Electrical Crash Course - 101

[chasekwe]

I was hoping somebody on here wouldn't mind giving me a quick crash course in uh, electrical stuff, as it relates to aquariums.

IE. I don't even know the difference between a volt, amp and watt. I see that people set up sockets which I think are dedicated to aquarium equipment because each can only give so much power... I think?

Well obviously the way I'm not even able to craft a coherent question should give you an understanding of how little knowledge I have.

So if you could help me out of direct me to a resource that explains the subject in laymens terms I would really appreciate it.


Thanks.

 

[uscgbeachbum]

A watt is, mathmatically, volts x amps. Your electricity bill is based on kwh (kilowatt hours). Amps are the driving force behind the electrical current. For example, a car battery is only 12V but it has hundreds of amps. For that reason alone you can't string 8 AA batteries together (1.5V each) and start your car with it. You might want to go into Lowes or the Depot and pick up one of those DIY electrical handbooks. That should give you just enough information to get yourself in trouble.

 

[Alarmguy66]

Ill make this as simple as I think it can be.

all Household equipment (lights, pumps, filters, powerheads) run off typical household AC current (110-120 V).

MOST breakers for a circuit in a house are going to be a 15 amp circuit, minimum.

MOST electrical equipment will provide you a power consumption rating, this will be listed in watts most of the time.

Using 110 volts and 15 amps as a guideline, the circuit can provide limitless connections, as long as you dont plug in enough devices to exceed 1650 watts (volts times Amperage).

As an example, a powerhead I have uses 21 watts, the lights (not the bulb rating) might use up 500 watts, the return pump another 45, for a measly 566 watts.

I run 3 tanks, my computer, tv stereo, all on one circuit. Unless you have some really massive power needs, a typical house circuit will do you just fine.

That being said, the luxury of having a dedicated circuit is the piece of mind that you dont have to worry about someone turning on a table saw and killing the power to your tanks.

Hope this helps

 

[gobygoby]

how about a 20 amp breaker with a 15 amp gfci outlet.....is that bad?

 

[chasekwe]

Thanks a lot guys that is exactly what I was looking for.

 

[lthaus]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6747025#post6747025 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by gobygoby
how about a 20 amp breaker with a 15 amp gfci outlet.....is that bad?

The lowest will trip when the load is over it's rating or there is a Ground fault event.

so..

if you have GFCI @ 15 your not going to run 16 amps.. it will trip from load first. The 20 behind it will protect you in the event the GFCI faults closed. (it's not going to trip from a ground fault, but a over load... IF the GFCI faults closed.)

a correctly functioning GFCI will sense if a ground fault happens and trip right away.

So to sum it up.. the lower amp will go first, unless it faults closed. (this is a BAD thing. it should not fault this way, but if it did... your 20 Amp should catch it in a over load situation.)

Clear as Mud..

v.