Line fault at the outlet -- do I need an electrician?

It could also be something as simple as a cracked receptacle causing a leak, I’ve seen some look pretty bad.

I have certainly enjoyed this thread as well. There has been a lot of good information suggested and this really points out the problems that can arise when this old house meets do-it-youselfer. I don't mind do-it-youselfer's as long as they get the doing part right. This also demonstrates the effectiveness of the Panamax unit and the importance of a dedicated circuit.

"@ cissado

Good post except in the case of where the duplex receptacle device may have been used as a junction for the make up of neutral and Hot conductors coming in and going out of the outlet box."

I'm not sure what this means exactly. Maybe because I wasn't clear in my post. I usually am not clear... it's my bad writing skills.
I just meant the first receptacle may have been fed from a light fixture. Also, that the wiring inside the light fixture box could be wrong. 

If it was a diy, and I were to guess which of the two boxes is wired wrong, my guess  would have been the light fixture. 

Personally, I wouldn't take down the light first, either. I would guess the first receptacle, possibly disconnect... and go from there. OP shouldn't even do more than that. Give it a quick try and see if it works. Then of course call a pro. 
I'm just bored. I don't post here this much.
Good luck

@ hilde45

Would you please tell us what make and model your multimeter is? Please!

Does it have an auto scale? Is that what you used when you read/measured the 4 volts AC? Are you sure it was 4 Volts or was it possibly 4mv ( 4 millivolts)

Or did you have to set the meter to a voltage scale above, say 150Vac or something like that?

Also when you measured for the neutral to equipment ground voltage did you allow the meter to settle down to a steady state constant voltage?
If you don’t remember would you please repeat the test.

Jim

almarg9,459 posts

03-23-2020
2:59pm


Hilde45, when you measured the 4 volts while the system was plugged in, were the components in the system turned on, or were they turned off or at least in standby? And as far as you know was anything else that is on the same branch turned on at the time?

If a lot of stuff was turned on at the time it increases the likelihood that the explanations cited by Erik and Jim apply. If not, it increases the likelihood that my hypothesis applies, namely that applying 120 volts to the AC neutral input of the component(s) resulted in excessive AC leakage to ground, mainly via their power transformers. Or, as heaudio123 alluded to, if significant current was being drawn by the components or other things the cause could have been a combination of both factors.

If my hypothesis was the main contributor, though, that issue should go away once the hot and neutral connections are reversed to what they should be.

Best regards,
-- Al

Al, (almarg),

First off we don’t know if the OP’s test is valid. We are only assuming that there is/was an actual difference of potential of 4 volts between the neutral conductor and the equipment grounding conductor.

What I do know unless a load is connected to a branch circuit there will not be an actual difference of potential between the neutral conductor and the equipment grounding conductor. (To quantify that statement we assume the equipment grounding conductor is connected to the neutral conductor at the main electrical service panel)

On the same dedicated circuit that I ran tests on yesterday, using a Fluke 87 DMM, with nothing plugged into the duplex outlet I just measured a mains voltage of 121.8Vac. From the neutral contact to the equipment ground contact I measured 1.0mV - 1.1mV. Jmho, that is a phantom voltage and not a real, actual voltage reading.

I could intentionally add series resistance to the neutral conductor, or to the equipment grounding conductor and that would not cause, on its’ own, a difference of potential, voltage, between the two conductors. (No Connected load)


//////////////

For all:

What can, does, cause an actual voltage to exist on the equipment grounding conductor is a connected load on the branch circuit. Can’t have a difference of potential between the neutral conductor and equipment grounding without a connected load on the hot and neutral conductor. The voltage can be an induced voltage caused by the current carrying Hot and neutral conductors. Though in that case the voltage will be normally in the mV range.

The other thing that causes a voltage to exist between the neutral conductor and the equipment grounding conductor is VD (Voltage Drop) on the circuit caused by a connected load. No load, no VD....
Causes of voltage drop:
http://www.adamselectric.coop/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Voltage-Drop.pdf

//////////////

Al, (almarg),

If a lot of stuff was turned on at the time it increases the likelihood that the explanations cited by Erik and Jim apply. If not, it increases the likelihood that my hypothesis applies, namely that applying 120 volts to the AC neutral input of the component(s) resulted in excessive AC leakage to ground, mainly via their power transformers.

I gave your theory some thought and I can see where there would be an increase of current on the equipment grounding conductor as more leakage was present but I cannot see where the voltage would increase. If anything the voltage would decrease. Wouldn’t more leakage translate into a lower neutral to equipment ground resistance? The lower the resistance, the higher the current, the lower the voltage.
Extreme example. 0 ohm resistance between the neutral and equipment grounding conductor.

Jim
.

I gave your theory some thought and I can see where there would be an increase of current on the equipment grounding conductor as more leakage was present but I cannot see where the voltage would increase. If anything the voltage would decrease. Wouldn’t more leakage translate into a lower neutral to equipment ground resistance? The lower the resistance, the higher the current, the lower the voltage. Extreme example. 0 ohm resistance between the neutral and equipment grounding conductor.

Hi Jim,

With hot and neutral reversed and a component turned off 120 volts will be applied to the end of the primary winding of the power transformer in the component which normally receives AC neutral. AC neutral presumably goes nowhere in the component in that situation (other than perhaps to a line filter capacitor), assuming the component doesn’t have a standby mode or is not in standby mode, because its power switch is turned off. The 120 volts will leak to some degree to the chassis/AC safety ground of the component via stray capacitance in the transformer. That degree being different and I would imagine probably greater (perhaps much greater) than under normal circumstances when 120 volts is applied to the other end of the transformer via the power switch. So what I’m envisioning is that the reversal of hot and neutral will result in a significant voltage being applied to the safety ground, resulting in significant current through the safety ground wiring while no current exists in the neutral wiring, resulting in a significant voltage developing between safety ground and neutral as a result of that leakage.

I could be wrong about that, and admittedly creation of a 4 volt difference would seem to require a great deal of current. But nevertheless it seems to me to be a possible explanation. And as I said, if that is the main contributor to the 4 volts the issue will go away when hot and neutral are connected properly, without the need for further corrective action involving the wiring and connections.

Best regards,
-- Al

Al, (almarg),

I drew 3 vertical parallel lines on a piece of paper. One representing the Hot, one for the neutral and the other the equipment ground. At the top of the drawing I drew a horizontal line connecting both the neutral line and equipment line together. (Representing how the equipment grounding conductor is connected to the neutral at the electrical panel.)

At the bottom of the neutral and equipment ground lines I connected a digital meter.

Above the meter I drew the symbol of a resistor. I connected one lead to the hot and the other lead to the equipment ground. The resistor represents the leakage you spoke of in your post.

With the power switch of the equipment in the off position there will not be any hot and neutral current carrying load. Therefore there can not be VD. No VD, no difference of potential between the neutral conductor and the equipment grounding conductor. (At least originating within the branch circuit, and the piece of equipment connected to the branch circuit.)

Using your leakage theory I see what you mean when the mains Hot conductor is directly feeding the primary winding of the power transformer. I can see if there is a leakage to the chassis there would be current on the equipment grounding conductor. I am not sure you would measure a difference of potential from the equipment ground to the open switch open neutral though. Especially if the neutral conductor and equipment ground conductor are at the same ground potential.

Now if the leakage turns into a ground fault event and there is then considerable current causing a VD in the Hot / equipment ground (ground fault) circuit then indeed there would be a difference of potential from the equipment ground to the open switch open neutral.

I could be wrong though..... It wouldn’t be the first time.

Jim
.

@ cissado

cissado19 posts

03-23-2020
11:26am



2 tips. Be conscious of any switches outlets when testing, so there are no surprises.
When trying to find the first receptacle box, you can disconnect one pair of wires from the receptacle. THEN reapply power to find out if you’re in the beginning or middle of the circuit.

@ cissado
Reading your entire post from 03-23-2020 you have a background in electrical wiring/methods.


This was my response to your post.

jea483,307 posts  

03-23-2020  
 12:03pm  

@ cissado

Good post except in the case of where the duplex receptacle device may have been used as a junction for the make up of neutral and Hot conductors coming in and going out of the outlet box.

We don’t know what type of wiring materials/methods were used for the branch circuit wiring.

What year NEC was in effect at the time? What were the AHJ electrical code standards/requirements back then for where he lives? Was conduit required in basements back then? Is there a chance the branch circuit is part of a multi wire branch circuit? What happens if he breaks the feed neutral at an outlet and the other circuit of the multi wire branch circuit has a connected load on it?

The OP is not an electrician. An electrician would know what to look for. Like another Hot circuit conductor passing through the box he is about to open a neutral. An open neutral on a multi wire branch circuit has killed many a electricians.

This was your response to my above post.

cissado19 posts  

03-23-2020   
4:17pm

I’m not sure what this means exactly. Maybe because I wasn’t clear in my post. I usually am not clear... it’s my bad writing skills.
I just meant the first receptacle may have been fed from a light fixture. Also, that the wiring inside the light fixture box could be wrong.

It was this part of your post from 03-23-2020 that I was addressing.

When trying to find the first receptacle box, you can disconnect one pair of wires from the receptacle. THEN reapply power to find out if you’re in the beginning or middle of the circuit.

Maybe I was not clear. The point I was trying to make, because the OP admittedly called himself a novice and knows very little about electrical power systems and or electrical wiring and wiring methods, it may not be a good idea to open a branch circuit neutral even though the OP turned off the breaker that feeds the circuit he is working on.
We don’t know, and the OP definitely doesn’t know, if the branch circuit he is dealing with is a 2 wire with ground branch circuit ( Hot, Neutral, and ground), or possibly part of a 3 wire multiwire with ground branch circuit. Multiwire, therein 120/240V 3 wire multiwire branch circuit consisting of 2 hot conductors with a shared neutral conductor.
(Two 120V circuits that share a common neutral conductor.)


Best regards,
Jim

.

OP here. Sorry, had some family stuff to take care of.
Multimeter is an all sun EM830 multimeter.
I don't know if it has an autoscale.

I'm about re-test all outlets with the meter, after unplugging everything on that line (I hope. I need family to all wake up so I can see if the outlets in their rooms are part of the branch. This could be a little while.)

An image of the multimeter is here:

www dot jbryant dot eu/pages/DMM dot htm

I used the scale in the upper right that says V~ and has the numbers 600 and 200.
I set it on the 200 scale.
I re-tested and got a 3.7 reading.

I still need to unplug everything and get back to you.

OP again:
I'm pretty sure I unplugged everything on the chain of outlets.
I have not thrown the breaker yet.
All outlets on chain read as reversed:
*  the negative plug input reads as 120v, more or less
* the positive plug input reads as 3.4v, more or less
* Unplugging all things in the outlets made no difference to the 3.4v reading.
* On other chains in the house, things are not reversed. They read zero from the negative input plug.

Your wires are reversed in the circuit somewhere you need to take some plates off and start looking at the wires.

​Reversed hot and neutral wires. Measuring hot-to-neutral voltage by itself doesn’t tell you if those wires are reversed. You must measure neutral-to-ground or hot-to-ground voltage. If the neutral-to-ground is 120V and the hot-to-ground is a few volts or less, then the hot and neutral wires are reversed

https://www.ecmweb.com/content/article/20900908/diagnosing-power-problems-at-the-receptacle

Gotcha. Time to throw the switch.

I'm somewhat perplexed by the latest measurements, and I can't readily envision a miswire (or even multiple miswires, perhaps at the panel as well as at one or more of the outlets) that could account for these findings.  But what I would say at this point, given the possibility of multiple unknown miswires, is DO NOT ASSUME THAT TURNING OFF THE BREAKER WILL KILL THE ELECTRICITY TO THE OUTLET.  

Best,
-- Al

I always use a little light tester in the receptacle or the screws on the side even after throwing the breaker.

Thanks Al. Your use of all caps is exactly what they were meant for.

I won't open an outlet until I'm 110% sure it's off. After all, I've pledged my life to the COVID virus; I can't cheat it by electrocuting myself. (Please pardon the gallows humor. It's all I've got left, except for an obsession with audio.)

hilde45 OP299 posts

03-25-2020
12:26pm

OP again:
I’m pretty sure I unplugged everything on the chain of outlets.
I have not thrown the breaker yet.
All outlets on chain read as reversed:
* the negative plug input reads as 120v, more or less
* the positive plug input reads as 3.4v, more or less
* Unplugging all things in the outlets made no difference to the 3.4v reading.

* Unplugging all things in the outlets made no difference to the 3.4v reading.

@ hilde45,

Did you find any ceiling lights that are fed from the circuit? Did you look everywhere you could think of in the house where some light/s, appliance, equipment, that was dead when the breaker was turned off?

Without any load connected to the branch circuit I can’t see where a 3.4V from the neutral to ground is coming from.

I looked at, what I think is, your multimeter. The user manual is worthless. You said you set the selector switch to 200Vac, which is the correct setting for 120V. I am going to take a wild guess and say the 3.4V is actually 3.4mV (millivolts). I would like you to check the voltage again. This time look closely at the screen on the meter for mV, therein 3.4 mV. If it is 3.4mV, imo, it is a phantom voltage.

The Fluke 87 when the selector switch is set to ~ v (AC volts) the meter defaults to the auto range. If the voltage is less than 1 volt it will give a display in mV. The mV appears lightly to the right of the number displayed. Maybe that is how your meter displays a millivolts measurement.


Just for the heck of it I ran another test. I used a convenience outlet circuit that is about 100ft long from the panel to the farthest outlet on the circuit. Wire is 12/2 with ground Romex.   
(6 duplex outlets are on the circuit. They are not daisy chained....)

For the load I used a portable vacuum cleaner with a nameplate load rating of 12 amps.
The Test.
I picked the farthest outlet on the circuit from the electrical panel. Nothing plugged into the circuit. No connected load.
Mains voltage at the receptacle 122.3Vac.
Neutral to equipment ground 5.6mV.

With the vacuum cleaner plugged into the outlet, vacuum turned on.
Mains voltage 117.1Vac.
(122.3V - 117.1V = 5.2V Voltage Drop.)
Neutral to equipment ground measured 2.3Vac.

Jim.

Is this circuit on a sub panel??? If so, your problem is upstream (closer to the service entrance).

Some answers to questions posed earlier:

I threw the breaker.

This circuit runs back to the main panel on a 15 amp breaker.
This circuit runs:
outlets downstairs
outlets upstairs
ceiling lights

I turned breaker back on.

Some data:

The multimeter says 3.4. I see nothing that would indicate it is mV. When I test the hot plug it says 117.4 (etc.), so these all seem like volts.

Yes, there are some ceiling lights fed by the circuit.

Strange finding within the same circuit:
I tested a ceiling light can. I touched the red probe to the center and the black probe to the sides of the can and got 117 volts. That seems like the polarity is correct.

However, in the outlets in this same room and elsewhere on this circuit (as reported), the polarity is reversed.

I have not yet examined a receptacle with the power completely off and dead.

I touched the red probe to the center and the black probe to the sides of the can and got 117 volts. That seems like the polarity is correct.

Assuming that the "can" you refer to is the socket into which a light bulb is inserted you were measuring between hot and neutral, rather than between safety ground and each of the other two wires (hot and neutral) as you were doing on the outlets. And if so, the measurement says nothing about polarity. Since this is AC you would have obtained the same reading if you reversed the connections of the red and black probes.

I’m surprised, though, that the reading was only 117 volts, and I'm not sure what to make of that. At the miswired outlets you variously measured 3.4 to 4 volts between ground and the miswired neutral, and 120 volts between ground and the miswired hot. And you measured 124 volts between ground and hot on other outlets in the same basement that are properly wired. As Jim pointed out earlier 120 + 4 = 124 volts, which seems unlikely to be a coincidence.

On the miswired outlets what do you measure between hot and neutral? As far as I can recall that has not yet been measured.

Best,
-- Al

I will go measure the light can again but I need to figure out where to touch the probes.

I remeasured the outlet. Here are the readings that I got:
Ground to neutral slot equals 121.6ground to hot slot equals 3.6
neutral to hot equals 124.6Hot to neutral equals 124.6

@ hilde45 OP

Yeah, you got a lot going on there. And all that on #14awg wire to boot. It’s been like that, I imagine, for many years and you didn’t know it. That is, unless the 15 amp breaker was tripping occasionally from being overloaded.

You didn’t know the AC polarity was reversed at the wall outlets either, until several days ago. (Not mentioned in this thread, reversed AC polarity can have an affect on the sound of an audio system. But that’s for another thread.)

As for the 4 volts you measure from the neutral to the equipment ground that really doesn’t matter. The 4 volts may not even really exist. It could just be phantom voltage created by the multimeter. Even if the 4 volts is real it’s to low to be an electrical safety/shock hazard.

This all started because you bought a ’ Panamax, Max 1500 surge protector and line conditioner’. Then when you plugged it in it said you had an AC mains line fault. If you hadn’t bought the darn thing you wouldn’t have been going in circles the last several days trying to figure out what the problem is.

Options, the way I see it.

1) There is way to much going on with the branch circuit wiring for you to repair. Not to mention your qualifications.... You maybe a great teacher, but a lousy electrician... An electrician could spend a couple days, maybe more, straitening out the mess. It all comes comes down to time and money. You have the money, he/she has the time.

2) Reverse the Hot and neutral wires at the duplex receptacle outlet the power conditioner will be fed from. I assume the duplex outlet is used to feed all of your audio equipment.

3) If all of your audio equipment will be plugged into the power conditioner you could reverse the Hot and neutral wires on the power cord plug of the cord used to feed the power conditioner.

4) Hire an electrician to install a new 20 amp dedicated branch circuit for your audio equipment.



Note:
There are instances where reversed AC mains polarity can be an electrical shock hazard. In the case of screw in light sockets. If the mains polarity is reversed and the circuit is hot, on, feeding the light socket the outer screw shell of the socket will be Hot with respect to ground. To lesson the likely hood of receiving an electrical shock in the event one hand is in contact with the outer shell of the light bulb, while it is in contact with the shell of the light socket, and the other your other hand is touching a grounded object MAKE SURE the switch is in the off position. If the light has a cord and plug you can always just unplug it from the wall when replacing a burned out light bulb with a new one one.



Jim

.

Jim, all,

Thanks SO much for sticking it out on this detective inquiry!

The 4v issue is weird, because the multimeter does not read 4v on a properly wired outlet on a different circuit.

I'm glad the Panamax revealed the issue, though, especially if there's a safety issue.

Thanks for the options. (1) & (4) are the most attractive and would tie in with an electrician, but won't happen for a while.

(2) Reversing seems possible. QUESTION: Is it safe to have one reversed outlet? I guess I don't see why not, but I just want to make sure I am understanding.

Thanks for the hint about changing the light bulb. In sum: either (a) unplug the lamp or (b) make sure it's off before changing the bulb.

hilde45 OP303 posts

03-26-2020
11:12am

The 4v issue is weird, because the multimeter does not read 4v on a properly wired outlet on a different circuit.

Apple to oranges, imo.
What is the wire gauge size of the other branch circuit? What is the total length of the branch circuit? What is the total connected load on the circuit? What is the type of devices that are connected to the circuit? How many CFL and or LED lights are connected to the branch circuit? What is the voltage drop on the circuit that you didn’t measured the 4V neutral to ground voltage?


You have all kinds of things going on with the branch circuit where the wall outlets have reversed polarity issues. You now know the branch circuit feeds outlets on the first floor and the basement. You now know it feeds ceiling lighting. How many CFL and or LED lights? They spew all kinds of harmonic noise back on the AC mains. Who knows what that does to your cheap multimeter.

There is still a very good chance the 4V is caused by voltage drop. Now that you know the branch circuit feeds outlets and ceiling lighting on the first floor, not just the basement, turn off all the connected loads that are connected to the branch circuit. Check for the neutral to ground voltage again. No load, no voltage drop.

As for the power conditioner showing an AC mains ’Line Fault’ condition. Correcting the AC polarity reversal problem, will solve the power conditioner 'Line Fault' problem.


Jim.

Got it. All those are good questions, but I think the ultimate solution is to delegate this whole thing. But now I know what to ask the professionals. This amateur is sticking with writing and teaching. Thanks again.

Thanks for that process. It sounds like this test does not require me taking the outlet out --just testing the ohms with the multimeter. That doesn't seem very unsafe, but I'll follow instructions carefully if I do it.

OP:

Your circuit is fed from a sub panel, correct?  Is the circuit fed from an independent breaker, or is it a duplex?

Also, have you seen any boxes in  between the sub panel and the outlet?

Best,

E

Lastly, does the 4V on the neutral go away when the breaker is off?

@erik_squires 

• Yes, 4v went away with breaker in off position.
• Circuit is fed from subpanel, yes.
• It is an independent 15A breaker switch.
• I have not seen any boxes. The subpanel sends out a thick orange wire affixed to the ceiling (exposed beams) and then that line disappears up into the ceiling. I believe it's run along the length of the top of the house to feed the first outlets and then that is run down to the basement, where the other outlets and my audio gear is. All outlets show reverse polarity.

There's more than 1 breaker in subpanel? You could pull the dead door and see if the breaker is wired right, black to breaker,  white to bus bar. Throw the single top breaker to subpanel. Do you know if a receptacle is the first thing on this run or is it a ceiling light? If it's a receptacle just take the face plate off and shine a flash light in there and see if white is to the silver screw side either in the screw itself or stabbed in the back on that side and the black is on the bronze side. 

Orange romex is 10 gauge 30 amp cable. I doubt that it  was used for just 15 amp room outlets. You will have to find where the hot and neutral are wired reversed! If you throw the breaker off at the main panel are you sure that that circuit only controls those outlets? You might find that it is feeding other outlets in your house!

Wait a minute the subpanel only has 1 thick orange wire coming out ? You sure that's not going in? Is the subpanel next to a main panel connected with conduit? If there's more than 1 breaker in the box must be more than one wire going out unless they split that large wire and put 2 breakers on it and shared a neutral. If they did must be a junction box somewhere where they split up. If there is only 1 wire going out and more than 1 breaker in that subpanel call an electrician to trace down this mess.

TBC: A subpanel is a panel downstream from another panel. Meaning, there’s a panel before it that has a fuse/breaker that can turn off the power to the sub panel.  There is one set of breakers/fuses to a subpanel, but the subpanel may contain any number of breakers.

This is useful since you can disconnect the power to the entire panel before opening it.

Maybe the terminology is messing me up.

I have one panel in the house.

At the top, is the master on/off. Below are the breakers. I thought that's what you meant by subpanel. It is not a separate panel, in the sense that it is not another separate metal rectangle. There is one metal rectangle.

The subpanel contains, maybe, 30 breakers.
I followed a bunch of wires out of the box (9, 10?) and the orange one split off to the side of the house where I presume it is feeding the circuits/branch I mentioned.

You don’t have a sub panel. You only have a main panel. Does it look like this?
  https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=breaker+panels+residential&qpvt=breaker+panels+residential&form=IGRE&first=1&cw=1117&ch=493

Yes.

It seems to me that someone used a 30 amp cable to feed two 15 amp circuits. There must be a junction box where the orange cable branches off to two 15 amp cables. You should get an electrician to check it out. You are better off playin' it safe!

A subpanel is a panel fed from another panel.

Like in my old house I had a 200 A main panel, but a sub panel in my workshop. The physical size isn’t the determining factor. What makes a sub panel a subpanel is that there’s another breaker in the house which controls all power to it.

The 200A main panel (techincally service panel) fed a subpanel via a 60 AMP breaker. That subpanel had 4 other breakers.

If your house has aluminum wiring, (or not?), you should try unscrewing the outlet (with the breaker off), then remove the wires, and tighten them to the screws, not the push in inserts.  To remove inserted wires, push a very skinny screwdriver into the little slot by the wire.  Corrosion can be defeated this way, especially on aluminum wiring.   

... and yes, check the polarity:  White wire goes on the screw for the small plug insert slot.  Do the green (or un-sheathed) ground, too.

Yes, I definitely do not have a subpanel.
Appreciate all the comments.
For me, this is adding up to waiting.
If I change my mind, I'll update.

You're a generous group of people.

I wish you health and as much happiness as possible.

@ hilde45 OP

(If the plug on the power conditioner cord is a molded plug.)

All you need to do is cut the plug off the cord that feeds the power conditioner and install a new plug. You will reverse the Hot and neutral wires of the cord on the new plug’s terminals.
Neutral wire to black color screw on the plug.
Hot wire to the silver color screw on the plug.
Green ground wire to the green screw terminal.


125V 15 amp 5-15P plug.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Leviton-15-Amp-125-Volt-Industrial-Grade-Straight-Blade-Plug-In-Black-Wh...
.

UPDATE: Trying to restart this thread with a more general but related question about powering my equipment. Please do not suggest getting a dedicated line. I agree that is the best thing to do and I will do it eventually. This is about solving a problem in the meantime.

Some quick facts:

POWER (receptacles/outlets and equipment):
1 *nearby* properly grounded/polarized receptacle w/ 2 outlets
1 *12 feet away* similarly proper receptacle
1 Panamax line conditioner with 10 plugs in the back

COMPONENTS TO BE POWERED (7):
2 monoblock amps.
1 preamp
1 powered subwoofer
2 sources (Streamer, CD transport)
1 DAC

QUESTION: I’ve heard that one should plug amps directly in the wall. If I do that, I use up both receptacles. I also forego a surge suppressor.

What is the best way to provide power to everything I have?

Options I’ve thought of:

(a) Put a multi outlet cover over the receptacle and provide 6 outlets from one receptacle. I have one from Monoprice I can use. I would plug in both amps (and perhaps the sub) directly and then the Panamax for the rest.
(b) Plug the amps directly into the wall and then run a thick extension cord from the receptacle #2 down to my Panamax conditioner for the Preamp and source components
(c) Plug in the Panamax into one outlet and just plug everything into that.

Other options? Cautions? Any advice? Thank you!