Games per breaker

Joust4ever

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I apologize if this topic has been touched on before or if this is the wrong category, but I was wondering how many games can be put on a single 15 amp circuit before you risk tripping the breaker. I am just assuming standard 19" monitor vintage games and assuming that they are not all going to be played at the same time, although all might be in atteact mode at the same time.

Thanks.
 
Around 6 games per 15 amp breaker. Average amps per game is around 1.25-3.0 amps.Some people are gonna tell you different.I run all my games on 20 amp breakers 12-2 wire and I get about 8 games per breaker.My house has a total of 400 amp service. The arcade has its own 200 amp service one bill.
 
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Thanks. I'm currently running 7 and was considering adding 1 or 2 more. I guess that will be pushing it. I ordered a Kill A Watt meter so that I can see how many Amps each game is pulling. I guess worst case I can just tap into the room next to my gameroom since it is on a different breaker. Thanks again.
 
I don't remember the exact numbers off hand, but you're not suppose to exceed 80% load on a breaker for a long time.

So, we'll say on a 15amp breaker, don't go past 12AMPs for more than 30min? (16amps on a 20amp breaker.)

This has to do with heating up the wires in the wall. More heat equal more resistance which equals more load, which cycles to even more heat and on and on.
 
It all depends on the specific games that you have... but you should probably can run one or two more on that breaker, if they're just standard 19" raster cabs. Like mentioned, you should stay under 12A continuous on a 15A breaker.

Here are a few threads with specific readings:
https://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=209416
https://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=46009
https://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=303618 (breaks down where in the cab the power is going)

DogP
 
runawayabc123 is right on the max continuous draw. It is 80% of the rated breaker amperage.

Depending on the game, each game draws around ~2+ amps. When you first turn them on though, the in-rush current will be larger. If you run your circuit at the max, you'll want to stagger the starts, or the in-rush current will exceed the rated amps of the breaker and it may trip.
 
You can get the energy usage down in machines (sometimes) by using LEDs where possible. On a lot of games it doesn't matter, but for something like Pacman (with its two standard marquee bulbs) or a pinball machine it can be quite a bit.
 
I had my old garage wired with enough breakers so I only had 4 games per breaker. I was going to do a similar setup downstairs in the new house, but we couldn't find easy access to run more. I currently have 8 games on one breaker, and 3 pins on the other. The 8 games is pushing it for sure. It hasn't tripped, but I did have to rebuild my bubbles power supply. It would reset when more than a couple of games were on. It has been fine since the rebuild though. I really want one more on that wall, but I don't know if it will work. I should probably get a tester to at least make sure the games with the smallest draw are on that wall.

The breaker the pins are on is shared with my office, so I am keeping that one as low as possible.
 
I had my old garage wired with enough breakers so I only had 4 games per breaker. I was going to do a similar setup downstairs in the new house, but we couldn't find easy access to run more. I currently have 8 games on one breaker, and 3 pins on the other. The 8 games is pushing it for sure. It hasn't tripped, but I did have to rebuild my bubbles power supply. It would reset when more than a couple of games were on. It has been fine since the rebuild though. I really want one more on that wall, but I don't know if it will work. I should probably get a tester to at least make sure the games with the smallest draw are on that wall.

The breaker the pins are on is shared with my office, so I am keeping that one as low as possible.

Had this happen with a switcher. The flippers on the pinball machine across the room would reset the game and I used to say F it and just play. It died shortly after :D New switcher, problem gone
 
It's perfectly acceptable to load a circuit up to 100% if the breaker capacity, the breaker is there to protect the wire. If you're installing a new circuit though you should size it such that the expected load is not more than 80% of the breaker capacity, that leaves room for additional future loads.

I've had anywhere from 8-10 games on a single breaker without any issues. The draw does vary though, so the Kill A Watt is a good idea. For an inexpensive consumer device I've found it to be quite a useful tool. I tested mine against an expensive professional power analyzer and found it to be surprisingly accurate across the range.
 
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