Game room question: how much power do you need?

[Don]

To all those people who have done thier own game room, I have a question....
What would be a safe size for a breaker?
I am in the middle of redueing my game room. Its being moved into my 25x25
concrete garage but it had no power in it. I dug a trench and pulled threw 12/2
wires and then i was thinking..... 1 amp per game right? Well then, 15 amps
might not be enough then...
Now im wondering if i am doing the right thing at all...

any imput would help on wire/amp size would be appreciated.

don

Buffalo, NY

[PinPin]

Don't most 19" games draw 3 amps a piece? Perhaps I am mistaken.

" Don " <arca...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20010512221822...@ng-bj1.aol.com...

[John Dondzila]

>any imput would help on wire/amp size would be appreciated.
>

Buy an amp clamp.

Anti SPAM In Use !
Remove the * from *pcj...@classicgamecreations.com
to send E-Mail.

[Matt]

Most vids draw between 3 and 5 mps. The deluxe models can draw up to 20 amps
per unit. Pins draw on an average 8 to 10 amps.

Matt

game...@aol.com
Specializing in Pac\Ms Pac Man board repairs as....

M and M Electronics
6661 Stanford Ranch Road Suite F
PMB 105
Rocklin Ca 95677

916-300-5976

[Fleadeal]

most games rooms run as many as 5-8 on a breaker unless moving games with
motors

[Clay Cowgill]

Don wrote in message <20010512221822...@ng-bj1.aol.com>...

>To all those people who have done thier own game room, I have a
question....
>What would be a safe size for a breaker?
>I am in the middle of redueing my game room. Its being moved into my 25x25
>concrete garage but it had no power in it. I dug a trench and pulled threw
12/2
>wires and then i was thinking..... 1 amp per game right? Well then, 15 amps
>might not be enough then...
>Now im wondering if i am doing the right thing at all...

Hi Don,

My gameroom plans are a 21x25 which is to hold 20 games and a home theater
and bar. I guestimated 4A per game (some will be MultiJAMMA's) so I was
comfortable with 3 games per 15A circuit. I'm budgeting 8, 15A circuits for
game/electronics power. The 8 circuits are switched from the bar (maybe
with an automatic power sequencer if I get fancy). A little margin on some
circuits gives room for lights or something...

I don't recall seeing it mentioned before, but I think I'm going to consider
beefed up Air Conditioning in that room. I've got an A/V closet now with a
single 20A circuit for all the stereo/video/networking stuff in the house
and it gets *warm* in the summer even with an A/C vent in the closet (I
never got around to installing the exhaust fan).

(Figure an average of 3A * 110V = 330W per game. 20 * 330W = 6600W. That's
like having 6 hairdryers running full blast... Could run the temperature
up!)

-Clay

[Dethman]

I installed a 30 amp breaker when I built my gaming shed. I have about 10
games total and they run fine.

"PinPin" <neog...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:JdmL6.28465$Hk4.4...@news1.rdc1.ab.home.com...

[Genki]

On 13 May 2001 02:18:22 GMT, arca...@aol.com ( Don ) smashed the
keyboard with a hammer and typed:

>To all those people who have done thier own game room, I have a question....
>What would be a safe size for a breaker?

An industrial sized breaker would be a good one to start with.

>I am in the middle of redueing my game room. Its being moved into my 25x25
>concrete garage but it had no power in it. I dug a trench and pulled threw 12/2
>wires and then i was thinking..... 1 amp per game right? Well then, 15 amps
>might not be enough then...

1 amp?? Are you trying to set up a collection of home video game
consoles? With 15 amps you got, you may be able to get away with 2 or
3 average arcades before the wires starts to get a bit warm.

A better set up with be a separate circuit breaker box with 10-15 amp
per breaker and setting one AC outlet for each breaker so you could
have a couple on each breaker and not worry about blowing out
everything. Of cource this is assuming you want to have all your
arcades running at once.

[Don]

>From: Genki Genki...@tds.net
>Date: 5/13/2001 2:36 PM Eastern Daylight Time
>Message-id: <7sktftci990gl0mqk...@4ax.com>

>On 13 May 2001 02:18:22 GMT, arca...@aol.com ( Don ) smashed the
>keyboard with a hammer and typed:

Ahemmmmm
(Don doesnt smash his keyboard)
If you knew me or been to my place like other RGVACers have you would have
known Ive been working on this "change" from one game room to the other for
about a year.
Currently, I have an electrical cord with a power strip (running on one 15 amp
breaker) powering 7 games. Since I have seven games of 15 amps i figured i
would safe running atleast 8 off 15 amps. thats why i said one, 1 amp.
=]

>An industrial sized breaker would be a good one to start with.

way a head of ya on that.

>1 amp?? Are you trying to set up a collection of home video game
>consoles? With 15 amps you got, you may be able to get away with 2 or
>3 average arcades before the wires starts to get a bit warm.

see above.....

>A better set up with be a separate circuit breaker box with 10-15 amp
>per breaker and setting one AC outlet for each breaker so you could
>have a couple on each breaker and not worry about blowing out
>everything. Of cource this is assuming you want to have all your
>arcades running at once.

I was thinking since i have a 220 powering the back garage could i tape into
that and possibly put a seperate box in the front (gameroom) garage..

Does that sound like a better idea?

Clay? What do you think?

[erway]

I only have 100 Amp service into my house. :-( But when I started getting
30+
arcade machines in my basement and started blowing circuits I decided it was
time to do something about it. First of all I burnt a wire right in half in
the wall.
So I had an electrician in to look and fix it. While there I had the guy
install
a 60 Amp sub-panel off the main panel and it has 8 circuit breakers in it.
He
ran it into my basement and nailed the outlet boxes to the block wall where
I
wanted them. He charged something like $500. I could have done it myself
for a ton less. But I didn't know much about the stuff at the time. In fact
I'm
still not real confortable with it. But I did run some wire into the garage
by
myself since then.

I think a new sub panel off the 220 in the back of your garage would be the
best move you could make.

Greg

" Don " <arca...@aol.com> wrote in message

news:20010513193207...@ng-bh1.aol.com...

[Tom Cloud]

Hey Don,

I have 100amps service to my garage, of that 40amps are in the garage, 60amps are
in the game room. 60 amps on 3 individual circuits for the game room. I have about
30 or so games (vids, 1 pin, several EM arcades, and 2 jukes) in there with the
home theater as well. Haven't thrown a breaker yet, but I think I'm close! Well,
if I'm not maxed out on power yet, I'm certainly there in regards to space!

;^)

Regards,
Tom

[in...@??webdisplays.com]

The games draw little power once running, it's the surge of turning a
whack of them on at once from a breaker you have to watch out for!

They may draw up to 2-3Amps on cold start, but settle to more cumfy
(1Amp) levels quickly. Original, older and sit down games and pins are
the most hungry, they can idle at 2-3 Amps.

Vids with switching supplies use practically nothing, 8-10 can sit on
a single 15 Amp line.

Many pins may also have aftermarket (hammond or frost) 'isolation
transformers' added to get hydro approval and they (primary side)
usually (300VA) will stay ON all the time! Operators usually remove
these at resale time if they're needed to pass hydro or fire
inspection in your locality.

You may also find the odd isolation trnsformer (150VA) added in to an
imported video game for the same reasons.

[Orazio Mastroianni - CSCI/P2000]

You must be Canadian :)

info@??webdisplays.com wrote:
: The games draw little power once running, it's the surge of turning a