We've got a fairly new fridge, maybe a year old, and we've discovered that it's causing power spikes especially when it clicks on. Sometimes these spikes continue for some time. These spikes hit any equipment that's in the kitchen and using different outlets. It's an old house, so my question is, is this a fire hazard? And is this indicative of a fridge that's defective or could it just be the old wiring? These spikes cause the screen on my laptop to flicker, which doesn't happen when it's connected to outlets in other rooms (or buildings) or on battery power.
Usually, I would expect spikes when the power goes OFF--inductive spikes you know. Try using a surge protector for your fridge. It should keep spikes from going out as well as keep spikes from hitting the fridge.
Bill
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I would suggest you refer to IEEE 1159. You can then chose the appropriate term for what is happening. That will help people in this group answer your question.
The fridge probably is creating voltage sags, not "spikes", when it turns on.
If you get a different result in othe rooms in the house, it sounds awfully like your wiring is suspect. You ought to get an electrician to inspect it.
I agree that the OP's problem is likely to be a wiring problem. However, if it's causing voltage sags or momentary dropouts, I'd be inspecting the outlet that the fridge is connected to for loose connections. And I'd also be suspicious of the circuit breaker or the fuse in the distribution box (or the connections to them) that's feeding the kitchen. The fact that it isn't affecting any other circuits in the house seems to put the blame on the kitchen circuit. Of course, it *could* be the fridge, but if that were the case, it would likely be pulling down the voltage in other circuits as well. If you're not comfortable with repairing electrical fixtures, then it's best that you call a qualified electrician to make the repairs. As to whether it's a fire hazard... any time you have a loose or intermittent connection in a house wiring fixture, it's a fire hazard. A loose connection constitutes a high resistance in the circuit. The current through the resistance causes heat to build up, hence, the fire hazard. The heat might not be bad now, but if allowed to continue, it will be a major problem in the future.
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Dave M
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"In theory, there isn't any difference between theory and practice. In
practice, there is." - Yogi Berra
I HAVE A UNIVERSAL CERTIFICATION IN REFIRGERATION AND AIR CONDITIONING, THE REASON THIS IS ONLY HAPPENING IN YOUR KITCHEN IS BECAUSE THOSE OUTLETS ARE WIRED IN SERIES AND ARE ON A DIFFERENT BREAKER/FUSE THEN THE OUTLETS IN OTHER ROOMS, IF THIS IS OCCURING WHEN THE REFRIGERATOR "TURNS ON" IT IS MOST LIKELY CAUSE BY THE COMPRESSOR.
80% OF REFRIGERATION PROBLEMS ARE ELECTRICAL, IT MAY BE EXCESSIVE CURRENT DRAW IF IN FACT IT IS CAUSING THE LAP TOP SCREEN TO FLICKER, WHICH SOUNDS TO ME LIKE THE LAP TOP ISNT GETTING SUFFICIENT CURRENT BECAUSE THE REFRIGERATOR IS PULLING TO MUCH, YOU MAY HAVE TO MANY THINGS RUNNING OR YOUR BREAKER ISNT LARGE ENOUGH, ALL BREAKERS SHOULD ONLY RUN 80% LOAD OF THERE RATING (20 AMP BREAKER SHOULD ONLY HAVE 16 AMP DRAW DURING NORMAL OPERATION, THE OTHER 4 AMP IS FOR A START UP DRAW, IF YOUR PULLING MORE THEN THE BREAKER RATING IT WOULD POP THE BREAKER) YOU NEED TO CALL A SERVICE TECHNICIAN TO CHECK YOUR COMPRESSOR ON THE REFRIGERATOR.. IF IN FACT THIS IS ONLY OCCURING WHEN IT "TURNS ON" ..THIS IS ABOUT ALL THE ADVICE I CAN OFFER WITHOUT BEING ABLE TO PUT MY METER ON THE COMPRESSOR, CK. YOU DATA TAG ON THE COMPRESSOR TO SEE WHAT THE SPECS ARE AND HAVE SOME ONE WHO IS CERTIFIED CHECK THE START, RUN AND COMMON ON THE COMPRESSOR AND SEE IF IT MATCHES THE SPECS ON THE DATA TAG
Are you saying the problem occurs when your laptop is connected to an outlet in the kitchen but not when it's elsewhere or on battery power, or are you saying that it doesn't happen to your laptop, regardless of which outlet it is connected to, if the fridge is connected to an outlet in another room.
Modern fridges /should/ be fitted with suppressors across the thermostat to prevent spikes occuring.
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Stuart Winsor
From is valid but subject to change without notice if it gets spammed.
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I also think it would have quite interesting effects if all the outlets were wired up in "series" as he claims :-)
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Stuart Winsor
From is valid but subject to change without notice if it gets spammed.
For Barn dances and folk evenings in the Coventry and Warwickshire area
See: http://www.barndance.org.uk
FWIW, I once complained bitterly to my power company that they were generating noise that was preventing me from getting the best low signal performance from my short wave receiver. The noise was synchronized to the line voltage. They could find no problem. This was decades ago.
I kept on investigating myself. Finally. to my chagrin, I found out that the noise was being generated by the butter warmer in my refrigerator. To keep the butter from freezing hard as a rock, there was a resistor controlled by a thermostat that would raise temperature in that compartment a bit. The thermostat was noting fancy at all so that the slightest vibration would make and break the circuit.
To solve the problem, I just went along with hard butter by disconnecting that circuit. I never did tell the power company that I had tracked down my problem.
Check your line voltage. You may be at the extreme "end of line" of a segment, and have a voltage that is already at the bottom of the acceptable range. When your fridge kicks on, it sags the entire house's line voltage to brown out levels, causing many items to barf.
First of all, NOTHING would work unless something was plugged into ALL outlets in the chain, and all would have to be energized, and then the fireworks begin! (on at least on item in the chain)... maybe...
I am sure this is a wiring or power distribution fault in the electrical of your home. You should have this professionally checked by a qualified electrician. There may be a problem with the circuit panel or the entry.
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JANA _____
We've got a fairly new fridge, maybe a year old, and we've discovered that it's causing power spikes especially when it clicks on. Sometimes these spikes continue for some time. These spikes hit any equipment that's in the kitchen and using different outlets. It's an old house, so my question is, is this a fire hazard? And is this indicative of a fridge that's defective or could it just be the old wiring? These spikes cause the screen on my laptop to flicker, which doesn't happen when it's connected to outlets in other rooms (or buildings) or on battery power.
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