[Noisebridge-discuss] Computer Equipment in an old home?

Jake jake at spaz.org
Wed Jul 10 00:40:34 UTC 2013


Hi Brian,

I agree with what Gopi says - use a kill-a-watt to measure how much power 
you're using if you're afraid of overloading the wiring.

but instead of that, you can simply get a power strip and plug everything 
into that.  A power strip has its own circuit breaker (15 amps) and that 
will trip before you blow a fuse.

If your whole room is running from an extension cord from somewhere else, 
use a power strip (with its own circuit breaker - they all have one) where 
that extension cord plugs in.  You can also use a GFCI adaptor like this:

http://www.amazon.com/GFCI-Outlet-Adapters-Single-Adapter/dp/B001OE3JHC

That will get you a lot of protection.  If you take too much power in your 
room, you might pop the breaker in a power strip, or you might blow a 
fuse, but it shouldn't cause a problem otherwise.

The thing is, most modern electronics don't use very much power.  You can 
have ten desktop computers and LCD monitors on one 15 amp circuit (1500 
watts total).  A cellphone charger is up to 5 watts - you can have 300 of 
those!

All this goes out the window if you try a toaster, electric oven, or space 
heater.  Forget it.  Also those big hot halogen lamps use a lot of power. 
But you can read the labels and do the math.

If you want to preserve the wiring you have and keep it from messing up, 
just don't mess with it or allow things to flex.  The solid wires in the 
walls are not meant to move, they are stiff.  So if an outlet is loose and 
flops around, either tune it up or plug a power strip into it and screw 
the cord of the power strip to the wall, so it doesn't move things around.

The fuses in your fuse box are fine.  This technology is very reliable, 
moreso than many circuit breakers!  A fuse is very unlikely to fail to 
fail, if you know what i mean, which means it will protect you.  Of course 
if a fuse has a penny stuck under it (someone tried to save the cost of a 
new fuse) then there is no protection.  The screw-in fuses were designed 
to allow you to put a lightbulb in place of a fuse to diagnose shorts. 
When the bulb stopped lighting up, there was no more current draw and you 
could install a new fuse.

long story short, it's not the number of things you have, it's the total 
power draw, which will be limited by the fuse and any power strips on the 
way.  And don't let that old wiring move around or it might break.

-jake


Brian Perez wrote:
Hey all, since SF has a lot of old buildings I'm sure someone could help 
me with this problem I'm facing.  I have an old home (circa 1930s) and all 
the wiring is the old copper cloth-covered kind and there's BARELY an 
outlet in the house.  My room has no outlet; my power is pulled through 
the window to the back room and up to the light socket.  BAD, I know.

Being the tech guy I am I'm starting to run out of sockets with the 
extensions I have.  There's basically three surge protectors daisy changed 
to power everything in my room.

What are my options to make this more secure and safe? (And potentially 
add more sockets)

Thanks!
Brian




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