A tutorial on running wires through the wall

[guitarist155]

Originally Posted by Purplegrasshopper

I'm using a 20amp dedicated circuit for my HT equipment...those Powerbridges are rated 15amp.

Anyone know of anything similar, but for 20amp?

what are you planning on using this for? power conditioner to display? most power conditioners will only output 15amps and a projector or tv wouldn't pull that much (normally)

[Purplegrasshopper]

Originally Posted by guitarist155

what are you planning on using this for? power conditioner to display? most power conditioners will only output 15amps and a projector or tv wouldn't pull that much (normally)

Yeah...was gonna have a power conditioner plugged into a dedicted 20amp outlet and then have all of my equipment plugged into the conditioner. But my TV is separated from the equipment rack, so needed a way to get conditioned power to the TV. Are you saying that the maximum current rating on most power conditioners is 15amps?

The reason for going 20amp was based off of this post.

[guitarist155]

Originally Posted by Purplegrasshopper

Yeah...was gonna have a power conditioner plugged into a dedicted 20amp outlet and then have all of my equipment plugged into the conditioner. But my TV is separated from the equipment rack, so needed a way to get conditioned power to the TV. Are you saying that the maximum current rating on most power conditioners is 15amps?

The reason for going 20amp was based off of this post.

ahh yes forgot that was you. it really depends on the power conditioner, most under about 400 are 15amp. this doesn't mean it can't use a 20 amp outlet, you could plugother things into that outlet as well, it just means most conditioners have breakers and outlets rated for 15amps so you are simply moving the choke closer to your equipment rather than have 15amps at the box. you would just need to check your power conditioner and see what rating it has.

for my studio rack i run a 20amp dedicated to a 15amp power conditioner, this means that i can never pull more than 15amps in the rack but i have 20amps. so my power conditioner will trip before the breaker so I have 5 amps that are a buffer for the wire run, etc. also if i ever wanted to i could simply plug in another conditioner or an amp that didn't use one and have the extra amps available.

[guitarist155]

what power con do you have?

[Purplegrasshopper]

Originally Posted by guitarist155

what power con do you have?

I'm still in the construction/wiring phase now, so haven't purchased the conditioner yet. I'm leaning towards a Panamax or APC.

[DrinkMore]

Have to say that the power bridge is a really good purchase. I was never keen on having my plasma plugged directly into the house wiring with nothing standing between it and the constant brown/black outs we have. That type of thing will kill electronics in a heart beat.

It was also nice not having to deal with "live" wires for a change. They do make a double outlet if that interests you. I opted for the single. Don't see a need for a double behind the tv.

[Purplegrasshopper]

Originally Posted by DrinkMore

Don't see a need for a double behind the tv.

Unless you want backlighting...

[guitarist155]

all but I believe one of the panamax units are rated at 15amps so you wouldn't have to worry about the power bridge

[Purplegrasshopper]

Originally Posted by guitarist155

all but I believe one of the panamax units are rated at 15amps so you wouldn't have to worry about the power bridge

If I wanted to get conditioned power to my TV that is mounted on the other side of the room on the wall, I would need the power bridge, no?

[guitarist155]

yes, I was saying you shouldn't have to worry about the powerbridge only being 15amp because you conditioner will only output 15amps.

[Purplegrasshopper]

Originally Posted by guitarist155

yes, I was saying you shouldn't have to worry about the powerbridge only being 15amp because you conditioner will only output 15amps.

Gotcha!

So you think 15amps is enough for the power conditioner, receiver, amp for bass shakers, 5 speakers, sub, PS3, cable box, Tivo, powerbridge to 65" LCD TV, and LED backlighting behind TV???

[guitarist155]

maybe not, it depends on your equipment, the receiver i am going to get uses 12amps by itself, the ps3 uses 2 amps, so right there you would have 14 amps. leaving only 1 amp for everything else

are you planning on running the sub off the PC too? even 20amps might not be enough. what equipment do you have/intend to use (all of it)

I have going to have to install 2 20amp circuits and 2 PC's in my rack

[DrinkMore]

Originally Posted by Purplegrasshopper

Gotcha!

So you think 15amps is enough for the power conditioner, receiver, amp for bass shakers, 5 speakers, sub, PS3, cable box, Tivo, powerbridge to 65" LCD TV, and LED backlighting behind TV???

Most people have a receiver, speakers, sub, ps3, cable box and tv. LED backlighting draws such little power, it should not even be on the list. Your speakers are powered by the receiver.

You will be just fine with 1 circuit. If you manage to overload that, I would be really surprised. Especially since most people only have a 15 amp circuit to their HT systems anyway.

Oddly enough, I have a 20 amp circuit feeding my system - feeds only 3 outlets. I installed it a few years back for another purpose, however the room was redone and it was left as is, but just rewired to the outlets on that wall.

If you are doing wiring right now, bump it up to 20 and you will be fine. If you have to do new work in a room that is already complete, the odds of you overloading the 15 amp is pretty low.

[Purplegrasshopper]

Originally Posted by guitarist155

are you planning on running the sub off the PC too? even 20amps might not be enough. what equipment do you have/intend to use (all of it)

Yeah, I was planning on having everything go through the power conditioner, unless it's not necessary. But I figured if I'm going to spend the money on one, I want to give all of my equipment the benefits of being connected to it. Here's what I'm looking at now:

TV: Sharp LC-65SE94U 65" LCD
Blu Ray Player: PS3
Receiver: Undecided
Subwoofer: Elemental Designs A2-300
Front Speakers: Undecided
Center Speaker: Undecided
Rear Speakers: Undecided
Bass Shakers: 4 Aura Bass Shakers
External Amp: Undecided
Power Conditioner: Panamax M5400-PM
Cable Box/DVR: Explorer 8300HD HD DVR from Cox Cable
Backlighting: Cyron HTB15s

[Johk]

In case somebody needs one, Furman (and I'm sure other companies) make 20 amps power conditioners.

[guitarist155]

Originally Posted by Johk

In case somebody needs one, Furman (and I'm sure other companies) make 20 amps power conditioners.

i use all furman proaudio conditioners and yes they do make a couple 20amp models but they are around $1000 and up, the others are 15amp. most people don't use 20amp conditioners as most racks will use more than one if needed and most large amp racks will go straight to a power distro.

[Purplegrasshopper]

Can you plug a 15amp power conditioner into a 20amp outlet?

[DrinkMore]

Originally Posted by Purplegrasshopper

Can you plug a 15amp power conditioner into a 20amp outlet?

Lol, yes.

How it works is - it will only draw said amount of amps. So if you plug in a 15 amp item into a 20 amp outlet, the conditioner will ONLY draw at max 15 amps. That's what it's rated for.

Now, if you plug in a 20 amp conditioner into a 15 amp outlet, that would be a problem. At a max of 20 amps, you would be tripping the circuit and that is a major problem.

[Purplegrasshopper]

Anyone know where I can get some recessed speaker wall plates. I want some like this, but recessed instead of protruding out so I can mount the center speaker flush with the wall and have the connection behind it. Thanks!

[Rob71]

Originally Posted by Purplegrasshopper

Anyone know where I can get some recessed speaker wall plates. I want some like this, but recessed instead of protruding out so I can mount the center speaker flush with the wall and have the connection behind it. Thanks!

http://www.cinemabuilder.com/product...wall-plate.asp