Wiring a basement for an arcade question?

[GGKoul]

Hello

I'm in the process of wiring my basement for my arcade collection.  (2 pinballs, 2 twin racers, 2 - 3 arcade units).  Which will be all against one wall.  Presently there is 4 plugs on the wall.  But there is a discussion about what type of wire require. 

One person says, the 14 gage (15amp breaker) wire should be good enough .  But then my other buddy says I should get a 10 gage (30amp breaker) for those 4 plugs.  So I'm not sure...

Just wondering what other people's thoughts are?

Thanks!
-GGKoul

[grantspain]

given the option i would always over rate the wiring because if you wanted to you could add more cabs,the mistake they make in spain is they always rate the wire to the minimum ring breaker amps which is why i am having add extra circuits in our arcade,for the pennies it costs to go to a higher rating its worth it in the long run

[GGKoul]

so the question is... should I get a 12 gage (20amp) or 10 gage (30amp)?  I assume 12 gage as 10 gage is probably overkill. 

[grantspain]

i would go 20amp,in the u.k we rate at 25amp

[pointdablame]

so the question is... should I get a 12 gage (20amp) or 10 gage (30amp)?  I assume 12 gage as 10 gage is probably overkill. 

I think 12 guage/20amp would be fine for what you're doing, but it may be worth looking into price differences.  I don't have a clue what the differences would be myself, but since you are running wire anyway, if we're talking about a minor difference in price, it may be worth it to go "overkill" just in case.

[GGKoul]

so the question is... should I get a 12 gage (20amp) or 10 gage (30amp)?  I assume 12 gage as 10 gage is probably overkill. 

I think 12 gauge/20amp would be fine for what you're doing, but it may be worth looking into price differences.  I don't have a clue what the differences would be myself, but since you are running wire anyway, if we're talking about a minor difference in price, it may be worth it to go "overkill" just in case.

Well, I framed the basement 2 weekends ago and my brother-in-law came by wired everything with 14 gauge wire, pot lights, switches and plugs, last weekend.  So since its just one wall (3 plugs) that are just getting re-wired.  I'm just going to purchase 60 feet of the 10 gauge and wire those up for 30 amp service.

I haven't bought the breakers yet.  So all is good.

[BobA]

Check with an electrician in your area.  If you wire 30 amp at the breaker box  you should have 30 amp recepticals.  If you have 15 amp recepticals and you overload the circuit you can still get 30 amps before the breaker opens.  Does not sound like a good situation.  A 30 amp receptical will not take a regular plug and a 15 amp receptical will not take a 30 amp plug.

Better to have more 15 amp circuits properly protected than a 30 amp circuit that is mismatched.

[woodygjw]

I agree with BobA.  You could put in 20 amp outlets with 20 amp breakers, as they will allow a standard plug.

20 amp outlet:



15 amp outlet:



30 amp outlet:




woody

[nostrebor]

12ga 20 amp with 20 amp recepticles is the way to go. If you think that you are goint to overload the 20 amp circuit, just pull 2 circuits and split the recepticles between them.

[GGKoul]

Check with an electrician in your area.  If you wire 30 amp at the breaker box  you should have 30 amp recepticals.  If you have 15 amp recepticals and you overload the circuit you can still get 30 amps before the breaker opens.  Does not sound like a good situation.  A 30 amp receptical will not take a regular plug and a 15 amp receptical will not take a 30 amp plug.

Better to have more 15 amp circuits properly protected than a 30 amp circuit that is mismatched.

Thanks for the update!!

So I'll purchase 20 amp wire and 3 - 20 amp outlet plugs with a 20 amp breaker... Sound good?

[ClubNinja]

12ga 20 amp with 20 amp recepticles is the way to go.

Exactly.

[BobA]

Sounds good to me too.

[richms]

We dont use gauges over here other then for car audio, but a normal power circuit is 2.5mm

[zudmsc]

A raised floor would be great for wiring.  Its too bad I cannot do that in my basement, not enough head room.  We have that floor at work in our computer room.

Zud