Circuits for a Casino gaming floor

Status
Not open for further replies.
D

dannyrzk

Member
Location
tulsa, OK
Good morning, we are designing a new casino, and trying to quantify the circuits I need base on the manufacturer electrical load charts.

typical game spec (120v): startup/surge 1.2 amp ; operating: 1.2 Amp; max load 6.3 amp

I was thinking about using three (3) machines per circuits, since at 1.2 amp that will be more than sufficient, But that max load of 6.3 amp,makes me want to put only two machine per circuit, giving a total of max load of 18.9 amp, is way over the allow 80% by NEC.

I would appreciate if some of you had been in the same or similar situation would like to share some knowledge, and how did you or would you go about it?

Thanks much

(one thought is using 30 amp instead of 20 amp breaker)
 
If the max load rating is a continuous rating @ 6.3 amps then the 125% is already included. 3 @ 1- 20 amp circuit should be ok you can put a 16 amp continuous load on a 20 amp circuit so 16 X 125% = 20 amps compared to 6.3 x 3 = 18.9 amps
 
I suggest having a chat with the owner's representative. The one thing a casino cannot tolerate is equipment out of service (i.e., money not being put into the machine). So if one machine fails, and you have to turn off two others in order to fix it, they will be losing money on the two inactive machines. They may wish to have each machine served by a separate circuit. This is not a code issue, but rather a design choice.
 
charlie b said:
I suggest having a chat with the owner's representative. The one thing a casino cannot tolerate is equipment out of service (i.e., money not being put into the machine). So if one machine fails, and you have to turn off two others in order to fix it, they will be losing money on the two inactive machines. They may wish to have each machine served by a separate circuit. This is not a code issue, but rather a design choice.
Click to expand...

+1 on that.

think of gaming machines as ATM's with a positive cash flow.
there is no way you want those things dark, for any reason.
however, two cord connected machines per circuit seems
reasonable. if you have a machine fault that trips a breaker,
you could simply unplug it and restore the circuit.

what's the design parameters for UPS service to the gaming areas?
iirc, most of the nevada casinos have full backup to all the gaming
areas. lights, equipment, everything... 'cause if the power goes off,
and the only thing that is lit up and live is the casino.... well, thats
not a bad thing from the perspective of the casino operator, is it?
 
If a customer is playing a progressive machine, then neither they nor the casino will be happy if that machine becomes unavailable for any length of time because of a fault in another machine.
So the answer to how many games per circuit may well depend on the nature of the particular machine involved. I would also guess that the casino will be very concerned about coordination of breakers.
 
Fulthrotl said:
+1 on that.

think of gaming machines as ATM's with a positive cash flow.
there is no way you want those things dark, for any reason.
however, two cord connected machines per circuit seems
reasonable. if you have a machine fault that trips a breaker,
you could simply unplug it and restore the circuit.

what's the design parameters for UPS service to the gaming areas?
iirc, most of the nevada casinos have full backup to all the gaming
areas. lights, equipment, everything... 'cause if the power goes off,
and the only thing that is lit up and live is the casino.... well, thats
not a bad thing from the perspective of the casino operator, is it?
Click to expand...



first of all thank you all for the response, I'm taking in consideration all the answers. on weather we have a UPS for the machines it self, it has not being play out yet, however we do have and emergency generator on site. Granted, there are 6 seconds to take in account, and that can be an eternity in this scenario.

thank you all, I'll be taking all this knowledge into account, from 6.3amp being the max continuous load, and already been accounted for to having a writing from the owner asking for more circuits for peace of mind.
 
charlie b said:
I suggest having a chat with the owner's representative. The one thing a casino cannot tolerate is equipment out of service (i.e., money not being put into the machine). So if one machine fails, and you have to turn off two others in order to fix it, they will be losing money on the two inactive machines. They may wish to have each machine served by a separate circuit. This is not a code issue, but rather a design choice.
Click to expand...

I agree with your comments but I have lost plenty of bids due to design above & beyond code & not per code like others. Your chat with the owners rep may not extend to all bids
 
dannyrzk said:
Good morning, we are designing a new casino, and trying to quantify the circuits I need base on the manufacturer electrical load charts.

typical game spec (120v): startup/surge 1.2 amp ; operating: 1.2 Amp; max load 6.3 amp

I was thinking about using three (3) machines per circuits, since at 1.2 amp that will be more than sufficient, But that max load of 6.3 amp,makes me want to put only two machine per circuit, giving a total of max load of 18.9 amp, is way over the allow 80% by NEC.

I would appreciate if some of you had been in the same or similar situation would like to share some knowledge, and how did you or would you go about it?

Thanks much

(one thought is using 30 amp instead of 20 amp breaker)
Click to expand...

The 6.3 amps is not continuous. It is a max. rating. I see no problem with putting 6.3A * 3 = 18.9 amps max. on a 20 amp circuit. The odds of all three machines using 6.3 amps at the same time would be small, and if it happened, it wouldn't last for 3 hours or more.

So I see no problem with 3 machines per circuit, at least codewise.
 
steve66 said:
The 6.3 amps is not continuous. It is a max. rating. I see no problem with putting 6.3A * 3 = 18.9 amps max. on a 20 amp circuit. The odds of all three machines using 6.3 amps at the same time would be small, and if it happened, it wouldn't last for 3 hours or more.

So I see no problem with 3 machines per circuit, at least codewise.
Click to expand...


right, but isn't that exceeding the maximum of 80% allow per code, which is 16 amp?maybe I need to read that again.:D
 
mwm1752 said:
I agree with your comments but I have lost plenty of bids due to design above & beyond code & not per code like others. Your chat with the owners rep may not extend to all bids
Click to expand...


this is exactly what I'm trying to avoid. Plus our client is looking closely to every penny spend.
 
steve66 said:
The 6.3 amps is not continuous. It is a max. rating. I see no problem with putting 6.3A * 3 = 18.9 amps max. on a 20 amp circuit. The odds of all three machines using 6.3 amps at the same time would be small, and if it happened, it wouldn't last for 3 hours or more.

So I see no problem with 3 machines per circuit, at least codewise.
Click to expand...


I get your drift now -- the machines will not use max current for more than 3 hours - just in itermittent time segments as needed -- non continuous load
 
Last edited:
dannyrzk said:
right, but isn't that exceeding the maximum of 80% allow per code, which is 16 amp?
Click to expand...
The 80% rule applies to continuous loads. If your loads are all non-continuous, you can load the circuit all the way up to 20 amps.

 
mwm1752 said:
I get your drift now -- the machines will not use max current for more than 3 hours - just in itermittent time segments as needed -- non continuous load
Click to expand...
Don't those machines run all the time (sound and lights) irrespective of whether anyone is playing them? How much more is the load when there is a player?
 
ggunn said:
Don't those machines run all the time (sound and lights) irrespective of whether anyone is playing them? How much more is the load when there is a player?
Click to expand...

Yes, but they still say operating load is only 1.2 amps. They really don't say when the 6.3 amps would happen - maybe only when they hit a payout?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top