Electrical outlets

So I have four outlets in my spare bedroom that my tent is in. If I evenly disburse the fans and stuff into each plug in I shouldn't overload right?

If they're on the same breaker you will overload it if you go beyond what the breaker is rated for

cdd10 said:

So I have four outlets in my spare bedroom that my tent is in. If I evenly disburse the fans and stuff into each plug in I shouldn't overload right?

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Plug a light into each of the four outlets....
Now one at a time turn off your breakers....
Until one or all outlets go off in that room...
If they are all on that one breaker... Then: turn off everything [every breaker] except that breaker...
Now go around to every outlet in house to see if anything else is on...
Anything else on your room breaker that is found, find another outlet for it to plug into.
You now have a dedicated breaker for your room...
If it's a 20 amp breaker you can plug 80% of 2400 watts....to be safe....
If it's a 15 amp breaker you can plug 80% of 1800 watts... to be safe...

Good Luck, learn Ohm's Law... it's your friend....

Ah I see a return to physics class lol

you can test it pretty easy with a volt meter,test voltage in a plug while you have everything running,and see if there is any voltage drop,many times all the plugs in one room wont all be on same breaker,but somtimes they are,,15 or 20 amp breaker will host alot,i live in a motorhome and run everything on a 30 amp hookup,i have 2 roof acs full size frridge on my deck,plus inside unit,microwave ,plus heaters for my plants and lights,led.worst comes to worst slap a 30 amp in it,lol,the breaker will kick if your drawing to much curent.the thing will be drawing the most amps is your lighting,it will tell you on it how many amps it draws

cdd10 said:

Ah I see a return to physics class lol

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Amps X Volts = Watts

Watts divided volts = amps

Watts divided amps = volts

So I have a 400w ballast at 120 volts so that I would be 400/120 which would be 3 amps right

One of my fans draws,. 35 amps and other one will be slightly higher than that I should be okay all I have is lights and those fans plugged in I think that is all I'm going to hab plugged up I don't need ac or anything like that

cdd10 said:

One of my fans draws,. 35 amps and other one will be slightly higher than that I should be okay all I have is lights and those fans plugged in I think that is all I'm going to hab plugged up I don't need ac or anything like that

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You have enough power for your setup, which will probably only draw 5 amps max even adding a bunch more fans or some side lighting.

cdd10 said:

So I have a 400w ballast at 120 volts so that I would be 400/120 which would be 3 amps right

Click to expand...

To be safe, and a short cut in figuring amperage, figure it 400 watts = 4 amps
1000 watts = 10 amps.... point .35 watts = .0035 amp
round figures easy mans Ohms law= sands way

Thanks guys just making sure! Safety first!

Just slapping a larger breaker on existing wire.... yeah don't do that. You might end up with local firemen gettin a contact buzz as they extinguish your garden. You should be good on power as greenlikemonkey says.

As long as you aren't connecting to a circuit that has any high-load devices on it (hair dryers, portable room heaters etc), you will be fine.

You should always calculate at least 15% additional load at startup for a ballast, and never go over 80% load on a circuit. However, with only a 400w and a couple of fans, there won't be any issue.

-spek

callahanman said:

Just slapping a larger breaker on existing wire.... yeah don't do that. You might end up with local firemen gettin a contact buzz as they extinguish your garden. You should be good on power as greenlikemonkey says.

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Ahhh, no. You don't want to be doing that, for the exact reason you never want to use an under sized extension cord.

If you do, it is the wire that becomes the fuse.

-spek

Quickie question, as I set-up my Christmas light display.

Does 20 amp=220 volt?. As in the 220's my dryer is plugged into?.

If a good electrician did the job, you might have a separate circuit for each bedroom, but that is unlikely. There might be a circuit for a window AC unit, which would be by a window. One 1000 watt, two 600 watt, three 400 watt or four 250 watt fixtures will run with no problem, plus a average exhaust fan which will draw maybe 2 amps can also be added. If more than one bedroom is on the same circuit, just make sure there is only a couple of lights on it and no large loads, and you will be fine. Peace

guess you will find out when the breaker pops.lol usually a newer house will have 20 ap breakers in each room so check if there 15 or 20 amp.. if there only 15 then don't go over a 600 watt lamp..

Cool it's a 15 amp and it's only that room on the circuit no others

Sunbiz1 said:

Quickie question, as I set-up my Christmas light display.

Does 20 amp=220 volt?. As in the 220's my dryer is plugged into?.

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Nope. Amps is what it can draw, you might have a 30amp circuit in your car at 12 volts. Dryer is prob a 30amp circuit. Look on the breaker that feeds it. Keep in mind that 220 volts at 30 amps is more watts. Go back to the ohms law post on this thread and do the math yourself. This is one reason commercial and industrial place run higher voltage lighting, some ballasts are what we call multi-tap and are good for 120v, 220v, 277v, and even up to 480v.

Hey guys , quick question, Im running one 400w ballast a vortex fan and two "300" equivalent CFL, my house is 18yrs old, am I pushing it?