Daisy-chaining power strips

[Barry_Cuda]

Another one from the Dept. of "The Dumbest Question is the One You Didn't Ask."

All my equipment comes with dire warnings about not using extension cords or power strips. Of necessity, I'm using both. Right now I only have four items in the tank that use AC power - return pump, heater, powerhead, and lights. I am adding an ATO, which fills up the power strip. I'm wondering how big a sin it would be to daisy-chain another power strip off this one, as long as I don't exceed 15 amps in total (my power strips, extension cord and GFCI outlet are all rated at 15 amps). Reasons for this would be both to get a few more outlets available and to isolate certain items such as the return pump and powerhead to their own strip with a switch so I can just turn them off for feedings & water changes instead of unplugging multiple items all the time. Is this a bad idea?

 

[Seawitch]

Another one from the Dept. of "The Dumbest Question is the One You Didn't Ask."

All my equipment comes with dire warnings about not using extension cords or power strips. Of necessity, I'm using both. Right now I only have four items in the tank that use AC power - return pump, heater, powerhead, and lights. I am adding an ATO, which fills up the power strip. I'm wondering how big a sin it would be to daisy-chain another power strip off this one, as long as I don't exceed 15 amps in total (my power strips, extension cord and GFCI outlet are all rated at 15 amps). Reasons for this would be both to get a few more outlets available and to isolate certain items such as the return pump and powerhead to their own strip with a switch so I can just turn them off for feedings & water changes instead of unplugging multiple items all the time. Is this a bad idea?

I can answer this. And don't feel badly. I ask tons of questions that some may think are dumb. Well, technically, daisy-chaining power bars is against every published electrical and safety rule and code. It's not a good idea. However, for practical purposes, if you're very careful to count your possible amps, and stay well under what the circuit is rated for, you're probably okay. There are no aquarium police. If you go over the amperage, you risk a breaker that keeps tripping or a fire. Up to you.

 

[afuel]

I agree with sea witch but they do make power strips with individual on/off switches. Just replace the one you have with one of these they don’t cost that much and it would be a little safer.

 

[cmcoker]

I dont think you are actually supposed to hit the full load of amps constantly, think it's like 80% or something @Brew12

 

[User1]

If in the US there are codes local, state, and federal that clearly state not to daisy chain extension cords, surge protectors, etc. Also they clearly say what should and should not be used in surge protectors(for example you can't put a space heater on a surge protector). As noted above it comes down to amps, circuit breakers, and in the end fire hazards. Let us say something bad does happen and you are renting and hurt others? Or that same bad thing happens and damages your house. Or again same bad thing and takes out your house and the neighbors. Local fire department will investigate, they have to, and report it. Now we have to talk to the insurance company and possibly any other legal teams depending on how it unfolded.

I'm not going to get into he said, she said, or what you should or shouldn't do. If you are asking the question you are clearly aware then so already past first base and onto the next which is good. Typically unless the room is built specifically for your hobby most rooms won't have enough outlets by default for use. So it does lead one to being creative. Controllers come into play here with their controllable outlets (noted with amperage warnings of course by their legal council) that can help. Surge protector also helps although see my note above. You could use a longer surge protector into another outlet. You could also hire an electrician to add an outlet or if you are not sure at least ask them your power use vs. the breaker it is on.

It is a bit janky now with tank size, location, heater(s), number of power heads, power head size, return pump, skimmer pump, and then anything else you throw in to make your tank successful or fancy that tech itch you may or may not have. I personally went with Neptune Cor 15 pumps for my skimmer and return so I free up a plug. I also went with Apex for their new energy bar so I can see amperage to some degree and also use the outlets. Sea Swirl and Apex are plugged into the outlet in the wall. My reef angel controller for lighting is plugged into a different outlet. So all in all I'm ok but it did make me think about where I put stuff and wire / cable management.

Oh - also recently moved into a new home built in 2015. I couldn't fire out why the room my tank is in kept having its circuit breaker trip. I'd reset and sometimes it would trip again in minutes. I added a kill a watt meter to see what the tank was using, its pumps, etc. Well under the 15 amps. pulled each plug, checked plug connections just in case electrician didn't set firmly. Everything was good still tripping. Removed panel on the circuit breaker to check that wiring and again all good yet still tripping the tank at random times. Rolled out an extension cord to another plug in the house and connected stuff and it didn't trip. Now I'm lost. Called an electrician out, explained the problem, he looked at the room, the tank, my computer, said nope - nothing here is tripping it but he thought it was the new Ca building code and the smart circuit breakers causing the issue. The breaker ended up tripping when the heater turned on/off suddenly or when my wave makers over lapped. The breaker's internal computer brain that isn't so smart shut it down due to the increase activity or wave pattern because that is what it thinks when something is shorting out. At least that is how I remember the electrician explain it. Gets a lot of complaints in the area with tank owners or owners of certain stereo equipment...

Anyway more than what you wanted to know.

 

[Barry_Cuda]

Doing some quick math - it looks like I'm well under 6 amps at the very most for max load on the circuit. It's not a big tank and I'm not using a lot of equipment. The heavy hitter here is the heater, which is 200 watts, which at 120V AC (if I'm doing this right) rounds up to 1.7 amps. The lighting is max 1 amp according to the label on the power brick. The various pumps, including the ATO, are a few watts here and there - not even enough to draw half an amp when all are active at the same time. No skimmer, no dosers. There are a cable modem, wi-fi router and a bedside lamp on another outlet on the same circuit, but none of those are drawing much current either. So from a load perspective, I should be well within a good margin of safety. Afuel's suggestion about getting a longer surge protector with individual switches is a good one, so I'll look for one of those.

 

[Brew12]

I dont think you are actually supposed to hit the full load of amps constantly, think it's like 80% or something @Brew12

This only applies to electricians doing new installation. It doesn't apply to the end user of a system. It is still a great idea though, especially for an aquarium, since you don't want to risk an overload shutting down your tank.


Daisy chaining power strips is not allowed at a work. You also aren't allowed to plug a power strip into an extension cord. There are no rules or laws that would prevent you from doing it at home.
With that said, these rules apply to companies for a reason. Overloading power strips is more likely when you daisy chain them, and that can lead to fires. Especially if the daisy chained power strips are in an area with low air flow. The concern with too much current flow is heat. If you take a power strip under half load and throw a rug over it there is a good chance it will catch on fire.

 

[User1]

This only applies to electricians doing new installation. It doesn't apply to the end user of a system. It is still a great idea though, especially for an aquarium, since you don't want to risk an overload shutting down your tank.


Daisy chaining power strips is not allowed at a work. You also aren't allowed to plug a power strip into an extension cord. There are no rules or laws that would prevent you from doing it at home.
With that said, these rules apply to companies for a reason. Overloading power strips is more likely when you daisy chain them, and that can lead to fires. Especially if the daisy chained power strips are in an area with low air flow. The concern with too much current flow is heat. If you take a power strip under half load and throw a rug over it there is a good chance it will catch on fire.

Definitely falls into a gray area. I don't deal with home inspections. Mine have always been on military bases both home and abroad. Having said that we would, at times, visit military housing and do inspections and provide a report. US homes, non military, obviously have to adhere to building codes and once ownership is taken that is a different story. You already know about NFPA and other regs which address electrical fire safety and I personally wouldn't want to be in that discussion if fault was found on home owner, or renter, due to daisy chain or other misuse of outlets.

To add to your point though. I forget the actually percentage but I think it was over 50% of home electrical fires could have been prevented.

 

[Teri NewbieReefer]

I might be a hobby reefer, but I am a pro DJ by trade. Don’t have the cash starting out in the hobby for a controller? Get yourself a cheap American DJ Light Copilot... most models have 16 plugs and a set of switches to control each channel. (I laughed when I first started looking at some of the tank builds here on R2R... I saw people using the American DJ light controllers and said, “That looks like something I would do!”)
You still won’t want to exceed amperage limits, but it gives you more places for plugs and they are easily mounted under stands.

 

[Brew12]

Definitely falls into a gray area. I don't deal with home inspections. Mine have always been on military bases both home and abroad. Having said that we would, at times, visit military housing and do inspections and provide a report. US homes, non military, obviously have to adhere to building codes and once ownership is taken that is a different story. You already know about NFPA and other regs which address electrical fire safety and I personally wouldn't want to be in that discussion if fault was found on home owner, or renter, due to daisy chain or other misuse of outlets.

To add to your point though. I forget the actually percentage but I think it was over 50% of home electrical fires could have been prevented.

Yup. You won't find any daisy chained power strips in my house. It may not be against the law, but there is always a better option.

 

[TheWalkman99]

Glad someone asked the question because I was sort of thinking about it this morning.

 

[cracker]

I have a couple much longer power strips with more outlets for over a work bench . Just don't exceed the amps & leaving a safety window.