|
Home > Archive > Electrical Engineering > February 2008 > I NEED PROFESSIONAL HELP!
You are viewing an archived Text-only version of the thread.
To view this thread in it's original format and/or if you want to reply to
this thread please [click here]
| Author |
I NEED PROFESSIONAL HELP!
|
|
| William Hufham 2008-02-22, 3:26 am |
| When my water heater kicks "ON" some (if not all) of my electrical
outlets serge to (136-139 volts) When I throw the hot water braker to
"OFF" the outlets resume (109-111 volts) I just replaced the (hot water
heater) heating element two days ago because of problems. Things are
better but my lights keep going from bright (136-139 volts) to dim
(109-111 volts) as often as hot water heater kicks on and off. Tonight
the lights were on bright (136-139 volts) I assume the hot water heater
was on and I turned on a french fryer (like a crock pot) and the lights
went down to dim (109-111volts) I turned on the french fryer several
times and the lights went from high to low everytime. When the hot water
heater braker is "OFF" the outlets are on (109-111 volts) and turning on
the french fryer has no effect on the lights, and the outlets stay on
(109-111 volts) Does anybody have a clue? or where I can get some
information I need! Thank You -William (from Carolina Beach NC)
| |
| Long Ranger 2008-02-22, 3:26 am |
|
"William Hufham" <William-Hufham@webtv.net> wrote in message
news:4859-47BE644D-355@storefull-3332.bay.webtv.net...
> When my water heater kicks "ON" some (if not all) of my electrical
> outlets serge to (136-139 volts) When I throw the hot water braker to
> "OFF" the outlets resume (109-111 volts) I just replaced the (hot water
> heater) heating element two days ago because of problems. Things are
> better but my lights keep going from bright (136-139 volts) to dim
> (109-111 volts) as often as hot water heater kicks on and off. Tonight
> the lights were on bright (136-139 volts) I assume the hot water heater
> was on and I turned on a french fryer (like a crock pot) and the lights
> went down to dim (109-111volts) I turned on the french fryer several
> times and the lights went from high to low everytime. When the hot water
> heater braker is "OFF" the outlets are on (109-111 volts) and turning on
> the french fryer has no effect on the lights, and the outlets stay on
> (109-111 volts) Does anybody have a clue? or where I can get some
> information I need! Thank You -William (from Carolina Beach NC)
What voltage is your water heater supposed to operate on? It would be
unusual to be 120 volts, but if it is I would suspect a loose or open
neutral.
| |
| Gerald Newton 2008-02-22, 9:25 am |
| On Feb 21, 8:57=A0pm, William-Huf...@webtv.net (William Hufham) wrote:
> When my water heater kicks "ON" some (if not all) of my electrical
> outlets serge to (136-139 volts) When I throw the hot water braker to
> "OFF" the outlets resume (109-111 volts) I just replaced the (hot water
> heater) heating element two days ago because of problems. Things are
> better but my lights keep going from bright (136-139 volts) to dim
> (109-111 volts) as often as hot water heater kicks on and off. Tonight
> the lights were on bright (136-139 volts) I assume the hot water heater
> was on and I turned on a french fryer (like a crock pot) and the lights
> went down to dim (109-111volts) I turned on the french fryer several
> times and the lights went from high to low everytime. When the hot water
> heater braker is "OFF" the outlets are on (109-111 volts) and turning on
> the french fryer has no effect on the lights, and the outlets stay on
> (109-111 volts) =A0Does anybody have a clue? or where I can get some
> information I need! Thank You -William (from Carolina Beach NC)
It appears your neutral is open. This can cause a fire by applying
too high a voltage to loads. Immediately, turn off your power and
hire a qualified electrician or electrical contractor to come and
troubleshoot your system.
| |
| William Hufham 2008-02-22, 1:25 pm |
| The hot water heater is small and it is 110 volts.
| |
| Ben Miller 2008-02-22, 1:25 pm |
| William Hufham wrote:
> The hot water heater is small and it is 110 volts.
You have a bad neutral connection. You need an electriciain to find and
repair the problem. At best this will cause failure of appliances and
lights. At worst it can be a fire hazard.
--
Benjamin D Miller, PE
www.bmillerengineering.com
| |
| Salmon Egg 2008-02-22, 1:25 pm |
| In article <22601-47BEF098-459@storefull-3333.bay.webtv.net>,
William-Hufham@webtv.net (William Hufham) wrote:
> The hot water heater is small and it is 110 volts.
That is unusual these days. Most equipment would be designed to run at
117 VAC. Most power companies would try to deliver at 120 VAC. Is your
110V a traditional value? What does it actually say on your heater's
nameplate.
I tend to go along with previous replies indicating yhaty you are having
neutral problems.
Bill
| |
| William Hufham 2008-02-23, 3:25 am |
| Hi Bill.... Thank you for your response to my problem. You are right,
the element is 1500 watts and 120 V I am such a novice, I didn't even
know that. I'm sure to annoy someone soon..haha I'm trying to find out
things for myself. I do have a question. I just bought a GREENLEE "Cat
ll" Digital Multimeter from Lowe's. When checking an outlet, I set the
multimeter on "200" to get a reading. However, my outlets seem abnormal
so I'll just ask. How many volts should a multimeter read if the outlet
is normal. Can the volts vary and still be normal. If so, how much. I
hope this gets through. My personal web address is:
William-Hufham@webtv.net Don't forget the dash! Please respond. Thank
You -William (from Carolina Beach NC)
| |
| Salmon Egg 2008-02-23, 3:25 am |
| In article <8673-47BF9D74-14@storefull-3337.bay.webtv.net>,
William-Hufham@webtv.net (William Hufham) wrote:
> Hi Bill.... Thank you for your response to my problem. You are right,
> the element is 1500 watts and 120 V I am such a novice, I didn't even
> know that. I'm sure to annoy someone soon..haha I'm trying to find out
> things for myself. I do have a question. I just bought a GREENLEE "Cat
> ll" Digital Multimeter from Lowe's. When checking an outlet, I set the
> multimeter on "200" to get a reading. However, my outlets seem abnormal
> so I'll just ask. How many volts should a multimeter read if the outlet
> is normal. Can the volts vary and still be normal. If so, how much. I
> hope this gets through. My personal web address is:
> William-Hufham@webtv.net Don't forget the dash! Please respond. Thank
> You -William (from Carolina Beach NC)
I am not certain that you are responding to me.
Set your meter to the 200V ac scale. Remember that the meter can have
its own error. It is possible that bad loads (those producing harmonics)
can distort the waveform and add to the error. I would expect you would
read about 120V. If it drops to 118 or goes to 122. It would be OK If it
drops below 115V, there probably is something wrong.
If your service is what is called an Edison system, you should have 240V
available somewhere. If you measure that voltage when your heater is
connected, and it does not drop by much (less than 1V) while voltage on
your line to the heater drops by 5V, that would be a good indication of
neutral problems.
If you notice that some lights brighten when your heater connects, that
is another sign of neutral problems. Measure the voltage supplied to
such lights.
Bill
| |
| Long Ranger 2008-02-23, 1:25 pm |
|
"Salmon Egg" <SalmonEgg@sbcglobal.net> wrote in message
news:SalmonEgg-EB6BA0.22354622022008@news.la.sbcglobal.net...
> In article <8673-47BF9D74-14@storefull-3337.bay.webtv.net>,
> William-Hufham@webtv.net (William Hufham) wrote:
>
>
> I am not certain that you are responding to me.
>
> Set your meter to the 200V ac scale. Remember that the meter can have
> its own error. It is possible that bad loads (those producing harmonics)
> can distort the waveform and add to the error. I would expect you would
> read about 120V. If it drops to 118 or goes to 122. It would be OK If it
> drops below 115V, there probably is something wrong.
>
> If your service is what is called an Edison system, you should have 240V
> available somewhere. If you measure that voltage when your heater is
> connected, and it does not drop by much (less than 1V) while voltage on
> your line to the heater drops by 5V, that would be a good indication of
> neutral problems.
And also an indication that you should set your meter higher than 200 volts.
| |
| William Hufham 2008-02-24, 3:25 am |
| Well you guys were right. After many trials and errors. I finally found
a loose neutral connection. I cleaned the wire and screwed it down
tight.... Every circuit went back to normal. Thanks to you guys I saved
some big bucks by not having to hire an electrician. Thank You very
much. Again, Thank You -William (from Carolina Beach NC)
|
|
|
|
|