Newb: Wall outlet issues (power strip alarm, meter: 100V)

[AnalogousGumdropDecoder]

I don't know anything about electrical stuff.

I was rearranging my house, and I plugged in a power strip. Apparently this strip has some kind of alarm built into it, and the thing started going off. I tested the strip in three different outlets (each in a different room), and only one of them didn't set off the alarm (the one it had until now been plugged into).

I got out my multimeter... first time I've ever used one. The outlet that didn't trip the alarm reads about 105V or 110V. The other two I tested read about 100V or 105V. I can't read the faint little lines very precisely, but they were all conspicuously under 120V, and one was conspicuously higher than the other two.

Is this a big deal? Should I call my landlord? Should I refrain from plugging my gear into these outlest?

What's the deal?
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[Gregg Juke]

I don't think it's a big deal (said the totally unknowledgeable about electric guy). But, you could try to up the ante as far as steady power by using a Furman power regulator or a UPS with regulation, or both.

We have a UPS with regulation in the control room, and a Furman conditioner in the studio tracking room. We also have a regulator for live use with the band. They do work, but you never really get _perfect_ on-the-money 110; it fluctuates between something like 105 - 120, but it does keep things within that range. And, if you do get any kind of spike, you will at least have constant metering to see it coming. If you get a regulator, it locks things down within that range, protecting against spikes and brownouts. If you get a UPS, you will have some added protection for your delicate electronics in case you ever lose power completely.

Not cheap, but kind of a necessary expense, I suppose.

GJ

[RodC]

I would measure the voltage with all your stuff plugged in. You may have a real long run to that outlet, undersized wire, or a bad connection. I would meter it at the breaker box, then at the outlet and see how much it dropped.

IF you know everything that is on the circuit you can unplug everything, read the voltage, (this will = your source voltage) then plug everything in, fire it up, then take a reading. The difference will be the drop.

<ramble>With no load you will read the source voltage, (ohms law) same reason the voltage across a blown fuse will read source voltage. (Best way to check a fuse, I have seen several that break down under a load) </ramble>


If you feel anything getting hot, if there is a huge voltage drop you may have a bad connection, not safe.
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[AnalogousGumdropDecoder]

I appreciate the response, but I don't have any idea how to check that kind of stuff. I just rent an old house and recently moved gear from one room to another and had that alarm go off. I just kind of don't know whether I can turn my gear on without calling an electrician.
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[goose134]

Take a power strip, plug the equipment into it, leaving at least one space open. Run the equipment and take a voltage reading at the empty space in the power strip. One thing that comes to mind is a neutral problem. Open or loose neutrals will manifest themselves under load. They can usually be diagnosed with rambling voltage or current under load.
100 to 105 does sound pretty low. While it is possible that a long run is causing it, That is a significant drop for an average house. Typically wire won't be upsized until you start getting 80 or 100 feet from the panel.
If you find that the voltage readings wander depending on the load imposed, tell your landlord you have a problem with it. If you need backup, I'd be happy to educate him on the dangers of an open neutral in a multi-wire branch circuit. It's usually a matter of tightening loose connections. Sometimes, it's on the service side, but since you say there is one outlet that works, it may not be that,
Until you figure out what is causing it, refrain from plugging computers or vintage amps into the offending outlets. What basically happens in an open neutral in a multi-wire branch circuit is that the circuit turns to a 240 volt ciircuit, blowing anything you've got on it.

Sorry for the long post. While I learn much in the way of sound on this forum, electricity is one area I have much to teach.
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[AnalogousGumdropDecoder]

I did that test while running a CD player, stereo, turntable, phono preamp, and another power amp. The meter read about 105.
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Love your new bananaskin shoulderpad,
Cody C. Gaisser
www.myspace.com/codygaisser

[Brian]

You probably have a bad connection at the main breaker box. It's common with older housing and sometimes newer that the screws didn't get tightened properly on the grounding post in the box, also, a lot of the houses I've renovated had bad connections at he outlets too, so they may need tightening too.

Sometimes the hot leg is loose in the breaker switches.

Is your electric bill high for what you have running?

If you have loose connections, when the voltage drops, some equipment will try to make up for it by sucking in amperage! That causes excessive heat and can damage equipment, it can also cause heat in the outlets and start a FIRE.

DANGEROUS!

TURN THE POWER TO THE WHOLE BOX OFF BEFORE TIGHTENING SCREWS.

I just replaced a fusebox in my latest house and when I turned on the power, fridge is quieter, lights are brighter, the kids noticed as soon as they came home without knowing I did any work, and everything works better, and in Memphis, the electricity is extremely unreliable voltage wise, constant overvoltage condition to 126 127 volts with voltage and power spikes.
It will Fry your stuff.

and just to verify the above posters post, there were completely lifted grounds in the fusebox causing all the problems. Problem solved here.
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Oh shut up.

[goose134]

[standup]

Sorry to hijack, but I've got a nagging question. All my recording gear runs off a Furman power strip with an LED showing voltage. If I walk into the room with everything powered down, it will probably read 120v solidly. As I turn on the computer, monitors, racks, it starts flickering a couple times a second between 118v and 120v.

No big deal, or should I think about what that means?

[AnalogousGumdropDecoder]

Consistently reading about 105 at most jacks. Haven't tested every single one because they're not very accessible, but I've tested one in each room. One reads about 110, which apparently is just enough not to make my power strip scream at me.
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Love your new bananaskin shoulderpad,
Cody C. Gaisser
www.myspace.com/codygaisser

[Snarl 12/8]

In my opinion brown outs (low voltage) is very dangerous to equipment. Anything with a motor (fans, drives, tape decks) would probably rather be slightly over powered than under. That's something I learned a long time ago that's proven to be true over the years. Also, I think it's easier for gear to be protected against an over (simple fuse) than against under powered, so that becomes an equipment operator's headache. I'd track that fucker down.
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[Brian]

[goose134]

[goose134]

[Galen Ulrich Elfert]

This is probably not the issue, since you've got that alarm going, but for the benefit of the thread: I scared the bejeezus out of myself a little while back when I happened to measure my mains at 160v. Turned out the battery in my cheap multimeter was dying.