How many things can I plug into one outlet?

akumulatorakumulator
Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
I have so many things plugged into my outlet behind my computer... what's the limit? Will I just trip the circuit breaker if I exceed that or burn my apartment down? The thing is... I'm sure I'll be getting more stuff soon, so what do I do? Can I run an extension cord to other outlets in the same room or is that just as bad?



I have:



-Computer

-Monitor

-Speakers (115 watt each)

-mixer

-synth

-DSL modem

- mic pre-amp

-compressor

-VCR

-TV

-2 lamps

-printer

-Camcorder

-Firewire HD

-phone

-and misc. things powered by my USB/Firewire ports



These things aren't always on at the same time.. but still. What can I do to let me safely use all this?

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 5
    eugeneeugene Posts: 8,254member
    Quote:

    Can I run an extension cord to other outlets in the same room or is that just as bad?



    That really depends on how your house is wired.



    It sure sounds like a lot from the list you have, but it really isn't that much. A phone, DSL modem, camcorder, etc. really don't suck up much juice. Also, anything powered by FireWire or USB you probably shouldn't need to worry about. I don't know about the music equipment...



    Nevertheless, I would suggest buying a UPS of some sort which can use the battery like a power conditioner/balancer.
  • Reply 2 of 5
    akumulatorakumulator Posts: 1,111member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Eugene

    Nevertheless, I would suggest buying a UPS of some sort which can use the battery like a power conditioner/balancer.



    I do have a power conditioner that is somewhat of a rack mounted power strip, but the thing I was never sure of is if it helped you use more power from the outlet....and not just clean the noise from the power. I'll look into a UPS.
  • Reply 3 of 5
    ghost_user_nameghost_user_name Posts: 22,667member
    There isn't really a way to let you use more power from an outlet... a conditioner simply conditions the electricity coming through the line. It's like bandwidth on a network cable... you can't really plug anything in that will magically allow you to get more bandwidth out of the cables limits. Except compressing data I suppose, but you know, you can't really compress electricity like that.



    Electrical codes are rather strict. If you plug too much stuff in, you'll blow the circuit or the fuse. If you have a circuit breaker, that circuit weakens itself a little bit every time you blow it. That means it will take slightly less to blow it next time. Take a blown circuit or fuse as your warning sign that you've plugged too much stuff in.
  • Reply 4 of 5
    akumulatorakumulator Posts: 1,111member
    Okay, thanks. I'll just keep pluggin' away until I trip the breaker.
  • Reply 5 of 5
    magicfingersmagicfingers Posts: 703member
    I think that unless you have very weak/ sub-standard wiring in your house you are fine. I have ran pretty large amplification systems for my band off of 1- 15 amp circuit without problems when i had no other circuits available (2-2000watt amps, 4guitar/bass amps, plus all the other smaller electronics involved). But remember, recepts/breakers do have limits and will fail with a melt down or worse if over loaded.

    I am not an electrician, but I stayed at a Holiday Inn express last night.
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