Up'ing the Amps

[angelscrx]

Ok so I am buy an older home and the electrical is set up for 100 Amps. Will this be enough to run my tank? I was told I would need at least 150 AMPs to run my 1200 GPH return pumps, 1900 GPH closed loop (upgrading to 3000gph), chiller, 3 250w MHs, 4 supplemental flourecents, and the two pumps for my Calcium reactor and skimmer. What do you all think?

I definitley need to fix (upgrade) the plugs in the living room where the tank will reside. Thanks

 

[Tex]

And who told you this? A 100 amp service is more than adequate for a tank. In an older home (possibly with 2 wire plug recepticles) you MUST make sure you have an earth ground. This is incredibly important for the safety of YOU and your tank inhabitants. If you care to PM me I will walk you through the process of identifying the wiring in your new home and corrective measures that may be needed. It's generally easy and not expensive. Don't fret.

 

[Serge]

IS it possible they said 150 watts? AT 150 AMP, the pump would probably be the size of your car. Check every piece of hardware you have and look for the following info: wattage (watt) OR current (amp). You will find the proper details stamped somewhere on them. If not, check the manuals that came with them, or check the manufacturers' web site to get the proper details.

What you should be careful about tho, is how much amps you put on your circuits. A 15 amps circuit should not be loaded more than 12 amp, for "elbow room". When motors and pumps start, they usually draw more current then stabalize at their rating.

With anything electrical, ALWAYS ensure that whatever you connect is properly grounded. If not, you are walking on thin ice and puting your life, and those you love, at risk.

Consult electricians when unsure of is going on with your electrical circuits. If fuse/breaker are going off when something starts, the circuit is overloaded. Replacing the fuse/breaker with a higher one is NOT the solution, it is more involved than that. New wires and maybe outlets have to be installed.

HTH and be safe

8)

 

[angelscrx]

Thanks for the feedback. Looks like the 100 Amp rating in the house will be enough. Thanks I just need to updatem the plugs with grounding typ since the home inspector said mine not that type. I will get an electrician out and get an estimate of the load and see if the living room can handle it. Thanks all.

 

[Tex]

............I was told I would need at least 150 AMPs to run my 1200 GPH return pumps..........

Nonsense, flat wrong, end of discussion. You couldn't afford to run anything that draws a 150 amps continuously. Your electric bill would be $15,000 a month.

 

[Tex]

......When motors and pumps start, they usually draw more current then stabalize at their rating........

Correct but only for a an extremely brief period, usually far less than second. It's called LRA (locked rotor amperage) and FLA (full load amperage). An electric motor will draw LRA when started but will draw only FLA in a few milliseconds. This alludes to the purposes and differences in standard house breakers and GFI breakers.

 

[angelscrx]

Shocking the things you learn on here huh! Grounded electricity good. Non-grounded electricity deadly. And here I thought I had to spend $1,700 bucks to upgrade the amps to the house. Do you know how many corals that can buy?

 

[Tex]

Yes, shocking, or potentially so. The hot legs of the wiring in your home is not gounded but it does (or should have) a suitable path to an earth ground should something go wrong. Many older homes built before the 1950's era do not have a 3 wire earth grounding systems. Those homes are unsafe and a very real fire and shock hazard. Most modern homes (not business or commercial buildings - different ballgame) work like this: you have 240 volt AC SINGLE phase being fed from the power compnay wires to your meter. You have three wires coming in, a hot wire, neutral wire and an earth ground wire. Those wires are connected to your circuit breaker box and subsequently feed individual branch circuits. Remember the breakers in your panel are NOT GFI's.