Help - Not enough power LAN party

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Vette5885

Gawd
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Apr 12, 2005
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I've helped organize a couple of LAN parties at my local volunteer fire department (my brothers and most of my friends are members) and I'm looking to open it up to the public as a fund raiser. Unfortunately, we're running into a little problem. At the last event, we had 14 people, and we kept tripping the circuit breakers. We fixed it by spreading out where the computers were plugged in, but we ended up using most of the power plugs in the room we had. Apparently the computers are sucking up more power than the building can deliver.

We were hoping to open it up to 50-75 people, but we are having the power issues with only 14.

So what do you guys do for power? Are the sites for your lan parties specially wired? Is there something I can bring in for a weekend to supply us with power, or am I just going to have to move to a different building?

Thanks
 
As a very general rule, 6 (or less if they are ridiculous power hog machines ;) )computers per 20 amp circuit is about the most you can reliably run. If the building doesn't provide enough service for what you want to do, you can either move, or bring in a generator and distribution equipment. There are usually several companies in the area that provide services like this, calling them and telling them what you want to do will be the best way to proceed, but it usually won't be cheap.

Welcome to the hardest problem with running lan parties.
 
Many bigger events I have seen bring in power generators (rentals).
 
A rental generator won't run more than a few bucks per head, so it shouldn't be a big deal.
 
Thanks for the heads up. I'll look into a generator.

If we do go public, then you know I'll post it here.
 
At 50-75 people you are going to have to look into outside options in most every situation. However you really shouldn't have had too much trouble with 14ish. We used to have 10+ here at my place, and 15-18 (I think 18 was the most we ever had. If we ever had more people they weren't all on and playing at once anyway) at a friends house. Neither ere specially wired. My friends house was actually ancient. We were pretty shocked at the larger ones not tripping anything.
 
At the Panhandle Gamers LANs I've attend they have a power distribution box that plugs directly into the mains of the building. The box was built by one of the members who is also an electrician. The box is on wheels and supplies power to well over a hundred gamers.
 
At a FireHouse you should have ATLEAST a 150amp Service, most likely a 200amp. The best thing to do would be buy a circuit tracer so you know what plug is on what circuit and go from there. These are available from Home Depot for around $30.
 
ChicagoLAN said:
At a FireHouse you should have ATLEAST a 150amp Service, most likely a 200amp. The best thing to do would be buy a circuit tracer so you know what plug is on what circuit and go from there. These are available from Home Depot for around $30.
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Actually I just got word from my brother (a member @ the VFD) that they're planning on an expansion in the coming years, so they have the building blueprints and wiring diagrams on hand. I'll take a look and see what I can figure out.
 
I organize 40 people lan parties in my city and this was a huge problem at first, I had to dish out money to buy a whole package of 40 amp circuits, a dashboard, a double 120A circuit protector and now lan parties are a hit :D. I have to connect this directly to the main power circuit at the place Im having the lan party though.

If your project is long term, an investment is what you need to make. Your first lan party would be to pay it up then.
 
Vette5885 said:
Actually I just got word from my brother (a member @ the VFD) that they're planning on an expansion in the coming years, so they have the building blueprints and wiring diagrams on hand. I'll take a look and see what I can figure out.
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That could always help though thay may not show you the actual circuit numbers. As always when looking at the prints make sure they are "As Built" prints as there may have been changes done during the construction.

What I just did for the LAN we threw was I went to the venue with the above mentioned tester, tracing out each outlet to the breaker. I mapped it out on to a "print" with each outlet and circuit number. I ran 6 people off each 20 amp circuit, but only used a 15amp power strip to limit the current running through the extension cords and to limit the possiblity of popping breakers. This worked out very well and had no power issues. But I did have extra 20amp circuits waiting on extension cords if issues did arise. We had 53 people at this event.
 
As the others have said, trace the circuits, and figure out which ones you're overloading. I can't see the building having less than a 100-150A service, so powering 50 people shouldn't be an issue. For 50 people you're going to need 9-10 20A circuits. As said previously, 6 people on a 20A circuit should be your limit, or 5 on a 15A circuit. It sounds like your 14 person event was on 2 circuits, and you were constantly tripping one of them. You'll want to map out the power and see where everything is, and go from there. Once you take stock of what you have, you'll be able to see if you need to add power or not. If you need to, have an electrician add a couple of outlet boxes right at the panel, and a few 15 or 20A circuits.

Generator rentals really aren't all that cheap. I help handle the power for a rather large event (~500 people http://noreaster.lpane.net), and we rent a 125KW generator. We could get away with a much smaller genset, but the fact of the matter is, that is the smallest the company has. We paid for and own our own power distribution panels. Renting panels costs in the neighborhood of $250-400, per panel, and doesn't include any outlets.

Also, I wrote this a few years back, but it is still pertinent:
http://www.lanaddict.com/rev.php?ID=110&PAGE=1

If you have any questions, feel free to ask.
 
pissboy said:
As the others have said, trace the circuits, and figure out which ones you're overloading. I can't see the building having less than a 100-150A service, so powering 50 people shouldn't be an issue.
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I dunno man. An average gaming computer + monitor can easily push 3 amps. 100 amp service will only service 30 people if nothing whatsoever besides gaming PCs and monitors is running.
 
kumquat said:
I dunno man. An average gaming computer + monitor can easily push 3 amps. 100 amp service will only service 30 people if nothing whatsoever besides gaming PCs and monitors is running.
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Maybe I assumed the OP was in the US. In the states we are fed a split phase service (also called single phase 3 wire). Voltage from one hot/live wire to the other is 230/240VAC, voltage from one hot wire to neutral will be 115/120VAC. Because of the way it is setup, you'll be able to have 5x 20A breakers on each phase without oversubscribing it (10x total). In a normal home/business setup, you'll be able to have more circuits than your main breaker is rated for, as normally you're not pushing each circuit to its limit.
 
Yeah, I'm in the US. NY actually, about an hour north of NYC. Not too many LAN parties around here (I know there was one in CT a week or so ago).

I'll read through your article sometime tomorrow when I get a chance (playing w/ WHS right now). Thanks for the help ... um ...pissboy.

...interesting name. I'm sure there's a story behind it.
 
You have quite a few options.


Generator - Not cheap. When all said and done you can look at anywhere from 500+ dollars

Tap more power - Visit the main power box of the building, check for main breaker size and check for additional breaker space. If you have space on the panel, buy some breakers, and tap in additional power... this is by far the cheapest method since breakers are about $2-$5 each.

Rent/Buy/Make Power Distribution Box - Tap power from a larger source such as a stove 30-50amps or tap power directly from the main feeds. Tapping power from a stove/dryer socket is highly recommended, as you don't need much to make it work and you have a ton of power on tap.



Most importantly, you need to just do your homework, document, and discover. Most likely you should be able to at least get 75 people out of a building such as a fire department.


PS. Doesn't fire trucks have built-in generators? ;)
 
Ockie said:
You have quite a few options.


Generator - Not cheap. When all said and done you can look at anywhere from 500+ dollars

Tap more power - Visit the main power box of the building, check for main breaker size and check for additional breaker space. If you have space on the panel, buy some breakers, and tap in additional power... this is by far the cheapest method since breakers are about $2-$5 each.

Rent/Buy/Make Power Distribution Box - Tap power from a larger source such as a stove 30-50amps or tap power directly from the main feeds. Tapping power from a stove/dryer socket is highly recommended, as you don't need much to make it work and you have a ton of power on tap.



Most importantly, you need to just do your homework, document, and discover. Most likely you should be able to at least get 75 people out of a building such as a fire department.


PS. Doesn't fire trucks have built-in generators? ;)
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Work on this has fallen quiet as of late... but now that my fiancee and my brothers' girlfriends have left for college, I'm sure we'll get the ball rolling again.

I doubt that the FD will let me work with the power distribution of the building, but I'm sure I can find an electrician that wouldn't be too expensive. I'll just cover that kind of cost w/ the first LAN party, then benefit more from future ones.

And Ockie, while I don't know the answer to your P.S., I can say that I've been corrected by my brothers MANY times before: It's not a fire truck, as the truck doesn't make fire. It's formally called an apparatus. I've always found it to be a weird name for the truck. More specifically, the different vehicles are called engines, brush trucks, rescue, and tankers.
 
Vette5885 said:
And Ockie, while I don't know the answer to your P.S., I can say that I've been corrected by my brothers MANY times before: It's not a fire truck, as the truck doesn't make fire. It's formally called an apparatus. I've always found it to be a weird name for the truck. More specifically, the different vehicles are called engines, brush trucks, rescue, and tankers.
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I forget the name of the town in CT who bought a new engine, which proceeded to catch on fire in their garage. :)
 
We had a huge issue with this when we started our LAN. We ended up getting a bunch of 100' 12/3 extension cables and running them all over the facility. Now what we never put more than 5 computers per 15A circuit, we don't have any issues.

I would love to see plans to do a PDU for 3-phase to single phase as we have a lot(12+) of 3-phase hookups available in the kitchen. Being able to run two or three long runs to the main hall and step down from there would be awesome.
 
You can always change your voltage on your PSU to 220v and you can put more on a circuit. It is not good to do but it can be a last resort.
 
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