To many connections to one socket?

*foxie2* · 06-04-2009, 11:43 AM

Hi guys just wondering if someone could help me here. I did a search on this but couldnt find exactly what i needed.

Im in the middle of getting a room ready for all my gear. The room itself ony has one socket!!

My plan was to use a 4way power strip to give me 4 sockets then from this i plug in my 2x 8 way surge protectors and a 2 socket extension that goes around the room. So thats 3 of the sockets used and i wont be using the last one.

1 of the 8 way surges will have the following:

LCD TV
Home Server
XBMC
Wii
Network HUB (joytech 540 to be exact. possible upgrade here!)

the other will have:

SkyHD
Xbox 360
Xbox HD DVD addon
Sony DG910 AVR
o2 wireless router

The 2 socket extension then goes around the room and another 6way surge is plugged in here. On this surge will be:

PC
Monitor
PC Speakers (i think havent got them yet)
Wireless Headphone( altho i may buy bluetooh if i have to)
Charging plugs occasionaly (phone, battery)

so do you think this setup will work or is it dangerous? Also is it safe to put my 8 way surges into my IKEA cabinets rather than the floor or will they get very hot?

Thanks for any help guys

Lemon_Sherbert · 06-04-2009, 12:49 PM

Its more about how much of that kit is on at any-one-time, if its all on then yes, its too much, IMO, if only a few of the items are on at one time then no, cos the draw isnt that high.

I have 2 sockets in the front room, one with stuff thats on all the time, the other with the stuff i power off. So I have a TV, AMP, 3 games machines, and PC off of 1 socket, but only 3 devices are on at one time, so no issue with power draw.

My advise would be to at least have a 2 socket put in, a local sparky should be able to do it relatively cheaply if you dont feel comfortable with it (I know i get nervous with electrics!), might also be worth paying a little more and getting them to run another socket off the main, other side of the room or something, would require a little re-decorating though.

With regard to the surges, they shouldnt get hot enough to cause an issue, just make sure they aren't crammed with no space around, should be fine if theres a bit of air around them.

Hope this helps

*foxie2* · 06-04-2009, 1:03 PM

thanks for replying. Well im putting speaker grills on the cabinet doors and i left of the thin back of the cabinets to allow air flow through all the equipment!

As to what would be on:

Well i would probably have the PC on most of the time so the monitor aswell.

The home server is always on. ( although im going to install a standby program so its off when im at work then on when i get home)

The tv and amp plus xbmc would be on at the same time sometimes the xbox 360 aswell but now that i have a sky box instead of a HTPC it will probably be on!

Can i set the SKY HD box to go to standby when not used then come out when it has to record?

I think after typing this ive realised i def will need that second socket lol

i used one of those 2 sockets to one back plate from B&Q before will that be ok?

If i put on one of those then plug both surges into those sockets can i plug the extension into a surge socket?

i really hate electrics lol

EDIT: will this work Click Here

If i convert it to a triple i can plug both surges and the extension into this!

Lemon_Sherbert · 06-04-2009, 2:59 PM

The socket converter are good for getting more switchable sockets, but unfortunatly they still only take the same amps, so your single socket only takes 13amps now, a 3way socket converter will still be 13amps, just gives you more sockets to plug stuff in, I have a couple of them in the house, just to save me hassle of unplugging something to use the socket.

Tbh it really sounds like you need another socket put in, its not a big job so worth contacting a local odd-job man or something, I not confident enough to do it myself, but I have my dad thats worked with electronics/electrics all his life, comes in very handy!

Having said that I did setup a training room once with about 8 pc's, tft's, a server and a laser printer, all off of 1 socket, as I switched all the kit on i was waiting for the bang! Didnt happen, but I wouldnt ever do it again, or recommend it. Still dont know how it didnt blow a fuse, perhaps its more worrying that it didnt! A definate candidate for "Do NOT try this at home!"

*foxie2* · 06-04-2009, 4:26 PM

damn u banished my hopes lol

Is there any way of adding the extra sockets without actually having to re-decorate?

I had my schedule planned out and with 4 days off this weekend i was going to finish the room completey! (any then post pics obviously lol)

ChuckMountain · 06-04-2009, 5:14 PM

Each device should have a wattage rating on it. Add them up and see what they come to that really answers your question or not. 13 amps gives you 3kW to play with so even with that kit I don't think you are going to near that. With lower powered electric stuff you should be ok.

Some extension strips are rated at lower than 13amps and often have lower fuses so double check that as well.

Ideally you do want more sockets as your ring mains will give up 30 amps to each socket

Just don't go plugging iron/kettle/electic fire into any of the extensions or that will overload you.

If in doubt talk to a sparky though.

*foxie2* · 06-04-2009, 5:29 PM

thanks for the reply chuck!

Its a bedroom so definately wont be any kettles or irons lol

Can i add 2 surface mounted sockets to the room that lead back to the main socket in the room i.e. without channelling out walls?

ChuckMountain · 06-04-2009, 5:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by foxie2

thanks for the reply chuck!

Its a bedroom so definately wont be any kettles or irons lol

Can i add 2 surface mounted sockets to the room that lead back to the main socket in the room i.e. without channelling out walls?

Not sure if you mean replace the existing box or run a lead from a 13amp plug to two surface mounts.

If the former yes you could do. It depends on how much cable you have to play with. If its a circuit on the ring mains (probably) then it will have two wires going into the socket. If only one its a spur. Either way you could (or a sparky) either do surface mount or even put a box in shouldn't make too much mess. I had a single socket replaced with two double ones which is pretty straight forward, no channeling required.

If the latter is not any improvement on the extensions really and potentially more risk if you or somebody else plugs more load into them.

*foxie2* · 06-04-2009, 6:17 PM

In my house each bedroom only has one original socket! in the current bedroom i am in at the minute i have a convertor on the original and from there i have a wire going to another surface mounted double! from here another surface mounted plug is daisy chained from the first surface mount.

All my equipment is connected to this setup. On the last double i have 2 surge plugs with all my AV gear and on the converter i have a surge which i connect my laptop to also a battery charger. The middle double doesnt really get used only really for phone charger.

At any one time i have the server and the laptop on and in most cases i will have the tv,amp,xbox and xbox 360 and this all works fine at the minute. What i need to know is this safe and will it work in the new room i am getting ready? (i have been in this room for almost 2 years and its been fine)

EDIT:

So i was looking around the t'internet and found this picture

Click Here

In the bottom right you can see one plug coming from the ring main but it also has a seperate plug coming from that same point.

Can i do this in my situation?

Lemon_Sherbert · 06-04-2009, 9:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by foxie2

EDIT:

So i was looking around the t'internet and found this picture

Click Here

In the bottom right you can see one plug coming from the ring main but it also has a seperate plug coming from that same point.

Can i do this in my situation?

Not sure i understand what you mean,
If the extra sockets come off the ring main and then loop back to the ring main to complete the circuit, then its okay, is that what you meant?

From what Chuck says you should be okay to go ahead, but i would plan to add sockets at a later date, that should allow you to get it done over the weekend, I would try to cable stuff up so that you add the sockets later, but without having to pull everything to bits again to re-cable, plan where you could put extra sockets, and get the extention leads to pass there, might save some hassle later

fredd500 · 07-04-2009, 12:04 PM

An easier solution to chasing out walls would be to use something like the following:

Clipsal Converta Skt 1G to 2G Polycarbonate - Screwfix.com, Where the Trade Buys

This replaces the single gang socket with a double and since it is wired directly to the ring, provides two sockets each rated at 13Amps. You do need to disconnect the old socket and connect this one in its place, but it does not require any modifications to the back box or chiselling out the wall etc.

All works should of course be done by someone competant, but legally, anyone can do this providing it is not in the kitchen, bathroom or garden. I am no sparky, but have fitted several of these at home. I just made sure all the connections were tight, there was no bare copper visible and used a socket tester to ensure I had wired everything correctly.

There are two disadvantages to this however, 1) the socket will stick out slightly further than a standard flush double gang socket and 2) it is only available in white.

Edit: Carefully unscrew the socket from the wall (or ask a friendly sparky to do it for you) and check there are two seperate cables going into the socket - this would indicate whether it is on the ring or on a spur. If on a spur, the max you can feed is 13Amps irrespective of how many sockets you have on it.

Hope this helps

Lemon_Sherbert · 07-04-2009, 2:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fredd500

Edit: Carefully unscrew the socket from the wall (or ask a friendly sparky to do it for you) and check there are two seperate cables going into the socket - this would indicate whether it is on the ring or on a spur. If on a spur, the max you can feed is 13Amps irrespective of how many sockets you have on it.

Hope this helps

Having made sure the power if off of course

Dont want to hear a loud bang and meet your maker now do we

*foxie2* · 07-04-2009, 6:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChuckMountain

13 amps gives you 3kW to play with so even with that kit I don't think you are going to near that. With lower powered electric stuff you should be ok.

I Just went through everything that would be in the room and tried to calculate roughly wat my wattage is:

Wii -- 20
360 -- 190
HD Addon -- 60
Xbmc -- 150
Server -- 300
PC -- 500
SkyHD box -- 50
wireless box-- 20
TV -- 200
AVR -- 300
Monitor -- 40
Misc -- 200

Total -- 2030 watts

So should all of this be able to run off that single socket (not everything will be on at same time but lets assume it is)?

ChuckMountain · 07-04-2009, 7:16 PM

You should be ok provided that each of the extensions is rated at 13amps both from a fuse point and cable thickness. A quick Google will give you some more advice

Electrical safety – FAQ

Also note that is the maximum, your PC although its rated at 500W depending on the spec won't use anything like that and could use 50% of that, as would the server.

*foxie2* · 07-04-2009, 9:20 PM

well the server uses a 450w supply but as its only 4 hdds and a small processor (celeron i think) i decided to bring it down but not to much just over estimate to be safe.

The main computer how ever probably will hit the 400/450 mark so i over estimated that to 500.

I am going to change the single to a double the convertor mentioned earlier so it should be 13 amp from there i will connect my 2 surge plugs for all my AV and computer stuff will this OK?

thanks for all the help by the way!!

Nape Dog · 01-10-2009, 9:38 AM

Can i please hijack this thread? for my set up i have been using 2 sockets. one has a 12 socket surge protected tower, the other has a 6 gang (unprotected) attached with a further 6 gang daisy chained off of it.
i am running the following devices:

TV 205w
SkyHD 50w
AV Receiver 230w
AV Sub 60w
DVD 25w
Mac Mini 110w
Apple AEBS 21w
3 x ext HDDs 10w x 3
wii 18w
PS3 180w

i also have a powered USB Hub, a HDMI switch, IR receiver for remotes and a Liinksys WAG54G modem however i cannot locate the power consumption of these.

am i running too much here? i figured that if i swop the 2 6 gangs for a new 12 gang surge protection and run one 12 gang off of each socket that i will be ok on the basis that, as ChuckMountain says, a 13amp socket can handle up to 3000watts. am i correct in thinking this?

i rarely use teh DVD, PS3 or wii now but everything else get used daily which make it difficult to arrange them so that one gang only gets turned on when needed as i have 13 devices used daily.

Can anyone confirm if i am overloading or not? I don't think I am

thanks