Electrical Opinions

[wardworld]

Working on planning my fishroom...it'll be on a screened porch that I'm renovating. Opinions: There used to be a spa out there so there is already 50-amp service w/ 220...will that be enough for me to run the "usual electrical suspects?" Or should I consider adding another 20 amp???

 

[s ruppa]

50 amp should be fine. you will need to install a service panel with breakers though to make the 220 into 110. i just ran 50 amp 220 into my fish room into a service panel feeding 3 20 amp breakers ( 110v AC). 50 amps is a ton draw. you should never even approach that

steve

 

[wardworld]

Thanks Steve,
I assume it's acceptable to run 2-3 outlets per 20-amp breaker w/out worrying too much about tripping it????

 

[s ruppa]

yes. i have between 2 and 6 on mine per 20 amp circuit. i will try to post a picture of my set up soon

steve

 

[Reefer Brian]

I completly agree, make sure to use a GFCI, one per circuit. See occupation.

 

[wardworld]

Brian, is the GFCI the "outlet" that has the ground fault interrupter in it or is it something else (in the breaker)???

 

[s ruppa]

the GFCI outlet has the ground fault interupter in it. you can actually buy a breaker that is ground fault protected but they are very expensive. menards just had outlets on sale for a little under $5.00 each. i bought 15

if you put a GFCI oulet first in line in a circuit and you connect your next outlet ( or series of outlets) to the load screws then everything down line of the GFCI is protected. there is one caveat with this however. if something does cause the GFCI to pop it will take out all the outlets on that circuit.

i run one item per GFCI. somethings can be doubled. like a skimmer with two pumps can both be plugged into the same outlet. if you use the non load screws on the GFCI to connect more GFCI's down line they will not go out if one of them pops.

hope this makes sense. it ended up being pretty long
steve

 

[wardworld]

Thanks...I think I've got it Steve...I still would love to see some photos of your set up however.

 

[Reefer Brian]

Ward- s ruppa is correct again in this gfci setup. Its ideal to have each receptacle its own gfci, but it could be costly. If you have access to spare circuits, you should only need one 20 amp circuit to run an aquarium setup. I added a 20 amp circuit just for my equipment room. Its sufficiant enough for me and its needs. Add two if you really need.