I've added a couple of components to y set-up and I need a new powerboard with 8 outlets and an on-Off switch.
I have a gripe and a question, do the cheap surge protectors and filters in ordinary powerboards actually work?
Also why the heck can't I find a multiple outlet powerboard rated to 15Amperes at a reasonable price?
When we did the house rewire I had our sparky add a 32A rated circuit for the stereo and H/T just because we could and it only added a few dollars to the overall cost, it has a 4-gang GPO but I need powerboards to run all the bits and bobs and I thought it would be easy and/or simple to find a board that would handle 15A, not so, why is that?
I have a gripe and a question, do the cheap surge protectors and filters in ordinary powerboards actually work?
Also why the heck can't I find a multiple outlet powerboard rated to 15Amperes at a reasonable price?
When we did the house rewire I had our sparky add a 32A rated circuit for the stereo and H/T just because we could and it only added a few dollars to the overall cost, it has a 4-gang GPO but I need powerboards to run all the bits and bobs and I thought it would be easy and/or simple to find a board that would handle 15A, not so, why is that?
What is a "powerboard"? A power strip?
I was able to figure out that GPO is General Purpose Outlet.
I was able to figure out that GPO is General Purpose Outlet.
Work for what? There's an infinity of spikes, from little light-tiks to direct lightning hits. Protection is related to price, at best.
But domestic power protection should be layers. I wish I had an arrester at the pole where my overhead line comes through the meter to the under-dirt (barely) feed to the house. I do have substantial protector IN the main fusebox. With thoroughly inspected and tested ground bonds and dirt-rods. And desktop "protector strip" at PC and hi-fi.
How much of your stuff actually sucks 15 Amps? Especially at 230 Volts??
When my shop/office had up to 104 plugs, I only had three "large" loads. A coffee-maker, an office laser printer, and a something else? This covered two workstations (one with 4 monitors before that was a thing), three web-servers, network appliances, soldering station, several music system resident and transient.
I had several taped-off 20A circuits in the room from a prior occupant. I had two fed to a dozen duplex outlets around the room. The MrCoffee and the LaserJet got opposite legs. All else went on several Belkin 10 Outlet strips. They don't give a rating but that type plug is rated 15 Amps. And 110V! Your "cheap 15A" at 240V is more than twice the power.
I have done large outdoor concerts with tube amps with power strips like this.
You can't use USA/CAN type connectors in Australia. Where do you do your shopping?
Amazon AU is just as dumb as Amazon US. It thinks 'power strip' is 'party camera'.
Aside from the tabletop Belkin above, I also used "rack mount power strips", like Rayma is showing, but better quality. In your market:
https://www.amazon.com.au/Jackson-Mount-12-Way-Power-Protection/dp/B07793LC2T/
They make these to run up the rack or across the rack; I won't wrestle your Amazon trying to find the other. Not my place, and you may know better vendors.
Surge protector components like MOVs will degrade and need replacement.,
sometimes even yearly. The LC filters will not though.
But if you have frequent problems, unplug if possible during those times.
sometimes even yearly. The LC filters will not though.
But if you have frequent problems, unplug if possible during those times.
I just noted that the AUS Jackson 12-way I linked above is rated 10 Amps.
That's another clue that you do not need >15A for almost any sane collection of stuff.
15 Amps at 240 Volts is 3,600 Watts, a very substantial amount of heat. I can take the chill of my garage in freezing weather with only slightly larger heater. At today's electric rate, 3.6KW steady load would be $17/day, $500/month.
(Your 32A circuit may allow 6,144-7,680 Watts. Used steady that's $1k/month.)
The power strip rating does not have to equal the circuit rating. There are rules, but we plug 15A and even "10A" power strips into 20A circuits all the time.
Truly "flexible" cords over about 15A are expensive or stiff (or both like the early Xerox copiers). Normally loads of this magnitude are hard-wired, or get a dedicated outlet.
That's another clue that you do not need >15A for almost any sane collection of stuff.
15 Amps at 240 Volts is 3,600 Watts, a very substantial amount of heat. I can take the chill of my garage in freezing weather with only slightly larger heater. At today's electric rate, 3.6KW steady load would be $17/day, $500/month.
(Your 32A circuit may allow 6,144-7,680 Watts. Used steady that's $1k/month.)
The power strip rating does not have to equal the circuit rating. There are rules, but we plug 15A and even "10A" power strips into 20A circuits all the time.
Truly "flexible" cords over about 15A are expensive or stiff (or both like the early Xerox copiers). Normally loads of this magnitude are hard-wired, or get a dedicated outlet.
They work -sort of- : they will offer some degree of protection, but even a secondary lightning strike will fry it (and hopefully it will protect the downstream equipment whilst dying, but that's not guaranteed).
There is no realistic protection against a primary, direct lightning strike for non professionals: base stations, etc. are suitably equipped and survive such events (mostly), but the investment is prohibitive for an ordinary individual.
A good approach is parallel + layered protection: if your whole house is fitted with protectors, in powerboards, extensions, supplies, etc. each will absorb a fraction of the surge and protect one another (and hopefully survive).
The layered concept means putting strongest/crudest protection means upstream: passive filters and heavy-duty gas arresters where your mains power gets in, and lighter duty gas arresters at various points followed by MOV's at the point of load (helped by passive filters).
Note that serious filters have arresters across their CM coils, to prevent damage to the insulation, and have spark-gaps tied to the PE for the same reason.
This means that you always need a sturdy PE to withstand the harshest conditions, but as I said earlier there is no affordable protection for a really nasty strike, except a good insurance contract
Having all stuff switched off at night by a real switch makes the risk smaller as well. Simple but effective.
F
Definitely, plug the filtered outlet box into a switched wall outlet, and only turn it on with the wall switch
when the system is in use.
Definitely, plug the filtered outlet box into a switched wall outlet, and only turn it on with the wall switch
when the system is in use.
It would be better to do that before using the system 😀 Make sure to use double pole switches otherwise it won't make much of a difference. My own solution is to build a distributor box with mains filter, MOVs, GDTs and all the necessary parts and use a heavy rated double pole rotary power switch. Saves power, system is really powered off and it reduces risks.
Of course you are right I don't need 15A for my stereo, I was just wondering why you couldn't get them and had to make your own.
I've made a couple for the shed on the end of a long extension lead for power tools.
I just needed 8 power sources for the stereo and I guess the draw is somewhat closer to 8 amps maximum rather than 15, what I really needed was an accessible switch as the GPO gang is at floor level behind the "entertainment unit"
Buying such a unit later today
I've made a couple for the shed on the end of a long extension lead for power tools.
I just needed 8 power sources for the stereo and I guess the draw is somewhat closer to 8 amps maximum rather than 15, what I really needed was an accessible switch as the GPO gang is at floor level behind the "entertainment unit"
Buying such a unit later today
It's more to do with the Australian Electrical Standards, a 15amp outlet uses a larger earth pin and conductor sizes than a 10amp outlet.
So any device that plugs into a 15amp socket will need an equivalent 15amp plug.
Your Home Theatre devices will only have 10amp plugs hence they won't fit correctly into a 15amp socket.
Which is why I had to make my own for the power tools.
I guess I was more worried about the rush at start-up with 4 amps plugged into the power board and the single On/Off switch.
Actually a 10A plug is approved for a 15A socket and a 15A plug will only fit a 15A socket. But to have the maximum 6 outlets a power board source (wall socket and switch board feed) must be rated at 15A.
Insurance becomes the issue.
Insurance becomes the issue.
Do you need the box to move around?
Fix a new box to a convenient place, with switches and protection, to the wall near the load.
Make sure the strip you buy is of good quality, so buy where you can inspect before purchase, if you need it to be portable.
The power strips here have cheap sheet metal strips for contacts, instead of round hollow pins - our pins are round, not flat - and those are not durable.
Use normal quality practice methods.
Fix a new box to a convenient place, with switches and protection, to the wall near the load.
Make sure the strip you buy is of good quality, so buy where you can inspect before purchase, if you need it to be portable.
The power strips here have cheap sheet metal strips for contacts, instead of round hollow pins - our pins are round, not flat - and those are not durable.
Use normal quality practice methods.
Yeah; the 4gang GPO is rated to 10A per outlet or 32Amperes in total; because we wired it that way. Labeled that way at the main board.
