sberry
Banned
I test a circuit on occasion, seems mine bounces between 247 and 248 with no real load. I should fire up a big tig or something when I have a few things running.
Whats your voltage?
- Thread starter sberry
- Start date
theoldwizard1
Well-known member
Dig out your Simpson 260 analog meter. DMM have extremely high impedance and are subject to "ghost voltages". Or insert a 1K ohm 1W fuse across the leads.
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Stuart in MN
Well-known member
My house is pretty close to nominal - around 242 or 243, if I recall correctly from the last time I measured it.
Charles (in GA)
Well-known member
House, 123.1 and 123.9 on the two bus bars. Measured with a Kill-A-Watt plugged in. Too lazy to go to the shop and check it (its on a different meter and transformer). That is a light load, a few lights and the dryer is all.
Will report on the shop later.
Charles
Will report on the shop later.
Charles
I had an old service with poor wire and had to turn the welding machine up 5-10 A to get it toasty. It was noticeable after an upgrade and new kettle. I was thumbing thru my plasma guide for something and noticed some of the specs, it allows 10 wire at 208 36A at 230 33, at 248 is going to reduce the current another good swipe, probably another 3 A or so. Its a little something to consider when one feels a little panic about voltage drop, probably not as big of a deal as we can work it up to be.
MBfreak
MEMBER EMERITUS
Sorry, but I do not get the meaning of this;
Q Dig out your Simpson 260 analog meter. DMM have extremely high impedance and are subject to "ghost voltages". Or insert a 1K ohm 1W fuse across the leads. UQ
A ghost voltage seems to me a totally fuzzy statement, especially at mains frequency installations. The AC source impedance ( ie the feeder transformer) will effectively dampen the circuit very effectively. What you measure with a decent quality DMM is what voltage there is. If it is a Fluke, itv nis even the true RMS, even if there ares some harmonics on the MV feeder line, thatmakes it thru the feeding transformer.
And if it is meant to connect a 1kOhm RESISTOR at 1 Watt rating across the meter terminals, that 1 Watt resistor will dissipate around 57 Watts at 240 Volts and turn very hot in just a few seconds. Do not do it!!
Best regads,
Ola
Q Dig out your Simpson 260 analog meter. DMM have extremely high impedance and are subject to "ghost voltages". Or insert a 1K ohm 1W fuse across the leads. UQ
A ghost voltage seems to me a totally fuzzy statement, especially at mains frequency installations. The AC source impedance ( ie the feeder transformer) will effectively dampen the circuit very effectively. What you measure with a decent quality DMM is what voltage there is. If it is a Fluke, itv nis even the true RMS, even if there ares some harmonics on the MV feeder line, thatmakes it thru the feeding transformer.
And if it is meant to connect a 1kOhm RESISTOR at 1 Watt rating across the meter terminals, that 1 Watt resistor will dissipate around 57 Watts at 240 Volts and turn very hot in just a few seconds. Do not do it!!
Best regads,
Ola
theoldwizard1
Well-known member
Yep, I screwed that one up !
It had better be a 10K ohm 10W resistor.
I=V/R 240/10000=0.024A
W=I*I*E 0.024*0.024*10000=5.76W
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theoldwizard1
Well-known member
Sberry, what you really need to watch is how far the voltage drops when you fire up a heavy load (like your TIG) and if there is much difference between the L1 and L2 voltages.
Some rural areas have 50+ year old transformers. Not so much that they go bad (but of course they do) but the size and number of loads downstream from a transformer change. My Dad's old place (northern MI) had bad voltage when anything started. He had to use a chicken stick to flip the blad on his table saw and then wait almost a full minute for it to get up to speed. POCO eventually upside the transformer 2 or 3 steps.
Some rural areas have 50+ year old transformers. Not so much that they go bad (but of course they do) but the size and number of loads downstream from a transformer change. My Dad's old place (northern MI) had bad voltage when anything started. He had to use a chicken stick to flip the blad on his table saw and then wait almost a full minute for it to get up to speed. POCO eventually upside the transformer 2 or 3 steps.
tymbo
Well-known member
220----------221 whatever it takes
G_P
Well-known member
I get around 243-246v at the panel.
theoldwizard1
Well-known member
Years ago I, while working, we purchased a medium sized laser printer that ran on 240V. Of course, being a commercial building with 3 phase power, there is no such thing as 240V (which I did not know at the time). The "sparkies" gave me a ton of **** on that !
I found out that the equipment had a multi-tap transformer on the input (not in any spec sheet I found), so it was a simple jumper change.
Now if the sparkies had gone to the supply house and bought a NEMA 6-30R instead of installing a 14-30R I would have been able to use the machine the first day.
I found out that the equipment had a multi-tap transformer on the input (not in any spec sheet I found), so it was a simple jumper change.
Now if the sparkies had gone to the supply house and bought a NEMA 6-30R instead of installing a 14-30R I would have been able to use the machine the first day.
I have been cleaning up a few code boogers along the way where I chopped in cords and other things way back in the day.
Anyway I got the call, a bud I install a recept for a buzzer 20 yrs ago wants to hook up a plaz, I said, plug it in. but,,,,,, starts again wondering if the 10 cable we put in then from something he had at the time is safe etc. He has burned about 20 rods with it all this time, some little 3/32 I gave him.
I try to get him to understand the owners manual,,, it lists 72 ft of 10 cord at 208,,, he don't got to worry about 10 ft of cable and 10 ft of cord at 245. He works on a couple cars, here and there and wondering about burning up this new used machine he got due to low V. Not a worry.
But modern voltage boost gave all the stuff a free turbo given the general load is the same.
Anyway I got the call, a bud I install a recept for a buzzer 20 yrs ago wants to hook up a plaz, I said, plug it in. but,,,,,, starts again wondering if the 10 cable we put in then from something he had at the time is safe etc. He has burned about 20 rods with it all this time, some little 3/32 I gave him.
I try to get him to understand the owners manual,,, it lists 72 ft of 10 cord at 208,,, he don't got to worry about 10 ft of cable and 10 ft of cord at 245. He works on a couple cars, here and there and wondering about burning up this new used machine he got due to low V. Not a worry.
But modern voltage boost gave all the stuff a free turbo given the general load is the same.
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muddinguy
Well-known member
I have issues, with the lights on and my 30 gal comp running I have 93 volts at the outlets
wyliesdiesels
Well-known member
I once had a service call in a mobile home park. The issue was breakers would keep tripping at different times of the day.
I Checked each circuit and there wasn't too many devices on the same circuit. Fired up a few things and nothing tripped. Waited a few mins, did it again and breakers started tripping. But nothing new had been plugged in.
I decided to checked the service panel. That's when I discovered the incoming voltage was at 224v with a very small load. When stuff turned on it would dip even more, especially the AC and range. And the issue wasn't a bad service neutral!!
Turns out PGE had been there many times to fix this issue, which was going on throughout the park, and apparently thought that they had finally fixed it. To the homeowners dismay, they hadn't!!
I Checked each circuit and there wasn't too many devices on the same circuit. Fired up a few things and nothing tripped. Waited a few mins, did it again and breakers started tripping. But nothing new had been plugged in.
I decided to checked the service panel. That's when I discovered the incoming voltage was at 224v with a very small load. When stuff turned on it would dip even more, especially the AC and range. And the issue wasn't a bad service neutral!!
Turns out PGE had been there many times to fix this issue, which was going on throughout the park, and apparently thought that they had finally fixed it. To the homeowners dismay, they hadn't!!
1/2 Cup
Member Emeritus
Ours this morning with little load;
L1 - N - 241 VAC
L2 - N - 241 VAC
L3 - N - 243 VAC
L1 - L2 - 416 VAC
L1 - L3 - 415 VAC
L2 - L3 - 417 VAC.
Cheers
L1 - N - 241 VAC
L2 - N - 241 VAC
L3 - N - 243 VAC
L1 - L2 - 416 VAC
L1 - L3 - 415 VAC
L2 - L3 - 417 VAC.
Cheers
wyliesdiesels
Well-known member
And that would be a 400Y/230v 3 phase system.
Charles (in GA)
Well-known member
In the land of OZ of course, where the current alternates opposite what it does up here.
1/2 Cup
Member Emeritus
1/2 Cup
Member Emeritus
In the land of OZ of course, where the current alternates opposite what it does up here.
At 50 hertz
wyliesdiesels
Well-known member
Yep Three phase.
415 VOLT.
Whoops. I got the voltage wrong!
zmaxmotorsports
Well-known member
220/221, what ever gets the job done!
wyliesdiesels
Well-known member
220/221, what ever gets the job done!
Huh?