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Author Topic: Overseas Power Board  (Read 11583 times)

Mark Olsen

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Overseas Power Board
« on: July 15, 2015, 09:40:46 AM »

OK .. so I am from Australia but I'm currently spending a couple of years here in the US.

I have bought a bunch of my sound gear over with me, that includes wireless receivers, recording interfaces, mac mini etc.
I have three racks that are powered by these ..

http://www.ji.com.au/products/RAC0600/

If I just replace the feeder IEC cable with a US version, am I good to go?
All the gear inside the racks is 100-240 V autoswitching, but obviously have Australian plugs.
If I have to change the power boards, I'm also up for about 15 new cables and 9 plug packs ..... :-(

I'm mostly worried about the increased amp requirements for the surge protector, although there is no high power gear in any of these racks.

If I have to swap these power boards out, can you suggest a good alternative?
I really like the recessed face on these boards, it keeps everything within the rack body.

Cheers

Mark
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Cailen Waddell

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Re: Overseas Power Board
« Reply #1 on: July 15, 2015, 10:49:00 AM »

If everything is auto switching I would think you would be good to go - BUT, only if this is all relatively low current draw gear.    The wire inside your powerboard is sized for a 240v feed, which might mean it doesn't have enough current carrying capacity when your gear is running at 120v and draws more current.   


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Mike Sokol

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Re: Overseas Power Board
« Reply #2 on: July 15, 2015, 11:14:12 AM »

If everything is auto switching I would think you would be good to go - BUT, only if this is all relatively low current draw gear.    The wire inside your powerboard is sized for a 240v feed, which might mean it doesn't have enough current carrying capacity when your gear is running at 120v and draws more current.   

I would agree, as long as there are no heavy-duty power amplifiers in the rack. If this is all processing gear, that's not a lot of current draw and it's likely fine. You can always add up the listed amperage draw on the back of each piece of gear and make sure it's no more than 15 amps. Of course, if your distro in the rack has an 8 or 10-amp fuse you'll find out soon after plugging into 120-volt power. If it's more than 8 or 10 amperes, then the fuse will blow and you'll know you need to swap out the distro. If the 8 or 10-amp fuse holds fine, then all is well and you may proceed.

BTW: What are you doing here in the States and what kind of gigs do you have here? This particular forum takes a few swerves, so as long as we weave in a power story or two it's all good.  Oh yes, no bashing of Edison outlets like my UK buddies do (Not you, Steve). We know they're crap... but they're all we've got. ;)
« Last Edit: July 15, 2015, 11:16:22 AM by Mike Sokol »
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Mark Olsen

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Re: Overseas Power Board
« Reply #3 on: July 15, 2015, 11:37:26 AM »

I would agree, as long as there are no heavy-duty power amplifiers in the rack. If this is all processing gear, that's not a lot of current draw and it's likely fine. You can always add up the listed amperage draw on the back of each piece of gear and make sure it's no more than 15 amps. Of course, if your distro in the rack has an 8 or 10-amp fuse you'll find out soon after plugging into 120-volt power. If it's more than 8 or 10 amperes, then the fuse will blow and you'll know you need to swap out the distro. If the 8 or 10-amp fuse holds fine, then all is well and you may proceed.

BTW: What are you doing here in the States and what kind of gigs do you have here? This particular forum takes a few swerves, so as long as we weave in a power story or two it's all good.  Oh yes, no bashing of Edison outlets like my UK buddies do (Not you, Steve). We know they're crap... but they're all we've got. ;)

My day job is actually in the military, so that's why I'm here.  I just couldn't bear the idea of not bringing all my audio gear with me though, just in case ...

I actually don't really care one way or the other about the Edison plug, but I don't understand why none of your domestic power outlets have switches. It's always awesome seeing sparks fly when you plug things in that are already trying to draw current.

And then your higher amp stuff is just confusing as hell .. I'm used to just a 20A three phase plug and a 32A three phase plug. That's about the only variations you're ever likely to get on gigs .. from hotels to generators. Over here is seems that you just never know what you're going to get ...

Mark

Mark
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Scott Holtzman

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Re: Overseas Power Board
« Reply #4 on: July 15, 2015, 11:52:02 AM »



Quote from: Mark Olsen
Over here is seems that you just never know what you're going to get ...

Mark

Mark

Same with the women here


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Scott AKA "Skyking" Holtzman

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Jonathan Johnson

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Re: Overseas Power Board
« Reply #5 on: July 15, 2015, 12:58:48 PM »

If everything is auto switching I would think you would be good to go - BUT, only if this is all relatively low current draw gear.    The wire inside your powerboard is sized for a 240v feed, which might mean it doesn't have enough current carrying capacity when your gear is running at 120v and draws more current.   

The referenced powerboard is rated for 10A. Note that current draw will be double at 120V versus 240V. If the equipment draws less than 5A a 240V, there should not be an issue. If it draws more than 5A at 240V, the equipment will need to be reconnected to additional powerboards.

Mark Olsen, note that our 120V circuits provide either 15A or 20A. Most 20A circuits are supplied with 15A receptacles: this means that while the 20A circuit itself can supply a total of 20A, each receptacle is limited by nameplate rating to 15A. A 20A 120V receptacle can be identified by the sideways T-shaped slot. (A 20A receptacle will accept either a 20A or a 15A plug.)

To put it another way, if you see a 15A receptacle, it could be a 15A or a 20A circuit. But if you see a 20A receptacle, there's a really high probability* that it's a 20A circuit.

* What do I mean by a really high probability? I mean that American's aren't as afraid of electricity as they should be, and have an "I can do it!" spirit, which means that the circuit may have been wired by someone not qualified to do so, which means that until you verify it and meter it, you can't assume anything when it comes to electrical wiring here.

EDIT: Added clarification that a 15A receptacle on a 20A circuit doesn't actually limit the current draw.
« Last Edit: July 15, 2015, 03:27:12 PM by Jonathan Johnson »
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Cailen Waddell

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Re: Overseas Power Board
« Reply #6 on: July 15, 2015, 02:00:12 PM »

And now Jonathan has done some Maths for you.  Super. 


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Mark Cadwallader

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Re: Overseas Power Board
« Reply #7 on: July 15, 2015, 02:55:03 PM »

The referenced powerboard is rated for 10A. Note that current draw will be double at 120V versus 240V. If the equipment draws less than 5A a 240V, there should not be an issue. If it draws more than 5A at 240V, the equipment will need to be reconnected to additional powerboards.

Mark Olsen, note that our 120V circuits provide either 15A or 20A. Most 20A circuits are supplied with 15A receptacles: this means that while the 20A circuit itself can supply a total of 20A, each receptacle is limited to 15A. A 20A 120V receptacle can be identified by the sideways T-shaped slot. (A 20A receptacle will accept either a 20A or a 15A plug.)

To put it another way, if you see a 15A receptacle, it could be a 15A or a 20A circuit. But if you see a 20A receptacle, there's a really high probability* that it's a 20A circuit.

* What do I mean by a really high probability? I mean that American's aren't as afraid of electricity as they should be, and have an "I can do it!" spirit, which means that the circuit may have been wired by someone not qualified to do so, which means that until you verify it and meter it, you can't assume anything when it comes to electrical wiring here.

Not to confuse the OP, but I have a question. How does a NEMA 5-15R receptacle that is downstream of a 20A circuit breaker limit the current to 15A?  I know that a 5-15P is designed for equipment that is not rated for more than 15A, but how does the receptacle "know" (or care) the maximum current draw is to be limited to 15A?  Unless I've missed something, the innards of a 5-15C and a 5-20C are identical. Am I missing something?
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Jonathan Johnson

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Re: Overseas Power Board
« Reply #8 on: July 15, 2015, 03:25:23 PM »

Not to confuse the OP, but I have a question. How does a NEMA 5-15R receptacle that is downstream of a 20A circuit breaker limit the current to 15A?  I know that a 5-15P is designed for equipment that is not rated for more than 15A, but how does the receptacle "know" (or care) the maximum current draw is to be limited to 15A?  Unless I've missed something, the innards of a 5-15C and a 5-20C are identical. Am I missing something?

That's the thing. It doesn't. A 15A duplex receptacle is rated for 20A feed-through (to permanently wired downstream devices) when connected using the terminal screws (generally not when using the "backstab" connections). It is only rated at 15A through each of the face connections. A device with a 15A plug is not supposed to draw more than 15A -- most USA outlet strips will have built-in overcurrent protection equal to or less than 15A. However, most plug-in splitters (the kind with no cord, just prongs on the back) have NO overcurrent protection. In reality, there is NOTHING to prevent drawing 20A from the face connection of a 15A receptacle. And in reality, if the circuit is properly wired, there should be no problem doing so, but my liability insurance won't let me say that.  ;)

For spec-grade receptacles, the innards really are no different between 20A and 15A 120V receptacles -- manufacturers do this to reduce production costs by leveraging economies of scale. For residential-grade receptacles, which are constructed as inexpensively as possible (since paying an extra $500 for quality wiring in a new house is untenable but paying an extra $10,000 for granite countertops is a no-brainer) that may or may not be the case.

(For those outside the United States, "spec grade" refers to a commercial-quality device that generally meets military specifications; sometimes also called "mil-spec". I'm slowly replacing the "residential grade" receptacles in my own home with spec-grade ones because they provide a better connection and are more durable.)
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Mark Cadwallader

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Re: Overseas Power Board
« Reply #9 on: July 15, 2015, 03:36:21 PM »

Thank you, and thanks also for the clarifying edit to your post I quoted. I was having doubts about my understanding of wiring devices. I'm breathing a sigh of relief now.
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ProSoundWeb Community

Re: Overseas Power Board
« Reply #9 on: July 15, 2015, 03:36:21 PM »


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