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I need some help.

My power strips, they keep popping on me especially when the ambient temperatur gets hot. I am currently running 5 dedicated rigs but it seems that the usual at-home power strips are not cutting it for the 5 beast machines. I would have to physically go to the power strip and turn the switch back on but my circuit breaker didnt trip just the strips. I am guessing that the strips cannot handle the power draw thats needed for the 5 rigs and that I would need a higher, heavy duty power strip of some sort. My questions is can anyone here thats running multiple machines recommend a good strip that can power all my rigs (obviously with the intention and flexibility to add more in the future). I really dont want to dangle a bunch of power strips all over the place...


~I am currently using this;

http://www.amazon.com/Belkin-BE112230-08-12-Outlet-Protector-Protection/dp/B000J2EN4S/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1370567940&sr=8-2&keywords=belkin+12+outlet+surge+protector




~I am currently looking at these;

http://www.digital-loggers.com/epcr3.html

http://www.digital-loggers.com/lpc.html

^^^ would these work and solve my problem?



thanks to the BTC community in advance  :)

I just get the $13 metal surge protectors at walmart. How many rigs do you have per surge protector? You might think about using multiple surge protectors. Maybe even 1 per rig. Also make sure you use the thick power cable that came with the power supply, the dinky standard cables get hot and can cause fires.

Try something like this:  http://www.mcmaster.com/#=n2yo51

Well that link didn't work at all..  Just search for 15A rack mount surge protector.

How many rigs do you have per circuit and how much power does each one use?

I think you'd most likely find that with "better" power strips, you'd either see no difference, or you'd start tripping the main breaker instead.

Currently I have a Belkin 12 outlet surge protector and I have 4 rigs and a network switch connected to it. Once I plug in the 5th rig and start mining the strip will trip a couple of minutes after. I am currently running the 5th rig on a second power strip.

I want to avoid using so many power strips. Preferably like a heavy-duty strip that can handle all the rigs and maybe more in the future if needed.

Also all the ATX cables are the thick kind i believe they are 14 awg. I will double check again tomorrow morning and make sure. If not i will replace them. thanks in advance.


the link is to some bolts, nuts?, and pipe fittings???

i was looking at these:

http://www.digital-loggers.com/epcr3.html

http://www.digital-loggers.com/lpc.html

they are data rack PDUs. they say they have 15A per outlet and also have network controllability which is a plus when you have stalled rigs. I just want to make sure if they would suffice and provide enough power with out tripping. if anyone can confirm this it would be great.


this is also another thing that I am worried about. i think that at worse case scenario i would have to call an electrician to have the electrical box looked at and maybe upgrade to commercial breakers that can handle a higher load. But the rigs are running in my garage that had 3 commercial grade (HUGE) refrigerators running in there 24/7 for a couple of years. so  i believe its ample power....
 

If your power strip is rated for 15A on a 15A circuit then the power strip will trip instead of the breaker when you exceed that 15A load.
If you use a power strip rated for 20A on a 15A circuit, then the power strip won't trip if you exceed 15A, the breaker will.

Good quality power strips basically have a built in functionality that makes them act like a circuit breaker if you exceed the load. If you're sure the 5 rigs don't exceed the load for the circuit you're using, just make sure to get a power strip with a rating high enough to handle that.

Also, if you're on 120V (i.e. North America), then 15A is 1800 Watts and 20Amps is 2400 Watts.

Most household circuits are 15A, some are 20A. You don't want to exceed that on one circuit, even if your circuit breaker doesn't trip because the wiring in the walls of your house is almost definitely not rated for more than 20Amps and you will have a fire hazard on your hands.

thank you

i am thinking since i am still running the 5th rig on the same circuit breaker just a different power strip I think it should be fine.

5 rigs on one strip does sound like quite a bit(especially for a single outlet since older houses are usually only built with 15amp breakers and outlets) however a 20 amp power strip like this one is what i used when i built a "mini rack" to run all of my rigs in one place(granted i only had 4)
http://www.amazon.com/Tripp-Lite-RS1215-20-Rackmount-Outlet/dp/B00006B833/ref=sr_1_5?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1370614015&sr=1-5&keywords=20+amp+power+strip

Your "thinking"? This is not something you should be thinking about. You should know whether or not you are putting to much load on the circuit. Get a Kil-A-Watt or similar device and find out what the load is before you start a fire. Also make sure the breaker is rated high enough, and running a 15A break at 14-15 amps is dangerous.

Load you breakers at 80% max. So, if you have 15 amp breakers, at most draw 12 amps from them. Just feel the plug on your power strip, I imagine it is quite warm.

why are you putting 5 rigs, which probably pulls about 30-40 amps, on a power strip only good for 15 amps? and you wonder why they pop...

Not trying to hijack the thread (much) but I've had a similar problem. However, this is only one rig on one power strip. According to Kill-a-watt it's pulling about 1380 Watts and 11.88 Amps. The power strip says it is rated for 15 Amps but I've had it pop twice now over the course of several days. It's only when I pull enough power it seems (tweaking scrypt mining).

That sounds like it's aged(or was inexpensive) and isn't operating at full rated capacity, to be fair though 1380 watts is getting close to that 15 amp rating (depending on exact line voltage)

It was just something I picked up at an ACE hardware store. This (http://www.amazon.com/Master-Electrician-ME905116-Protector-14-Gauge/dp/B00827DTLU/) is the one.

Is there a recommended brand or model? I'd obviously like something that can handle close to the 15 amp rating. There's a bunch of Belkins on Amazon with decent ratings but I don't know how many people are using them with this much power.

APC is usually pretty reliable.
http://www.amazon.com/APC-Essential-SurgeArrest-7-outlet/dp/B00009KYCN/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1370642197&sr=8-1&keywords=apc+power+strip

thank you everyone for the advise.

i will start making changes right away

i will purchase this;

http://www.digital-loggers.com/epcr3.html


seems to have a voltage monitor built in along with network controllability

I love the big red button.

haha agreed!

i just got the right amount of sockets and the  right wiring and trips ( i have 8 trips at 20a each (240v ) puling less than 13a per trip )

how many machines do you have connected to each strip?

would you be kind enough to provide a link to what kind of strips you have?


thanks  :)

http://www.electricalcounter.co.uk/products/Switches+%26+Sockets/Nexus+800+Series/Slim+Single+Plug+Socket+1+Gang+13+Amp+Switched+-+White+Plastic/1295468100?gclid=CKy01f_V1LcCFQ_LtAodhzAALg

just standard plug sockets wired on a ring main just like all other standard plug sockets in the uk

i just brought a load of plug sockets ( wall sockets 4 single plug sockets on each 20a trip )   i pull just over 4Amps  per plug  but only use 3 plugs on each trip ( 21 rigs at under 1kw each )



have all you guys conciderd the power factor ?

at a power factor of 1        240w at 240v would be  1Amp
at a power factor of 0.5     240w at 240v would be  2Amp                ( some older psus dont have powerfactor corection bilt in to them )

Really the best way to go about this is with a 240v circuit and a 240v pdu. You can buy a used one off amazon for about $100, most of these are rated for 30amp so that's 7200 watts. The only bad part about that is you may spend $40-50 bucks on c13-c14 cables to plug into your power supplies

This sounds a bit dangerous. With 5 riggs, you should split the load over 2 circuits. My guess is that you are drawing at least 2500W, with continuous load, that is really too much for any household power strip, not to mention that you probably stress your wall-circuit.

APC is over priced crap.......
I will not  bother telling you how-many of their SHITTY rack mount APC power supplies have ruptured battery packs after a bit of use.
and because they are such a shitty design... the packs CANNOT be removed if the batteries swell a little.
The rest of the crap they sell is little better.
Seriously why buy any products from a company that cannot even design a reliable lead-acid charge circuit....

i will thank you. i will make changes accordingly

Glad to hear, would be sad if it turned into a fire. :)

You should check what your fuses to the wall socket is rated at. Then you can find out max load before the fuse blows. To find max power-draw, use Voltage*Ampere. Thus if the voltage is 240V and the fuse is 10 amp, max load is 2400W.

Then subtract about 20% since this will be a continuous load, and you get 2000W.

One fuse will cover several wall-outlets. (If unsure which, plug in a lamp and turn off fuses until the light goes out etc.)

Most household power-strips may get problems with 2KW after some time and heat-buildup.
I think you should rather buy some wall-plugs and some cable with 2.5mm leads. Mount them on some planks or whatever and, tighten the screws properly and make sure that they are never covered.

Since this will go on for some time, you should touch the cables every now and again. They will get a little warmer than ambient, but if they get hot you know you might have a problem, and can solve it before it's too late.

rember to acount for the power factor of the load

Yes, one should use a kill-a-watt or similar to check actual load