What Not to Plug In
Some things go into a wall outlet and nowhere else. This is the shortest list on the site and the one with the least room for judgment.
Strips into strips
A strip is designed on the assumption that it is fed directly from a wall outlet. Chaining a second strip, or feeding one from an extension cord, puts everything downstream behind two sets of contacts and two cords that nobody planned together.
If you have run out of sockets, the answer is a different strip with more sockets, or an outlet in a different place, not a second strip on the end of the first.
Heating appliances
Space heaters, kettles, irons, hot plates, and anything else whose job is to make heat go into a wall outlet directly. Not a strip, not an extension cord, not the media strip behind the stand because it happened to be closer.
This is not a media question and it turns up in the room anyway, usually in winter, usually because the strip was the nearest thing with a free socket.
Motors and compressors
A vacuum, an air compressor, a window air conditioner, a portable dehumidifier: these draw far more than a soundbar and they draw it in surges when the motor starts. They do not belong on the strip that feeds your screen.
Nothing on this page states an amperage or a wattage for any of them. Those numbers are printed on the appliance and in its documentation, and that is where to read them.
The media devices
A screen or a projector, a soundbar, a subwoofer, a streaming box, a console, a disc player, a router. These are the devices the strips on this site are being bought for, and they are the ones the outlet count on the planning page is built around.
Even here, the strip is not a place to solve a reach problem. If the cord does not get there, the strip is in the wrong place or the cord is the wrong length.
Warning signs
Warmth in a plug, a socket, or a cord. Discoloration around a socket. A smell of burning. A buzz. A plug that falls part way out under its own weight. Any of these means unplug at the wall and stop using that item.
If the wall outlet itself is warm, scorched, or loose in the box, do not open it and do not keep using it. That is an electrician call and there is no version of it that is a media project.
Common errors
| Error | Consequence | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Adding a second strip when the first one fills up | Every device on the second strip now sits behind two cords and two sets of contacts. | Replace the strip with one that has enough sockets, or plan a second wall outlet. |
| Plugging a space heater into the media strip in winter | A heating appliance runs through a strip that was bought to feed a soundbar. | Put every heating appliance straight into a wall outlet. |
| Using an extension cord to feed the strip behind the stand | The whole wall runs through a cord that was chosen for length and nothing else. | Move the strip closer to the outlet or buy a strip with a longer cord. |
Before starting
Stop
Never plug a power strip or surge protector into another power strip, surge protector, or extension cord.
Stop
Never plug a space heater, kettle, iron, hot plate, or any other heating appliance into a power strip, surge protector, or extension cord. Heating appliances go directly into a wall outlet.
Stop
Unplug at the wall and stop using anything that is warm, discolored, buzzing, loose in its socket, or smells of burning. If the wall outlet itself is warm or scorched, call an electrician.
Note
No amperage, wattage, or load limit appears anywhere on this page. Those figures belong to your equipment and your wiring, and they are printed on the equipment and in its documentation.