Thread: Whole Home Surge Protection/Power Conditioning for Dedicated 20A lines...

As some of you my know, I plan on running three 20A circuits to my system this fall, using a 60A subpanel and three 20A breakers via 10/2 Romex. From what I have read, this seems to be the best approach anyway.

Also in my research, I have come across a couple of items from Environmental Potentials, specifically the EP-2050-EE power conditioner and EP-2750 ground filter. I was thinking these would be a good add-on for the dedicated subpanel.

For outlets, I'm thinking I'll go with Hubbell IG8300's which have isolated grounds. Not exactly sure what the means as far as the outlets are concerned, but saw several people mention over others, not to mention they accept 10 AWG cable.

Is there anything else I should consider? Would a whole home surge protector from the power company (TECO in my case) be good? Not really too concerned with price as I want it to be done right the first time, and labor will be paid for in a cook-out. It's good to have an electrician as a friend!

I have a similar set up to the one you are considering in my home. I installed the Environmental Potentials on both the box feeding my music room and the one feeding the rest of the house. They come very highly recommended and while I don't have an a/b because I installed them when the box went in, I "think" they also lowered the noise floor. You are doing it the right way - due to some COVID level electrical work, I had to have some stuff redone recently and when I got it all straightened out, the noise floor was significantly lower - quite noticeably. My other unsolicited advice is to check the breaker box that gets installed and be sure it has a copper buss bar. The cheapos from Home Depot don't and that breaker box made a significant difference in the noise floor in the room (my COVID electrician didn't install what was spec'd, so I had to replace it). Of course, one can get quite elaborate audio breaker boxes (see KingRex and AudioUltra, likely among others), but the copper buss in a Siemens box made a positive difference for me without spending much more money.

I have both the EP 2050 + EP 2750 installed for several years now.
When they were installed I did not notice any change in sound quality.
They are heavy duty industrial products.
As for your newly proposed AC circuit, #10 romex is only rated at 30 amps.
If your sub panel has a "main" breaker of 60 amps this could be a problem. It is my understanding that wire size capacity must be appropriate to the rated breaker size.

Originally Posted by jadedavid

I have both the EP 2050 + EP 2750 installed for several years now.
When they were installed I did not notice any change in sound quality.
They are heavy duty industrial products.
As for your newly proposed AC circuit, #10 romex is only rated at 30 amps.
If your sub panel has a "main" breaker of 60 amps this could be a problem. It is my understanding that wire size capacity must be appropriate to the rated breaker size.

I think you are confusing things. The wire gauge has to be rated for the breaker it is wired to. If you are wiring a circuit to a 20A breaker, the wire gauge has to be rated for 20A. Using a wire gauge that is suitable for 30A on a 20A breaker is overkill. If you are running wiring to feed a 60A box, the wire would be a much larger gauge to in order to support supplying 60A to the main breaker.

Originally Posted by mep

I think you are confusing things. The wire gauge has to be rated for the breaker it is wired to. If you are wiring a circuit to a 20A breaker, the wire gauge has to be rated for 20A. Using a wire gauge that is suitable for 30A on a 20A breaker is overkill. If you are running wiring to feed a 60A box, the wire would be a much larger gauge to in order to support supplying 60A to the main breaker.

Perhaps you have misunderstood my post.
We are in agreement.
I was only pointing out that running a #10 wire to a sub panel "That has a 60 amp main breaker" is not code.
As stated, wire size must match breaker rating.
However if the sub panel does not have a "main" breaker then running the #10 and having several branch circuits is acceptable.

Late last year I posted about a grounding and electrical upgrade done by Rex and Ed. Of course not everyone has the luxury or the availability of dedicated and passionate audiophile people to assist in improving their home electrical grounding and rooms power needs. But, the benefits can be heard. And the need to look for new boxes and devices from a outlet in a listening room are greatly reduced.

Here is a link:

Getting my electrical house, stereo room in order

Originally Posted by Speedskater

Once again:
It's the from panel breaker that matters, not the towards panel breaker.
If the main panel has a 30 Amp breaker for the 10AWG wires, that is correct.

Wouldn't pass code in my neck of the woods.
Perhaps it's different where you live

Originally Posted by Speedskater

Once again:
It's the from panel breaker that matters, not the towards panel breaker.
If the main panel has a 30 Amp breaker for the 10AWG wires, that is correct.

that is correct most of the time, however, it really depends on distance and overall load, typically folks run 8ga for a 30a to be on the safe side.

Sorry everyone for not responding sooner. Been a hectic week at work, which is a good thing of course.

Anyway, when I'm talking about 10 AWG Romex, dedicated 20A runs and a 60A subpanel, of course I'm referring to the 20A runs to the listening room being run with the 10 AWG Romex FROM the subpanel. Of course, getting power TO the subpanel which will be right along side the main panel, will use heavier gauge wire.

There have been talks that IF we can manage to get power directly from the meter before it reaches the main panel, that would be the best route, and use something on the order of 2 AWG. And yes, I know that is most likely WAY overkill, but I have a new friend that I can get the 2 AWG from cheap. In fact, it's the same "friend" that I purchased my Pass XP-20 from.

I'm still on the fence about surge protectors and such. Maybe the Environmental Potentials units, or something from the electric company, or maybe something from SquareD, Eaton, Siemens?

Outlets, though necessary, are low on the priority list at the moment. As long as I get solid, clean power to where it's needed, that's my main concern. With that said, I have been notified about some good quality, modified Hubbell units such as Cruze Maestro outlets and Hubbell Cryo outlets from Take Five Audio. Then again, just about every "audiophile" outlet out there is a modified Hubbell outlet, 5200/5300/8300 series.

Originally Posted by Speedskater

Don't let the inspector or your insurance know, that you're breaking the law.

How would that be breaking the law? I said after the meter, not before it.

Besides, my friend (licensed electrician for 35+ years) wouldn't do anything illegal anyway, nor would I want him to.

Originally Posted by Speedskater

Note that 'cryo' treating the receptacles, will invalidate their 'UL' listing and could damage their plastic parts.

Honestly, I couldn't care less about them being "cryo", and frankly think it's a bunch of hoopla anyway and does nothing for sound or "electrical flow".

Originally Posted by Speedskater

It has to connect after the main breaker in the main panel.

Well I probably just misunderstood him or someone else that described their setup to me. The last I spoke with him was a few months back, and I have a lot of people PM'ing me about this subject lately on several forums.

Give me a car and I can run through the entire electrical system with my eyes closed. Put me in a house and have me deal with electrical... Well, I won't get far. LOL