main power cords to controllers

[randall]

Was wondering what the amperage on the power cords going to the controllers has to be. The controllers are 30 amps 2 cords at 15 amps each. The cheap orange extension cords are only 10 amps. Would this be ok to run or should I look for cords that are 15 amp rated.

[Guest wbottomley]

It depends what you're trying to light. More lights = heavier cords.

[jstorms]

If you push more than 10 Amps on those extension cords they will warm up and pose a fire danger. Those stickers on the cords are important.

However if you aren't pulling more than 10 Amps then you should be okay. You can get a Kil-o-watt meter to see how much you are pulling.

[randall]

Only running 7000 mini lights across 4 controllers. The most on one channel is 400 icicles 4 strands of 100.

[Guest wbottomley]

Do the math. If it's more than the cord allows, then buy a bigger one.

[jeffl]

A rough estimate is .33 amps per 100 incandescent mini lights or 1 amp per 300.

7000/100 = 70 strings of 100cnt

I would put 7K @ 24 amps total.

As others have said, your best friend is a kill-o-watt. It's the best money you will spend this season. I plug each prop into it so I know how much every channels will pull.

Take into consideration each channel, each side of the controller, extension cord and circuit your running on.

Getting educated on this is very important. Good studying times. Luck has nothing to do with this part.

[medman2000]

Just want to second(third?) what the others are saying. I used to just plug stuff in until my circuit would trip, then unplug a few things. Ended up blowing fuses in the LOR box (pain), and ended up melting a few cords because I didn't pay attention to the total amps. And, cutting it close with the amps ended up causing probs too - when it would rain/snow all heck broke loose - not a problem now (even when it rains/snows) because I only have 5 amps or less per cord/controller side - thanks to the kill-o-watt. Good luck!

[randall]

Thank you for all the useful info. Would rather be safe to start off than so be sorry later.

[Max-Paul]

Ya, hell of a time of the year to loose your house to a fire. Just not how I want to spend my holidays in some shelter while I try to figure out how I am going to rebuild everything I lost. And I am sure my wife is going to be real understanding that I was some putz that caused the fire cause I just didn't follow the rules to safe circuit loading.

Sorry as an electrician I have trouble with people just tossing care to the wind. Or damn the torpedoes, just get another 3 splitter and plug in those lights too.

[CooBeans]

Me, I play it safe and use 10 & 12 gauge for my mains.

[caniac]

Max-Paul wrote:

Ya, hell of a time of the year to loose your house to a fire. Just not how I want to spend my holidays in some shelter while I try to figure out how I am going to rebuild everything I lost. And I am sure my wife is going to be real understanding that I was some putz that caused the fire cause I just didn't follow the rules to safe circuit loading.

Sorry as an electrician I have trouble with people just tossing care to the wind. Or damn the torpedoes, just get another 3 splitter and plug in those lights too.

Thanks! Both informative and insightful!!

[CKSedg]

I just tested the amps going to my lights last night. I turned each of my 10 controllers on one at a time and used my kill-a-watt meter on the power supply to each side of the controller.

If I add up all of them, I am only drawing 16 amps total for 28,000+ lights. [All LED]. They are spread across six 15 amp circuits in my front yard. It will take a LOT more lights to fill up those circuits.

[Steven]

Max-Paul wrote:

Ya, hell of a time of the year to loose your house to a fire.

I run my show outside. Plugged into outdoor outlets.

[Max-Paul]

Steven wrote:

Max-Paul wrote:

Ya, hell of a time of the year to loose your house to a fire.

I run my show outside. Plugged into outdoor outlets.

Oh, I see, so that makes you immune to a fire. Must rain all season in your area. And you have a fire block between the wire going into your plug and the outlet.

[Frybread]

Last night we received over 6" of heavy wet snow. The snow brought down limbs and whole trees. We had several small tree fires caused by limbs on power lines. normally they burn them selves out and there is nothing left but a mess and power line to replace.

In one case, The snow brought down a tree across the feed to a house and caught on fire. The tree also came down on the house. By the time the fire department could get to the house (because of multiple runs and very bad road conditions) the house was on fire. It was not a total lose but there is $$ of repair to be made.

This was caused by snow.

I say this just to say... You never know... Be careful and make sure to take the proper precautions

[Denise Nelson]

CKSedg wrote:

I just tested the amps going to my lights last night. I turned each of my 10 controllers on one at a time and used my kill-a-watt meter on the power supply to each side of the controller.

If I add up all of them, I am only drawing 16 amps total for 28,000+ lights. [All LED]. They are spread across six 15 amp circuits in my front yard. It will take a LOT more lights to fill up those circuits.

To you and anyone that want to know amperage: Purchase a " Reliance Controls THP103 Amwatt Generator Appliance Wattage/Amps Load Tester" at your local hardware store, or from Amazon. They average around $30-40. Amazon is having a sale on them for$24.95. It's a/ blue short cord with the tester at one end. On the side there is a sliding button to choose between amps and watts.

Our electrician used one and told us where to get one. It's simple. Plug it in to an outlet or extension cord. Then plug the fixtures, light strings, etc. for each channel and it will give you your amps. Then once you have them outside with the hundreds of miles of extension cords, test each channel again to see if it changes, and make any corrections as needed.

When I created our mega tree, all I had to do is plug the light strings, 9 per color per channel. All of my fixtures were done the same way so we could figure out how to divide them between the channels.

[caniac]

Frybread wrote:

Last night we received over 6" of heavy wet snow. The snow brought down limbs and whole trees. We had several small tree fires caused by limbs on power lines. normally they burn them selves out and there is nothing left but a mess and power line to replace.

In one case, The snow brought down a tree across the feed to a house and caught on fire. The tree also came down on the house. By the time the fire department could get to the house (because of multiple runs and very bad road conditions) the house was on fire. It was not a total lose but there is $$ of repair to be made.

This was caused by snow.

I say this just to say... You never know... Be careful and make sure to take the proper precautions

hmmm, so no LOR controllers were involved? That contradicts the coveted "Max-Small" Theory. I will need to get a ruling on this.

[caniac]

DeniseN wrote:

CKSedg wrote:

I just tested the amps going to my lights last night. I turned each of my 10 controllers on one at a time and used my kill-a-watt meter on the power supply to each side of the controller.

If I add up all of them, I am only drawing 16 amps total for 28,000+ lights. [All LED]. They are spread across six 15 amp circuits in my front yard. It will take a LOT more lights to fill up those circuits.

To you and anyone that want to know amperage: Purchase a " Reliance Controls THP103 Amwatt Generator Appliance Wattage/Amps Load Tester" at your local hardware store, or from Amazon. They average around $30-40. Amazon is having a sale on them for$24.95. It's a/ blue short cord with the tester at one end. On the side there is a sliding button to choose between amps and watts.

Our electrician used one and told us where to get one. It's simple. Plug it in to an outlet or extension cord. Then plug the fixtures, light strings, etc. for each channel and it will give you your amps. Then once you have them outside with the hundreds of miles of extension cords, test each channel again to see if it changes, and make any corrections as needed.

When I created our mega tree, all I had to do is plug the light strings, 9 per color per channel. All of my fixtures were done the same way so we could figure out how to divide them between the channels.

Thanks for the info, will do this today!