Hi,
I have checked with the bulding Maintenance/construction company. The flats are all on the same phase so there is no danger risk from that.
All the wiring i did was no more complicated than wiring a plug...in facts that really is about all i did. I wired a full size mains lead into the socket that the heater used and wired that to a multiplug.
I have talked everthing over with a trained electrician, so I can officially confirm this is no longer dangerous. You can still get me on the morality of paying 3p/KWH less for my electricity; feel free to have a go at me about it. One thing about that I was wondering. My rotels apparently draw 600w of juice each, does anyone else thing that sounds a silly amount? How much do other peoples amps draw. I have a 1.2kw being used whenever my amps are! that is going to be a nightmare on my electricity bill.
I have a new quest if anyone is interested in helping or ripping it apart
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?
s=&threadid=66149
seya
I have checked with the bulding Maintenance/construction company. The flats are all on the same phase so there is no danger risk from that.
All the wiring i did was no more complicated than wiring a plug...in facts that really is about all i did. I wired a full size mains lead into the socket that the heater used and wired that to a multiplug.
I have talked everthing over with a trained electrician, so I can officially confirm this is no longer dangerous. You can still get me on the morality of paying 3p/KWH less for my electricity; feel free to have a go at me about it. One thing about that I was wondering. My rotels apparently draw 600w of juice each, does anyone else thing that sounds a silly amount? How much do other peoples amps draw. I have a 1.2kw being used whenever my amps are! that is going to be a nightmare on my electricity bill.
I have a new quest if anyone is interested in helping or ripping it apart
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?
s=&threadid=66149
seya
I have no idea how much they draw, It says in the manual that they draw 600w, I asked rotel, they said that was a realistic average figure.
They are rated at 200w per channel, two channels makes 400w. 600w taking into account crappy efficiency 600w could be possible. I just thought that would be at full whack not idleing.
don't worry, I am not going to mod the power amp. It sounds too good as it is.
p.s. Why are you washing your hands of me? I (eventuially) followed your advice. Had an electritian check what I have done and checked to see it was all one phase. I learnt slow but i did what you said.
They are rated at 200w per channel, two channels makes 400w. 600w taking into account crappy efficiency 600w could be possible. I just thought that would be at full whack not idleing.
don't worry, I am not going to mod the power amp. It sounds too good as it is.
p.s. Why are you washing your hands of me? I (eventuially) followed your advice. Had an electritian check what I have done and checked to see it was all one phase. I learnt slow but i did what you said.
As far as I can tell, your installation is still not correctly fused, your earthing arrangements are dangerous, there may well be a fault on your 'main' installation, and your work hasn't been inspected, tested and certified!
BTW, you will only get 'cheap' electricity during the nightime heater charge period, which is perfectly legal, and is available via your ordinary sockets during those hours anyway.
Ok, it hasn't been certified because the electritian can only certify American stuff. If its good enough for the Yanks its fine for me.
What is the prob with the fusing, all the fuses are in place. there is a fuse in the heater socket, there is a fuse the the multiplug and there are MANY fuses in the hifi gear. How fused do you want me to make things! If you think I need more fuses please tell me as that is something that does need to be right.
Grounding through interconnects is normal. That is how most Rotel gear grounds anyway. There is no ground in the 991, the preamp and the cd player. the 993 has a ground though. My original setup was just the 991, the pre and a cd. That means there were no grounds in it anywhere!!
The 993 has a ground which I disabled, as I am earthing through the PC.
If there was no 993 there would be no ground at all.
Would you be happy if i removed the 993? as opposed to having it in the loop with the ground disabled?
The gear is grounded as a whole not as individuals, but that is how most hifi gear is setup.
tell me PRECISELY what the prob is and I will fix it, in my uneducated mind I cannot see that there is a probl with what I have done if the gear was ungrounded to start with, all I have done (excluding the 993) is added a groud through the PC to a non-grounded system.
I have a dual supply for electricity. the standard mains has a fixed rate 24hrs a day. there is a 2nd heating loop that is cheaper, still 24hrs a day. there is also an off peak heating loop that is REALLY cheap but only on at certain times (2-4pm and 1am-7amish).
Its a crap system because only npower offers it! so I cant switch supplier!
p.s. if anyone know of a different company that offers this for the love of god tell me!
The buzzing I get on the main ring, I know nothing about and I cannot afford to get a trained profesional to check it out.
Can I end with 2 questions.
1) Why is my gear not fused correctly.
2) How is grounding through a PC any worse than no grounding at all?
What is the prob with the fusing, all the fuses are in place. there is a fuse in the heater socket, there is a fuse the the multiplug and there are MANY fuses in the hifi gear. How fused do you want me to make things! If you think I need more fuses please tell me as that is something that does need to be right.
Grounding through interconnects is normal. That is how most Rotel gear grounds anyway. There is no ground in the 991, the preamp and the cd player. the 993 has a ground though. My original setup was just the 991, the pre and a cd. That means there were no grounds in it anywhere!!
The 993 has a ground which I disabled, as I am earthing through the PC.
If there was no 993 there would be no ground at all.
Would you be happy if i removed the 993? as opposed to having it in the loop with the ground disabled?
The gear is grounded as a whole not as individuals, but that is how most hifi gear is setup.
tell me PRECISELY what the prob is and I will fix it, in my uneducated mind I cannot see that there is a probl with what I have done if the gear was ungrounded to start with, all I have done (excluding the 993) is added a groud through the PC to a non-grounded system.
I have a dual supply for electricity. the standard mains has a fixed rate 24hrs a day. there is a 2nd heating loop that is cheaper, still 24hrs a day. there is also an off peak heating loop that is REALLY cheap but only on at certain times (2-4pm and 1am-7amish).
Its a crap system because only npower offers it! so I cant switch supplier!
p.s. if anyone know of a different company that offers this for the love of god tell me!
The buzzing I get on the main ring, I know nothing about and I cannot afford to get a trained profesional to check it out.
Can I end with 2 questions.
1) Why is my gear not fused correctly.
2) How is grounding through a PC any worse than no grounding at all?
Your gear may well be correctly fused, but your 'new' installation must now be fused as a 13 A spur, which, as I have already pointed out, requires measurement, calculation and some knowledge to do correctly.
You clearly stated that you have 'disabled' the ground on your 993. This is a SAFETY earth, not a signal ground (I don't think you've grasped the difference), and MUST be connected. If you need to avoid a loop, let one end of your interconnect float instead. 'Ground lifting' is done sometimes, but it's not as simple as just disconnecting the wire, and is still not good practice. What if there's a phase to earth fault in the mains transformer of your 993? You are relying on a signal connection (and the internal wiring of your gear) to carry sufficient current to blow the fuse - a fire risk at best! If the fault exists whilst you are connecting or disconnecting the audio lead, you may well find mains voltage between your hands - the worst possible scenario. On the other hand, from what you've said, your 'main' system may not in fact be earthed at all due to a fault - if that's the case, you have no protection.
If all this still isn't clear, I urge you once again to restore your system to its original state, and find out the real reason for the hum in the first place. If you really can't afford to have your installation properly inspected, consider selling some of your gear to do so
- it may well save your life.I repeat that if your work causes injury or damage, you are likely to be held responsible in law (but I am not a lawyer).
My final words!
This just gets better each time. So you had a US inspector to look at your UK wiring palava? And you have removed the safety earth from a class-1 equipment?
You must reconnect the safety earth on the 993. If it goes faulty the case could become live because the only route to earth is through the little interconnect. Equipment that is class-2 or not earthed from the factory is double insulated so there is no way the case can become live.
Really, all you need to do is build the stuff that Pinkmouse sent you and revert to normal, safe electrics. A couple of very simple circuits, I could build them in less than 15 minutes!
You must reconnect the safety earth on the 993. If it goes faulty the case could become live because the only route to earth is through the little interconnect. Equipment that is class-2 or not earthed from the factory is double insulated so there is no way the case can become live.
Really, all you need to do is build the stuff that Pinkmouse sent you and revert to normal, safe electrics. A couple of very simple circuits, I could build them in less than 15 minutes!
Are you assuming that because the guy is american he does not have the intellectual capasity to understand our highly evolved electrical systems?
I can assure you he is a lot more intelligent than you. (this isn't a put down on you, the guy is just obscenely smart, 2nd most intelligent guy I have ever met; including all those proffesors at Cambridge).
For the advice on grounding, thankyou for explaining, the grounds have been reconnected. I can live with a little buzz (as opposed to having a sound to die for)
The grounds are redone, the system is single phase and the wiring of two plugs has been checked by an extremely compotent electritian!
Is this system safe enough for you yet?
I can assure you he is a lot more intelligent than you. (this isn't a put down on you, the guy is just obscenely smart, 2nd most intelligent guy I have ever met; including all those proffesors at Cambridge).
For the advice on grounding, thankyou for explaining, the grounds have been reconnected. I can live with a little buzz (as opposed to having a sound to die for)
The grounds are redone, the system is single phase and the wiring of two plugs has been checked by an extremely compotent electritian!
Is this system safe enough for you yet?
Glad to see you have done the right thing Of course I was not suggesting that UK electrics are unintelligible to a US electrician, just that these people have to be certified and there is a possibility depending upon where in the US he came from that things might be done differently with respect to earthing.
Of course if you need any help building the balanced line system we are all here to help, and I'm sure Pinkmouse will be happier knowing that he hasn't wasted his time and parts
Of course I was not suggesting that UK electrics are unintelligible to a US electrician, just that these people have to be certified and there is a possibility depending upon where in the US he came from that things might be done differently with respect to earthing.Of course if you need any help building the balanced line system we are all here to help, and I'm sure Pinkmouse will be happier knowing that he hasn't wasted his time and parts
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