Amps and dedicated circuits..

[SpOoNmAn]

Some of this has to do with Rotel so I might post this in Rotel Club as well...

I have 2 dedicated circuits running into my livingroom, a 15, and 20amp lines.

Now...I recently bought a BrickWall High Current surge protector from a member here. It is specifically for amplifiers and subs, and not to get too far off topic, but the thing definitely made a difference when I plugged my Rotel RMB-1075 into it. The TV, pre/pro, clr2500 center, cd, and dvd players are plugged into a Panamax 4300 which runs off the 20 amp line. But anyways...

I want more Brickwalls down the road, and the one I'm speaking of has 2 outlets. It is rated for 15 amps. I am getting the RB-1080 2 channel amp soon. Heres my question..

Can I put the 1075 and the 1080 on the same circuit(plugged into the Brickwall) without severely taxing it? I don't want to limit the amps current in anyway, so if there is the "slightest" chance that I'd be losing performance, then I simply won't do it.

The 1075 draws a max of 800 watts, and the 1080 I believe is around 550. Add the 2 up and thats about 1,400 watts. I understand that these figures represent the "Max" current draw, and NOT the average.

How do you convert the wattage they draw, into an Amperage #? I'd rather know how many amps they draw then wattage.

I will also need a seperate circuit for the Def tech 7001SC towers when they arrive. Those each pull a max of 8 amps, according to Chet from Def Tech.

I guess I'm just trying to figure out how many Brickwalls I'll need and in what configuration.

One last thing.. There are no High Current Brickwall 2 outlet devices(the ones I want) that are rated for 20 amps, so I'm stuck with the 15 amp lines. If there was a 20 amp model with the 2 outlets, I wouldnt even be asking this question.

I apologize for the odd questions, Thanks for any advice!

-Aaron-




Life is short, Play it LOUD!

[SpOoNmAn]

Disregard this thread. They do indeed have a 20amp version.




Life is short, Play it LOUD!

[Chris D]

Not a bad topic for discussion in the main forums. Personally, when I built my theater I had it custom wired for electronic power. I added TWO 20 amp dedicated circuits to the equipment bay, each terminating in a quad power outlet. Is this overkill? You betcha. But the power is NOT going to affect the other circuits in the theater, and I won't run out of juice in a million years.

Now the only thing I'm trying to decide is whether I plug in ALL the high powered stuff like amps to one of the circuits, then all the lower powered stuff like satellite tuner, VCR, etc to the other circuit, or whether I try to balance the two circuits by putting an equal load on both, putting both high and low powered stuff on each circuit.




CHRIS
Luke: "Hey, I'm not such a bad pilot myself, you know"

[SpOoNmAn]

Decisions decisions!!

I'll have 3 circuits upfront..

15A for 2 Cd players, DVD player, center channel(Def TechCLR3000, Pre/Pro, Xbox

20A for 5 channel and 2 channel amps

20A for mains(Def Tech 7001SC's/draw max of 8 amps each)

Back of Room will have...

15A for Def Tech SuperCube Reference(draws 9 to 10 amps alone) and Projector

20A for 4 surrounds, all having built in subs.

Overkill? I don't think so. I do all the wiring with a friend so I don't have to pay an electrician either. It's quite simple once you try it 8) The way I see it, if you don't have enough current coming in, then your $$ spent on gear seems like a waste.

Chris, right now I am evenly loading the circuits, so I was in the same thought process as you...

But then again, It might be wiser to put the heavy draw components on their own, as to not interfere with the regular components. Like I said...

Decisions decisions! Good luck!




Life is short, Play it LOUD!

[Andrew Pratt]

I added TWO 20 amp dedicated circuits to the equipment bay, each terminating in a quad power outlet. Is this overkill?

I'd say no since that's what I have as well

[SpOoNmAn]

I added TWO 20 amp dedicated circuits to the equipment bay, each terminating in a quad power outlet. Is this overkill?

I'd say no since that's what I have as well

Can someone explain the "termination into a quad power outlet" for me? I will need a plethora of unhibited current coming into the room in about 6 months, all 4 surrounds will be towers with subs. The Reference supercube pulls about 10 amps, The projector will need clean power. For that matter, ALL speakers will have subs and powerful amps within. Throw in the 2 Rotel amps and everything else.. ugh

I mapped out my room lastnight as if I had all the new gear. I'd need Four 15A lines, and Two 20A lines. The way I read this quad power termination...it makes me think that somehow this current is spread out all over the room without effecting performance?

My background with electricity goes as far as installing a dedicated 15A circuit to theatre, thats it




Life is short, Play it LOUD!

[Chris D]

Ah... nothing cosmic. All I mean by the quad outlet termination is that the circuit is wired to a outlet box that has four electrical plugs on it. (you can plug in four different items) I did this just so I could plug in more components--most outlets you see on the wall only have two plugs.

I suppose it doesn't really matter how many different outlets you put on a circuit, only how much total load you put on it by plugging in different things, so you could put multiple outlets on each circuit for sure.




CHRIS
Luke: "Hey, I'm not such a bad pilot myself, you know"

[SpOoNmAn]

Ah... nothing cosmic. All I mean by the quad outlet termination is that the circuit is wired to a outlet box that has four electrical plugs on it. (you can plug in four different items) Most outlets you see on the wall only have two plugs.

Hmm..I don't see this helping when most people use conditoners/filters that would take care of that problem by offering more available plugs.

So you're telling me you have a receptacle on the wall that has 4 plugs instead of 2? I can see that being advantaegous if you plug gear directly into the socket..and that would be safe if the main box was wired for "whole house" protection.

Heck, I could get away with all wall receptacles having just one plug available. Maybe I'll look into whole house protection instead of buying protectors for each receptacle 8)




Life is short, Play it LOUD!

[David Meek]

Some amp designers come right out and state that their products shouldn't be plugged in to conditioners/protectors as these devices can act as current limiters. I don't remember which companies I've read that about, unfortunately - but it has been said.

Personally, I have everything in my system run through a VansEvers Model 100/14.




David - HTGuide flunky
Our "Theater"
Our DVDs on DVD Tracker

[Chris D]

I've thought about that very issue. In my current theater, I don't think I'm going to go with power conditioners, if for no other reason than it's just one (or more) new things I'd have to buy at this point. Perhaps in the future. But you're right--if EVERYTHING is plugged into a power unit, then you don't need extra outlets on the wall.




CHRIS
Luke: "Hey, I'm not such a bad pilot myself, you know"

[SpOoNmAn]

Some amp designers come right out and state that their products shouldn't be plugged in to conditioners/protectors as these devices can act as current limiters. I don't remember which companies I've read that about, unfortunately - but it has been said.

Personally, I have everything in my system run through a VansEvers Model 100/14.

David, I have read the same things as far as running power amps thru conditioners and their negative effects. I always wondered if the Panamax was limiting current flow, and after buying the BrickWall, I can honestly say that Yes, the Panamax was doing just that, or something to that effect.

I will buy multiples of the brickwall device I recently purchased. It might be the best investment I've made for theatre, period. They arent intended as conditoners/filters but by their design, they are quite effective in doing so. They are first and foremost, rock solid protection, and all without restricting current.

They are very affordable too!

One last question...

I will be plugging both mains (Def Tech BP70001SC's) into a device like I have but....they make one with isolated receptacles, and one without. Would it matter either way? I thought them being isolated was more for preamps, cd and dvd players..moreso then for amps and whatnot. Maybe I'll shoot them an email.




Life is short, Play it LOUD!