Worried about a pinball machine overloading your circuit breaker? Many people want to know how much current a pinball machine requires.
Pinball machines have basically three states. Off. On in attract mode when some of the lights are flashing and in play when flippers are flipping and pop bumpers are bumping.
In attract mode a typical EM or electro-mechanical pinball machine will draw about 2 amps of power. During play, the amps needed will range from 1 to 2 amps. At peak, for example, when the game resets and all the score reels are firing, the game might hit 3.2 amps. A game outfitted with LED lights will draw less power.
More modern machines have a lot more motors and magnets, as well as high voltage DMD, displays or LCD monitors. Most of the pinball machines in the last decade come with LED lighting which lowers the power needed at least in the general illumination and the insert lights.
A modern SS, DMD or newer pinball machine will draw about 2 amps in attract mode but during gameplay can peak all the way up to 6 amps depending on the machine. It all depends on the power-hungry gadgets or toys.
To figure out how many pinball machines you can put on a circuit ask yourself a few questions – Will they be on at the same time? Will they be played at the same time?
When figuring out how many pinball machines you can have on a circuit- take the average
amps you are going to be using on a circuit and compare it to the
breaker size x .8. because you should be running a breaker no more than 80%
loaded.
The circuit breaker trips when too much electricity flows through it or when it cannot handle the excess current load. This means that the flow of electricity is cut off to keep your circuits from overheating or causing more damage.
