Dedicated Spur -- US

Yes I know, another spur topic …

I live in the USA and am moving at the end of the year … perfect opportunity to do this dedicated spur jobbie.

Has anyone here in the US done this and are willing to post/share their electrical drawing such that I can share it with my contractor ?

Much appreciated …

As far as I know it’s fairly simple. You have the electrician run a dedicated line perhaps 20amp,from your circuit breaker box to an outlet preferably “audio grade” such as a Hubbel etc to your HiFi room So that would be the only thing on that circuit. That’s what I did at the advice of a highly regarded audio dealer,

I can’t comment on any US specific requirements, but in general, splitting the feed before it goes into the breaker box and running the dedicated circuit completely separate from the others is the usual recommendation. This was Naim’s suggestion to me in the UK, and having tried both ways, I found running dedicated feed from the main box to be more or less a waste of time.

Thank you both for your input …

Hi John - Contacting AV Options would be a good starting point. They should be able to advise the best way to go with your dedicated supply.

What a wonderful idea James … Chris is currently servicing and DR’ing a SuperCap for me at the moment … perfect segue … Thank you so much for the suggestion …

Please let us know what they recommend
Thanks

Unfortunately, in order to comply with the National Electrical Code in the US, doing it this way would be quite involved (read expensive). Checking with Chris at AVOptions might be a good idea to see what the “Options” are!

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In the UK it’s a fairly cheap and easy thing to do. You simply split the supply as it leaves the meter, and connect the second cable to a separate little consumer unit (breaker box to you!).
This is a common thing to do for all sorts of non-HiFi purposes such as if your main board is full and you need extra circuits, so I’m a little surprised that it would be more difficult in the US - but of course, you will need to comply with your local regs.

Will do …

Thanks for the heads up … I see you’re in NC … I shall be moving to Asheville in December some time I hope.

I did mine to manage a Joule Electra tube mono block system that attracted radio signals. We did a separate circuit and a ground grid (3 x 8’ rods into the ground soldered together, in line with our automatic sprinkler ) for the front end and for the mono blocks. 2 sets. This kills the radio interference, eliminates the need to use a capacitance plug on the Superline, and also grounds the house in the event of a lightning strike. Dead quiet. You need an experienced commercial electrician to do this. But you won’t be sorry and it still pays dividends around here. For example, I tried the Nordost outboard ground box and my home rig is quieter.

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This is super basic. You have electrician install a 20 amp breaker in the breaker box. Have him run 10awg wire. He will bitch about it because in the US we use solid core wire and 10 awg is stiff and a bear to work with but you are paying, so you the boss. Buy a good high quality AC outlet Oyaide, or Furutech and lastly I like the Plastic rough in boxes. Metal ones can act as an antenna. Done. To recap: Breaker, wire, outlet. That’s a dedicated AC line. Need more outlets, repeat, don’t tap off a line. FYI we don’t call it a Spur in the US. And be careful about adding extra grounding rods, your house will have one adding more could create ground loops. And It may violate your local electrical codes

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Appreciate the advice …

Thats exactly what I did as recommended by a quality HiFi shop here in US.

This is true and Opus’ advice is solid. If we did call the circuits “Spurs” then every circuit would already be a spur because we don’t use the “ring mains” wiring topology here in North America like they do in the UK. Ours is a hub-and-spoke model, where all circuits (spokes) go back to the main breaker box (hub)… or to a separate pony box if you run out or need more or upgrade a different way for some reason.

Your contractor will completely understand the request / instruction for a dedicated circuit to your audio niche; you can up-spec the wiring and the rough-in box and the socket if you wish.

If you don’t have known grounding issues, that doesn’t need to be changed; if you do, it’s best to do it right from the breaker box for the entire house… but mostly the practice of tying to the copper water main that enters your house through the basement floor will work. Special problems and solutions like Skip mentions need to be thought through with greater care than just adding a dedicated circuit during a home reno.

Best wishes with your projects!

Regards alan

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Yes Alan33 is correct although at least here in NJ we call a “Pony Box” a sub-panel That’s where my two Dedicated 20amp circuits are fed from. My Sub Panel is a 100 amps so plenty of AC current. I also want to clarify 10awg can be called 10-2, the ground wire is a given so its actually 3 conductors since all in wall cable will have a ground lead. And Romex is one of the better brands. High Quality solid core pure copper.

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Thank you @opus … may I ask whether you added the Sub Panel because your main panel was at capacity or was it for another reason ?

We bought this house 14 years ago and it was already installed. But yes the main panel was pretty much filled. I also wanted to mention I’m very jealous of you! Asheville is a great town in a beautiful area. If you ride motorcycles or drive a sports car some of the very best roads in America, and dare I say the world are in your backyard. Blue Ridge Parkway, Cherahola Skyway, Deals Gap, Great Smoky Mountain National Forrest. New Switzerland, and lots more. And lots of great Bands play Asheville, and craft beer, wonderful restaurants.,Urgh , I hate you :wink:

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LOL … our main driver for moving was the weather … the house is at 3,300’ which should take the edge off the temperatures and the humidity in mid summer …

At last count there were 37 breweries in Asheville, though I have yet to verify that number in person, and you are quite right about the restaurants … excellent. Thank you all for your input on this subject.