Electrical - Max Amount of Plugs to One Outlet?

Hey folks. Last op was done with 150w worth of CFL bulbs to a single outlet. looking to expand.

FOAF(friend of a friend) has 10x 23w 6500k and 10x 23w 2700k. He is currently using just a couple to one outlet until this is sorted.
During veg, he was wanting to use all 10x 6500k and 4x 2700k. [322w] How many bulbs can be safely plug into 1 normal household outlet?

During flowering he was planning on using 6x 6500 and 10x 2700. for a total of 380w.
So, what he is asking is basically, how many outlets should be used safely. It just sounds like a bad idea to load em' all up in one outlet.

they are all 120v, 380mA


Thanks a ton in advanced rollitup.
There will be +rep going on

It is not about the outlet, it is about the electrical circuit.

Each house/apartment has several circuits which typically include multiple outlets.

First you have to find out what circuit the outlet is on then find out the rating from the electrical panel. Typically this will be 15 or 20 amps.

You should not use more than 80% of the rating for the circuit for all electrical devices on the circuit.

So, it is nowhere near as simple as your question indicates.

NLXSK1 said:

It is not about the outlet, it is about the electrical circuit.

Each house/apartment has several circuits which typically include multiple outlets.

First you have to find out what circuit the outlet is on then find out the rating from the electrical panel. Typically this will be 15 or 20 amps.

You should not use more than 80% of the rating for the circuit for all electrical devices on the circuit.

So, it is nowhere near as simple as your question indicates.

Click to expand...

Well, so bare with me. The amps on the box itself says 100amps max. but on the switches it's saying 10.
[10 000] <on the switches.

Shal i take a pic?

SoupOfGreen said:

Well, so bare with me. The amps on the box itself says 100amps max. but on the switches it's saying 10.
[10 000] <on the switches.

Shal i take a pic?

Click to expand...

You have a pretty old house/apartment.

If it says 10 on the breakers then you only have 10 amps on that circuit.

If you are in a house or apartment with a sub panel (it sounds like it is due to size). You can turn off and on each 10 amp breaker until you find the one that controls that particular plug.

Then you need to use 8 amps or less continuously on that circuit for everything including normal household uses. ER: if there is a TV on that circuit you have to count that power usage.

You might be able to have access to 2 outlets on different circuits and then you could use up to 8 amps on each circuit constantly.

10 amps for a breaker sounds low. 400 watts will draw less than 4 amps so you should be OK. an easy way to tell is to find what is on that breaker. turn off breakers (1 at a time)till that outlet goes dead.figure out what else is on that breaker. turn it back on and turn on anything else the breaker controls & plug a vacum cleaner or toaster into the outlet. either will draw about 10 amps so if you don't trip the breaker, you should be good.

mrmadcow said:

10 amps for a breaker sounds low. 400 watts will draw less than 4 amps so you should be OK. an easy way to tell is to find what is on that breaker. turn off breakers (1 at a time)till that outlet goes dead.figure out what else is on that breaker. turn it back on and turn on anything else the breaker controls & plug a vacum cleaner or toaster into the outlet. either will draw about 10 amps so if you don't trip the breaker, you should be good.

Click to expand...

Yes, it sounds low unless you realize that the panel is only supplying 100 amps to begin with.

Understand that he may be living in an apartment, a really old house or simply living in another country with a different electrical standard.

I caught the 100 amp panel,very common around my area for houses built before 1990 and still used for apartments. I also have seen more than a few fuseboxes,most had a 60 amp main.a single 5 or10 amp fuse or breaker was/is common for a dedicated circiut but as a general rule, the majority are 15 or 20 amp fuses/breakers. the fact that the bulbs are 120 volt lead me to believe he is in N America.
so if all his breakers are 10 amp(120vac),how could he run a toaster,microwave or vacum? my house was built in 1914 and wired when built. I rewired the 2nd floor and the old cloth covered wire was 14 gauge. suitable for 15 amp circiuts.

In europe they run 220v so a 10 amp would be the equivalent of a 20amp. However and again, I dont know where he is in the world.

Thanks NLXSK1. You helped out with your second post. Its just an older house is all....And quit trying to locate him lol. He's in a medical state.
The breakers are all defenantly 10 amp, though, he doesn't have much of a problem with them. He runs[according to another friend] about 8 amps in his living room and cooking room, they're on the same breaker. and thats without the vacuum. He's going to run an extension cord to handle half the load on another breaker.

Thanks again, +rep to both.