testing circuit load

[redpyro]

I am now considering getting a 24 gallon cube. I have an older house so my electrical circuits have load issues. Its not terrible but i cant run the bathroom heater on full blast with a hair dryer..that sort of thing. Does anyone know the amp or wattage use of a 24 gallon cube?

And can i test the corcuit i plan to use by loading using the following example.

Lets say the cube uses 400 watts with lights on and heater and pump running. Can i plug in the hair dryer to that plug and turn it on seeing it uses like 700 watts and see if it blows a fuse? I am not going to buy if i can not use it without blowing a fuse every 10 minutes.

Thanks

[JAnwyl]

Have no idea, But I would suggest using a computer UPS to help guard against the spikes caused by equipment turning on and off from causing the breaker to switch. I think that would help with lights and heater turning on and off also if there is anything else that is run on that circuit.

Jared

[Carl_in_Florida]

I don't know about what circuits run what in your house but here is a little info to consider.

The average light draws a couple amps thats one or two. Because of how heaters work, they draw a bunch of amps. Hair dryers can draw more than 15 amps and a room heater a similar amount. So the fact that you can't run them both on a 20amp circuit makes sense.

Most modern residential circuit breakers handle 15 or 20 amps (1800 or 2400 watts), and the breaker is labeled 15 or 20. That's the total amount of electricity that can be supplied to ALL loads on the circuit, which usually includes a few outlets and lights. Add up all the wattage or amps on all the lights and devices you want to run off the circuit at the same time and make sure it's less than what your breaker allows. (If a device is labeled with both input and output power, count the input.)

the last paragraph was lifted from http://michaelbluejay.com/electricity/general.html#outlet

Carl