Squisher
12-18-09, 12:17 AM
Ok, so.. I am indeed a newbie to this forum however I'd like to try and contribute the best I can assuming this topic wasn't previously covered.
To some people a powerstrip is a powerstrip. They have 1 power source coming out of the wall and 7 items to plug in. What do you do? You head to walmart and look at powerstips. You find the biggest, meatiest biggest "joule" <more on that later- rating thinking that this will not only protect your creatures but your home as well. Or will it......
"Joules" are just another way of measuring spikes in current. The more Joules the more protection from a bigger spike. The most common thought is lightning or a powersurge. However, this should be the least of your worries.
These powerstrips will work great.. if your sole purpose was to not only have an outlet for them, but to also protect them from said lightning strike. What is way more serious is protecting "leakage current" within your home. Thats what your breaker box is for. If there is a short or too much current is drawn they are designed to cut the circuit at a given value. They are not fool proof though especially when running such a requirement of current such as anything that produces heat. You also have to factor in is the wiring from that outlet to your panel going to handle the load your putting on it. Chances are for most the house/apt didn't have in mind you running 3-500 watts out of one outlet. Even if your spread your load to another outlet in the room predictably its still the same circuit.. not good.
(there is an end to this I promise)
What you should get is a powerstrip that also offers LEAKAGE protection. This will protect the load thats coming OUT.. in addition to the Transient Voltage or...lightning strike coming in. When you have a 2-wire appliance your not technically grounded to anything but the fuse panel. The 3rd prong is called a ground for a reason.. because that is wired to 6 foot spike into you guessed it.. the GROUND. Otherwise called an Earth Ground.
Leakage Current Protection willl break the circuit if you have a burned wire BEFORE it ever has a chance to hit the wall. Thats way better then having that "short" travel through the walls of your home possibly heating up anything along the way before it hits your box that will "hopefully"trip.
LCP strips come in various ratings and you ALWAYS want to overshoot what your total load is (ummm, yeah).. Total up the number of watts your running and find one rated higher than that. If you run a strip too close to your overall number you run the risk of unintentional faults and it may not let you plug in what you need to.
You can find these at the Depot or Lowes and no they are about the same price as conventional strips.
No I'm not an electrician.. but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express once!:)
To some people a powerstrip is a powerstrip. They have 1 power source coming out of the wall and 7 items to plug in. What do you do? You head to walmart and look at powerstips. You find the biggest, meatiest biggest "joule" <more on that later- rating thinking that this will not only protect your creatures but your home as well. Or will it......
"Joules" are just another way of measuring spikes in current. The more Joules the more protection from a bigger spike. The most common thought is lightning or a powersurge. However, this should be the least of your worries.
These powerstrips will work great.. if your sole purpose was to not only have an outlet for them, but to also protect them from said lightning strike. What is way more serious is protecting "leakage current" within your home. Thats what your breaker box is for. If there is a short or too much current is drawn they are designed to cut the circuit at a given value. They are not fool proof though especially when running such a requirement of current such as anything that produces heat. You also have to factor in is the wiring from that outlet to your panel going to handle the load your putting on it. Chances are for most the house/apt didn't have in mind you running 3-500 watts out of one outlet. Even if your spread your load to another outlet in the room predictably its still the same circuit.. not good.
(there is an end to this I promise)
What you should get is a powerstrip that also offers LEAKAGE protection. This will protect the load thats coming OUT.. in addition to the Transient Voltage or...lightning strike coming in. When you have a 2-wire appliance your not technically grounded to anything but the fuse panel. The 3rd prong is called a ground for a reason.. because that is wired to 6 foot spike into you guessed it.. the GROUND. Otherwise called an Earth Ground.
Leakage Current Protection willl break the circuit if you have a burned wire BEFORE it ever has a chance to hit the wall. Thats way better then having that "short" travel through the walls of your home possibly heating up anything along the way before it hits your box that will "hopefully"trip.
LCP strips come in various ratings and you ALWAYS want to overshoot what your total load is (ummm, yeah).. Total up the number of watts your running and find one rated higher than that. If you run a strip too close to your overall number you run the risk of unintentional faults and it may not let you plug in what you need to.
You can find these at the Depot or Lowes and no they are about the same price as conventional strips.
No I'm not an electrician.. but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express once!:)