So my dorm room is really retarded and the outlet is super far away. I have two power strips, neither of which are long enough, but both together are! What should I do? Is it safe to put these guys in series?
Should I use two power strips in series
- Thread starter enwar3
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theflyingpig
Banned
- Mar 9, 2008
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It depends, have you calculated the load? Do the power strips have surge protectors in them? If they do, then no, if one has a surge protector while another is just a simple strip, then attach the ones with the surge protector to the wall first and then add the strip after it. You never want to use a power strip with a surge protector on a circuit that already has a surge protector. Have you calculated the kind of load you may have on the circuit? Figure out how many watts you're going to use in total on this one outlet and then come back to us. Also make sure that you don't use anything like a portable cooktop or microwave at the same time as when you have other things that are operating on that circuit. So if you have a TV and computer and a microwave on the same outlet, make sure the computer and TV are off if you use the microwave.
Well the problem is my extension cord only has three plugs (I need more than that) and the other problem is that our room only has two grounded outlets. Yep. Two. And they're both taken (with our strips for our computers and stuff) so I might have to daisy chain something anyways.
theflyingpig
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zinfamous
No Lifer
- Jul 12, 2006
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just do it. I've daisy-chained extension cords and power strips all over the continental USofA, in sketchy un-grounded apartments, shoddy local grids, and anything else you can imagine.
You only live once, right?
(seriously, just do it and after a week or so you'll totally forget about it and just might wonder why the hell you ever stressed over something so trivial)
:beer:
Cause fires aren't something to take lightly? I've had my fair share of potential electrical fires that overloading a circuit is definitely something I would avoid doing.
Colt45
Lifer
- Apr 18, 2001
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There's still a 15A breaker. If a fire starts with two power strips, it could start with just the one too. It means one of the cheap chinese powerbars couldn't handle 15A without lighting on fire; which it should be able to do.
We should really have the brit style plugs, There's still a mains breaker, but there's a smaller fuse more suited for the device in the plug... I don't know how some of this flimsy shit gets certified.
We should really have the brit style plugs, There's still a mains breaker, but there's a smaller fuse more suited for the device in the plug... I don't know how some of this flimsy shit gets certified.
The problem with circuit breakers is that they're not always reliable and sometimes the wiring in the building is either substandard, or some idiot put a breaker that was too high for the circuit. (20a on a circuit with 14ga wire that isn't knot and tube)
Because more outlets gives people an outlet to draw more current which can lead to some shocking results. But yeah, if you've got like 30 5 watt devices, opposed to two 500 watt devices, the 30 5 watt devices SHOULD be less of a hazard, though you've also got to deal with other unforseen issues like a higher likelihood of one of them failing or something like that.
- Do not daisy chain in an attempt to gain additional electrical sockets. That is guaranteed to overload a circuit. However, for additional length, not as bad as long as you do something to prevent those additional sockets from being used.
- Make sure the power strips are quality products, no flimsy cords, poor connections to wall / each other, etc.
- Make sure the power strips are quality products, no flimsy cords, poor connections to wall / each other, etc.
yhelothar
Lifer
- Dec 11, 2002
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An average HT setup would be using around 300w-400w. A 42" LCD TV probably uses around 200 watts, and a home theater stereo setup probably uses 30-50w.
kill a watt ftw.
It should be fine.
My sis once blew the circuit from doubling up on the hair dryers. That sucked like 2000w at once.
kill a watt ftw.
It should be fine.
My sis once blew the circuit from doubling up on the hair dryers. That sucked like 2000w at once.
PottedMeat
Lifer
- Apr 17, 2002
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Hmm what kind of circuits do they put in dorms anyway? 1 20A per bed?
As long as you're not doing anything stupid like running a microwave + fridge + big screen tv + computer + hair dryer or something off the same line, it's fine.
As long as you're not doing anything stupid like running a microwave + fridge + big screen tv + computer + hair dryer or something off the same line, it's fine.
CptCrunch
Golden Member
- Jan 31, 2005
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I can tell you that the campus fire department won't like it, and you'll risk tripping the breaker.
I can also tell you these things from experience, since I had my own little server farm with lots of networking equipment, TVs, game systems, plugged into my dorm in college. Anytime anyone wanted to use a microwave (all 3 rooms were occupied by my friends and all shared the same circuit), we had to yell "MICROWAVE" and start turning off TVs and monitors so we didn't trip the circuit breaker.
I can also tell you these things from experience, since I had my own little server farm with lots of networking equipment, TVs, game systems, plugged into my dorm in college. Anytime anyone wanted to use a microwave (all 3 rooms were occupied by my friends and all shared the same circuit), we had to yell "MICROWAVE" and start turning off TVs and monitors so we didn't trip the circuit breaker.
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