power question,voltage reg ? bakup batt ?

[tattoo_Dan]

I live in an old mobile home,and the electrical is old and not that great,I use an APC-H15 conditioner,which I am happy with,I just bought two window ac units for the house,and now when I have them both on and my ht system on "Line Boost" comes on on the APC-H15 ,no big deal really,but to help that(besides having en electrician come out)
is there a voltage regulator/power supply or backup battery type unit that I can plug the APC-H15 into to further make the voltage better/more stable ?



without spending an arm & a leg ?

something like this inline with my APC ? http://www.amazon.com/Tripp-Lite-OmniSmart-6-Outlet-Uninterruptible/dp/B0000514YO?SubscriptionId=03AEDHXFEFT4M483ZH02&tag=vulcanauto-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B0000514YO or this http://store.audioholics.com/product/2788/109/panamax-mb850-battery-backup-850-va

or should I just let the APC-H15 do it's job ? would adding another one like these just be redundant ?

TIA,Dan

 

[TLS Guy]

I live in an old mobile home,and the electrical is old and not that great,I use an APC-H15 conditioner,which I am happy with,I just bought two window ac units for the house,and now when I have them both on and my ht system on "Line Boost" comes on on the APC-H15 ,no big deal really,but to help that(besides having en electrician come out)
is there a voltage regulator/power supply or backup battery type unit that I can plug the APC-H15 into to further make the voltage better/more stable ?

or should I just let the APC-H15 do it's job ?

without spending an arm & a leg ?

something like this inline with my APC ? http://www.amazon.com/Tripp-Lite-OmniSmart-6-Outlet-Uninterruptible/dp/B0000514YO?SubscriptionId=03AEDHXFEFT4M483ZH02&tag=vulcanauto-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B0000514YO

TIA,Dan

The APC unit is doing its job. However as pointed out in the specs, a situation like you describe is potentially dangerous.

You should not have low voltage running a couple of air conditioners.

So you have either a high resistance in your panel which will cause heat and eventually quite likely a dangerous fire.

This problem is usually caused by corrosion where your service connects to your panel. An electrician will have to check this out.

The other possibility is that your local power company transformer is overloaded or old and failing.

The power company can check this out, but will likely only do so after an electrician has declared your electrical panel in good order.

I had just this situation a few years ago caused by winter heating load.

I was able to demonstrate to the power company, transformer core saturation. This was causing severe hysteresis distortion, crossover distortion ad higher THD in the power supplied to my home than allowed by law. This type of problem can damage not just your HT equipment, but household appliances also, and cost you a bundle.

Also the voltage drop causes your electric meter to record and bill you for more power than you actually use.

Here is the distorted wave I was receiving from the power company. In addition voltage was reduced under loading.

Here is the wave after replacing the pole transformer with a new one of larger power rating.

Get it checked and turn off your AC until you do.

 

[tattoo_Dan]

thanks for the info

it drops from 120 or 119 to 116 or 115,is that a dangerous drop ?

right now with nothing on except this pc and a desklamp in my office,it's at 121v

 

[TLS Guy]

thanks for the info

it drops from 120 or 119 to 116 or 115,is that a dangerous drop ?

right now with nothing on except this pc and a desklamp in my office,it's at 121v

That is up to a 6 volt drop. If you tell me the power draw of your air conditions, I will work out how much heat that is generating at the resistance causing the voltage drop, and how much resistance there is, assuming the problem is at your panel.

For instance if each air conditioner draws 10 amps of current, and it is probably at least that, for a total of 20 amps. Then if you had resistance at the panel, the resistance would be 0.3 ohm to produce a voltage drop of 6 volts. That will generate 120 watts of heat at the point of resistance, which is quite enough to cause dangerous heating over time.

 

[tattoo_Dan]

That is up to a 6 volt drop. If you tell me the power draw of your air conditions, I will work out how much heat that is generating at the resistance causing the voltage drop, and how much resistance there is, assuming the problem is at your panel.

For instance if each air conditioner draws 10 amps of current, and it is probably at least that, for a total of 20 amps. Then if you had resistance at the panel, the resistance would be 0.3 ohm to produce a voltage drop of 6 volts. That will generate 120 watts of heat at the point of resistance, which is quite enough to cause dangerous heating over time.

the only info is on the plug on each ac
the small one is 10amps 1250watts
the large one is 10amps 1200 watts

btw,thanks very much for helping me

and I'm going to have an electrician come out and look at my house.

 

[TLS Guy]

the only info is on the plug on each ac
the small one is 10amps 1250watts
the large one is 10amps 1200 watts

btw,thanks very much for helping me

So my guess and calculations are correct.

That needs looking into.

 

[tattoo_Dan]

So my guess and calculations are correct.

That needs looking into.

do old circuit breakers need to be replaced periodically ?

 

[TLS Guy]

do old circuit breakers need to be replaced periodically ?

Circuit breakers certainly can develop problems.

However if you have voltage drops that are on a circuit that the AC units are not using, then it is not the breaker. It has to be further back than that, and most likely where your service enters, or at your power companies transformer.

Unless you are experienced do not mess at the panel. Also you have to sort out the two phases to make sense of it all. You need qualified help.

 

[tattoo_Dan]

Circuit breakers certainly can develop problems.

However if you have voltage drops that are on a circuit that the AC units are not using, then it is not the breaker. It has to be further back than that, and most likely where your service enters, or at your power companies transformer.

Unless you are experienced do not mess at the panel. Also you have to sort out the two phases to make sense of it all. You need qualified help.

oh trust me,I am not an electrician and I would not attempt ANYTHING in that world !

I would for sure pay an expert to do the repairs for me,

thanks again for the hlp

 

[tattoo_Dan]

so I got a couple estimates and found a guy we like and he will be installing 2 new dedicated 20 a circuits in the ht room and one in the master bath next friday.

 

[demoncamber]

learning something new every day!

 

[tattoo_Dan]

so the work is done,we ended up getting 3 new 20a outlets,2 in the HT room and 1 in the master bath,and the voltage has stayed steady,it was well worth it IMO.


thanks TLS Guy

 

[Cruise Missile]

Timely thread...

We're seeing drops to 113 volts on two seperate breakers when the a/c fires up. It's not momentary either such as the draw to start the compressor.

Both APC ht10's (seperate rooms/breakers) kick in to boost just before the fan starts and return to normal when it shuts down. This is why I got to checking things out. The main is a 100 amp and the box has 280 total amps of breakers in the house circuits.

Am I wrong for thinking that the mains rating should be a bit closer to the total potential of the attached circuits? I have very little knowledge in this field so please excuse the ignorance.

It looks like there's a future electricians visit coming our way.

I forgot to state that the voltage hovers 118 when the a/c is off.

 

[TLS Guy]

so the work is done,we ended up getting 3 new 20a outlets,2 in the HT room and 1 in the master bath,and the voltage has stayed steady,it was well worth it IMO.


thanks TLS Guy

I'm glad I steered you in the right direction. Now you are safe.

 

[TLS Guy]

We're seeing drops to 113 volts on two seperate breakers when the a/c fires up. It's not momentary either such as the draw to start the compressor.

Both APC ht10's (seperate rooms/breakers) kick in to boost just before the fan starts and return to normal when it shuts down. This is why I got to checking things out. The main is a 100 amp and the box has 280 total amps of breakers in the house circuits.

Am I wrong for thinking that the mains rating should be a bit closer to the total potential of the attached circuits? I have very little knowledge in this field so please excuse the ignorance.

It looks like there's a future electricians visit coming our way.

I forgot to state that the voltage hovers 118 when the a/c is off.

Yes, you need an electrician, that is too large a voltage drop and needs investigating.

 

[Rickster71]

We're seeing drops to 113 volts on two seperate breakers when the a/c fires up. It's not momentary either such as the draw to start the compressor.

Both APC ht10's (seperate rooms/breakers) kick in to boost just before the fan starts and return to normal when it shuts down. This is why I got to checking things out. The main is a 100 amp and the box has 280 total amps of breakers in the house circuits.

Am I wrong for thinking that the mains rating should be a bit closer to the total potential of the attached circuits? I have very little knowledge in this field so please excuse the ignorance.

It looks like there's a future electricians visit coming our way.

I forgot to state that the voltage hovers 118 when the a/c is off.

I agree with Mark, That's too much of a voltage drop.

I'd call the Power Co first to check everything up to your meter.
The two reasons I'm suggesting this is, it's free, and If possible I always try to be systematic when trouble shooting.
If they find nothing then call an electrician.

 

[Cruise Missile]

Solved.

The connections at the breakers for the a/c were loose by a couple of turns. Now the power stays level when the a/c is on.

Next time we'll put in some dedicated power for the theater as the box is at the opposite end of the house and my wallet could only take the first part this month.

Thanks again guys....