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Be gentle....

The LOR1602W makes use of 2 plugs to provide power to the banks of 8 on the board. Each bank is 15amps...

Q1. I have an exterior outlet that is 15amp. I am thinking that I should only plug one of these two cords into it and plug the other in to another outlet somewhere else.
- Or am I wrong, both can be plugged into it?!

Q2. Would I not be safe plugging both of them in to the same outlet given that I do not exceed 4500 mini total. I do not have a ton of lights- but need the channels to do what I want to do.

:shock: bracing for the blows

You Answers, ideas, comments, and prayers are welcome.....

-Tad

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Tad, as long as you keep the total amps to 15 or less you should be fine plugging both into the same duplex outlet. Or I believe you can just remove the second cable and add a jumper, so that the one cable suplies power to all 16 channels. Or you could just use the LOR1600W which only has the one cable.

But if you do plan and using the max 15 amps on each side (30 total). Then you need two designated 15 amp breakers just for that. Not necisarily 2 outlets. If you have other stuff on those outlets then you most likely will go over 15 amps which is what the breaker can handle.

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Well I'm not good at answering this type of question but here goes...

Q1. I have an exterior outlet that is 15amp. I am thinking that I should only plug one of these two cords into it and plug the other in to another outlet somewhere else.
- Or am I wrong, both can be plugged into it?!


First of all it would be perfectly safe to plug both into 1 outlet. As long as you don't excede 15 amps your circuit breaker won't pop. But if you plan on using more than 15 amps total then you would need seperate circuits, one for each side. You might consider getting the board with only one plug.

Just my 2 cents

Tom
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No need to be so skiddish, Tad - people here are very patient most of the time.:D

You're on the right track. The main thing is to figure out how many lights you are going to control and what the power requirements are for those lights. Chuck has a page here that has some good information about how to calculate your requirements.

If your total load can be handled by a single 15 Amp circuit, then it's ok to plug both sides into the same receptacle. Just keep in mind any other loads that may be on the same circuit. If you have an older house like mine, you may be surprised how many receptacles they put on a single breaker.

If you need more than a 15 Amp circuit can handle, then be sure you not only plug into a different receptacle, but also make sure the other receptacle is fed from a different circuit breaker - otherwise you're still loading down the same circuit.

I haven't personally measured the current on a string of mini's, but according to Chucks table, you probably shouldn't exceed 3600 mini lights on a 15A circuit.

PS - it looks like two others already beat me to an answer - I told you they're helpful! I'll go ahead and post anyway so you get the link above.

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You might consider getting the board with only one plug.


I'm looking at the sale flyer and the the only option is the two plug version. I thought I read something about a jumper too. Will have to investigate. I suspected what everyone has said so far. I was just trying to figure out where to plug everything in. Cords running in the house- 'round the house, in the attic.... :shock:

It looks like I'll be clicking breakers on and off to figure all this out.

So the only safe approach is a 30amp dedicated circuit per LOR 16ch controller, yeah?
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Tad wrote:


So the only safe approach is a 30amp dedicated circuit per LOR 16ch controller, yeah?

Yes Tad,

Without the worries of blowing a breaker because of a heater or blow dry on the same circuit.

Nothing worse than being right in the middle of a show and poof, "who turned that heater on?".

Tom
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Tad wrote:

So the only safe approach is a 30amp dedicated circuit per LOR 16ch controller, yeah?

Just to make sure. You want to have (2) 15 amp dedicated circuits not (1) 30 amp. There is a difference.

The boards in the Showtime boxes are the same as the Hobbyist boards. Look through the manual. You should only need a small piece of wire to jump across to power both sides of the board with one plug.

Chris
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Tad wrote:

So the only safe approach is a 30amp dedicated circuit per LOR 16ch controller, yeah?

Not to confuse things, but a 16 channel board, with the proper modifications, can run up to 20 amps per SIDE. In theory, you could install on dedicated 20amp breaker per side, or two per controller.

How do you convert a 30 amp controller to a 40 amp controller?
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cvyvial wrote:

Just to make sure. You want to have (2) 15 amp dedicated circuits not (1) 30 amp. There is a difference.

In my opinion you never want to have a 15 amp circuit. A 20 amp breaker is the same price. 12 guage romex (minimum of 12 guage on a 20 amp breaker) is favoribly priced due to higher volume sold. In short, it's only a couple dollars more to have a 20 amp circuit so why limit yourself?

TED
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Tad wrote:

I'm looking at the sale flyer and the the only option is the two plug version.

Keep in mind that the sale flyer does NOT contain everything that will be on sale. It is only a SAMPLE.

TED
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