Power plan help please

[FrankO]

Hey helpers,

Power rookie here.
I'm planning a 16x50 tree with a 100x pixel star on top.
I've mapped out my power plan below, will this work? I've got no idea about amps etc.
Also:
1) Is 1x 240v cable ok to power both PSU's?
2) What wire should i use between PSU's and the F16V3?

 

[David_AVD]

Yes, one 240V power cable is fine to power both power supplies.

For the wires from the PSU to the controller, 2.5mm CSA (cross sectional area) would do if they are very close. 4mm would be better.

 

[AAH]

1) a single mains cable can run about 4 350W power supplies so you have no issue there
2) the distance from the f16 to the strings govern how heavy the cable needs to be. Each of your strings is about 5.5A at full load. If the f16 is adjacent to the tree then using a standard mains cable for the wire would do. As soon as you start getting further away the wire size requirement starts getting bigger. Bigger cable is also needed if you're using 5V pixels rather than 12V. If you're using 5V then it would be worth linking the power at the end of the 2x50 string straight back to the start as well.

 

[FrankO]

Great, thanks guys.

I'm using 12v pixels. The box will be pretty close to the tree and I've ordered strings with 2m pigtails on them.

Am I correct in thinking, if each string is 5.5A at full load, that one side of the F16 will be ~22A at full load (4x 100 pixels outputs - half the tree) and the other side will be ~27.5A at full load (other half of the tree + the star) so overloading wont be an issue in the event I **** something up and accidently go 100% white on the whole lot?

 

[AAH]

Great, thanks guys.

I'm using 12v pixels. The box will be pretty close to the tree and I've ordered strings with 2m pigtails on them.

Am I correct in thinking, if each string is 5.5A at full load, that one side of the F16 will be ~22A at full load (4x 100 pixels outputs - half the tree) and the other side will be ~27.5A at full load (other half of the tree + the star) so overloading wont be an issue in the event I **** something up and accidently go 100% white on the whole lot?

Yep. Numbers are right. As long as you don't hold at 100% white for very long the 5A fuses will last fine at 5.5A. You can probably go minutes at 100% white before the fuse might blow. As you're never likely to have the whole string on at 100% white for that long you're golden.