Power strip and multiple heaters question

[mjt82]

I am currently in the process of a 220g tank build, and will be heating it with 3 x 300w heaters. On my current tank, I have one 300w heater and one 150w heater on a power strip in one of the 8 amp outlets on my Reefkeeper's power strip, and this has been running fine. Each of the 300w heaters I'll be using on my 220 draw 2.7 amps each, per the packaging. My question is, can I plug all three heaters into a power strip and then into an outlet safely? I will be upgrading to an Apex in the near future, and would like to have all of the heaters controlled on one outlet if it can be done safely. Forgive my ignorance - Any advice on how to run these safely would be very helpful! Thanks!

 

[brtech]

2.7 A x 3 = 8.1 A, so, no, you can't run 3 on an 8A outlet. I'd probably "derate" that 8 A 20-30%. When you had two heaters, 2.7 x 2 = 5.4, well under 8 A.

If you get the Energy Bar 832, it's 7A per outlet, so again, 2 x 2.7A works, but 3 x 2.7A doesn't.

 

[mjt82]

Do most power strips have an amperage maximum? I know the breaker dedicated to my tank has plenty of room for all three of the heaters, but I'm not sure if a powerstrip can handle that much current, or if I will have to possibly separate the heaters to two outlets. Thanks for the input brtech!

 

[brtech]

Yes, they do. It's marked on it. A good strip will have a circuit breaker. A cheap one won't. But they all have a max power limit. You probably won't have a problem with the power strip limit. It's the switched outlet on the controller power bar that is going to limit you.