# Ive run out of electricity!



## Turbophanx (Jun 30, 2008)

As the title says, Ive maxed out all the outside electric wall warts for my home haunt.

Currently I plug in:
14 flood lights (I have switched most to florescent colored bulbs)
5 fog machines (4 400watt, 1 1000 watt)
2 CDplayers/radios (not sure the wattage on these, not super big or powerful)
Lightning FX machine with 100 halogen attached
1 Gemmy Friday the 13 Jason Voorhees animatronic. (wattage unknown)
1 Trash can riser animated prop
1 strand of rope light
1 small strobe light
1 medium strobe light
1 small fountain mister
1 40 watt party bulb attached to a florescent starter (flicker light)


I dont know if the exterior lights (3 porch lights and 1 overhead flood light) are wired into the same fuse.

I have 1 extension cord run from the back of the house around front and then 1 on the front porch(which is the same circuit as the garage), running the other half. 

I blow a fuse every year when everything is fired up at the same time.

What can I do? Please be aware that I am an idiot when it comes to understanding electricity and voltage, amps, circuits, etc.... so please keep it simple.


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## Death Master (Jul 1, 2007)

What type of service do you have? 100 or 200 amp? What type of service box is it? the old glass or fuse type or a breaker? and does your service have the room and capacity to put in additional circuits?


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## scarybill (Oct 7, 2012)

If you have any empty spaces in your breaker box it is easy. You can tell by looking for little fillers below the breakers. If space is available you can add a circuit or 2


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

If I understand this correctly, it sounds as if everything is being run from two extension cords plugged into two separate outlets. yes? Is anything plugged into another outlet (as in, not being run on an extension cord)?


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## ScaryLane (Jun 3, 2013)

5 fog machines (4 400watt, 1 1000 watt) you say?

There is your problem right there. You are running 2600 watts for just the fog machines! Or about 21 amps of power. Most household circuits are just 15 amps. (Some building codes are 20 amps.)

Even so, you are pushing the load limit of one household circuit in just fog machines alone.

For what you are running you need to be on at lease 3 circuits for that haunt stuff.

You could use a Computer controller to let only one or two Fog Machine run at the same time. I've been doing this with my haunt since running them all the time makes too much fog.

Switching to low voltage LED lighting sure help cut my power usage.


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## Turbophanx (Jun 30, 2008)

RoxyBlue said:


> If I understand this correctly, it sounds as if everything is being run from two extension cords plugged into two separate outlets. yes? Is anything plugged into another outlet (as in, not being run on an extension cord)?


Yup, basically 2 extension cords.
each outlet has 2 plugs, so I run 2 extensions with lots of splits down the road, but yes...all that on 2 separate wall sockets.

Not sure about empty space....if I did have empties..I guess I could hire an electrician to fix something? Would I need more wall plugs?


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## fontgeek (Jul 24, 2006)

I know it may sound silly, but you also might consider getting and using heavy duty extension cords to replace the ones you use now. It's amazing what a difference that change can make in performance, not to mention saved fuses. I'd also run cords from as many different circuits rather than having it all come off of only one or two.
Heavy Duty cords aren't cheap, but they are worth the money


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

You need to verify that the two outlets you're using are on separate circuits for a start. ScaryLane is also correct about your needing at lest three separate circuits to run your set up. Is everything labeled on your fuse box so you know which outlets go with each fuse/circuit breaker?

And I second what fontgeek said about using heavy duty extension cords.


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## Turbophanx (Jun 30, 2008)

I only use the big fat orange out door cords. 

I know for sure that the front door and inside my garage are on 1 circuit. The back porch is on a different one.


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## HauntMasterVA (Mar 23, 2012)

The outlets in your kitchen should be on a 20 amp breaker to handle small appliances.
If you can run an extension cord from there (out the window, through the house) you will be able to handle more devices than where you are currently plugged in. Best of luck!


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## spideranne (Jul 17, 2006)

It doesn't necessarily need to be the kitchen. I've run extensions from inside the house out windows from various rooms. Sometimes that even helps with cord placement.


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## Haunted Spider (Sep 6, 2010)

I will try to help here and hope you understand.

Electricity is not unlimited. Your home is wired from the pole with a limit. Those limits are usually 60, 100, or 200 AMP service.

Once in your home past the meter, you have a box. If you have glass fuses you have to take out and replace, then you have a fuse box. If you have black breakers you just have to click back over to reset then you have a breaker box.

I am going to assume you have breakers, as fuses you would have said what color you had to replace which clearly lists the amp on it of 10, 15, 20 or 30.

The size of the box usually determines the amount of power you have coming in. If you have a short box with 12 or so breakers in it, you have a 60 Amp box. A longer box with 20 breakers is 100 amps, and a long box with 40 breakers will be 200 amp.

Count the breakers and it should tell you. The top main breaker should also have it listed though

Once you know how many breakers you have, look to see if there are open spots (pieces of metal not punched out yet, where another breaker could go.

Next your breakers will have a number on them as well. Look for 10, 15, 20, etc. This is the Amps that breaker can hold. If you go over it, the breaker trips shutting down your stuff to save the wires it is wired into from overheating and melting. Most wiring in homes can be put on a 20 amp breaker without an issue. They make mini breakers so you can put lighter circuits on those and put a bigger 20 amp circuit in as needed. Seriously, with your limited knowledge find a friend who knows how to do it and don't play inside the box yourself.

If you can put a circuit or two on a 20 Amp breaker it will help you out. Running bigger amp breakers in your box is also ok even if they add up to more than the amount your box is rated for. What the rating means, is if you add up all the Amps pulled at once and it goes over the top rating of say 60, your main breaker will trip. Most of the time you are not running all the breakers at capacity.

Your next issue is extension cords and splitters. You say you use the heavy duty orange cords. Those are a 14 gauge if you are lucky. A 14 gauge cord is only rated for 11 to 15 amps before it starts heating up. 2 fog machines on one cord, if they are both warming up at the same time will push that limit.

As you go further with the cord, the rating drops. it is 14 to 15 amps at 50 feet but 8 to 9 amps at 150 feet. With all the splits, every thing plugged in goes through that first cord. Remember as well, Most homes are wired with 14 gauge so your home wiring is also factored in here. Granted the home wiring is solid copper so it can hold a bit more. You can't run a heavy cord off both plugs and not have an issue with putting 12 amps or more on each outlet. You are then running 24 amps off of the wiring in your home and overloading the breaker meaning pop goes the fuse / breaker to save your home from burning down.

Here is a helpful guide to wiring and what you can put on extension cords from home depot. Extension cord guide

Take a good look at your cords with their guide and figure out what you have. Also look at your breaker box and sort out what you have. Call a friend and have them look at it and determine the type of fuses/ breakers you have and what you can do to help the situation.

Hope this helped a little bit.


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## Hippofeet (Nov 26, 2012)

I would get another fat orange extension cord and run it into the neighbors outside outlet. >.>

Never liked them anyway.


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## Turbophanx (Jun 30, 2008)

Thanks very much for taking the time to write this up, helps a lot. I do have a breaker box, and I think its the larger one with around 20 breakers in it.
Ill have to go out and look to see if there are any empties...but this makes me think of another question. If I have an empty space, what do I do with it? Do I have to run a new set of wires to create a new outlet? not sure how the empty space will help me.

thanks again for all your input everyone!



Haunted Spider said:


> I will try to help here and hope you understand.
> 
> Electricity is not unlimited. Your home is wired from the pole with a limit. Those limits are usually 60, 100, or 200 AMP service.
> 
> ...


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## jaege (Aug 23, 2009)

Unless you know what you are doing it is potentially dangerous to add a breaker. It would require that you remove the box cover and actually install a breaker onto the busbar, a long copper bar that runs the length of the back of the panel. Although I would not advise it unless you have some experience, if you are going to try it, then make certain that the main breaker, usually the one at the top of the inside of the panel, is in the OFF position, even before you remove the cover. And that it stays off until you put the cover back on. You would know it is the main, because once off, everything in the house will be powerless. Basically it disconnects the power between the outside source(pole or underground feed) and the house. A new breaker will just snap right in. But even if you did that, you will then have run wire from that new breaker to a receptacle. A fairly complex task if you have never done it before.

If your present circuits are 15 amps (so marked on the breaker) you could always just upgrade them to 20 amps. It would be a bad idea to go above 20 amps, since most normal house wiring is not rated for that much current, and could cause a fire. That is just a matter of pulling out the old breaker and snapping in a new one. Again, be CERTAIN, that the main breaker is OFF, before removing the cover and the whole time you are working in the panel. Unless you have a burning desire to see what a steak feels like on a hot grill.


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## HauntMasterVA (Mar 23, 2012)

Turbo, based on the questions you are asking I would not recommend messing with the breaker panel. You make a mistake in there and it could be your last. I would suggest using an extension cord or two run from alternate locations to split your power usage among different circuits. I would hate to hear about something happening to you (or your home) when there are easier solutions. Have fun and be safe!


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## Turbophanx (Jun 30, 2008)

I bought a 45 amp breaker and put it in place of all the 15 amp units....more is better right? Im not shutting the main breaker off though...if I do..Ill have to reprogram all my VCRs and clock radios.

Ill try hooking up all the fog machines now on one plug and running them. Ill be back shortly to let you know how it went.








Just kidding guys..ill call a professional Thanks again for all the info!


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## DreadKnightswife (Oct 16, 2011)

We had the same issue and hubby replaced the 15 amp breaker with a 20 amp (I should say that he has electrical experience though!) We also have split the power we pull by doing as several people her suggested and ran a cord out through the window in various places to split up the load since we discovered that the front and back porch are on the same circuit, and we don't have any issues...for now LOL


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## Haunted Spider (Sep 6, 2010)

I solved the issue you are having by adding in another circuit. That meant putting in a 20 amp breaker in to the box, adding a new grounded 12/3 wire which would support the 20 amps, and putting 3 outlets on the outside of my home that were wall GFCIs so if one popped due to a short on something, they wouldn't all go. 

I had a licenced electrician do the work even though I could so the city would be happy since it was for a display. It cost me 115 dollars in materials and 200 in labor. Of course, my home is a century home and has 8x10 beams in the basement that had to be drilled through which is why it cost so much and took so long. 

At the same point, I don't run 5 machines off of the outlets. But I do run 2 machines, plus a compressor, and all my lighting. So having the proper wire gauge and 20 amp breaker really does help. 

Good luck and don't just call a random electrician. Call your friends and ask who they recommend. A reference for a good electrician is better than a random one you find in the yellow pages.


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## Turbophanx (Jun 30, 2008)

Haunted Spider said:


> Good luck and don't just call a random electrician. Call your friends and ask who they recommend. A reference for a good electrician is better than a random one you find in the yellow pages.


My neighbor across the street had the same problem, he has the same affliction as I do, but with christmas lights. Anyway, he called an electrician to add an outlet and use the empty slots in his box.

Ill probably call him since its the same setup, house type and issue.


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## ScaryLane (Jun 3, 2013)

I'm glad you were just kidding. 45 amp breaker would have been a sure FIRE way to burn your house down. With that much current your wiring would be glowing red. Sure, a burning house is a scary effect. But it's a one shot scare for you.


Turbophanx said:


> I bought a 45 amp breaker and put it in place of all the 15 amp units....more is better right? Im not shutting the main breaker off though...if I do..Ill have to reprogram all my VCRs and clock radios.
> 
> Ill try hooking up all the fog machines now on one plug and running them. Ill be back shortly to let you know how it went.
> 
> Just kidding guys..ill call a professional Thanks again for all the info!


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## billman (May 3, 2006)

You should buy one of these Kill A Watt monitors to see how much power you are actually using with everything hooked up.









http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3025184


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## niblique71 (Dec 2, 2009)

Yea those fog machines are Hungry little devils. I got to the point where I was unplugging appliances for the big night and running additional chords out of several different rooms to distribute the load over different breakers. 3 years ago I paid an electrician to run several new 20A breakers and outlets That was a godsend along with discovering Home made LED Lighting. Now I use a single computer power supply to light 80% of my haunt. My electric bill for the month of October went down by more than 75%

In summary... Add more breakers and outlets... and use Highly efficient LED Lighting and you'll do fine for quite a long time yet to come..


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## Halloween FX Props (Jul 14, 2013)

Have you thought about adding a portable generator? Some of the smaller ones are pretty quiet, and if you have a shed outside, you could put it in there.

-Guy
http://halloweenfxprops.com


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## jaege (Aug 23, 2009)

Turbophanx said:


> I bought a 45 amp breaker and put it in place of all the 15 amp units....more is better right? Im not shutting the main breaker off though...if I do..Ill have to reprogram all my VCRs and clock radios.
> 
> Ill try hooking up all the fog machines now on one plug and running them. Ill be back shortly to let you know how it went.
> 
> Just kidding guys..ill call a professional Thanks again for all the info!


Lol. Nice one. I was about to send your family a "how to" for corpsing a body that was burnt to a cinder.


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## kauldron (Oct 17, 2011)

Holy cow! You still have VCRs?!? Just kidding. Look around and try to determine if there are any circuits that are for specific appliances. What I mean is that some homes have individual outlets on an entire breaker by themselves because that is where the washing machine needed to go or a window air conditioner had it's own plug. Over the years appliances have gotten more efficient and they don't pull that kind of current. Or maybe you can just unplug the washing machine for the evening and run a heavy duty cord from there. It will do in a pinch without having to rewire the house especially if it is for just Halloween night.


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## Death Master (Jul 1, 2007)

I have used the air conditioner circuit for additional power for a friends house that wanted to have more outlets outside for his X-mus lights and didn't have any room in the service panel, I tied in outside at the air conditioner (40 amps) with a 3 way disconnect switch to a small service breaker (2-20 amp) panel to the 8 outlets. BTW i'm a electrician.


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## Lunatic (Oct 3, 2006)

Oh wow, yes, way too much power demand for a couple outlets.

I too had the same problem with tripping breakers with only 5 floods and 3 foggers years ago. When I moved and bought a house I installed an 80 amp 4 recepticle service outside my house closest to my graveyard. This eliminated some of the long extension cords I used to use. You have more power hungry things than me. 

I had to use many plug sources around the house and run them out windows and towards the graveyard. It looks like you have to break up the power sources. Keep in mind that long cords powering numerous high wattage electrics like spots and foggers will eat up a whole bunch of power.


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