APC NetShelter CX 24U on home power outlet?

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uberguru

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Jun 7, 2013
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Planning on buying this for home use. It is rated for 100-120V and maximum power draw at 15 A
Can i plug this to regular home outlet? or do i need to do something special to accommodate such high power on one single power outlet at home?

APC NetShelter CX 24U
 

altmind

Active Member
Sep 23, 2018
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yes you can. NEMA 5-15P is your basic NA home outlet.
OTOH 15Ax110V may not be enough to supply 24u of equipment.
also, idk if its normal for home-use racks to come with PDUs? normally PDUs are separate.
 

uberguru

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Jun 7, 2013
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yes you can. NEMA 5-15P is your basic NA home outlet.
So there is no limit to power draw per single home outlet?

OTOH 15Ax110V may not be enough to supply 24u of equipment.
Yeah i agree but that is limit for most of these quiet cabinets
I waqnt 24U not smaller and not bigger
and they are all like 12A-15A all the brands i checked

If anyone is able to find a quiet soundproof cabinet 24U that can draw more power please let me know

also, idk if its normal for home-use racks to come with PDUs? normally PDUs are separate.
I will get their UPS [APC Smart-UPS 1500VA SmartConnect Port Sinewave 2U Rackmount LCD, 120V - SMT1500RM2UC - UPS Battery Backups - CDW.com] and maybe get a PDU as well since 6 ports on UPS is not enough
 

klui

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Feb 3, 2019
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The limit is based on a circuit's protection device's maximum rating. 80% of maximum for continuous draw. For your PDU, the 5-15 plug means the device is rated at maximum 120V 15A. But if you have any other devices on that circuit it will impact what the PDU can draw before an overload occurs, causing the protection device to trip/blow.
 

i386

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Mar 18, 2016
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If anyone is able to find a quiet soundproof cabinet 24U that can draw more power please let me know
Did you consider cooling capacity?
I have a 24u soundproofed serverrack from silencerack and could power it from a single outlet (germany 230v, 16A, ~3680watt), but I would get in trouble because the enclosure can cool only about 2000watt, even less with dust filters on the intake fans
 
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uberguru

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Did you consider cooling capacity?
I have a 24u soundproofed serverrack from silencerack and could power it from a single outlet (germany 230v, 16A, ~3680watt), but I would get in trouble because the enclosure can cool only about 2000watt, even less with dust filters on the intake fans
link to the rack you have?
i think there is a 100-240V version of this rack but for home in US, it is 100-120V so the 208/220V is not for home anyways
 

uberguru

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The limit is based on a circuit's protection device's maximum rating. 80% of maximum for continuous draw. For your PDU, the 5-15 plug means the device is rated at maximum 120V 15A. But if you have any other devices on that circuit it will impact what the PDU can draw before an overload occurs, causing the protection device to trip/blow.
Yeah sucks because i really want more than 15A limit, 20A i dotn mind, but 15A is like going to be a problem trying to stay within that limit with what am planning on running
 
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klui

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Although the APC comes with a basic PDU it doesn't mean they're the only ones that will work. The rating on the soundproof rack is probably due to the built-in fans' specifications. All our racks in our lab at work have PDUs with NEMA L6-30Ps. If you have specific needs or questions, you should reach out to the vendor.
 

uberguru

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Although the APC comes with a basic PDU it doesn't mean they're the only ones that will work. The rating on the soundproof rack is probably due to the built-in fans' specifications. All our racks in our lab at work have PDUs with NEMA L6-30Ps. If you have specific needs or questions, you should reach out to the vendor.
Are the racks quiet/soundproof models? How big are they? 24U? 42U?
 

NateS

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seems this 15A max power draw is a general limit
even the 42U is limited to this 10-15A max power draw
That is ridiculous, 42U for like 10A (12 kW) max power

see for yourself here Soundproof Server Cabinet 42U 31"Wx48"D M6 Rail 1100lb Capacity | Black Box
That's because you're limiting your search to 120V models, and 15A is the maximum you can typically draw from a regular 120V outlet. If you need more than that, even for a residential install in the US, it makes more sense to use 240V power. If you're installing a dedicated circuit for the rack anyway, it's just as easy to supply it with 240V as 120V.

120V is really intended for small stuff. For anything that needs power =>1800W (dryers, stoves, air conditioners, large server racks), almost always 240V is used instead.

On the other hand, if you can't install a new circuit and must use what's present (which might be the case for a portable rack or something), there's no reason you couldn't use two 120V PDUs, each plugged into different circuits, and split your loads between them.
 

uberguru

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That's because you're limiting your search to 120V models, and 15A is the maximum you can typically draw from a regular 120V outlet. If you need more than that, even for a residential install in the US, it makes more sense to use 240V power. If you're installing a dedicated circuit for the rack anyway, it's just as easy to supply it with 240V as 120V.

120V is really intended for small stuff. For anything that needs power =>1800W (dryers, stoves, air conditioners, large server racks), almost always 240V is used instead.

On the other hand, if you can't install a new circuit and must use what's present (which might be the case for a portable rack or something), there's no reason you couldn't use two 120V PDUs, each plugged into different circuits, and split your loads between them.
What do you mean by dedicated circuit? Do i need install anything?
I asked this question in opening post, if i need to do anything
since i will be drawing lots of power from a single power outlet

I am deciding to go with 30A 100-120V PDU to replace their own
I will try to stay within the 15A for the installed fans in the cabinet,
but i need more than that for surges and occasional power usage boost
 

kpfleming

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Dec 28, 2021
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How are you going to supply power to that 30A PDU? You shouldn't connect it to a 15A circuit, or really any circuit with less than 30A capacity available.
 

Sean Ho

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You need to ensure your anticipated current draw is less than the rated ampacity at each link in the chain, going all the way back to your service panel. System (including, e.g., SATA power cables to drives), PSU, PDU, UPS, wall receptacle, in-wall wiring, breaker, service panel. If you want 30A 120V, then you also need a 30A UPS (with, e.g., L6-30P), and a 30A receptacle, and 10AWG wiring back to a dedicated 30A breaker (with nothing else on the circuit). If you don't already have that, you'd be fishing Romex through the walls, in which case as NateS said you might as well run 240v.
 

uberguru

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You need to ensure your anticipated current draw is less than the rated ampacity at each link in the chain, going all the way back to your service panel. System (including, e.g., SATA power cables to drives), PSU, PDU, UPS, wall receptacle, in-wall wiring, breaker, service panel. If you want 30A 120V, then you also need a 30A UPS (with, e.g., L6-30P), and a 30A receptacle, and 10AWG wiring back to a dedicated 30A breaker (with nothing else on the circuit). If you don't already have that, you'd be fishing Romex through the walls, in which case as NateS said you might as well run 240v.
I am from US, so am not we have 240V here, i think we have 200-220V
I am open to doing what is right, which is why i posted this thread to get help
Right now i haven't done anything to power in the house, so my question is
What do i need to do? Do i need to get an electrician and explain to them what i want?
I have a server rack that will draw huge amount of power from an outlet?

Where do i start is what am after now
Thanks guys
 

kpfleming

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240V is effectively the same as 220V, there's no need to make a distinction there :)

Your first step is to decide what equipment you want to use. Once you know what that is, you'll know it's requirements for power service. You can then talk to an electrician to find out how much it would cost to have that service type installed in the location where you want to install the cabinet.

The electrician will need specifics: maximum amperage (current draw), voltage, and plug/receptacle type. You will be able to get this information from the specifications of the PDU or UPS that you choose.
 

Sean Ho

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Yep. And if you're US residential (split-phase), you almost certainly already have 240V on dedicated circuits for your dryer, electric stove, electric heating, and other high-draw items. Breakers down each side of your service panel alternate which of the two bus bars they connect to, so double-wide breakers span both legs, giving you 240v.
 

uberguru

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Yep. And if you're US residential (split-phase), you almost certainly already have 240V on dedicated circuits for your dryer, electric stove, electric heating, and other high-draw items. Breakers down each side of your service panel alternate which of the two bus bars they connect to, so double-wide breakers span both legs, giving you 240v.
Yup will have to ask an electrician on how to approach it

One other thing is cooling, i know there are fans that sucks heat out of the rack, i really dont want to touch walls or install anything, but will i be ok with those fans only? This will be inside the house so will be at roughly room temperature
I think i will see how i can suck the air out as the server will be in a room right next to an entrance/exit door
 
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kpfleming

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There's no way that any of us can answer that question, there are far too many variables. Fans don't provide cooling, just air movement, so if the environment outside of the cabinet doesn't provide sufficient cooler air, the cabinet temperature will rise.

The amount it will rise depends entirely on how much heat is generated by the equipment you put into the cabinet, but it's reasonably safe to assume that if you are powering the cabinet with 7200W of power (30A @ 240V), then most of that will be converted into heat and you'll need to get rid of it somehow. If your equipment generates 6000W of heat, you'll need approximately 20,000 BTU *per hour* of cooling to maintain a stable temperature. This isn't going to be possible using just passive airflow from an open door.