More Power?

[Little_b]

The Tags get cut off before the twist tie does.  I try to use the same brand of lights at all times so all the replacement bulbs and fuses will work in any strand.  Plus I got tired of different brands being different shades of colors and brightness.

[George Simmons]

I also cut the tags off immediately after taking them out of the bag.

 

I noticed this year there's one less tag on each string!  I hope that becomes a trend.

Edited August 11, 2014 by George Simmons

[Steven]

I think they put an extra tag on strings that could get shipping to California, because of that silly Proposition 65.

[jasonb5449]

Invest in a kill-a-wat meter.  You can use more if running all LED.  Last year I ran 22,000 lights, 99% led, and was only pulling 16amps with everthing on.  Everything I had was plugged into 1 20amp outlet.

 

Something like this?

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/5-65A-110V-60Hz-Single-Phase-Reset-To-Zero-DIN-rail-Kilowatt-LED-Hour-kwh-Meter-/360727985813?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item53fd103e95

[Steven]

Something like this?

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/5-65A-110V-60Hz-Single-Phase-Reset-To-Zero-DIN-rail-Kilowatt-LED-Hour-kwh-Meter-/360727985813?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item53fd103e95

That appears to be a kilowatt-hour (energy) meter, not a kilowatt (power) meter.

 

The difference is that you leave an energy meter connected for an extended period to measure the total energy used over a certain time period. It is typically used to figure out how much the energy costs.

 

A power meter, on the other hand tells you the instantaneous power. You connect it, turn the lights on, and read the power being consumed. It is typically used to figure out if you are close to overloading a circuit.

 

Energy = power * time.

[jasonb5449]

Alright, how about this bad boy?

 

http://www.degreedays.net/kill-a-watt-meter

[Little_b]

That looks very similar to the one I use.

[jasonb5449]

Cool, I see there are several on eBay & Amazon so I will pick one up. 

 

So when you test, do you test when the lights are at 100% on or do certain effects draw more current?  Like would flashing cause more current to be pulled then a steady on?

[Orville]

Cool, I see there are several on eBay & Amazon so I will pick one up. 

 

So when you test, do you test when the lights are at 100% on or do certain effects draw more current?  Like would flashing cause more current to be pulled then a steady on?

Flashing would use less current because the bulbs are not on all the time, although the twinkle rate is quite fast.  Shimmer and other effects depends on the light intensity, 100% will always use the most current, but that same strand at 50% would draw less current because the bulbs are dimmer.

 

It might be the same voltage going through 120VAC lets say, but the current draw would be lesser if the output is less than I'd say about 80% {at least for incandescents, I don't see too much a difference between 80-100%, lights are still almost full on, but also depends on whether it's incandescent or LED as to the current draw.   But the dimmer the setting, the less current being drawn.

[jasonb5449]

Thanks Orville.  I didn't know if there would be some sort of in-rush or something.  I bought 28 of those 3w LED spotlight bulbs with the E17 base.  They are pretty darn bright so I'm curious how much current they will pull.

 

So my last questions is do you test on each individual channel or do you put it inline with the controller (assuming you plug both plugs into a power strip)

[Orville]

Thanks Orville.  I didn't know if there would be some sort of in-rush or something.  I bought 28 of those 3w LED spotlight bulbs with the E17 base.  They are pretty darn bright so I'm curious how much current they will pull.

 

So my last questions is do you test on each individual channel or do you put it inline with the controller (assuming you plug both plugs into a power strip)

Inline with each channel output and the lights/props that will be on that channel.   As I don't think if it's inline with the controllers main power cord supplying current to the board, may tell you what you're pulling.   I've never tried it that way, always in-line with the channel output dangles, I figure since each channel supplies current to the item, that would be the way to test them.   Others may have other options or a way they do their checks, and I'm sure they'll chime in with what works for them and how to get the best info about the current draw as possible.

 

Just saying this is how I check mine.

[bwhitehead]

I have added/made two protable subpanels. One plugs into my welder recepticle and the other plugs into my Aircompressor outlet. Works great for my setup.