All I know, or at least I think I know. Longer runs and chaining extensions create resistance. It’s why they can feel hot to the touch. Heavier gauge extension cords can help reduce this.
Someone way smarter than I can hopefully correct my thinking.
That probably makes sense - I don’t think chaining itself will cause that though, that would be a byproduct of the additional length created.
I feel like chaining itself is fine, it’s the problems you can create by chaining that are the issue.
That’s splitting hairs though isn’t it 
I think it’s best to avoid either way, especially these days you don’t need more than 12 sockets on an extension, fire isn’t fun.
This could be a good signature for all of my posts
1 Like
That strip is all wrong. The holes should be facing in a different direction so when you plug in something bulky the bulky part goes over the nearby holes so dust doesn’t go inside those holes.
1 Like
sounds like it could be one of three possible issues: 1) the outlets in your room aren’t spaced well enough throughout the room to get power to everything you want to without using extension cords or daisy-chaining outlet strips (or both!). or 2) you’re concerned that you’re attempting to draw too much power for the circuit. or 3) you’ve got issues with the quality of the power in the room.
case #1: yes it may be worth your while to speak with an electrician to get more outlets installed. you could possibly use outlet strips with longer cables (e.g. I have some ten-outlet strips, each with 15ft cables). but as mentioned, avoid daisy-chaining these or using extension cords.
case #2: purchase a device to measure how much current you’re pulling. if it’s at/over/near the limit of the circuit, you should speak with an electrician about giving your space a dedicated circuit, if possible. or move something else that’s on that circuit (e.g. a power hungry home appliance) to another circuit.
case #3: likely bad grounding or interference. a conditioner could help. if not: electrician.
How many sockets on your walls?
How many things do you want to power?
Alternative strategy
1 Like
Firefighters told me that plugging a surge strip into another overloads the strips. A four sockets strip, for example, is made to feed four devices, if you plug another four sockets strip into it you make it feed seven devices and it can overload and became too hot.
1 Like
This doesn’t really make sense though because any given device has different power needs, both in terms of amperage and voltage.
You can overload a power strip with 1 device if it needs enough wattage, or you could have four 5v USB devices plugged into it and it won’t even know you’re home - there’s not really such a thing as a device limit, and the wires inside the adapter don’t know the difference between a solder joint and a plug socket.
Edit: I found something potentially interesting
The trouble is that not every fuse will blow. Sometimes, they’re such low quality in a low-budget multiway extension that the fuse fails to trip and then the extension is running too many amps. With low-quality sockets on inferior extensions, the sockets themselves can become faulty. A circuit overloads and ultimately, an electrical fire can be created due to the amps exceeding the capability of the components to handle it.
This makes sense - so it’s about the socket itself being a point of failure, and you’re essentially adding more points of failure - you want to keep that as ‘flat’ as possible, so more gangs on a single extension is safer.
1 Like
Yes, but:
1 Like
Yea that stuff can suck down serious amperage. A toaster can use like 10A - you want that stuff on its own socket!
Looks like I may have opened an interesting can-of-worms.
So, to answer the question my system. My relatively new house has a bedroom I’ve purposed for the studio. Previous house, I had about 10 sockets installed (UK btw).
Currently I just have 2 working sockets. There’s a third, which isn’t working.
There’s the Mac and related bits, including speakers, which I have on one socket - speakers and monitor are on a smart plug which turns them off automatically at night, if I forget.
Then I have a whole load of synths, effects, mixers and modules etc. Some external power supplies and some internal. Various sizes and power requirements. Currently, I’m just powering-up a subset at any one time. If I wanted all of them going at the same time (which I probably wouldn’t most of the time), maybe 25 to 30 devices?
Not plugging a surge protector into a surge protector is interesting too. I’m pretty sure I’m not doing that as-is, but might have to check. I am chaining to an extent, for now.
I think even from a practicality perspective you’re going to want more sockets. The single sockets can be turned into doubles, as long as they’re the only socket on that wire from the ring main - that gives you an extra 13A at each socket. That’s a very simple job for an electrician.
But have a look at the total power as well as the number of devices. Go by the the output on the adapter (this will be more than is actually used but it gives you a good ceiling).
I get all my synth stuff onto one 10 gang extension but it’s pushing the limits of what it can take. I have limited options in my music space too.
Edit: Also I assume you don’t need to power it all at once - could you be clever in how you route the power so that you can turn ‘banks’ of gear on/off maybe? Might not be practical for how you use it.
Even from the point of view of conserving power, I do just that as-is. I have a sizeable solar-panel setup (with battery), so monitoring consumption is a bit of an obsession. 
1 Like
I have all my gear into power strips, which are in a branch configuration, so a 3 way, which has in each socket another 4 or 6 way strip, some of those have additional strips.
But I made sure I knew the total load with everything on, by using one of these:
Suffice to say never use toaster, kettles, heaters or any other high energy devices in the same sockets or power strips.
I have around 46 devices all terminating in the same wall outlet, and the total current is a little over 300w which is around 2.5amps at 240v, each power strip is 10a and I make sure that I share the load as evenly as practical.
Also DO NOT cheap out on electrical hardware, but don’t go for designer consumer stuff either (which is usually garbage) get your power strips and sockets from a reputable manufacturer, I always use MK or similar industry standard stuff - Crabtree, Schnieder, for wall outlets, and avoid fancy looking metal faced outlets - they are crap. For extension/power strips avoid the cheap plastic looking ones which cost less than £10, go for well made reputable brands.
Most studio gear is pretty low energy, a good rule of thumb is stuff with motors and which produces heat is higher energy, so amplifiers, PCs, large analogue mixers etc. and stuff with wall warts or line lumps like sequencers, drum machines etc are usually very low energy.
You can read the PSU specifications and work it out from there.
Keep an eye on the condition of power strips, and don’t stress the plugs/cable and never have them coiled up in use, buy the closest length of cable you need.
1 Like
I actually tried this out as a kid, I plugged every extension cable I could find together and attached a lamp at the end. Blew the fuse when I put it on.
That’s one lesson learned for life 
But in my “studio/office” room there are so few wall sockets that I have no other option than chaining and it works fine when kept at a minimum. I have managed to blow the fuse when i put on the main switch with my Neumann KH 120s, a DAC, my Thunderbolt Hub and monitor and everything was turned on. Now I switch the speakers separetely.
1 Like
That’s essentially what I currently have. for the lower power devices. One strip with individual on/off switches, with strips connected to that.
On the face of it, this goes against what others were saying about chaining being safe-ish… unless it was a >300w bulb. I wonder why this happened.
I’m running ~20 devices from a single wall socket, via a tree of extensions. One of the devices is my standing desk, which has motors but only runs a couple of times a day. Some of my extension cables are coiled. I will eventually get an electrician to provide more sockets but there’s other rooms further up the TODO list… . Uh-oh.
I am using Furman for this but I don’t know if 10A is enough to drive two big modular systems, 5-7 synths, big pedal chain and lastly tube racks and all that. Computer, interface… my setup is separate grid block into Furman and then I am using plugs. Stuff has it’s own shielded “channel” plug on the Furman. It’s a very delicate theme as in my case I am having issues with it sometimes. Unstable signal strenght, gear acting all weird (weak signal) etc…
Elektron works smooth as always.
Euro is 2x45W + another similar load, then count in some pedals, synths, etc. etc. Compressors, eq’s, channel strip, tape… etc…
So maybe it’s about load in my case?
Id grab 3 x 12way decent power strips. 1 into each wall socket.
Try get your 3rd socket fixed.
I doubt any music device draws much power but if you have any concerns monitor the power draw with one of them power meters posted above.
Even with 12 devices running on it 12way i doubt you will be above 1kw. (They handle just over 3kw each).
If this is the case you could even change the fuse in the 12 ways plug to a lower value(based on current of all 12 ) I do this on a few things in my setups for added protection as these 12ways only get used for 1 task.
Has anyone tried or have any thoughts on the Black Lion Audio power conditioners?
They seem a little pricey but on the positive side they take normal wall plugs, so no need for a heap of new cables. Also the two additional outlets on the front plus usb charger would be VERY handy with where my rack is located.