AC Power Question

[belezar]

As a great source for info, and I could not find this in an internet search, I thought maybe one of the brilliant minds here could answer this - can I plug a full size fridge and a full size freezer into the same outlet? Thanks in advance.

[bakerzdosen]

can I plug a full size fridge and a full size freezer into the same outlet? Thanks in advance.

There is no easy answer to that (other than "maybe.")

 

Find out what kind of circuit breaker (or fuse) that outlet is being powered through. Then you need to see what the draw from the refrigerator and the freezer are. That's probably not as easy to find. However, as a point of reference, the GE freezers and refrigerators I just looked up require 15amps. If you have a 30 amp breaker and the refrigerator and freezer both require 15 amps, you should be fine as long as nothing else is on the circuit. A 20 amp breaker is probably not going to be enough for both, and you'd hate to find out the hard way in a couple months that you were wrong and that the breaker tripped 24 hours earlier.

[smiller]

Every situation is different but the running current on modern refrigerators/freezers is pretty reasonable (the placarded current draw is the maximum possible draw, average draw is usually much less) and I'd imagine that you could run them both on a standard 15-amp household circuit, unless they are a couple of big beasts. There may be an issue if they both start together though as the start current will be much higher than the running current. The breaker should take a momentary current spike in stride, but I'd test by plugging both units into a single heavy-duty extension cord and plugging that in, which will hit the breaker with a worst-case situation. If no problem after a few tests then you will likely be OK... but still keep an eye on things at first.

 

 

[Nice n Easy Rider]

can I plug a full size fridge and a full size freezer into the same outlet? Thanks in advance.

There is no easy answer to that (other than "maybe.")

 

Find out what kind of circuit breaker (or fuse) that outlet is being powered through. Then you need to see what the draw from the refrigerator and the freezer are. That's probably not as easy to find. However, as a point of reference, the GE freezers and refrigerators I just looked up require 15amps. If you have a 30 amp breaker and the refrigerator and freezer both require 15 amps, you should be fine as long as nothing else is on the circuit. A 20 amp breaker is probably not going to be enough for both, and you'd hate to find out the hard way in a couple months that you were wrong and that the breaker tripped 24 hours earlier.

 

Wouldn't you need to know the starting amperage for each unit since that should be higher than the running amperage? I doubt two 15 amp machines will run on a 30 amp circuit. You might be able to get that info from plates on the doors or behind by the motor. And if you barely have enough power serving that circuit when the appliances are running you hope your mother-in-law doesn't start her hair dryer on the same circuit.

[ESokoloff]

Out here in California (and I assume the rest of the country) modern homes (<35 years) have 15 or 20 amp 115V circuits.

In trade school (HVAC) I was taught rule of thumb for LRA (Locked Rotor Amperage) (i.e. amperage required to start motor) is about 7 times RLA (Running Load Amperage) (i.e. amperage needed to maintain motion of motor). A quick google search turns up 6x vr 7 but regardless it's significant.

Not sure if both pieces of equipment will function properly using the same circuit let alone the same outlet.

A worse case scenario would be both compressors attempting to start upon power restoration after a power interruption.

 

 

[mbelectric]

All good answers here.

 

You may be able to read the nameplates and do a calc that would allow you to have both units on (1) circuit. Chances are the circuit would have to be 20 amp. Most houses have a 20 amp circuit that is dedicated for a washer as this is a motor load. And there are (2) additional 20amp circuits that are located in the kitchen for appliances. Neither of these locations can help you, as they are already being used (IE a refridge already in place). The balance of circuits left are 15 amp. Both units cannot occupy the same circuit if you calc the start-up current needed.

 

You didn't state location of these units. If in garage near an electrical panel, an electrician may install additional receptacles and circuits at a reasonable cost. Further locations may cost more. If these units are in a kitchen, then perhaps 1 unit may fit on the appliance circuit, and the other may need an additional circuit

 

I would caution you about overloading an existing appliance circuit. Bad things result.

 

Clear as mud?

 

Good luck, and you may PM me if you need further assistance.

 

MB>

 

 

 

[motoguy128]

As mentioned above, the biggest challenge could be the star-tpu current for both units. The major load on each unit is a large electric motor for the refrigerant compressors. If both cycle on at the same time, the peak current load could trip the breaker.. meaning you get frequent nuisance trips.

 

Most fridges I've seen are using a dedicated outlet, often recognizeable because it's a single outlet instead of a duplex.

 

I think you're best bet is to use a seperate outlet. Or it might not be too hard to pull wire to split that same outlet to be fed from 2 seperate circuits.

 

I wish it was a building code requirement to label the outlets with the circuit it's fed from. This is standard procedure in most commerical locations and ALL industrial facilities. It makes life much easier. It's on a rainy day list to label all of mine.