fire/electrical hazard?

[thersen]

I have a 15u rack with a few machines and plan on upgrading to a 42u rack and adding more machines and UPSs over time.  My idea is to load the 15u rack with three power distribution units with three ups each (since I can't afford a "man-sized battery") and use 20ft power cables to connect the machines in the larger rack to the ups.  Would this be hazardous in any way? (overload/overheat?)

[Mdgtman91]

You are going to want to figure out how many total AMPs that your set up will be pulling from the wall and compare that to how many that circuit is providing (typically 15amps) if it comes close then I would consider consulting an electrician to run dedicated power to that location (say like a 20 amp circuit or what ever is needed)

Now if you are under then you don't have much to worry about but don't forget to consider other things plugged into that circuit I.E. lights, monitors, or anything plugged into that room. 

[scottyseng]

3 hours ago, thersen said:

-snip-

The 20ft cords won't be too bad, but try to get 14AWG or 12 AWG ones, but it depends on the size of the PSUs in the servers and the actual wattage / amp draw of them. What size are the UPS units (VA / W)? It's possible you might end up tripping your circuit breaker...Most residential homes only have 15A (That's assuming it's not shared with something either). Some older homes use 20A, but they're usually shared with something.

 

My own UPS unit (2000VA / 1800W) is able to pull a little more than 15A at full load. The most my PC and server can use is around 1200W during rendering load, but yeah, I can trip the breaker if I turn a vacuum on while rendering. It doesn't help my room is tied to the living room on 20A. You might need a dedicated circuit (Maybe two or more) depending on how much load you plan to pull.