2. misc-audio
  3. 151896-65954

15 amps vs 20 amps

Firstly, let me state that I’m no electrician so forgive my ignorance about all this....

My wife and I have just moved to a new house.  We’re very happy, but there’s something unusual about the house! The great news is that it’s almost completely Ethernet wired and came with a kick-ass networking system. Fabulous wireless and Ethernet performance everywhere.

After a few days unboxing and settling in, I thought I’d rig up my system.  This is where the apologies start - I hadn’t actually noticed that most of the house is supplied by a 20 amp circuit, until I tried plugging in my Audioquest Storm power cable, which is meant to connect to my15amp Niagara power supply, and then to my components. No harm done, but the plug was clearly not fitting easily into the outlet. I didn’t force it and stopped  my installation. 
It looks like setting up my system is going to be a project.  Firstly, can anyone tell me if it’s ok using 15 amp audio components through 20 amp outlets? Do I need to change anything like fuses, plugs, outlets? Will 20 amps be good/bad/same for performance? Safety concerns?

As you can tell, I know very little about this and would prefer not to make a costly mistake.

thanks for any advice.




janehamble
jea48
4,311 posts
 
My wife and I have just moved to a new house
As in a brand new constructed house?

First the 20 amp outlets may be spec grade. As a rule spec grade outlets will have beefier contacts than cheapo residential grade outlets. The spec grade contacts holding contact pressure will be greater requiring more effort in pushing the plug in and pulling it out of the outlet than the cheapo residential grade.

Second there is a good chance the outlet is a TR (Tamper Resistant) type outlet. Some can be a pain in the you know what to plug anything into. TR outlets have shutters that cover the hot and neutral contacts to help prevent young children from sticking metal objects into the hot contact of the outlet. If the outlet is a TR outlet you need to make sure you push the plug blades in as perpendicular to the contact shutters as possible. Both plug blades pushing evenly against the shutters at the same time.


Example of a 20 amp TR duplex receptacle outlet.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Leviton-20-Amp-Commercial-Grade-Tamper-Resistant-Backwired-Self-Groundin...

Note the shutters.

builder3
752 posts
 
Thanks, jea48. I forgot about those a-curse-ed Tamper Resistant outlets.
gdnrbob
4,411 posts
 
If there are two people who's advice I would take on electrical matters, it is Almarg and Jea48
Bob
rbstehno
1,406 posts
 
The poster did not say that this circuit in the room was dedicated or not. If it’s dedicated, perfect. If it’s shared, you need to find out what else is on the circuit because if there are refrigerators or other constant running devices on it, you might want to use another circuit 
builder3
752 posts
 
It sounds like a newish home. The fridge will be a dedicated circuit, per code. Same with a microwave, d/w, freezer, etc.
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