I am running cooking appliances that keep tripping (knocking out) my surge protector/power strips. Instant pot, induction burner, etc.
What do I look for in a power strip/surge protector to try and get one that can take the strain? I don’t really understand electricity, but Amazon search suggests to me that a big # of “Joules” would have the greatest effect on how much I can run on a given strip.
I don’t need to run two induction plates, an instant pot,a grill an and skillet all at once,but at least two, or run the induction real hot (kicks off a few minutes after a pot of oil hits fry temp…
The strips I have are all so old but I can no longer read much in the way of their details regarding volts and amps and what not so I don’t know what’s already failing… It just seems to me that I ought to be able to run modern appliances without my electricity getting knocked out.
Or… And this would really suck because of my logistical situation… Must I run these appliances directly to the wall in all cases without anything in between? Because that would seriously suck… My surface area and my plug-in areas are not very well situated… (Where I live the electricity was haphazardly upgraded so that not all of my plugs are the three prong type… I have to run a heavy duty extension from the three prong wall to the appliance area, then attach a surge protector/power strip to plug in the appliances. I have noticed when the electricity fails the plug between the surge protector and heavy duty extension cord is hot to the touch… I can usually restart everything in about 10 minutes, and it will run for about 15 before dying again, depending on what I’m running.)
They are “tripping” because you are overloading them. No amount of “joules” is going to fix that.
You can’t load them to more than their rating, which is probably 12A or so. You might be able to find a 15A-rated strip, but I wouldn’t recommend pulling that much power from an outlet, especially through a plug strip.
^^ this.
You have about 1700 Watts to play with on a power strip as most have a 15 amp breaker if not less and are designed to run around 80% capacity continuously. I have a 10 amp one. Every time the breaker trips it gets a little weaker so it has less tolerance next time. Breakers run on an inverse time curve such that the more they are overloaded the sooner they trip. And the higher the overload, the longer they take to reset. Add up your appliance ratings and you can run about 1500 watts continuous on a 15 amp switch rating. Heat caused by electricity is a dangerous combo unless it is a heating unit.
And just to note that you are fortunate that such ancient strips are still functioning the way they are intended. The tripping is a feature, not a bug. The alternative is that they melt and possibly start a fire. Perhaps this should have been a clue…
I think my first concern here would be why your main circuit breakers (which are your primary protection against overloaded circuits) are not tripping before a heavy duty extension cord gets hot to the touch.
Anything with a heating element (whether old or “modern”) draws a lot more power than most people realize. This includes induction plates, griddles, electric grills, toasters, instant pots, coffee pots, etc.
You absolutely should not be trying to run multiple high-power devices off of one power strip simultaneously. It’s also generally not recommended to connect a power strip to an extension cord, especially if you are connecting high-power devices like you are doing.
Your power strip is tripping because it is trying to protect you. The plug being hot to the touch is another warning sign. I would strongly recommend you not continue with this potentially dangerous setup. You don’t want the next warning sign to be an electrical fire in your kitchen.
Personally, I plug all high-power devices directly into the wall socket.
Reread and saw this. If your skillet, for example, is not 3 prong, it adds nothing to plug it into a 3 prong outlet. A 2 prong outlet is fine. Having a GFCI cord for your power strip would add catastrophic breakdown protection for the 2 prong appliances though.
To add to what I said above, there is a reason portable space heaters max out at 1750 Watts and say to not use extension cords.
A typical house circuit breaker is 15A or 20A, and often feeds several wall outlets. In my experience, most household three-prong extension cords are rated for 12A or 13A. To a layman, they would likely look indistinguishable from an actual heavy-duty extension cord, which would be rated for at least 15A. (It is certainly possible to find one of these, but they are typically more expensive and harder to find. You’d likely have to specifically be looking for a cord that is rated for 15A.)
So it is certainly possible to overload a three-pronged extension cord and not trip the circuit breaker. The easiest way to overload an extension cord is to put multiple high-power devices on one cord, which is why it is generally a bad idea to connect a power strip to an extension cord.
In particular, it is very easy to inadvertently connect a 15A power strip to a 12A or 13A extension cord. This might not be big deal if it’s just a few low-power electronic devices on the power strip (like cell phone chargers), but can be a real problem if connecting high-power devices with heating elements to to the power strip.
In the setup the OP is describing, I’d be particularly concerned. The outlet circuit breaker is not tripping. The power strip is tripping, which is good. But nothing is protecting the extension cord, which is hot to the touch. This could quite easily result in a very dangerous situation, like a possible electrical fire.
Common sense dictates that it’s really not a good idea to make sarcastic jokes like this on this topic. Even though your second sentence should make it obvious that your first is a joke, sarcasm is so frequently missed in written comments, and the consequences here could be greater than hurt feelings.
Stoid, I have the same problem so I feel for ya. in my apartment if I have either the (window) AC or the stove on, the lights won’t stop flickering. I’m pretty sure this is a bad sign.
good for you for asking and I hope you get this figured out.
Look at the name plate of the electrical hot plates you are using. If any of them are rated at over 10 amps then use that one only on one cord, but should be plugged directly into the oustlet. Add up all the amps of the devices you are using it the total is near 15 amps hopefully the cord or breaker will continue to trip.
I believe countertop kitchen breaker should be 20A per code. Power strip 15A max. Power strip should be tripping on overload before outlet breaker is loaded. Anything within 6’ of sink should be GFCI.
