colelini00 Posted February 4, 2016 Share Posted February 4, 2016 (edited) Has anyone ever just ran one extension cord to a controller and then used a splitter to plug both cords in? I am thinking of doing this for one of my three controllers this coming year. It makes sense from an electrical standpoint to me - I'm not going to be overloading the circuit, the extension cord is going to be of a heavier gauge, and there will only be roughly 2,500 LED's plugged in, so everything should be okay, right? Feel free to weigh in. Edited February 4, 2016 by colelini00 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wbaker4 Posted February 4, 2016 Share Posted February 4, 2016 What are current ratings on the circuits feeding your controllers? If it's only 15 amps, you will have no problem. I have done what you are planning on doing for years, and then last summer, I converted all of my controllers over to one power wire, since all the circuits that feed my controllers are 15 amps, and I am using mostly LEDs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty Belisle Posted February 4, 2016 Share Posted February 4, 2016 No issues with the amount of lights you plan on using. I have done this for a few years. You may want to invest in a meter to check the amp draw on any one of your circuits when lights are on. As part of my controller spreadsheet I include a column for light count and amp draw to help make decisions regarding my electrical distribution and set up when planning for my next year displays. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colelini00 Posted February 4, 2016 Author Share Posted February 4, 2016 They are 15 amps circuits, so yeah. I just looked on LOR's website and they "recommend" using two independent power feeds but I think I will be fine. I will most like pick up a meter just in case my math has gone wrong somewhere! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wbaker4 Posted February 4, 2016 Share Posted February 4, 2016 I suggest buying a "Kill A Watt" It costs about $35 and is worth it! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ItsMeBobO Posted February 4, 2016 Share Posted February 4, 2016 http://www.monoprice.com/Product?p_id=5308&gclid=CILzwMqE3coCFQ6IaQodkZYFnQ These might work for you 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty Belisle Posted February 4, 2016 Share Posted February 4, 2016 Kill a Watt for sure. Mine is strapped to my hip the whole set up season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ItsMeBobO Posted February 4, 2016 Share Posted February 4, 2016 After you K-A-W to be sure you can combine. You could remove a cord and replace it with a plug. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wbaker4 Posted February 4, 2016 Share Posted February 4, 2016 No orange wires please! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colelini00 Posted February 4, 2016 Author Share Posted February 4, 2016 32 minutes ago, ItsMeBobO said: http://www.monoprice.com/Product?p_id=5308&gclid=CILzwMqE3coCFQ6IaQodkZYFnQ These might work for you Thanks! Might be gettin' me some of these. 25 minutes ago, ItsMeBobO said: After you K-A-W to be sure you can combine. You could remove a cord and replace it with a plug. This is a fantastic idea. Seriously genius. Thanks for sharing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhino Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 Great question! I've been doing this for years, out of necessity. With about 40 controllers in the field, I don't have 80 outlets to plug into. Using the above-mentioned Kill O Watt thingy, I tested each "side" of each controller with all lights on to see what the maximum pull would be. Based on these readings, I then determined how to configure which controller sides could be "joined", and how many. There are some places where both power sides ( A and B ) of one controller are joined together (using the splitters or a 3-way adaptor), then multiple controllers are joined together (pigtail splitters) before reaching the outlet. Lots a pigtails, to say the least. I love the splitter cable that BobO included above. Will have to one of those for each controller, and install these on the controller end (16 gauge) and keep the pigtails (12 gauge) at the power end. Good to know I'm not the only one out there doing this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wbaker4 Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 This should give you twice as much joy! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ItsMeBobO Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 This one is 1.5 times as much joy, 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Need more lights Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 I just use these. I use them on the output side for my "mirrored" display elements also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Sarge Posted February 7, 2016 Share Posted February 7, 2016 I use these from Harbor Freight... http://www.harborfreight.com/three-way-grounded-power-outlet-45185.html Also the outlets where I plug my controllers in each are on a different main circuit.. IE, Garage outlet, yard outlet, front of house outlet, side house outlet, etc... they have two different ones so make sure you get the heavy duty one if you order from them. I do not remember which is a little heaver duty but the diff is the insulation.. I also use it with http://www.harborfreight.com/kill-a-watt-electric-monitor-93519.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmmienLightFan Posted February 13, 2016 Share Posted February 13, 2016 On 04/02/2016 at 2:23 AM, wbaker4 said: No orange wires please! Lol. Where did you get that picture? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wbaker4 Posted February 13, 2016 Share Posted February 13, 2016 Off the internet! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmmienLightFan Posted February 13, 2016 Share Posted February 13, 2016 3 hours ago, wbaker4 said: Off the internet! Really? They have the internet on computers now? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmmienLightFan Posted February 13, 2016 Share Posted February 13, 2016 I found the image and the webpage it came from. http://thatcleverchick.com/tag/extension-cord-melt-down/ Quite funny. It looks more like the extension lead was overloaded than the existing problems with the cord caused it to melt. When extensions are wound closely like that, the heat that would have been dissipated into the air, is trapped. Right next to me I have a 13 amp 240v extension cable, that has a maximum of only 5 amps when fully wound. Also, the person says "ground". Do they mean the earth pin? I still don't 100% understand the American electrical system. It isn't as well made as ours over here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Need more lights Posted February 13, 2016 Share Posted February 13, 2016 " the internet is for porn "....look it up on youtube...no really...the song is funny. And "ground" is what I dig in to make a living. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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