Amperage requirements
I would like to get the i3 mk3 but I have an odd question and can't seem to find the answer through searching. I have an older house with older electrical breaker box. I believe that I have a 15 amp breaker, but what I know is that if I plug a space heater in, the breaker blows. Most space heaters are rated at 15 amps. Can someone tell me if I am likely to have a problem with this printer? I found all kinds of specs on the PSU, but can't find an amp input requirement.
Sorry, I'm not an electrician, so this may be the wrong question to ask, but hopefully gets my point across.
Thanks for any help.
Re: Amperage requirements
I believe that the power supply is 240 watts, so that's the most that it will put out. I bought a Kill-A-Watt just to measure the power consumption of my i3 MK3. Printing PETG, I was averaging about 85 watts (.7A at 120V), with peaks as high as about 180 watts (1.5A at 120V). Printing higher temperature filaments will likely pull more power, but I can't pull more power than the power supply can deliver. So at 120V AC, you're looking at about 2 amps of draw.
Re: Amperage requirements
Sounds like you may have a problem with your heater or your house wiring. I would be getting both tested first.
But If your (15 amp) breaker and house wiring are fine then you won't have a problem with the printer.
Re: Amperage requirements
Thanks. I'm pretty sure the house wiring is ok, just the previous owners made some bad choices and put too many outlets on the same 15 amp circuit. I have 2 computers and a small freezer on this circuit and everything is fine. However, the space heater, which I believe draws almost the full 15 by itself puts it over the limit.
Unfortunately, I have neither the experience or money to move circuits around in my walls, so we have just left it like this. It's been this way for many years now. Some day we hope to get an electrician in to upgrade the breaker and split the circuits, but it hasn't happened yet.
Thanks.