15 amp circuit VS. 20 amp Circuit


Hello,

I’m in a situation where my audio room has one ( three outlets ) 15 amp circuit. It appears to me that the 3 outlets in this room are connected in series , meaning drawing current from one outlet will drain the other two .

For 2 channel audio , I have connected my C12000 pre amp, McD12000 and through MPC1500 conditioner and to one of the 15 amp outlets . This should be okay? However, problem could arise once I connect the McIntosh 1.2k power AMPs to the other 2 outlets.

I would like to know if I need any dedicated circuit for my equipment . It appears I need more power than 1400 watts ( 15 amp circuit can provide ) when I use my home theater Where I will have Four 1000 watt woofers and 3 additional AHB2 amps.

 

 

Question :

howmany dedicated 15 amp or 20 amp circuits do I need to ensure smooth power without dimming the lights around the house / prevent possible fire ?

Please provide your suggestion based on the below equipment .

 

DAC: McIntosh MCD12000

Power Conditioner: MPC15000

preamp : McIntosh C12000

AV Processor : Marantz 7015

power AMP: Two McIntosh 1.2k

power AMP: Three AHB2 , one used in MonoBlock

Streamer : One Streamer

 

 

 

128x128joshziggie2021
Post removed 

Some good comments above from some quite knowledgeable folks - nice to see and is why I like to frequent this forum.   I agree that adding a couple of dedicated 20A circuits with 10-12 AWG wire should do it _ IF the in-wall wiring back to the breaker is the problem.   The only unaddressed point (as of when I started typing) came in the OP's second post where he specifically comments on the lights dimming.               (…the light dimming issue, IS happening…)

More info on how this manifests itself might help us help the OP.  If lights dim, something is not up to snuff somewhere. Are they in the same room and on the same circuit?  If so, then that narrows things down a lot.  If dimming happens elsewhere in the house and NOT on the same circuit, then I would IMMEDIATELY ask an electrician or the utility company to check the service entrance feed to the building. Some utilities won't check past the meter so you may need the electrician for a "last mile" check between the meter and your breaker box.  A non-direct analogy - I once moved into a building and found one leg that fed my stove was leaning against its connecting lug - not clamped at all. Truly scary. Not every installer is working at 100% all the time. There may be a loose connection at one of your outlets or anywhere back to the breaker box or even the pad mount or pole.  

Terminology / grammar check:  You have a SERIES of outlets connected in PARALLEL along the circuit, so each gets the full voltage.  At some point back-wiring came into vogue to speed installation.  That enabled installers to just poke the wires into holes in the back of the receptacle. No loops around screws that need to get tightened just right.  Fast and easy, but not nearly as good a connection and then the receptacle essentially becomes a buss bar and IS in series with the other outlets, but each plug-in point is still in parallel with all the others. 

Another take on the series / parallel issue:  A good wiring job with large wall boxes and lots of space will have the wires going to the breaker box come to a 3-way connection, with the lead to the next box under the wire nut as well as a short pigtail to the receptacle in the box.  This way the receptacle is never in Series with the other devices down the line and the inevitable movement from thermal expansion and years of plugging and unplugging devices has less impact on the connection at each device, and half as many connection points to loosen over time or be suboptimal initially.

15A breaker and 15A outlet circuit?  Some guys may have cut a corner and only used 14 AWG light fixture wire instead of the 12 recomm for outlets, esp since the push-in receptacle back wiring connection holes are not supposed to accept 12 gauge and it is so much quicker, easier and cheaper to just cram the smaller 14 AWG in a hole. You can also get a lot more voltage droop that way.

Back to the HT room.  How / when does the light flicker manifest itself?  During a major but quick explosion, an extended pass of a tank rumbling past you, Aircraft takeoff or extended pipe organ bass note?  A long rumble will deplete much of the stored power in most amp power supply capacitors. Transients are easy, but extended high ampere power response sucks once the caps go flat.  If things blink on even a loud, but SHORT rumble, then maybe a PSU capacitor is no longer up to snuff. Seek it out. Lots of how-to info elsewhere.  I would rotate through my amps and see if I can narrow down my search first. If basic fixtures and wiring were both up to snuff, then the lights should not follow the music.  Upgrading to Audiophile outlets, in-room cables, etc. can be done later if you want as frosting on your cake! 

Hello all,

 

I had the power company stopping by today . Checked transformer and feed. All is good. Next is for an electrician to install at least two 20 amp circuits

 

i will update this thread this weekend , whether issue is resolved or not .

You might want to measure your current before doing a bunch of expensive work.  I measured my two subs, which have amps rated at a total of 1100 watts.  Cranked up some bassy music.  They drew 60 watts total.

That’s a lot of gear. Honestly if you weren’t going to run them at maximum output all the time you are probably fine so long as you don’t try to turn them all on at once.

The better your wiring to your stereo, the more likely you are to dim the house lights. :) What you should be concerned with is more current on 1 circuit = more voltage drop, and of course, eventually tripping a breaker.

I’d consider running a 60 A sub panel to your room, and from that panel run 2 or 4 dedicated 20 amp circuits. The big advantage is the 6 gauge wiring will result in lower voltage drop overall. Worth considering an in-panel surge protector as well for your gear, both in the main and in the subpanel. It’s not as good as a series mode device (Furman or ZeroSurge) but better than not having them.