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Power line question

I live in an apartment building that's relatively new (built in 1993). There are no visible power lines attached to the building, which leads me to believe the power lines are underground. The building has a dedicated line for air conditioners. I know very little about power outlets, wiring, amperes, etc. All I know it's 115 volts. Here's my question. I will be replacing my tube integrated power amp with tube monoblocks producing at least 150 watts per channel and a tubed preamp. I have seen occasionally discussions about the demand on the power line electronic equipment makes and parameters for dedicated lines and such. Should I worry about blowing fuses or overloading the power line with my new amplification? My gf and I triggered circuit breakers a few times in the past by using hair dryers simultaneously in our respective bathrooms, but once we stopped that practice, no other mishaps occurred. I have a basic power conditioner with 4 outlets, but that's about it. With my less than rudimentary knowledge of power delivery, I wouldn't even know where to start to answer my question so I thought I'd start here. Thank you for any advice.
actusreus
meiwan
399 posts
 
Each circuit in your apartment will be 15 amps. If you determine the power consumption of your 2 amps and pre-amp - and they exceed 10 amps or so, you may have an issue, as the line you use will likely be shared with other stuff in the apartment.

Generally, getting into high powered mono blocks is something that deserves dedicated lines - something not doable in an apartment. Popping a breaker will happen if the load on one line exceeds 15 amps. The heaters in hair dryers use a lot of amps, for example, as do space heaters, refrigerators, portable AC units, microwave ovens (and power amps). Best you can do is a little math with what's on the same line from the breaker panel, add them up and see what's left for your amps.
actusreus OP
733 posts
 
Thanks Meiwan. How do you determine the power consumption at a given time in a circuit? I looked at the hair dryer and it states volts, watts and Hz, but not amps. No such info is listed on the manufacturer' website either. The sticker on the breaker panel says "Mains Rating 125 Amp Max." I assume this does not mean my apartment. The only thing that would be in use while I listen would be the refrigerator, laptop and the TV set, most likely.
ska_man
55 posts
 
Divide the watts rating by the volts...that will be the amp rating. Likely around 10 amps. You will need to find the breaker that turns off the wall plug that the stereo will plug into. Turn the breaker off. Then see what isn't working to determine what is fed by that breaker.
jea48
4,486 posts
 
Actusreus,

Easy as PIE....

P = I x E

p = power, watts, Va.

I = current, amps.

E = volts

To find (I) divide (P) by (E).

A 15 amp circuit should not be loaded more than 80% continuous load. 12 amps.... Or 1440 watts/Va....
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