Hey all, My sytem seems to draw a large amount of power, enough to dim the lights every time the bass hits when its running near full. Anyways, all i have is a surge strip on it rite now which is worthless. Surely this is bad for my amps. I was wondering if a battery backup would sort of act like a capacitor? power conditioners from what I understand just clean up the wave form, but don't provide any extra capacity, so in my mind wouldn't do any good for the situation? I was looking at the APC back ups like what most most any workplace has their computers hooked to, would that be sufficient for 3 fairly hungry amps?
Any help is appreciated, I'm not very knowledgeable when it comes to home electrical.
Any help is appreciated, I'm not very knowledgeable when it comes to home electrical.
A cheap APC UPS is not likely to make a difference; most of the low end models simply pass the input voltage to the output until their is a severe deviation from nominal. At best (or worst) the UPS will beep and transfer to battery backup every time the bass hits. You don't want that.
It is common (and shame on lazy electricians for doing this) for the lighting circuit to share the same branch conductors with the receptacles. So turning on the vacuum cleaner dims the lights for that circuit. Do the lights in the entire house dim or just the ones in that room? It is not likely you have a problem at the panel, just on that branch circuit.
It is common (and shame on lazy electricians for doing this) for the lighting circuit to share the same branch conductors with the receptacles. So turning on the vacuum cleaner dims the lights for that circuit. Do the lights in the entire house dim or just the ones in that room? It is not likely you have a problem at the panel, just on that branch circuit.
This is indeed common, but not lazy.
It used to be that lighting was on a circuit of its own. One circuit for the entire home. Now imagine what happens if you lose that circuit. Bam! No lights, anywhere. I suppose one could run two circuits to each room, and pay accordingly for it, but sharing lighting and receptacles makes the most sense from a safety, and cost, point of view.
To call it lazy is immature and short-sighted.
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Your best bet is to have a qualified electrician install a separate circuit to power your system. Not a cheap fix, but if you can afford enough power to dim the lights...
Yes, that's what I did. Two lighting circuits in the basement and two receptacle circuits. As one who works in the electrical industry, I'll be the judge of what is lazy and what is safe. It is done to save money, plain and simple.
There hasn't been one lighting circuit for the entire home since maybe pre-WWI. You are taking your argument to the extreme. These days even in a rental unit you have at least 4 circuits plus the dedicated loads (stove, a/c).
Rob, you have high source impedance from the utility transformer, causing voltage drop all the way to the panel. No simple fix, certainly not for a rental.
Saving money is not always lazy. By the way, you're not the only one who works in the electrical industry and not the sole judge.
I can remember a duplex built in the 60's that still stands today, it's not taking it to the extremes. While what you did is how I would do it, separate lighting and receptacle circuits are not the norm.
Actually they are mandated - depending on location of course
But getting back to the original post, if there is enough voltage drop to dim some lights then there is also enough power dissipated as heat to eventually cause a fire in that part of the house wiring, in my judgement, as one who has worked in the electrical industry.
At least make sure your contents are insured: at best, get it checked.
I'm not so sure its a problem with the house. Its not very frequent I have the opportunity to crank it up, under normal operation i have no issues, only a party. Consider I'm running a crown CE2000, speakercraft BB50s, rat shack mpa 200 along with my laptop, a 42" plasma 2 equalizers and a tuner plus the pool pump and the a/c is running constant to keep up with the extra body's, well pump (no city water),I have 2 refrigerators (sometimes up to 4 if they'r all plugged in), lighting ect... I'm sure the meter is spinning in overdrive. My house draws allot of electric, I'm just looking to protect my amps.
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I'm thinking the earlier suggestion of a large generator was not so daft in this case 
The battery solution would maybe work but you would need a couple of tractor battery's at the very least, 2 pairs would be better. You can then run either a large, expensive, heavy and noisy transmotor or a VERY big invertor to get mains for your hifi for say about 2hrs before they are flat again
Even after doing all that, you can still have supply impedance issues
The battery solution would maybe work but you would need a couple of tractor battery's at the very least, 2 pairs would be better. You can then run either a large, expensive, heavy and noisy transmotor or a VERY big invertor to get mains for your hifi for say about 2hrs before they are flat again
Even after doing all that, you can still have supply impedance issues
again, to be clear, a power conditioner no matter how expensive will not solve a lack of power problem like this?
everyone thinks its awesome that my system is so bad that it dims the lights lol, but it bothers me because I've been through too many nice amps blowing up, I want my current stuff to last. What about like installed sound at a night club, what do they run for power supply?
everyone thinks its awesome that my system is so bad that it dims the lights lol, but it bothers me because I've been through too many nice amps blowing up, I want my current stuff to last. What about like installed sound at a night club, what do they run for power supply?
Is there aluminum wiring? Sometime in the past there was a shortage of copper, and some homes were wired using aluminum, which could suffer from high resistance connections if it wasn't done properly.
Loose connections in the breaker box: my electric stove wasn't working reliably, and I eventually followed my nose to the smell of charred bakelite and found that the corresponding breakers weren't screwed tight.
If you have a 120/240V stove or dryer outlet, that can be a lower impedance power source. It's common to see one of those outlets provided for powering sound and lights in banquet halls and other venues.
There are devices for regulating AC power, but they're a bit costly:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?atclk=Type_Regulators&ci=1809&N=4289288059+4289362909
With some luck, though, you might find such a thing lurking at a computer recycler. And some UPSes will regulate; again, try the computer recycler. Usually the only thing wrong with an old UPS is worn-out batteries.
Loose connections in the breaker box: my electric stove wasn't working reliably, and I eventually followed my nose to the smell of charred bakelite and found that the corresponding breakers weren't screwed tight.
If you have a 120/240V stove or dryer outlet, that can be a lower impedance power source. It's common to see one of those outlets provided for powering sound and lights in banquet halls and other venues.
There are devices for regulating AC power, but they're a bit costly:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?atclk=Type_Regulators&ci=1809&N=4289288059+4289362909
With some luck, though, you might find such a thing lurking at a computer recycler. And some UPSes will regulate; again, try the computer recycler. Usually the only thing wrong with an old UPS is worn-out batteries.
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