I had a similar problem when I moved into a 1974-vintage home. A 6-amp space heater would cause dimming of lights farther up the chain. Upon inspection, I found that perhaps five AC outlets were wired in a "daisy-chain" fashion for the circuit in question. These particular outlets were all the quick-wire kind where the wire just pushes into the rear of the receptacle and is captured by a brass barb. So I went to the hardware store and purchased five Leviton Spec-Master outlets which actually capture the wire in an anvil (is that the right term?) screw-down grip. Installed them over the weekend, problem totally disappeared. The Spec-Master receptacles are a bit pricey, but I felt the added safety factor justified the cost. Brian Aase > -----Original Message----- > From: pic microcontroller discussion list > [mailto:PICLIST@MITVMA.MIT.EDU]On Behalf Of Douglas Butler > Sent: Friday, March 15, 2002 9:16 AM > To: PICLIST@MITVMA.MIT.EDU > Subject: Re: [EE]: Room electrical capacity > > > Here in the USA it is common to have a roomful of outlets, each rated > 15A, all on a single 15A or 20A breaker. You are not supposed to be > able to use all outlets to their full capacity simultaneously. > > But still I would like to know how much the line drops when the iron > turns on, and where that drop is. If you can identify the breaker that > serves this line, I would measure the voltage as it enters the breaker. > The voltage there should not change much. Then I would measure the > voltage as it leaves the breaker. There should be some drop that you > will have to live with. Then I would measure the voltage at a couple of > other outlets in that room. The best of these, minus the drop at the > breaker, is the drop in the wiring from the breaker box to the room. If > you estimate the length of wire used (both directions) and the wire size > you can calculate what the drop should be. If it is much higher you may > have a fire risk. You can also estimate what the drop should be between > outlets. You may have to move the iron around to get the current > flowing in the right wires. Sounds like a good project for a rainy > afternoon. > > Sherpa Doug > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: Pic Dude [mailto:picdude@AVN-TECH.COM] > > Sent: Friday, March 15, 2002 11:57 AM > > To: PICLIST@MITVMA.MIT.EDU > > Subject: [EE]: Room electrical capacity > > > > > > Just had my one-year home review and one of the issues I had raised > > was that the bedroom light dims when an iron is switched on. I can > > actually tell when the thermostat switches the iron on/off by > > the change > > of intensity of the light. > > > > The light was installed by the home-builder when the house was built > > and has 2 @ 60W bulbs in it. That should be less than 1 Amp total > > I believe. The only other thing in the room is a small > > digital alarm clock > > (no radio either). There are 6 other plug outlets in the > > room (each has > > 2 actual plug sockets), for a total capacity of 12 plugs. > > Nothing else > > is plugged into any of the room outlets. Only other factor > > is that the > > light switch was replaced with an x10 unit, but the dimming problem > > was there before the X10 stuff went in. > > > > An electrician came over today and said that this is normal, because > > the outlet is rated at 15A, and the outlet plus the light is > > taking more > > than 15A total. (The iron is rated at approx 10A, btw). He said that > > for places where an iron would be plugged in, they would normally add > > a special outlet. I've never heard of that before, cause > > it's an iron -- not > > a welder or dryer. > > > > Is this all just BS? If I have 12 outlets, that implies to a > > homeowner, > > a capacity of 12 x 15A, for a total of 180A. Perhaps one might say > > that it's 15A per plate (2 outlets) so the capacity is really > > only 90A. > > Either way, should the iron dim the room light noticeably? > > > > Why does this matter to me? Cause if I ever have a problem such as > > a fire, etc, my guess (from past issues with these guys) is that they > > will say that my warranty is void due to the X10 switch, and > > I'd like an > > official answer from them now, with the reasons etc. > > > > Cheers, > > -Neil. > > > > -- > > http://www.piclist.com hint: The PICList is archived three different > > ways. See http://www.piclist.com/#archives for details. > > > > > > -- > http://www.piclist.com hint: The PICList is archived three different > ways. See http://www.piclist.com/#archives for details. > > > -- http://www.piclist.com hint: The PICList is archived three different ways. See http://www.piclist.com/#archives for details.