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Dedicated Power Lines

Been thinking about running dedicated Romex circuits from my circuit breaker box for my rig. No . . . I decline paying for specialty wire, Romex will do. The question is how many discreet lines and the amp capability of each line. I'm still trying to figure out how to do the installation in accordance with Code, without tearing my finished basement apart. For that, I'll consult a licensed electrician.

My rig consists of the following gear: (1) self powered sub that is rated at 1500 "Class D" watts; 4500 watts on a surge; (2) ARC tube CDP; (3) ARC tube line stage; (4) ARC tube power amp rated at 120 wpc - supposedly draws 700-800 watts when driven hard; (5) ARC tube phono pre; and VPI TT. I have a large screen plasma TV and a DVD player. I think that stuff can run off the house circuits.

Right now, everything I just listed is sucking juice off the same line. I gotta believe no good is coming from that set-up. Funny story -- one day my kid was playing Rosetta. I think it's a band that plays music, or at least that what my kid says. Tons of bass. When the band kicked into "low gear," first the basement lights dimmed, then the circuit breaker tripped.

Oh, my house is tied into the utility lines with a 100 amp service. If I change that out, that's the next project. But not right now. Other than Rosetta, no other power delivery problems noted.

Thanks
bifwynne

Showing 6 responses by bifwynne

bifwynne OP
2,206 posts
 
Thanks Elevick - hoping to get some suggestions about the number of discreet lines I should run, and which equipment should each line feed. Also, any concerns/suggestions about hot wire phase. That is should the dedicated lines be the same phase?
bifwynne OP
2,206 posts
 
Any suggestions on the gauge, e.g., 12 gauge for 15-20 amps (??) 10 gauge for 30 amps. Would it be a good or bad idea to feed the tube amp and self powered D class sub woofer on the same 10 gauge - 30 amp line? I recall that some folks may have advised to keep the CDP (digital device) on its own line, 15 to 20 amp line should more than enough? Can I hook the TT into the same line with the CDP? This is the type of advice I'm looking for. Thanks
bifwynne OP
2,206 posts
 
Jea48 -- great post. Kudos on your prescience!!!

Al -- on the one hand you say balancing the load between the two phases has no relevance to the output phases of my gear because the AC current is converted to DC anyway. Ok, that makes sense. OTOH, you quote from the handbook that says running dedicated lines that use different phase hots increases the chance for ground loop related hum and noise. Bottom line: is the smart move to use same phase dedicated lines, BUT ask the electrician to move other house circuits to the other hot phase rail to keep the house load balanced??

Thanks, Bruce
bifwynne OP
2,206 posts
 
Got it! My thought is that the in-wall house circuits will feed the TV, the DVD player and the VPI TT. Four (4) separate dedicated lines for: (1) the amp; (2) the analogue fronts (linestage and phono pre); (3) the CDP; and (4) the sub-woofer. Will set up a satellite box off the main panel for the 4 lines -- will use only hot from one side of the main panel and will ask the electrician to link the sub-panel as far away from other breakers that feed motors and the HVAC system. Does this sound like a good plan?
bifwynne OP
2,206 posts
 
Jea..., I tried cutting through the NEC material. Have to admit, I got lost. As I said, I will hire a licensed electrician to install separate lines from the circuit box, or a "satellite" box off the mains to run discrete and separate lines. If I got anything off the web site, I should run single phase Romex (1 hot, 1 neutral and 1 ground). What I'm still confused about is whether I should run hot wires from both sides of the box. My concern is whether powering my gear with different phase hots could in some way change the output phase of my gear.
bifwynne OP
2,206 posts
 
Minorl, I take your point. The biggest energy vampires in my system are the power amp and the sub woofer. The rest of the gear doesn't draw that much current. Let me be clear. If the line stage and phono pre are fed off a true dedicated line from the box off one hot and the amp and sub are fed off true dedicated lines from the box with the other hot of opposite phase, will that set up result in the line stage/phono pre outputs being out of phase with the power amp and sub?
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