I have a whole house surge protector but I have 5 pinball machines that I want extra protection. Each machine has its own receptacle. Do they make a smart wall receptacle with surge protection built in? Trying to clean things up behind the machines and not have so much clutter. TIA

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Posted by Tree_Fall

Member since Mar 2021

822 posts

Posted on 3/13/25 at 11:52 am to Scoobahdoo

A simple approach would be to but a smart branch circuit breaker in your breaker box. You'll need to figure the maximum load for the machines. That also assumes that thecircuit isn't powering other things that you don't want on a smart circuit.

What vintage of machines do you have? If they are old electro-mechanical they may be sparky and need a filter to keep that noise out of your house wiring.

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Posted by Scoobahdoo

Member since Feb 2013

392 posts

Posted on 3/13/25 at 8:35 pm to Tree_Fall

No vintage machines. Modern pins so they don’t draw as much power as the old arms

Thanks for the advice. I’m going to mention this to my electrician and see what he thinks

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Posted by Tree_Fall

Member since Mar 2021

822 posts

Posted on 3/14/25 at 8:19 am to Scoobahdoo

I know almost nothing about pinball machines. With digital circuits and intended for heavy commercial usage I'd expect them to have surge protection and interference filters/chokes built in.

Don't be surprised if your electrician says that you need a whole new junction box. Recently, I wanted to add a smart meter but didn't because a 45 year old box couldn't accommodate the system I wanted.

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