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No reason to apologize for being thorough

75.68.119.187

In Reply to: RE: Yes you're right BUT posted by bartc on August 06, 2007 at 14:53:10

Per my specific situation I have at the moment a BAT VK-200 , a 200 wpc power amplifier (when driving my 4 ohm speakers) and i live here by myself. I'll be sure not to upgrade the equipment without upgrading the breaker and wires therefrom and I'll keep the old 15 amp outlet handy to swap it back in after i burn the place down.. what i think i do understand about the ratings of AC outlets is the rating denotes its current handling capacities beyond which the metal will begin to become unstable. What i am as to not informed are the potential characteristics of the AC coming in to my Unit at the breaker box and how it is regulated. If the current amperage is solely dependent upon the demands of the appliance drawings is there some limit on the potential amperage without the circuit breaker. In other words if it were possible for the breaker to fail to break the circuit and the power am for example did some thing unusual and began drawing exponentially higher quantities of current is there some limiting factor further downstream and if so what is that limit. For what its worth i do have the PS Audio Duet between the wall and the system which is supposed to protect the equipment.

Edits: 08/06/07 08/06/07 08/06/07

Follow Ups:

RE: No reason to apologize for being thorough - KLS 10:24:38 08/07/07 (0)
The amperage drawn through a circuit is 100% dependent on the electrical consumers. They might actually only draw an amp or two, but the circuit is capable of supplying the rated 15 or 20 amps.

Look at the circuit breaker or fuse for that circuit. You'll see the rating. The purpose of the circuit breaker is to protect the wiring from overheating. If the installation is modern, it'll likely have #12 wire and a 20 amp breaker. If older, it might have #14 wire and a 15 amp breaker or fuse. You could use #2/0 wire with a 15 amp breaker and it still won't allow more that 15 amps to pass. By the way, the code requires that the wire and breaker have 125% of the expected amperage draw...an actual 20 amp expected load would require a 30 amp circuit with #10 wire.

The 20 amp receptacle might have heavier internal contacts. What it has for sure is one T-shaped slot. A device that draws more than 12 amps (80% of 15) needs a 20 amp plug which has one blade in the usual vertical orientation and the other blade horizontal. This is designed to idiot-proof the circuit so that it only fits into the 20 amp receptacle which should only be on a 20 amp circuit. I know, this is usually overlooked, but that's the reasoning.

So, use a 20 amp receptacle if you choose, and sleep easy. If the one you pick has heavier internal contacts, good. (Look at plugs in a hardware store...good quality 15 amp plugs and 20 amp plugs have equally heavy blades, just different orientation of one blade.)

By the way, it might be smart to go through the circuit and clean and tighten the connections. Be sure you're safe. The connection of the breaker to the bus bar needs to be clean and snap on tightly. A very light sanding with fine garnet sandpaper (non-conduction) and/or a dab of chemical contact cleaner like Ox-Gard might help. Ditto for the connection where the wire is held in the breaker and for the neutral wire on the neutral bus bar. ALWAYS switch off the main circuit breaker feeding the panel--working on a hot panel is not recommended for long life. The cable connections to the audio receptacle should be mechanically and chemically cleaned. If it is not a dedicated line to the audio system, it is daisy-chained through every receptacle and maybe light switches and fixtures between it and the panel. You've got work to do. Most contact cleaners are merely solvents that remove oil or grease, they don't chemically remove oxidation. Check the label.
OK, go forth boldly! (But ask the rest of the electricians here.) nt - bartc 16:41:36 08/06/07 (2)
- (But ask the rest of the electricians here.) I thought i had - ArdRi 21:30:45 08/06/07 (1)
  weather i got all the info i should get is something i might be unable to say if my knowledge has only incresed by what i've read here.
  - ask an electrician, any electrician (oh, was that a vegetable?) - bartc 05:56:28 08/07/07 (0)
    "Ask Any Vegetable" - Zappa....
    
    Kidding aside, your other questions were buried at the end of the last message you sent to my message. They seemed to be serious questions related to the capacities and functions of household electrical systems. If you were really curious about that, you could post it as a new topic in General Asylum or here in Tweaks with a title asking for electricians to respond.
    
    Sound like silly overkill? Not if you want the knowledgeable answer to your inquiry.
    
    Otherwise, you only get people who are bothering to read the interchange between you and I on this sub-thread.

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