Sir Topham Hatt Posted December 13, 2013 Share Posted December 13, 2013 What's your biggest extension cable? Mine is a 6: TV External HDD Router HTPC Wii [spare] I wouldn't go any higher and it's only because there is one socket in that area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger H. Veteran Posted December 13, 2013 Veteran Share Posted December 13, 2013 Instead of doing extension cable you should get extention outlet: http://garjet.en.alibaba.com/product/1083847739-215325596/Socket_Side_Socket_Wall_Tap_Surge_Protector_with_6_Swivel_Outlets.html Similar to those :) My UPS has 8 ports so i guess i can say that's the most :p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spikey_richie Posted December 13, 2013 Share Posted December 13, 2013 I have a 6-gang surge protected extension behind my home cinema, but it's a mix of high and low wattage items. By that I mean 2 of the sockets are used for my Sky router and fibre modem. I wouldn't plug for instance my 7.1 AV receiver, TV, XBox, PC, Sky+ box and my active subwoofer into 1x 6-gang as it may end up drawing > 13A. This bad boy will let you go all the way to 10 gang! http://www.screwfix.com/p/masterplug-surge-protection-perform-extension-tower-2m-10g/46321 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jerzdawg Posted December 13, 2013 Share Posted December 13, 2013 I have a Belkin and a Monster that are both pretty much filled (each surge protector is plugged into 2 different sockets, but I believe they are on the same breaker) tv, receiver, cable box, bluray player, NAS, apple tv, 2 routers, wii+hard drive, wii u, wii u pad charging stand, subwoofer, wii charging station, xbox one, projector screen I think thats it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McKay Posted December 13, 2013 Share Posted December 13, 2013 Got an 8 way extender with my mini fridge, my PC monitor,my speakers, my desk lamp and a fan. The monitor cuts out whenever the fridge turns on or off, and so do the speakers. :o Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spikey_richie Posted December 13, 2013 Share Posted December 13, 2013 Got an 8 way extender with my mini fridge, my PC monitor,my speakers, my desk lamp and a fan. The monitor cuts out whenever the fridge turns on or off, and so do the speakers. :o You're drawing too much current bro, that thing could fry if you get unlucky... you might want to rethink your strategy. FiB3R 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McKay Posted December 13, 2013 Share Posted December 13, 2013 You're drawing too much current bro, that thing could fry if you get unlucky... you might want to rethink your strategy. It cuts out for a second then comes back. The fridge does it to anything. I phrased it badly, I have an outlet with 2 plug sockets, one has the fridge on it, the other has the extender. On closer inspection my monitor is plugged into a different outlet completely, and still cuts out. spikey_richie 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HawkMan Posted December 13, 2013 Share Posted December 13, 2013 The amount of sockets is irrelevant, it's the power you pull through the cable to the first extension that's key. You may very well have a 16A (standard here for new install) on 2.5square cables on the install. But the cables on your extensions are rarely that gauge, and thus you can start pulling way to much power through them, causing the cable to heat up and potentially catch on fire. FiB3R and The_Decryptor 2 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hum Posted December 13, 2013 Share Posted December 13, 2013 Until it starts smoking ! :woot: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abecedarian paradoxious Posted December 13, 2013 Share Posted December 13, 2013 Any outlet or extension is rated for "X" Watts or Amperes. If you exceed that, you risk tripping a circuit breaker or damaging wiring. So, it's not "how many" but "how much" can you pull through / from an outlet or cord. Learn your safety and electrical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FiB3R Posted December 13, 2013 Share Posted December 13, 2013 It cuts out for a second then comes back. The fridge does it to anything. I phrased it badly, I have an outlet with 2 plug sockets, one has the fridge on it, the other has the extender. On closer inspection my monitor is plugged into a different outlet completely, and still cuts out. Throw that ######ing thing out the window man, before it permanently damages your more expensive stuff. spikey_richie 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arachno 1D Posted December 13, 2013 Share Posted December 13, 2013 Its the fridge motor they have a high draw current at start up and cause lots of interference down the power line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian M. Veteran Posted December 13, 2013 Veteran Share Posted December 13, 2013 My A/V rack has lots of sockets, but it's all small stuff. Have a total of 4.5 amps over 12 sockets. All the cable is the correct gauge, and I've replaced the fuses with 5A ones too. As long as you use decent quality kit (i.e. no extensions from pound land!) and don't exceed the rating of all extensions in the chain, it'll be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Evil Overlord Posted December 14, 2013 Share Posted December 14, 2013 I have 2, 6 gang protected and switched in my living room, and 2 6 gang switched in my kitchen, I try to keep the ampage within acceptable levels where possible, but for the last 19 or so years I've been fortunate enough not to blow fuses or anything like that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Fahim S. MVC Posted December 14, 2013 MVC Share Posted December 14, 2013 My biggest is 12, this one here. http://www.network-cabling.co.uk/store/product_info.php/way-power-strip-vertical-p-93?gclid=CKDcuNS6r7sCFRLMtAod24ABQ It has: AVR (Onkyo TX-SR876) Console (PS3) PVR (Sky+ HD 1TB) Sonos Connect Sonos Remote Charger Belkin WiDi Receiver Netgear 5 Port Gigabit Switch BT Home Hub 3 Access Point BT VSDL Modem Panasonic Home Phone Base Unit Most of these are very low power devices. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pto Posted December 14, 2013 Share Posted December 14, 2013 Residential electrical circuits in the U.S. should not carry more than around 1,500 Watts at any given time. So you can plug in 3,000 Watts worth of devices but should not power on more than 1,500 Watts worth of equipment at a time. Do you know the amperage of your circuit? In the U.K. I've heard of circuits with 240 Volts and 13 Amps which can support 3,000 Watts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+jamesyfx Subscriber² Posted December 14, 2013 Subscriber² Share Posted December 14, 2013 My biggest is a 10 Way surge protected extension. It has connected... 1. Sony Smart TV 2. Xbox 360 (Older Style) 3. PS3 (Slim One) 4. PlayStation 2 (Fat One) 5. Gamecube (DOL-001) 6. Humax Foxsat HD box 7. 280W PA System 8. Nothing 9. Nothing 10. Nothing Nowhere near the 3000W limit these types of things have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vcfan Posted December 14, 2013 Share Posted December 14, 2013 You're drawing too much current bro, that thing could fry if you get unlucky... you might want to rethink your strategy. it isn't gonna fry his other electronics. current flows to the least path of resistance. the motor in the fridge compressor starts out at having zero resistance when off. when it needs to turn on,an infinite rush of current flows there until it starts to turn(isn't enough to exceed the wire gague), thus starving other lanes of current,hence his monitors and such turning off for a split second. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Majesticmerc MVC Posted December 14, 2013 MVC Share Posted December 14, 2013 I've got a 10 way, surge protected, with 7 sockets occupied. 1xPC 1xPrinter 2xMonitor 1xSpeaker 1xDesk lamp 1xExternal HDD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sszecret Veteran Posted December 14, 2013 Veteran Share Posted December 14, 2013 6 way, surge protected. P.S. : I've always found the look of north american outlets rather comical. They look disappointed and shocked at the same time : FiB3R 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian M. Veteran Posted December 14, 2013 Veteran Share Posted December 14, 2013 Residential electrical circuits in the U.S. should not carry more than around 1,500 Watts at any given time. So you can plug in 3,000 Watts worth of devices but should not power on more than 1,500 Watts worth of equipment at a time. Do you know the amperage of your circuit? In the U.K. I've heard of circuits with 240 Volts and 13 Amps which can support 3,000 Watts. The vast majority of the UK has 30A (7.2KW) ring mains which covers sockets for the entire house, or parts of the house (i.e. we have one 30A ring for upstairs, one 30A ring for downstairs, and one for outside). You can get direct runs for appliances which require more (oven, shower) - but it's recommended that no home appliance connected to the fuse box uses more than 45A (15KW). Individual appliances generally have 3A, 5A, 10A or 13A fuses in the plug. Fuses must abide by BS1362 which states a maximum rating of 13A - therefore anything that needs more than 3.1KW needs to be directly wired. It's generally considered that the fuse in a plug is there to protect the wire, not the appliances though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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