Well, im starting to get things rolling on my arcade. Im a long way off, but Id like to know how many machines to run off of 1 20a breaker? I have a nice empty 200a service panel dedicated just for my basement, so 6 20a circuits shouldnt be an issue. Id also like to run them switched off of some cool looking switches (I saw someone on here had some with a high voltage sign?).
I know Takeman had over 45 machines running at his last party, and he has I think - 4 switches for the outlets.
Thanks!
Basically, don't exceed (or even come close) to the circuit's rating. If you exceed the load, then you'll trip the breaker. If you run AT the load, then you'll be pushing everything to it's limits.
I just found an online reference that says you should only load a circuit to 80% of it's capacity. For a 15 amp circuit, that's about 12 amps, for a 20 amp circuit, that's about 16 amps.
http://electrical.about.com/od/panelsdistribution/f/calculateload.htm
The thing isn't the number of machines, it's how much to they draw in total. To figure that, invest in a kill-a-watt (
http://www.amazon.com/P3-Internatio...1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1252339843&sr=8-1) and measure a couple of machines. Then you can guess at the load for machines you don't have yet.
Other things: Make sure you get a real electrician, OR make sure you know what you are doing for adding circuits. It's not at all hard, but you don't want to use the wrong size wire, or the circuit won't be safe. Since it's new circuits, you don't have to worry about old wiring issues. When in doubt use heavier wire.
Put in sufficient outlets! Power strips and extension cords are far more likely to cause a problem than properly wired outlets. It's no harder for an electrician to put 4 outlets in a location than 2, so go for it. It also looks a heck of a lot nicer that way.
Don't run extension cords behind drywall or panelling. That's what killed the neighbor kid when I was young (previous owners of that house were apparently cheap, stupid, a-holes).
If you do use extension cords/power strips, make sure they are appropriately rated. Again, heavier wire is better.
EDIT:Oh yea, and remember, you can have more outlets per circuit than you can use at one time. Obviously they cost money, but more outlets might give you more flexibility in setting up the game room.