Surge protectors recommendation for bedroom rig

[FoolFully]

Hi my bedroom has 15 amp breaker switch and my rig does 13.2 amp with 2 psu. Can someone recommend what surfe protectors to use so I split the load to 2 protectors on same outlet. I see most have like 5 to 7 amp max outage. What happens if you go over max - it trips or just on incoming spikes? How should I support my rig

[EricJH801]

If you are drawing 13.2A constant on a 15 AMP line you are asking for a fire.  You should not go over 80% of whatever the line is rated for.   

I'd highly recommend you split that into 2 different lines for safety.

Hi my bedroom has 15 amp breaker switch and my rig does 13.2 amp with 2 psu. Can someone recommend what surfe protectors to use so I split the load to 2 protectors on same outlet. I see most have like 5 to 7 amp max outage. What happens if you go over max - it trips or just on incoming spikes? How should I support my rig

[remauto1187ma]

Hi my bedroom has 15 amp breaker switch and my rig does 13.2 amp with 2 psu. Can someone recommend what surfe protectors to use so I split the load to 2 protectors on same outlet. I see most have like 5 to 7 amp max outage. What happens if you go over max - it trips or just on incoming spikes? How should I support my rig

Last guy is absolutely right.  Your residential electrical equipment is NOT rated for 100% duty cycle.  Meaning you have to derate everything to 80%.  A home 15a branch circuit is only good for 12a of continous duty and a mining rig would fall under that category.  Your wiring in the walls all the way to the circuit breaker for the outlet you are using is getting quite warm. Your outlet is getting quite warm too and can fail. There is a good chance eventually it will catch your walls on fire.

Surge protection is rated in joules NOT amps.  The amp rating you are seeing is the rating for the surge protector within the power strip and its power cord. You would burn it up if it didnt have its own circuit breaker built in.  Breakers tripping arent good for mining since the rig is then down.  You need to figure out if there are any outlets in your room that are on a different branch circuit breaker and plug on of your power supplies in that one BUT you should also figure out what all you have plugged in to each circuit too.  You could have many outlets on the same breaker and even your lights on one of them.  You could also just have one breaker feeding every outlet in your room and the lights so you could very well be up against the max when the lights and other things are turned on while your rig is running.

[FoolFully]

I’m going to upgrade the breaker so it’s 20amp instead of 15. How should I do the surge protectors - split my 2 psus to 2 surge protectors? How do surge protectors limit the amount of power you’re able to receive?

[bluecoinX]

We never recommend digging up bitcoin in the bedroom. You can't stand the sound of the miner.

[EricJH801]

Upgrading the breaker to 20 AMP just means you are going to start a fire quicker.  The wiring is probably not the correct size for 20amp.  The only way to safely upgrade is to upgrade the breaker and the cable.  I'd highly suggest having an electrician run a new line that 240V 30AMP and use that as you can get several rigs on one line that way.

Previous guy mentioned it, surge protectors are by jules not watts/amps.  Most surge protectors have a max draw (usually 1200w or so).   Plug 1 PSU into 1 surge and the other into another surge and run a good extension cord to another line in another room that's not on the same circuit.  That's the safest way you are going to be able to run it in your situation without running new lines/breakers. 

I'd do this soon, you are asking for a fire on a 15amp line.  It could be slowly burning away/melting in the wall and you won't know it until it's too late.

I’m going to upgrade the breaker so it’s 20amp instead of 15. How should I do the surge protectors - split my 2 psus to 2 surge protectors? How do surge protectors limit the amount of power you’re able to receive?

[iamnoobplzhelp]

I’m going to upgrade the breaker so it’s 20amp instead of 15. How should I do the surge protectors - split my 2 psus to 2 surge protectors? How do surge protectors limit the amount of power you’re able to receive?

DO NOT DO THIS! NO NO NO!

Your wiring can probably only support 15A. If you upgrade the breaker to 20A it will likely cause the wires to overheat and burn your house down.

Hire an electrician and put in 30A 240V in your garage then use PDUs to distribute the power. You're asking for trouble by using residential lines.

[iamnoobplzhelp]

And FYI, trying to plug them into different outlets in the same room will usually not help. Bedrooms are usually wired with a single 15A line.

Long extension cords are also a bad idea.

I highly recommend trying to lower the power usage, even if it means lower hash rates. You can also get higher efficiency power supplies which will decrease the overall heat generated and power used.

The best thing to do is to hire a professional electrician to put in 30A at 240V (or 208V if you have 3 phase). Higher voltages are slightly more efficient. A 30A 240V breaker can provide ~5700W (derated to 80%) safely. This is usually enough for 2-4 rigs, depending on their power usage.

[remauto1187ma]

And FYI, trying to plug them into different outlets in the same room will usually not help. Bedrooms are usually wired with a single 15A line.

Long extension cords are also a bad idea.

I highly recommend trying to lower the power usage, even if it means lower hash rates. You can also get higher efficiency power supplies which will decrease the overall heat generated and power used.

The best thing to do is to hire a professional electrician to put in 30A at 240V (or 208V if you have 3 phase). Higher voltages are slightly more efficient. A 30A 240V breaker can provide ~5700W (derated to 80%) safely. This is usually enough for 2-4 rigs, depending on their power usage.

All totally depends on who wired the house or even added on later.  My living room alone has one wall on a 20a breaker, the opposite on another 20a breaker and the smallest wall has its own 20a breaker.  Even most of my lighting is on their own 15a breaker....some are paired.  If the house was built by a contractor and on the cheap budget then the whole room is probably on one breaker.

As many have said here.......To the OP........DO NOT CHANGE THE BREAKER TO HIGHER RATED BREAKER!   And here is why.........

A circuit breakers two jobs in life is to PROTECT THE WIRING THAT IS HOOKED UP TO IT and protect a person from getting electrocuted because of a short to ground in an item that is plugged into its power circuit which ultimately also PROTECTS THE WIRING.  The wiring in the wall is a certain gauge (size) and the breaker is sized by that.  A 20a breaker protects 12ga wire.  A 15a breaker protects 14ga wire. If you stick a 20a breaker on 14ga wire, you are allowing 5 more amps of current to flow through a wire thats only rated for 15a.  The wire gets hot, the insulation of the wire gets soft and breaks down and when the wire starts glowing it will ignite the inside of the walls on fire. DO NOT DO THIS.  All this applies to fuses too.  Never stick a higher rated fuse in place of what it is suppose to be.  A fuse pops and a breaker trips FOR A REASON.

[jmigdlc99]

I'll try to simplify what other posters have mentioned:

1. You cannot simply upgrade your breaker because you are limited by the capacity of your electrical wires.
2. To upgrade, you will need both a new breaker and new wires.
3. An electrician can do this for you safely. Do not try to DIY if you don't know what you're doing.

[remauto1187ma]

I'll try to simplify what other posters have mentioned:

1. You cannot simply upgrade your breaker because you are limited by the capacity of your electrical wires.
2. To upgrade, you will need both a new breaker and new wires.
3. An electrician can do this for you safely. Do not try to DIY if you don't know what you're doing.

Are you Pete or Repeat?

[P00P135]

I'll try to simplify what other posters have mentioned:

1. You cannot simply upgrade your breaker because you are limited by the capacity of your electrical wires.
2. To upgrade, you will need both a new breaker and new wires.
3. An electrician can do this for you safely. Do not try to DIY if you don't know what you're doing.

Are you Pete or Repeat?

Might have to keep dumbing it down for the OP so he understands fully. 

[FoolFully]

Hi the wires in my house can handle 20 amp but just have 15amp. Im having the work performed be licensed electrician so don’t worry that I’m doing something wrong but thanks for your concern for my safety.

Now can someone just suggest surge protector I can use that can handle 20 amp breaker instead of using different surge protectors going to different outlets so the surge protectors don’t get iverluaddd?

[gotminer]

Hi the wires in my house can handle 20 amp but just have 15amp. Im having the work performed be licensed electrician so don’t worry that I’m doing something wrong but thanks for your concern for my safety.

Now can someone just suggest surge protector I can use that can handle 20 amp breaker instead of using different surge protectors going to different outlets so the surge protectors don’t get iverluaddd?

You really don't need a surge protector, unless all you're trying to accomplish is having additional outlets.  I don't use surge protectors on any of my rigs.  They are just not necessary.  I use PDU's.

[Brenning]

Im having the work performed be licensed electrician

So why aren't you asking your licensed electrician about your electrical questions (surge protectors) instead of asking random people on a forum?

Most of us are really helpful on here but the point I'm making above should be very obvious

[gotminer]

I didn't write this, so if the person that did write it comes across it, please credit yourself.  I saved what he wrote in a text document, so I could easily reference it.  Lots of good information here and really helped me understand this stuff a few months ago.

First define the problem.  Where are hundreds of thousands of joules harmlessly absorbed?  Single point earth ground.  Every wire inside every incoming cable must make a low impedance (ie less than 10 foot) connection to that ground before entering.

Your TV cable has always been required to make that connection.  Unfortunately some installers and electricians do not understand this.  That hardwire from the cable direct to earth ground is best protection.  No protector required.  That ground wire must be as short as practicable, have no sharp bends, no splices, not inside metallic conduit, etc - to make impedance low.

AC electric cannot connect direct to earth.  So a protector makes that same low impedance hardwire connection.  An effective protector does not do protection.  It only connects to what does protection.  That protector is only doing what a TV cable's hardwire does better.

2) If a surge is not inside, then best protection (already inside every appliance - every appliance needs this protection) is not overwhelmed.

3) Let's discuss impedance.  Assume a protector connected to a wall receptacle safety ground will somehow earth a tiny 100 amp surge via that safety ground wire.  That wire might be 0.2 ohms resistance.  And something like 120 ohms impedance.  100 amps times 120 ohms is something less than 12,000 volts.  Why less that 12,000?  Because that surge (due to 12,000 volts) must find better paths to earth.  One classic path is destructively through any nearby appliance.

So let's say that protector is 700 volts.  That means 12,000 volts on one wire and 11,300 volts on another.  Scammer love to manipulate numbers without discussing what it really means.

An IEEE brochure demonstrates this.  A protector, too far from earth ground and adjacent to a TV, earths a surge 8000 volts destructively through another TV in the next room.  Protector connected a surge to earth, destructively, via a best path to earth - a nearby appliance.

Once inside a house, that surge will find potentially destructive paths to earth.  Since that protector was too close (low impedance) to appliances and too far (high impedance) to earth ground, then an adjacent protector simply compromised better protection inside some nearby TV.

4) Protection is never about a protector.  Protection is always about where hundreds of thousands of joules dissipate (harmlessly in earth) and the (low impedance) path that current uses.

Ineffective protectors with massive profit margins will not discuss this to protect profits.  Most consumers will not learn this because reality takes paragraphs - cannot be posted in a tweet.

What makes the 'whole house' protector so effective?  Its connection to earth is low impedance (ie wire length - not thickness - is relevant).  Connection from protector to appliance is long - high impedance.  That high impedance between protector and appliance increases protection.

5) We learned in school math about the independent and dependent variables.  The concept also applies here.  Independent variable (what defines protection) is current.  A dependent variable is voltage.  Voltage is only a symptom of what happens when the current flows.  The science of surge protection is about how that current connects to earth - for the same reason Ben Franklin's lightning rod is so effective.

Lightning seeks earth ground.  It finds a best electrical connection via a wooden church steeple  Wood is an electrical conductor - just not a good one.  So that lightning current creates a high voltage (a dependent variable) - destroys the steeple.

6) Franklin's lightning rod connected to earth on a wire.  Lightning seeks earth ground.  It finds a best electrical connection via that wire - an excellent electrical conductor. So that same lightning current creates a near zero voltage - no damage.   That same current will conduct no matter what - an independent variable.  Protection is always about (for example) how 20,000 amps connects to earth.  Either it creates a high and destructive voltage.  Or it creates a near zero (harmless) voltage.

Damage is due to a human mistake.  Because protection is always about how a current connects to and the quality of earth - as Franklin demonstrated over 250 years ago.

Finally, effective protector are sold like rice.  You don't need a model for rice or a 'whole house' protector.  That protector must have the dedicated wire to earth ground - that defines protection during each surge.  Since lightning can be 20,000 amps, then a minimal 'whole house' protector is 50,000 amps.    That defines protector life expectancy over many decades and many direct lightning strikes.  That (not a model number or brand name) defines your best solution.

Yes there are 3 wires of ground, one is dedicated for rig,
What should the next step.

3 wires of ground?  A receptacle would have two power wires and one safety ground.  Safety ground does nothing to protect hardware and does nothing to make a protector effective.  It exists to protect you (human life).

That wall receptacle safety ground is completely different from earth ground.  A homeowner is responsible to know what earth ground is and to maintain it.

Find a bare copper, quarter inch hardwire that goes from the mains box (power board), outside, to an earth ground electrode.  If that does not exist, then no effective protection is possible.  And a serious human safety issue also exists.

All was simplified to a 'high school science knowledge' level.  But since new, then it must be read at least three times.  Rephrasing same here may help.

*QUOTE*
Once inside a house, that surge will find potentially destructive paths to earth.
 All protection is about connecting a surge to earth BEFORE it can enter.  That explains why an above bare copper hardwire is critical.

A 'whole house' protector is required to protect computers, to protect any plug-in protector, and to protect all other 'just at risk' or 'at greater risk' appliances.  Including a dishwasher, clocks, refrigerator, garage door opener, LED & CFL bulbs, furnace, recharging electronics, dimmer switches, central air (even when not in use), and every smoke detector.

Everything posted was learned in school.  High school math was defined.  What Ben Franklin demonstrated was taught in elementary school science.  What Franklin demonstrated is also what protects appliances and computers.  What Franklin demonstrated does not require expert language.  What Franklin demonstrated is also what you must do to properly earth every incoming utility wire via a 'whole house' protector.

That 'whole house' protector protects appliances for the same reason that Franklin's lightning rod protects a structure.  In both cases, protection is only as effective as (is defined by) earth ground.

Go to any big box hardware store or electrical supply house.  Ask the 'whole house' protector that they sell.  Then confirm it is at least 50,000 amps.  (Honesty is impossible without numbers.)

Last paragraph ('effective protector sold like rice') defines what must be purchased to effectively connect incoming utility wires to earth.  Best protection is distant from every appliance and as close as possible to earth ground.

[remauto1187ma]

Whomever wrote the above is not only ignorant of the english language but also dumber than owl shit when it comes to lightning/surge protection.

To sum it up... Lightning takes ALL PATHS to ground.  All the book knowledge in the world cant make an engineer a field technician and the writings above look to come from an engineer thats got a tiny grasp on the english language.  Id pick it ALL apart but Im just no that bored in life.

[FoolFully]

Im having the work performed be licensed electrician

So why aren't you asking your licensed electrician about your electrical questions (surge protectors) instead of asking random people on a forum?

Most of us are really helpful on here but the point I'm making above should be very obvious

I’m asking about surge protectors because I’ve been taught to always use them on computers yet I never see any on rig wars

[gotminer]

Whomever wrote the above is not only ignorant of the english language but also dumber than owl shit when it comes to lightning/surge protection.

To sum it up... Lightning takes ALL PATHS to ground.  All the book knowledge in the world cant make an engineer a field technician and the writings above look to come from an engineer thats got a tiny grasp on the english language.  Id pick it ALL apart but Im just no that bored in life.

There is a reason that the person who wrote that is an engineer and there is a reason that you're a field technician. 

[gotminer]

Im having the work performed be licensed electrician

So why aren't you asking your licensed electrician about your electrical questions (surge protectors) instead of asking random people on a forum?

Most of us are really helpful on here but the point I'm making above should be very obvious

I’m asking about surge protectors because I’ve been taught to always use them on computers yet I never see any on rig wars

PDU and UPS (if you're worried about surges), but not many use UPS's on their mining rigs.  The expense isn't worth the protection.