Power

[permanent hearing damage]

ok, i've had my studio in a pratice space but i just moved into a new place and wanna move operations into the house. however, i'm concerned about having enough power to keep it all running. it's a 3 bedroom, 2 floor house with basement. i didn't give it much thought until i overheard an electrician saying we didn't have much power.

house is rented, so i don't think a power upgrade is an option. also, they might freak out if they see i've added walls and soundproofing to the basement.

any way i can measure this? is this something i should even be worried about? i record loud rock bands, so i'll definitely have 2 serious guitar amps and bass amp going in the basement, 1" tape machine, large mixer and effects, etc upstairs in the control room, though that should be on a different circut.

[permanent hearing damage]

TOP!

[Lostboy]

without knowing your lease arrangement, i would suggest that you talk to the owner before effecting any structural changes to the house.

about power: i don't know the answer to this. i would assume that it would depend on what appliances you have running in the house while you are recording (i bet that a dryer draws more power than a tape machine, for example). also, check to see if your electricity is run on two circuits. if it is, see if you can wire your equipment in a way that it's distributed evenly across both circuits.

maybe this is incredibly stupid advice. maybe it is not advice at all.

[JGriffin]

Tally up the amp requirements of each piece of gear (listed on the back next to model#, serial # etc.), figure out how many amps each circuit breaker in your house is and which outlets they feed. Figure in fridges, space heaters etc. and you should be able to distribute your power cords appropriately using that info.

[perhapsthemoon]

I've got pretty sketchy power in my place too. At any moment, it can fluctuate between 101-124!! Yikes.

The solution I came up with was to get a APC BackUPS (regulated power supply) and an ETA power conditioner/filter/supply thing. EVERYTHING gets plugged into that, and so far I've not had a lick of trouble. Hope this helps!

[nlmd311]

Using an APC back up is actually a great idea... I have done just the same set up in the past, never a problem.
However if you do run too much into the APC at once it will blow the breaker built in (just reset) but having the conditioner on the feed should prevent that, or atleast minimalize the chances of it happening.

-Darrill

[perhapsthemoon]

yep yep. it works like a charm.

and should the power go out completely in your house for whatever reason, you can keep on trackin'! sweet.

[kylethompson]

Using an APC back up is actually a great idea... I have done just the same set up in the past, never a problem.
However if you do run too much into the APC at once it will blow the breaker built in (just reset) but having the conditioner on the feed should prevent that, or atleast minimalize the chances of it happening.

-Darrill

I just had an APC fail on me last week. Intermitant power. I have another one that has continued to work fine. Do I need to have another backup in line before the backup? Yeeesh!

[lsn110]

If your landlord is reasonable and sane (often rarer than it should be) and you're willing to pay for upgrades to things like power, I'd imagine they'd let you do it. As for adding walls in a basement, if you do a good job of it and add livable space, they can probably rent it as a 4 bedroom the next time. Try and present it that way and they'll probably go for it. As long as you can convince them that you're not going to wreck the house and that the work will actually benefit them it should be ok...unless they're insane.

[loudmusic]

As a landlord,

if you were willing to pay to upgrade the service (electrical) i'd say have at it. Around here I get 200 amp breaker boxes put in for around $700. That would be more than you will need. If you only had a 100 amp breaker I still think you'd be fine as long as the dryer, stove, a/c, and all the lights weren't on at the same time.

As far as structural stuff, If I believed you were gonna do it RIGHT, I'd let you pay for it and do it. Are you in a area where the next tenant might want to use it for a studio too?? In Athens there are at least 287 horrible bands, so when I buy new houses I evaluate their BANDWORTHINESS, and then SEEK OUT bands in some cases for the houses. It's a combination of rememberingwhat it was like to try and find a good practice space in my college days, and remembering HOW we lived then too... I Don't fix those houses up as nice s my other houses, I encourage parties, generally only ask that they don't sell drugs out of the music houses. That's my general philosophy.
I have been paid partially in weed though, (and that's good.)

(back on topic ), If you present it to the L..L. in the right way you might have a chance. But would the $$ spent be worth it? How long would you stay there??

Martin

[rob]

Just keep in mind, more amps means bigger wire running through the walls in order to be safe.
if i'm wrong, somebody please explain, and i'll send you $35.00.
......but seriously folks, if i am wrong, please set me straight. it is an important issue,
which brings up an interesting question, how many of y'all keep a fire extinguisher around?

[loudmusic]

Send $35 to P.O. BOX 5512, ATHENS, GA 30606.

More amps does not mean you have to have bigger gauge wire running through your walls. It does not mean you have a bigger amount of juice flowing through each line. It means you have a bigger supply of electricity to pull from.

It's like having a bigger motor in your car.

The only wire you could possibly have to change if you go up in amps is the service entry wire, which is on the outside of your house which carries the current from the wire that comes from the pole, to your breaker box. It would add some expenxe if you had to change it, and you would be getting into permits and stuff.

My opinion/suggestion is just start using the house as it is. Maybe buy a power conditioner, and see what happens. I think you'll be fine.
Thank$,
Martin

[rob]

my point was that smaller wire will heat up and burn the house down if the proper breaker is not installed.

[Electricide]

assuming voltage is relatively constant, more amps=more power available. Wires are only rated to handle certain wattage. The wires will need to be changed IF you plan on plugging everything into one outlet. But if your distribution is good, then you shouldn't need to change them.