Num of games on a 15/20 amp circuit?

Malice95

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So I loaded 9 games down in the basement this weekend. One of the power strip fuses kept tripping unless I turned off a couple games. The breaker didn't trip. It got me thinking... How many games do you put on a 15 or 20 amp circuit comfortably?
 
IIRC, 2 amps per game. I've been curious about this also, as well as how many watts per game (I'm thinking 100). I have approx. 6 games on each circuit, havent had any problems.
 
One should really be looking at the back of the machines and doing some simple math & NOT just plugging in as many as possable with out the breaker triping, this is how you burn down your house!! You do not want more then 80% of your total line limit so that's about 12amp on a 15amp line and 18amp on a 20amp line, I would limit your power strips to 4 games per strip to be on the safe side for those too.
 
most games will pull 1-3 amps each. check your specific game manual for spec. Asteroids is 1.45 amps for example


also check your power strip breaker amperage it may be 15 or lower

average 2 amps/game
so 15/2=7.5

8 games per circuit breaker use 2 or more power strips
 
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One should really be looking at the back of the machines and doing some simple math & NOT just plugging in as many as possable with out the breaker triping, this is how you burn down your house!! You do not want more then 80% of your total line limit so that's about 12amp on a 15amp line and 18amp on a 20amp line, I would limit your power strips to 4 games per strip to be on the safe side for those too.

Agreed, but sometimes this info is missing from the game, and sometimes you dont have access to a manual. The main question is whats the average for each game?

I have been running 6 games on a surge protector without issue, but I also try to get the higher end surge protectors that can handle the load.
 
Buy a watt meter. One of the nice digital ones that can show you amps, watts, etc..

On average I find they pull a solid 2 amps, while pinballs considerably more especially during game play.
 
Agreed, but sometimes this info is missing from the game, and sometimes you dont have access to a manual. The main question is whats the average for each game?

I have been running 6 games on a surge protector without issue, but I also try to get the higher end surge protectors that can handle the load.

there is a manual online for just about every game.

the real test would be a ct type ammeter on each game
 
Well if it's Nintendo it's 1.2 for a single monitor cab and 1.8 for a dual, I don't have a Asteroids but all my Atari's say 3 amps including my Asteroids Deluxe. 6 machines is a bit much for any power strip really. Safety should really be the number one factor in a collectors game room or after time there may not be a game room or a house for that matter.

Power requirements should really be your number one concern when getting a new machine or setting up your room just as much as space, Can you fit just one more machine in your game room.....ya maybe but can you power them all at the same time on that circut without worry? You should be able to answer yes to that question with confidence!!

Something else to think about if your gameroom is in a bedroom or something like that is that power lines daisy chain to different rooms of the house so your master bedroom lights maybe tied to your gameroom or something like that, the best way to know for sure is shut off the breaker for your game outlet and see what else looses power, then you know what's all on that line.
 
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the real test would be a ct type ammeter on each game


This is the best way to know for sure!!
 
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For once a question I can answer. Never load a circuit breaker over 80% over that it will cause intermittent tripping. Overloading it as long as you have the appropriate size breaker in relation to the wire wont burn a house down. You might have to reset the breaker thats what there for to protect the wiring in case you overload it. The strip will normally have a lower rating thus causing the little reset to pop out sooner than the house circuit breaker. 15amp= 12amp 20amp =16amp
 
For once a question I can answer. Never load a circuit breaker over 80% over that it will cause intermittent tripping. Overloading it as long as you have the appropriate size breaker in relation to the wire wont burn a house down. You might have to reset the breaker thats what there for to protect the wiring in case you overload it. The strip will normally have a lower rating thus causing the little reset to pop out sooner than the house circuit breaker. 15amp= 12amp 20amp =16amp

How do you know that your breaker wont fail? Overloading past the 80% and relying on the breaker is not a good idea.
 
How do you know that your breaker wont fail? Overloading past the 80% and relying on the breaker is not a good idea.

Of course your right. There's no way to know if any product will fail or not fail as it was intended to. But those manufacturers have a lot to lose if it doesn't work.
 
Everyone should go look at their electrical panel and make sure that it does NOT have Federal Pacific labels on it.

If you have Federal Pacific breakers and panel you should NOT even come close to 80% loading. They are well known for burning down houses.

With that being said, when plugging multiple games into a power strip there's a large amount of inrush current when the games are turned on. Don't use the power switch on the strip to turn them all on at once.

RJ
 
Everyone should go look at their electrical panel and make sure that it does NOT have Federal Pacific labels on it.

If you have Federal Pacific breakers and panel you should NOT even come close to 80% loading. They are well known for burning down houses.

With that being said, when plugging multiple games into a power strip there's a large amount of inrush current when the games are turned on. Don't use the power switch on the strip to turn them all on at once.

RJ

Must be a electrician as well. Those are bad news they lost there UL listing due to the fact that they didn't trip period. The newly made replacements are ok.
 
So I loaded 9 games down in the basement this weekend. One of the power strip fuses kept tripping unless I turned off a couple games. The breaker didn't trip. It got me thinking... How many games do you put on a 15 or 20 amp circuit comfortably?

The rule of thumb for pins is 5 amps each, if you want to be able to play them all at the same time.

John
 
I'm glad this thread came to light. Motivation for me to acually look into this. I'm sure I'm safe, but better safe than sorry. I just looked at my California Speed and was suprised that it's rated 4 Amps. And it's on a circuit with 5 other games.

I work at an electrical distributor and always wondered why Federal Pacific is no longer in business (other than their crazy design on some of their breakers). I guess now I know.

I never heard about any problems with using the switches at the surge strips. I thought most everyone turns their games on this way?
 
I never heard about any problems with using the switches at the surge strips. I thought most everyone turns their games on this way?

I'm no electrician... And I understand that the best practice is probably one game at a time...

But if say you do strips with 3 vids at a time (about 6 amps or so).... That would probably be aight.

But to have 6 2 amp vids or 3 5amp pins on one strip, that would be a bit much.
 
One thing to note as well, for those that have games in your office. Laser printers can pull upwards to 12 amps when starting up, or starting a print job..

My Brother HL-2170W will pull 11amps at startup. If you have games on the same circuit you can be almost assured that it will trip a breaker.
 
I have a Kill-A-Watt meter and have written down all my games power consumption...

Some general rules of thumb:

19" Rastors - 1 to 1.25 amp
25" Rastors - 1.25 to 1.5 amp
19" B&W Vectors - 1.5 to 1.75 amp
19" Color Vectors - 2 to 2.25 amp
25" color Vectors - 2.5 amp

Other things to consider... Force feedback? Gun feedback? Etc...

I also found that my 19" Medium Re System II cab is one of my bigger power hogs at over 2.5a!

Pins idle around 1 to 1.5a... but when being played they jump all over the place... and of course each pin is different. Whirlwind maxes out around 3a...

The biggest power hogs for my gameroom:

Portable AC: 9 amps
Portable Heater: 3 settings... 6 amp LOW, 9 amp MEDIUM and 11.5 amp HIGH.

You should keep your amperage at or under 80% load... 15a circuits should stay under 12a and 20a circuits should stay under 16a.... that said, I was told that rule is for "continuous" load... which is defined as 3 hours from my best searches... so running 13.5 amp through a 15a line for a few minutes isn't going to hurt anything.
 
How much juice do those old Marquee Lights Pull?
I usually leave mine off to save electricity.

Especially my old CD juke. I suspect that those lights were wasting mad electricity.
 
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