Power help?

[Myles]

I am buying a 16 ch. AC Pre-assembled kit with the 30 Amp supply cordset. With no modifications, can a standard outdoor GFCI outlet power it? Or does it depend on how many lights you have plugged in?

[Don]

It's a yes and no answer.

Yes, a standard outdoor GFCI outlet will power the controller. Keep in mind though that most outdoor outlets are rated at 15amps. When you factor in the 80% rule of electricity, you really want to stay below 12amps. (If you are going to plug into two different outlets on separate circuits, then you could go up to 24amps, overall. (Again with the 80% rule.))

In a way, it will depend on how many lights you have plugged into it. If you have mostly LED, and are only pulled 2-4 amps, then you won't have an issue. If you have all incandescent, and want to load it up ... you might have to add more power to the outside.

[tomskillman]

Myles,

It all depends on what you have hooked to it. The "30 amp controller" is really just one controller with 2 standard (15 amp) input plugs. If you are putting very small loads on every channel (say 1 or 2 strings of mini's), you can plug both of those input cords into a single outlet to power the controller. If you have some channels powering larger loads (say 5 or 6 strings of minis or C9's) you might need to plug into 2 separate circuits so that you have enough power. Basically channels 1-8 are one input cord, 9-16 are the other. The rule is don't go over 8 amps on a single channel (with high-power heat sinks) and don't go over 15 amps per input cord (if on separate circuits - 15 amps on the whole controller otherwise).

Hope that helps. If you need to figure out your loads, there's a great spreadsheet someone on here developed. I don't recall who, but I saw it a month or two ago. Perhaps the author will post in this thread to let us know!

[Brian Mitchell]

I dont pay much attention to the 80% rule for controllers. Really, how often are all the lights on for any extended period of time using a LOR. I feel very comfortable with peaks right up to the limit because usually they are very short duration.

It absolutely depends on how many lights are on the box. LOR controllers use practically no electricity themselves.

[jimswinder]

tomskillman wrote:

If you need to figure out your loads, there's a great spreadsheet someone on here developed. I don't recall who, but I saw it a month or two ago. Perhaps the author will post in this thread to let us know!

I think this is what you are looking for:

http://t2lights.com/christmas/lorutility.html

[tomskillman]

Actually, that's not the utility I had in mind - but I like that one too!

[jimswinder]

tomskillman wrote:

Actually, that's not the utility I had in mind - but I like that one too!

Probably this one then, huh?

Well, I found a "backdoor" way to get to it. Go to this link:

http://www.quartzhillchristmas.com/resources/

then about half way down the page click on:

Light+Controller+Calculator+25+-+2010+vC3.0.xls

[tomskillman]

THAT's the one!

[bwaldrep]

jimswinder wrote:

tomskillman wrote:

Actually, that's not the utility I had in mind - but I like that one too!

Probably this one then, huh?

Well, I found a "backdoor" way to get to it. Go to this link:

http://www.quartzhillchristmas.com/resources/

then about half way down the page click on:

Light+Controller+Calculator+25+-+2010+vC3.0.xls

Here is the direct link, if it is easier http://www.quartzhillchristmas.com/resources/Light+Controller+Calculator+25+-+2010+vC3.0.xls

[jimswinder]

bwaldrep wrote:

Here is the direct link, if it is easier http://www.quartzhillchristmas.com/resources/Light+Controller+Calculator+25+-+2010+vC3.0.xls

Thanks...I had tried that link earlier, but got an error...

[Myles]

Yep, I have the same setup, and it works fine



-Myles