outlet and the wire are perfectly cool..and no warmness.. thanks

[Jerry Garcia 2007]

You can safely run 1500 watts on a residential circuit. Maximum 1750 watts before a circuit breaker will trip.

Looks like you are well under that. Just don't plug in a high wattage appliances like a vacume cleaner into the same circuit. This could be multiple outlets throughout the room or house. You may want to check and mark those outlets to be on the safe side.

Plus the advice given above is good advice.

[Snowbdr1613]

alright thanks...yea i have a lot less than 1500 watts....and i am going to have a few sockets to choose from pretty soon also...so i will be ok

[killerweed420]

volts X amps = Watts
120 X 25 = 3000 watts
So if you have a 120 volt line and a 25 amp circuit for that line you could theoritcally use 3000 watts. But as always its never a good idea to max it out.

[Snowbdr1613]

alright thanks...

[privatepile]

Os with an extension lead and one socket you can run up to 1500 watts?

Sweet i was worried that if i added more it would not work.

[Jerry Garcia 2007]

the iformation I gave is for North Amarica (USA AND CANADA) only, I am not familiar with other countries electrical codes.

[Jerry Garcia 2007]

Be carefull Killerweed! you have the formula right. But in the USA and Canada the wall voltage will range from 115 to 120, not 125. Then I have never seen a 25 amp breaker used for residential outlets. They are either 15 or 20 amps, almost always 15 amps, It is best to look in your breaker panel and look at the number printed on the breaker to make sure what you have.

[Ktrain]

my buddy runs 2 1000watt lights and a 250 watt on a standard house 15 amp breaker. it never trips the breaker, get's a little warm but that's it, been doing this for a long time and works great.

[Jerry Garcia 2007]

From what your telling me he is running 18.75 amps to 19.5 amps depending on line voltage. If this is on a 15 amp breaker it is bad and should be replaced NOW.

But I suspect it is on a 20 amp dedicated circut and he has it maxed out, if you plug one more thing in it will trip.

[Ktrain]

no it is being run on a 15 amp breaker, and from what i have been told a 1000watt light only pulls 5 amps so that would mean a 250 watt should only pull 2 to 3 amps max, so with 2250watts that is only around 12 to 13 amps..........and he has pumps, fans a such it works just fine. also when you say to change the breaker, dosent that mean you have to change the wiring from the breaker to the main outlet as well?

[Jerry Garcia 2007]

what is your line voltage?

watts / volts = amps

2250 / 120 = 18.75

[Ktrain]

not sure, how do i find out line voltage?

[Jerry Garcia 2007]

If you live in the USA or Canada it is 120 volts, I do not know for certain in other contries.

[Ktrain]

well it's 120 volts then, so if i change the breaker then i need to change the wires to the outlet correct?

[whatsthatsmell]

yes and no....basically depends.......the load has to be less than what the wire in the wall can handle. If your house was build recently (within the last 10-15 years) you can simply swap the breaker in the panel (i would suggest having someone who knows what they are doing to do this or you could get zapped). The best thing to do is to find a 'friendly' electrician and tell him what you have going on, or you can simply tear down for a day and have an 'unfriendly' electrican come in and tell him you need to have X load on the wires to that specific room. As an example, in my flower room, i have 2 20amp breakers that control it. One breaker is for one side of the room and the other is for the other side of the room. This allows me to have basically 40amps to that one room alone. Keeping in mind that most houses have around 100amp total for the house (depending on the size of the house and how old the house is). The way i got around using an 'unfriendly' electrician is that i told him that the room i am using is going to be my bedroom and i will have several computers, tv, ac unit, etc etc, and would like to have the room divided so that it will not burn the house down. The electrican did a great job and was more than will since he also knew that the rest of the house will be torn apart and redone. Construction on your house makes for a wonderful cover, especially when you go to home depot, lowes, garden centers, etc, you can pay anyway you want and noone will notice cause your house is under construction.

You really need to have someone who knows what they are doing to take care of thi.