Electrical Supply Awareness

[CraigC]

Nicole's recent tragedy has prompted me to post this. Something we should all be aware of that should remind us all to not overload the electrical supply for our herps/herprooms.

Each piece of equipment we use (electrical) has a wattage rating. Most home outlet circuits are wired with 14 gage wire and rated for around 15 amps. There may be several outlets in the room, but they may all be on one circuit. Also the lighting in the room may be on the circuit as well. Amps = Watts divided by Volts. By adding up the wattage of each piece of equipment we can determine the amperage draw on the circuit.

Example: If you have 3, 150 watt CHE's, the combined amperage is 3.75 amps when operating at full capacity.

OR

You can look at it this way. Every 120 watts is equal to 1 amp on 120 volt house current.

Every elecrical device that is UL or CE approved has a wattage rating on it somewhere, or on the packaging or literature that came with it.

Take stock and let's all be safe!

Craig

	Ceramic Heat Emitter Ceramic Heat Emitter: A porcelain heating device that screws into a standard porcelain incandescent socket

[SoulSmilen]

Thanks for the breakdown on how to determine what power we're trying to pull. A little more electrical awareness is something we should all strive to have, even understanding what outlet is tapped in to which circuit, how many circuits are available in each room, etc.

I hope we'll see a little more elaboration and discussion on this subject; with Nicole's tragedy and the other one you mentioned, we are reminded how serious it is.

With winter and higher heating needs (for those that may use additional heating appliances room to room) coming, along with Christmas trees and lights, this is a VERY good time for everyone to stop and take notice, then correct what needs to be corrected.

[SoberGuy]

Another thing is to be careful with the wires. Having them layed out neatly, and ensuring they plugged in solidly, making sure they aren't pinched, crimped, etc., ensuring that water can't get to them, either from sinks, tipped water bowls, or any other source. If your wires look likes a bird's nest, it's time to re-arrange them. Zip ties can be pretty handy in keeping things nice and tidy.