how to estimate wattage and amperage of computer use
 

I have several machines and I'm trying to estimate the wattage and most importantly, how many amps they are pulling.

Anybody know how to do this?

The easiest (and most accurate) way is to buy Kill-a-watt

http://www.supermediastore.com/kilwateldet1.html

You could also use a web form calculator... but it's not nearly as accurate:
http://www.journeysystems.com/power_...ator_popup.php

The Kill A Watt is one pretty interresting tool :thumbsup

the kill-a-watt is cool but does anybody know how much amperage the average machine pulls? trying not to max out my 20 amp circuit

Hell yeah it is! I use it on all my appliances, replaced some because of it. Showed some very interesting things about some appliances you would never guess... my coffee pot uses a staggering 1450 watts when it's brewing!

Here's a voltage/watt to AMP converter.

http://www.raylucke.com/20010926/tools/amps.phtml

I love my Kill-a-watt, I found that a full refrigerator cost less to run than a half empty one.

put a 15 amp power bar, then plug any other power bar or battery backup in that " master " one ...

You will not overload your circuit.

In my office, I have:
- 2 PC with multiple hd and DVD, screens
- 1 laptop
- I DVD duplicator ( 11 drives )
- 4 external HD
- 1 Sony Betacam ( 220 converted to work on 110 )
- 1 TenLab transcoder
- 1 Panasonic Distribution Amp
- 5 VHS recorders
- 1 JVC SVHS player/ recorder
- 1 samsumg Multi-standard player
- 1 Apex dvd ( hacked )
- 1 VHS pal player/recorder
- 3 Epsom R380 printers
- 1 Professional scale
- 3 KDS dvd towers
- routers, cable modems, phone routers, etc
- 2 Panasonic phone systems
- 1 Viesa 17" flat TV
- 1 Pansat 3500 FTA receiver
- 1 Stand alone dvd player
- Lamps, etc...

and:

One Samsung 8000 BTU a/c ...

Never had a problem ....

damn i guess i better not plug in 40 machines then

I thought that was common knowledge.

I have 30 machines plugged into two 20-amp circuits and they run fine... but I just inherited 10 more machines and i'm kinda scared to plug them in :(

I guess not.

Read the owners manual.

Buy a cheap ammeter?

Dont believe everything you read.

Ok just ordered that, thanks. Guess I'm not plugging in these other machines until I can detremine the load that the others are already using.

if you have a UPS, try installing the software that came with it. My 21" monitor and PC use roughly 238 watts on average.

Plug them in one at a time . . . you will know right away if it is too much. But I can pretty much guarantee you that two 20 amp circuits is more than enough.

its more accurate if you spray them down with a garden hose while plugging them in to keep the radiowaves that might disrupt the sgnals at a minimum.

You should also soak your pants in gasoline to keep the gravity levels of the static electricity from disrupting the cpu .:pimp

Should I toss sheet of foil in the microwave as well? You know, to help scatter whatever radiowaves and static that may get thru the other measures?

What do you think is going to happen if you plug in one too many pc's? Let me help you . . . the breaker will trip.

You unplug the latest pc, and reset the breaker . . . . total downtime < 2 minutes.

power = amps x volts

the max power you can disapate is what your power supply can supply e.g. 400watts.

i think you have 110 volts in america ?

so max current possible to pull in the case of 400watt power supply =
400 watts / 110 volts = 3.63 amps absolute max with a 400w power supply

but wouldn't be that much i doubt

:1orglaugh x 100