ikhuong Posted September 30, 2020 Share Posted September 30, 2020 (edited) Hi fellow SNAs, I am living in a townhouse and it is not very feasible to run a new dedicated line without a huge job and expense Above my hifi system is an Aircon that I rarely use, there are total three aircons in a dedicated 4.5kA circuit breaker, not sure how is the actually rating of the power cables to the aircon, 20A??? Is it a good idea and legal to have a sparkie to tap to the main wire of this aircon and slit to a new GPO just for audio? There is no need to discuss about benefit of sound quality , it is also safer for my equipment as my 10a line usually trips when my family run heater/home theatre/iron clothes at a same time, again, we rarely use those aircons. i am not sure any legal related issue for thanks for your advice Edited September 30, 2020 by ikhuong Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petetherock Posted September 30, 2020 Share Posted September 30, 2020 Can you use it? Yes But whether it will give a good clean sound.. unless you never use any of the aircons... Otherwise it may not be worth the investment.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TDX Posted September 30, 2020 Share Posted September 30, 2020 (edited) I think yes, I'd talk to a sparkie. Edited September 30, 2020 by TDX Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyr Posted September 30, 2020 Share Posted September 30, 2020 12 minutes ago, TDX said: I think yes, I'd talk to a sparkie. Unless the sparkie likes his stereo, TDX ... I suggest he won't be able to make any sensible suggestion. Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TDX Posted September 30, 2020 Share Posted September 30, 2020 12 minutes ago, andyr said: Unless the sparkie likes his stereo, TDX ... I suggest he won't be able to make any sensible suggestion. Andy OP said doesn't care about the sound quality, it's more about the safety and less trips. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyr Posted September 30, 2020 Share Posted September 30, 2020 1 minute ago, TDX said: OP said doesn't care about the sound quality, it's more about the safety and less trips. True! (Less tripping cut-outs would certainly be a good thing.) Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ikhuong Posted September 30, 2020 Author Share Posted September 30, 2020 Thanks, all, I trust the aircon won't impact sound quality as I won't use aircon during playing audio especially during critical session, or I can simply remove the Power plant plug out of the Aircon line GPO and move it to normal 10A line. So it is feasible option, I actually have two goals: - safer for audio gears as my 10A line keeps tripping - better sound quality when aircons are not in used Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JB82 Posted September 30, 2020 Share Posted September 30, 2020 I noticed these, could be worth considering - Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ikhuong Posted September 30, 2020 Author Share Posted September 30, 2020 Thanks, @JB82 those are interesting products. My goal is to seek for feasibility to slit power cable that goes into the Aircon to install a new GPO. I have no intention to replace circuit breakers yet 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HelloYellowVolvo Posted October 1, 2020 Share Posted October 1, 2020 Each air conditioner should have its own supply from the Main Switch Board. If you wish to de commission the AC above your equipment, then yes, it can be repurposed as a dedicated outlet for you to use as you wish (up to 20A). A licensed electrician will need to disconnect the supply from the isolating switch of the AC and re-configure it/extended it to a GPO in your internal wall. Being a dedicated feed from the board will mean that you wont get any nuisance tripping as it is only suppying one GPO. Also, because of this, you could choose to have a number of new GPOs installed as per AS 3008 (latest wiring rules). Either way, this need to be done by a sparkie. Hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ikhuong Posted October 1, 2020 Author Share Posted October 1, 2020 (edited) 11 minutes ago, HelloYellowVolvo said: Each air conditioner should have its own supply from the Main Switch Board. If you wish to de commission the AC above your equipment, then yes, it can be repurposed as a dedicated outlet for you to use as you wish (up to 20A). A licensed electrician will need to disconnect the supply from the isolating switch of the AC and re-configure it/extended it to a GPO in your internal wall. Being a dedicated feed from the board will mean that you wont get any nuisance tripping as it is only suppying one GPO. Also, because of this, you could choose to have a number of new GPOs installed as per AS 3008 (latest wiring rules). Either way, this need to be done by a sparkie. Hope this helps. Thanks Rob for your advice, I don't have plan to de commission the AC as we still occasionally use it, especially on extreme hot days. Do you think it is doable to keep the AC do a Y slitter to install one new GPO? Edited October 1, 2020 by ikhuong Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HelloYellowVolvo Posted October 1, 2020 Share Posted October 1, 2020 (edited) Sorry, I missed your original intention in the OP. No, unfortunately the current wiring rules state that Air Conditioning units need to be on their own protected, dedicated supply. You will not be able to come off that circuit. Edited October 1, 2020 by HelloYellowVolvo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ikhuong Posted October 1, 2020 Author Share Posted October 1, 2020 right, this is exactly what I am looking for, Thanks, I will scrap my idea with this info Thank you very much 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rmpfyf Posted October 3, 2020 Share Posted October 3, 2020 On 01/10/2020 at 12:19 PM, HelloYellowVolvo said: Sorry, I missed your original intention in the OP. No, unfortunately the current wiring rules state that Air Conditioning units need to be on their own protected, dedicated supply. You will not be able to come off that circuit. 100% correct. At any rate a change to mains requires bringing the switchboard up to current standards. Save money and bite the bullet. I see your aircon has power wire in conduit - is it hard to get in the wall cavities? You can do some nice work done right, e.g. EMC wiring etc. That you're regularly tripping a 10A breaker suggests you're at the limits of your protection... sparkie is a worthy investment IMHO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ikhuong Posted October 3, 2020 Author Share Posted October 3, 2020 (edited) Aircon wires come out from a brick wall, sparkie told me that must be a huge job in the past including repainting the walls. He can only run a new dedicated circuit routed externally with cable boxes/tubes and they are going to be ugly, so I gave up the new circuit idea Edited October 3, 2020 by ikhuong Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rmpfyf Posted October 4, 2020 Share Posted October 4, 2020 4 hours ago, ikhuong said: Aircon wires come out from a brick wall, sparkie told me that must be a huge job in the past including repainting the walls. He can only run a new dedicated circuit routed externally with cable boxes/tubes and they are going to be ugly, so I gave up the new circuit idea Maybe get a second opinion? Nothing too bad in doing an external route - yes it'd have to be in conduit but that's paintable; there's usually a lot that can be done. PM me if you want a second opinion. I'm not a sparkie though I work with quite a few and might be able to help you refine what you're asking for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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