Daisy chaining from a switchable powerboard?

Forums › Home Theatre (including HTPC and EPG Collector) › Daisy chaining from a switchable powerboard?

dammit57

5 posts

Wannabe Geek

#252808 12-Jul-2019 14:27

Hello everyone on Geekzone.. I'm very excited to join your community here. I'm wondering if anyone could offer their take on an idea?

I'm a bit of a videogame collector, and have been trying to perfect my setup with my TV/Consoles/AV equipmemt. My goal is to have all my videogame consoles plugged in and ready to play at a moments notice.

My question is with regards to how to power this setup. I currently have an 8-plug power board, which powers my TV and several consoles. Though as I have 16 items I want to power (not simultaneously of course) I'm frequently having to unplug/plug-in things.

I started pondering if a slightly different approach to daisy chaining several power boards could be an option:

What if I had one 4-way power board that had a switch for each socket, then from each socket I ran out to 4 separate 4-way power boards? (Totalling 16 sockets).

I would then switch each of the four daisy chained power boards on/off as I needed them from the 'top' board. I would only turn on 2 at a time - so powering at most 8 items.

Does this sound ok? Or a pretty bad idea?

Thanks

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#2275370 12-Jul-2019 14:30

Hi, firstly welcome to GZ, if its just low power devices (ie AV/ICT) then that should not be a problem, but please invest in good quality power strips that demonstrate a good tight contact of the plugs, in particular the "hub" one.

Cyril

fe31nz

1228 posts

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#2275581 13-Jul-2019 01:29

You need to add up the power use ratings for each device (watts or amps) on each plug strip and make sure you do not exceed what each socket and each plug strip is rated for. A normal wall socket is rated at 10 amps, so it will handle 2300 watts (watts = 230 volts x amps). But the plug strip you connect to the socket might be rated for less than that. Each of the sockets on a plug strip is normally also good for 10 amps, but if you are using 10 amps from one of its sockets, you can not use anything in any of the other sockets as you have used up the capacity of the plug strip and of the socket it is plugged into.

Most of the electronic devices you are talking about are relatively low power devices. Typically less than 100 watts, and often far less. However, TVs, PCs and monitors can use a fair bit - over 300 watts for an ancient PC. Older PCs use more than newer ones. But for any device to be legal to import into New Zealand, it must tell you (usually on the bottom) what it is rated to use, so except for home built PCs, you should be able to find out what it uses easily.

If you overload a circuit, you can cause a fire, so please do take the time to add it all up and make sure. This is a very common cause of house fires. And also make sure that no-one is going to plug in a vacuum or a heater in one of your spare sockets. Put a piece of tape over them marked "Do not use" if someone has any possibility of doing that.

elpenguino

3419 posts

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#2275646 13-Jul-2019 08:48

your plan will work but for gods sake don't think the $4 units will be any good. Spend a bit (a lot) more if you want them to be safe and reliable.

And welcome etc etc.

Most of the posters in this thread are just like chimpanzees on MDMA, full of feelings of bonhomie, joy, and optimism. Fred99 8/4/21

dolsen

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#2275655 13-Jul-2019 08:59

elpenguino:
your plan will work but for gods sake don't think the $4 units will be any good. Spend a bit (a lot) more if you want them to be safe and reliable.

And welcome etc etc.

My local Harvey Norman's has Phillips 4 way power boards for $5 which is the best price/quality ratio I've seen. I've brought a few to replace some old as well as newer low quality ones I had.
No shutters on the sockets, but, they are well made and grip the plugs nicely.

SirHumphreyAppleby

2844 posts

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#2275659 13-Jul-2019 09:02

I have a couple of 18-way boards here. High quality steel construction, with PDL (IIRC) sockets and a 10A circuit breaker, so I have no concerns about their safety. The downside is they were around $300 new IIRC.

dammit57

5 posts

Wannabe Geek

#2275826 13-Jul-2019 14:46

Thanks for the replies, everyone, the info is much appreciated.

Fe31nz, I’m just about to start adding up Amps and Watts for all my equipment to see if it might work. Just to check, should I be aiming for no more than 10amps all up when I have two of the secondary 4 way boards turned on?

SirHumphreyAppleby, may I ask where you purchased your 18 way board and which brand it is? I can’t seem to find any items like that anywhere online.

Thanks again.

SirHumphreyAppleby

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Uber Geek

#2275829 13-Jul-2019 14:58

dammit57:
SirHumphreyAppleby, may I ask where you purchased your 18 way board and which brand it is? I can’t seem to find any items like that anywhere online.

My boards are from Modempak. They no longer offer that particular model, but they have an equivalent model with the outlets rotated 90 degrees (also a 20-way 15A option). The new ones would be much better if you have wall warts as they usually take up two outlets on mine. The Modempak part number 11290084. PB Tech has them on their site (CHSMOD11290084), but they will be a special order item. Other retailers should be able to get them for you as well, and I've purchased other items directly from Modempak in the past.

EDIT: The price will be around $241.01 based on the "Recently viewed items" at the bottom of the PB Tech site. This will likely be the price last time someone ordered one, so there may be some variation.

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sqishy

470 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2275831 13-Jul-2019 15:01

Add up all the W if total of all is less than 2300 do what you like.

qwertee

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#2275919 13-Jul-2019 17:22

sqishy:

Add up all the W if total of all is less than 2300 do what you like.

Think of the worst case scenario. Add up all the W as suggested above . so that even if you forget to switch off other daisy chained power boards , you are not going exceeding the rated combined Wattage.

dammit57

5 posts

Wannabe Geek

#2275967 13-Jul-2019 17:40

Hi

Thanks for the additional info.

Thisafternoon I sat down and did some maths, adding up all my wattages.

Interestingly, even with 17 items (one more than originally counted), the total wattage was 1175 watts. I’d never have thought 17 items on one plug was an option, (Hence my original idea of switching different boards on/off).

There was comment earlier in the thread that NZ wall sockets are rated at 10 amps.. so as a further check, I divided my 1775 watts by 230 volts, which came out as 5.09.. being under 10, does this mean I’m safe with regards to the 10 amp limit, too?

SirHumphreyAppleby

2844 posts

Uber Geek

#2275973 13-Jul-2019 17:52

dammit57: There was comment earlier in the thread that NZ wall sockets are rated at 10 amps.. so as a further check, I divided my 1775 watts by 230 volts, which came out as 5.09.. being under 10, does this mean I’m safe with regards to the 10 amp limit, too?

You should be fine, but you might want to have a look at this recent thread for a bit more discussion on the subject.

sqishy

470 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2275975 13-Jul-2019 17:56

So based on that W (which would be peak) you will likely never exceed 5A and as you said not everything will be on.

So mix up whatever you like to power boards. Also don't accidentally plug in anything like a heater these on full can go all the way to 2300W like a kettle.

dammit57

5 posts

Wannabe Geek

#2276282 14-Jul-2019 12:30

Hi

Thanks for the confirmation regarding my total wattage and amps being okay.

SirHumphreyAppleby , thanks for pointing me towards the other Geekzone thread on the similar topic, I’ve just finished giving it a read though. Interesting to hear that other sockets in the same room could potentially be on the same circuit breaker.. I might look into this, as another power point in the same room has a 2000w heater plugged in.

Considering my total watts/amps being within acceptable limits of a single outlet, I’ve started exploring different ideas besides my original switchable board plan.

Could for example, I just run 2 8 way boards off a double adaptor? I thought this particular adaptor could suit given that it not super cheap, and also wouldn’t be attached to the wall (less risk of getting knocked out) :

https://www.noelleeming.co.nz/shop/televisions/accessories/cables-adaptors/endeavour-en2pb4usb-2-outlet-powerboard-with-4-ub-surge-protection/prod169503.html

Then two of these surge protected 8 way boards (of which I have one already):

https://www.mightyape.co.nz/product/huntkey-8-outlet-surge-protected-powerboard-with-dual-5v-2-1a-usb-ports/21350740

Thanks

sqishy

470 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2276315 14-Jul-2019 13:35

That will work albeit expensive. You could jumper of your existing surge protector with a non-surge if you really wanted to.

richms

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#2276373 14-Jul-2019 16:20

dammit57: Hi

Could for example, I just run 2 8 way boards off a double adaptor? I thought this particular adaptor could suit given that it not super cheap, and also wouldn’t be attached to the wall (less risk of getting knocked out) :

Do not use double adapters, they have no over current protection at all on them.

Richard rich.ms

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