[guest1121]

Hi All,

We're having an electrician prewire some of our bedrooms for ceiling fans, and while he's here I'm going to have him run two dedicated 20-amp circuits into my home theater. The electrician suggested putting a double-outlet on each circuit, so I would have 4 outlets available to hook up all of my toys (two outlets per circuit).

Here's my question: should I put all audio on one circuit, and all video on the other? If not, what combination of equipment should I connect to each circuit?

Here's the electronics I'll be hooking up:

Current Equipment
Bryston 4B SST amplifier (350 x 2)
Bryston 9B SST amplifier (125 x 5)
Lexicon MC-12B Processor
Panasonic RP-91 DVD-V/DVD-A Player
Mitsubishi WS65907 65" RPTV

Potential Purchases in Near Future
Another DVD player for SACD and/or digital upscaling
DirecTV w/ Hi-Def - i.e. add a Hi-Def receiver to the list of electronics

Given this equipment list, how should I hook all of this up to make sure I don't overload one of the circuits? Should I just add up the wattage and split it evenly or is there a more scientific way to approach this? Putting all the audio on one of the two dedicated lines would seem to open up the possibility of overloading the circuit (two amps plus other stuff on one line), while the circuit dedicated to video would probably never be taxed as hard. On the other hand, if I mix audio and video on one circuit, am I opening myself up to other problems?

[zybar]

Scott,

You have some nice gear, don't skimp!  Run 3 or 4 lines instead of two.

This way you can really separate things out and make sure the amps are getting all the juice they need + you won;t have to mix audio/video.

Not sure where you live, but in the NYC area (i.e. VERY expensive) I pay only $100 per run.  

Also, don't go to all this trouble and throw a .99 cent outlet into the mix.  Get some decent outlets.

George

[scottpretti]

Put them all on the same phase.  I had some problems with  dedicated outlets not being on the same phase.   It caused clicking in my (pre/pro) theater system when the HVAC would turn on and off, light switches turned on and other appliances.  It's now fixed, no more problems.  You could even go isolated grounds, I did, some say its overkill. Get better outlets

[guest1121]

Scott,

You have some nice gear, don't skimp! Run 3 or 4 lines instead of two.

This way you can really separate things out and make sure the amps are getting all the juice they need + you won;t have to mix audio/video.

Not sure where you live, but in the NYC area (i.e. VERY expensive) I pay only $100 per run.

Also, don't go to all this trouble and throw a .99 cent outlet into the mix. Get some decent outlets.

George, thanks for that idea.  I was thinking of adding a few more outlets - maybe I'll go that route.  I'll check with the electrician on cost, but from the initial estimate I think he's charging me about $125/run.  Maybe I could get a "volume discount" for more runs.  My only concern is using up all the available circuits in my breaker box.  Might be good to leave a few open spots for other stuff.  If I chose to stick with two dedicated lines, would this be enough?  I forgot to mention that I will also be getting an amp to power my sub, in addition to my current amps.

I am going to go with hospital grade outlets; hopefully these will suffice.

Put them all on the same phase. I had some problems with dedicated outlets not being on the same phase. It caused clicking in my (pre/pro) theater system when the HVAC would turn on and off, light switches turned on and other appliances. It's now fixed, no more problems. You could even go isolated grounds, I did, some say its overkill. Get better outlets.

I"m pretty "electrically challenged" so can you explain what it means to put all the circuits on the same "phase?"  I'd like to avoid the problems you had with the clicking.  Also, what is involved in going with isolated grounds?

[jethro]

I"m pretty "electrically challenged" so can you explain what it means to put all the circuits on the same "phase?"  I'd like to avoid the problems you had with the clicking.  Also, what is involved in going with isolated grounds?

It might be a bit late, but putting the circuits on the same phase means the same side of the breaker box. I think the idea is that it should help with ground loops. To run extra circuits it might be cheaper to run 3 conductor and split your plugs. You'll have to pay for an extra breaker but it may save you some fishing time.  I have similar amplification to you, and I use 2 (15 amp) circuits, one for the amps, and one for the sources and pre-pro.

[spectralman]

You can get circuit breakers that are actually 2 discrete breakers in a std. breaker size.  I have done this in my place as my breaker box had a limited no. of spaces.  Everything works just fine.

[Horsehead]

It might be a bit late, but putting the circuits on the same phase means the same side of the breaker box. I think the idea is that it should help with ground loops. To run extra circuits it might be cheaper to run 3 conductor and split your plugs. You'll have to pay for an extra breaker but it may save you some fishing time. I have similar amplification to you, and I use 2 (15 amp) circuits, one for the amps, and one for the sources and pre-pro.

That is not correct!    Circuit breaker boxes run their phases ACROSS, not left or right side.  If you want the circuits on the same phase, make sure the two breakers are directly across from each other, or if you want them on the same side, put the first breaker, skip a space, and then put the next breaker.  It looks like this:

Left side                                      Right side
Phase A                                       Phase A
Phase B                                       Phase B
Phase A                                       Phase A
Phase B                                       Phase B

That is why two pole breakers take two consecutive spaces on the SAME side- 120v each phase=240V to power AC compressors/heavy electric appliances etc.

Also, if you ever run a 12-3 wire (black,red,white, ground) to save wire and get 2 circuits off one feed, NEVER, NEVER put the black and red on the same phase or you have the very high potential to start a fire by overloading the neutral (white).  Just make sure the black and red are on opposite phases (next to each other on one side of the breaker box, and not across).

The best wire to run would be a stranded 10 gauge in a twisted configuration.  Depending on how long the run is, the 10 gauge wire will compensate for any voltage loss.  You can use the 10 gauge wire and put it on a 20 amp breaker.

Since my breaker box was very close, I ran JPS Labs In Wall AC cable- real nice wire, but expensive at $18 foot.

General rule of thumb

14 gauge- 15 amp or 1800 watts
12 gauge -20 amp or 2400 watts
10 gauge- 30 amp or 3600 watts

This is assuming 120v at the outlet. As voltage drops, the wattage drops.
Circuit breakers are designed to trip before they reach there maximum rating anyway.

Unless you have some monster power amps, you would be surprised at how much gear you can run off of one circuit.  Sometimes you are better off so you don't create any ground loops by having different grouding potentials from two circuits.

Hope this helps

[Horsehead]

You can get circuit breakers that are actually 2 discrete breakers in a std. breaker size.  I have done this in my place as my breaker box had a limited no. of spaces.  Everything works just fine.

That is correct, however, they are on the same phase, and cannot be used for 240v lines.  They are called tandem breakers as opposed to two-pole or double-pole breakers.

[jethro]

That is not correct!    Circuit breaker boxes run their phases ACROSS, not left or right side.  If you want the circuits on the same phase, make sure the two breakers are directly across from each other, or if you want them on the same side, put the first breaker, skip a space, and then put the next breaker.  It looks like this:

Left side                                      Right side
Phase A                                       Phase A
Phase B                                       Phase B
Pha ...

I was going by what I had read on-line somewhere else, which is obviously incorrect or I misconstrued (probably the latter). Sorry to mis-lead. This is why I have my licensed and insured electrician do all my wiring. I just checked my box, and of course, my audio breakers are all on one side,  one after another. By chance however, I am not using the middle circuit so I assume this means my two circuits are on the same phase.

[JoshK]

Sorry to revive a dead thread, but I am doing some work on my circuits now and to preserve some space in my box was wondering if there were any down sides to using tandem outlets? I am assuming you can use a tandem outlet for two discrete circuits, but do they share the amperage limit?

....after rereading spectral's statement is seems not, but I'd feel better if someone confirmed this.

[lkosova]

How about a dedicated box just for your room???  I run 8 20 amp outlets to a sub panel box off the main. All lights etc on one phase all audio etc on the other. No ground loops etc. Hospital grade outlets. I have a seperate house breaker(forgot what they call these) just for this box ...like a seperate surge protector just for this box.

Larry