Inspect your Power Bars...

[p_mori7]

So...for a few weeks now, my wife has been complaining that the lights have been flickering some times...I though maybe since installed my window A/C about 2 month ago, and that it's getting a little long in the tooth, that maybe the compressor motor was getting a little hard to turn over causing a dip in current.

It's quiet in the house today, wife & kids are away; and my allergies were really bugging me...so I am just relaxing on the couch this evening watching TV.

And I start noticing that this flicker is quite pronounced...and the A/C is humming away normally...hmmm...so I say to myself I better check into this a little closer !

Start with the main panel to see if there were any hot spots in it...all good...turn off main power and check all the connections...I see one neutral that I am not sure about...but everything is tight & cool...I route the neutral I don't like to another screw anyways.

So up to the bedroom I go...wanting to check the A/C & it's power cord...all A-OK. Into the same outlet as the A/C cord, I see a power bar that I don't remember ever buying...hmmm

I turn off the switch on the power bar...and turn the main back on...sit back down in front of the TV for a few minutes...no flickering !

So back up I go, and I flip the switch on the power bar...Flicker ! S.O.B !

I take the power bar out and look at it a little closer:



I think this is a dollar-store power bar that my wife got at some point...because in addition to the TV and Cable Box plugs, there is a cable for her iPod and for her tablet.

So, tomorrow, I will get a good power bar, and then check the draw on the TV and the cable box...The TV is getting old, and it's a tube type. I didn't notice which appliance was plugged into which slot in the power bar.

Take a few minutes to check your power bars guys & gals !

 

[BillK]

Wonder if it has a UL sticker on it ? Might be worth letting them know about it. Seems like more and more of these types of products are getting cheaper and cheaper, both price and quality. When it comes to anything electrical I insist on some type of name brand even if it costs double.

Good catch ! Flames would have probably been next

 

[Norcal]

If you look at the innards of those cheapie power strips there is not much there just 3 brass strips punched out to accept the prongs. What does anyone expect from a $3-5 item?. UL listed Zinsco so I really have little respect for them, but counterfeit UL labels on goods from China are out there too.

I hate the damn things, use a couple behind the TV, a SL Waber using Hubbell components, & a Wiremold model, but refuse to go cheap.

 

[Hephaestus29]

I thought this was a thread about eating power bars before I started reading about the power strips. LOL

 

[G_P]

If you look at the innards of those cheapie power strips there is not much there just 3 brass strips punched out to accept the prongs. What does anyone expect from a $3-5 item?. UL listed Zinsco so I really have little respect for them, but counterfeit UL labels on goods from China are out there too.

I hate the damn things, use a couple behind the TV, a SL Waber using Hubbell components, & a Wiremold model, but refuse to go cheap.

Yup. The innards of some of those Chinese $1 power strips are thinner than aluminum foil.

I find tons of quality power strips at garage sales for cheap or free so I chopped off the cords and threw away the couple POS ones I had. Not worth burning the house down to save a few bucks!

 

[alfredeneuman]

You would better served by plugging the TV into the power tap, and the AC directly into the receptacle.

 

[Beemer533]

I would not plug a window ac unit into a power strip.. Before I had central air installed, I had similar issues with my units, and they were plugged directly into the wall.. I ran a dedicated 15a circuit for the units and that got rid of all my flickering issues.

 

[Charles (in GA)]

You would better served by plugging the TV into the power tap, and the AC directly into the receptacle.

Thats how he found it, A/C directly into the wall receptacle, power strip also plugged into the same receptacle.

Into the same outlet as the A/C cord, I see a power bar....

Charles

 

[alfredeneuman]

I was going with this from the same post:

I turn off the switch on the power bar...and turn the main back on...sit back down in front of the TV for a few minutes...no flickering !

So back up I go, and I flip the switch on the power bar...Flicker ! S.O.B !

 

[LS6 Tommy]

That's not 100% the power strip's fault. You shouldn't have it plugged into the same receptacle as the window unit. Heck, the window unit should be on it's own circuit...

Tommy

 

[p_mori7]

Just to be clear.

- The A/C is a single cord plugged directly in to the top half of the outlet.

- The power strip is plugged into the lower half of the outlet. There are 3 things plugged into that outlet. A 27" tube TV. A cable box. An iPod charger. The TV is on only a few hours a week. The cable box is always ON, but doesn't pull much juice.

- I purchased a new heavy duty power strip this morning, everything is plugged back in, the A/C is working; and there is no flickering.

- I agree a window unit should be it's own circuit, but the house wasn't built that way back in 1981, and I am not going to add a dedicated circuit for something that gets used 3 months of the year (and not even full time).

- I don't understand why LS6 says it's not the power strip's fault because ther is an A/C unit plugged into the top half of the outlet ? Why would that be ?

- The damaged power strip had a CSA logo stamped onto the back, but no UL. CSA is like UL here in Canada. Normally I see stuff that has CSA and UL on it. So I suspect that the chinese factory fraudulently stamped it CSA.

 

[Mongo68]

I've personally seen a few of those strips cause radio interference too. Absolutely no reason to suspect them, not much inside them, but there they were... Sometimes things are just nuts!

 

[BillK]

- I don't understand why LS6 says it's not the power strip's fault because ther is an A/C unit plugged into the top half of the outlet ? Why would that be ?

Could be partially true if the AC is pulling the voltage down on the circuit. Less voltage equals more current to do the same work. So the item plugged into the strip would need more current. Kind of far fetched, but possible. I vote for a cheap power strip myself.

Might be worth putting a voltmeter on it and see what is happening when the AC is running.

 

[Syberia]

I'm guessing the problem has nothing to do with the A/C, and everything to do with a loose connection inside the power strip. A loose connection will arc, which creates heat even with as small of a load as a phone charger or TV.

If the A/C is not tripping the breaker, it is fine where it is.

 

[ddawg16]

I'm guessing g a lot of you don't know what is in those power strips.

Most of the cheap ones (including American made) have an MOV across the line. The MOV is a high resistance until the voltage reaches a certain level. The idea being if you get a surge (increased voltage), it goes low resistance and clamps the surge.

For the most part, MOV's are a one shot deal. One good surge...they clamp the voltage but burn up after that. Downside, you have no real way of knowing it's bad.

I'm 'guessing' the MOV's in your outlet strip were marginal and partially causing your voltage to dip.

I think it's time you do a load test on your ckts.

It's real simple.

Plug a voltmeter into the top recwot of an outlet. Measure the voltage. Then plug in an iron into the bottom recpt. Turn it on and measure the voltage. If you see more tha a 3-3 colt drop, you have a bad connection somewhere.

Do this for all your outlets.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[btlegacy]

Those cheapie power strips often have inferior connections inside. I prefer something with some protection such as this unit:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00006B828/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[p_mori7]

Thanks for the tip DDawg !

 

[Norcal]

I doubt the OP's power strip even has surge protection.

 

[ddawg16]

I doubt the OP's power strip even has surge protection.

Most of those cheap ones have at least 2 MOV's. I use them all the time....

If it was a bad connection in the strip and no MOV's, I can't imagine why it would be cause flickering on devices not connected to it.

 

[wyliesdiesels]

Just to be clear.

- The A/C is a single cord plugged directly in to the top half of the outlet.

- The power strip is plugged into the lower half of the outlet. There are 3 things plugged into that outlet. A 27" tube TV. A cable box. An iPod charger. The TV is on only a few hours a week. The cable box is always ON, but doesn't pull much juice.

- I purchased a new heavy duty power strip this morning, everything is plugged back in, the A/C is working; and there is no flickering.

- I agree a window unit should be it's own circuit, but the house wasn't built that way back in 1981, and I am not going to add a dedicated circuit for something that gets used 3 months of the year (and not even full time).

- I don't understand why LS6 says it's not the power strip's fault because ther is an A/C unit plugged into the top half of the outlet ? Why would that be ?

- The damaged power strip had a CSA logo stamped onto the back, but no UL. CSA is like UL here in Canada. Normally I see stuff that has CSA and UL on it. So I suspect that the chinese factory fraudulently stamped it CSA.

U said lights are flickering but didnt indicate what circuit theyre on other than theyre not plugged into the power strip. If the lights are on a different circuit than the window AC/power strip, then your theory about the power strip causing the issue would be out especially since the lights arent plugged into the power strip.

Also, because theres a motor thats starting(motors require 4-6x FLC) and if its a long wire run fromthe panel, then the circuit may see a brief voltage sag(this is because it "takes volts to push amps"), which will cause lights to flicker. So the voltage sag is being caused by the window AC and NOT the power strip which is what I think LS6 was alluding to.

Now if the lights are on the same circuit as the window AC, then I could see how they can flicker when it kicks on. What size is the window AC unit(BTU/h)? If its a larger unit, it may be required to be on its own circuit all together!