Thread: Voltage problems

Ok so basically i had an electrical engineer friend come over and check all my outputs, my 120 volt outlets are outputting 128. I recently had a toaster, a fridge, a couple of electrical timers, and a cell phone charger all short out in the same room. Is there anything i can do to find out whats wrong without getting an electrician over to my house?

Im worried about my TV/ps4/computer. ;(

That's only a little above the normal range oft quoted, which is 5% higher or low (which I think would be 126 on the high side). I would start with your power company. If you are getting 128V than that most likely means that's what they are severing up. If that's a problem, they might be able to put some kind of step down transformer or whatever is used to reduce voltage.

As long as your circuit breakers are working properly, 8VAC won't make a difference. Amperage is what kills stuff, not 8v.

It has nothing to do with anything in your house. It's all about the utility company. Call them and tell them the situation.

Originally Posted by SeeingRed

As long as your circuit breakers are working properly, 8VAC won't make a difference. Amperage is what kills stuff, not 8v.

Raising the voltage increases the amperage. the circuit breakers have nothing to do with the problem. Most devices are supposedly rated to handle 128V, but being overvoltage like that signifigantly reduces the life of a common light bulb, so who knows what it is doing to more sensitive devices. The real problems with being slightly over voltage is when a power surge comes, it is more powerful and more likely to fry your electronics.

Originally Posted by atwater27

Raising the voltage raises the amperage. the circuit breakers have nothing to do with the problem. Most devices are supposedly rated to handle 128V, but being overvoltage like that signifigantly reduces the life of a common light bulb, so who knows what it is doing to more sensitive devices. The real problems with being slightly over voltage is when a power surge comes, it is more powerful and more likely to fry your electronics.

Actually, raising the voltage lowers the amperage. Ohms law.

hold up Chaze60, now I am confused. I=E/R, so 120 volts divided by say 5 ohms is 24 amps. If you raise the voltage to 128 with the same resistance you get 25.6 amps, so in this case an increase in voltage increased the current.

Anyone suggest checking all the grounds that feed that room (from the breaker to all the outlets)? Electricity seeks the ground and if the one installed isn't good enough, it'll seek out our beloved electronics.

Originally Posted by artie_dale

Anyone suggest checking all the grounds that feed that room (from the breaker to all the outlets)? Electricity seeks the ground and if the one installed isn't good enough, it'll seek out our beloved electronics.

A bad ground wouldn't cause an increase in voltage.

Originally Posted by atwater27

hold up Chaze60, now I am confused. I=E/R, so 120 volts divided by say 5 ohms is 24 amps. If you raise the voltage to 128 with the same resistance you get 25.6 amps, so in this case an increase in voltage increased the current.

Now do your math based on the wattage of the bulb.

Resistances are not constant due to temp and other factors, that is why loads on houses are not figures using resistance but are calculated using wattage.

Yes in a very simple circuit in which resistance does not change you are correct, but that is rarely the case. But I'm no engineer either. Where is HP56 when you need him?

First: More information needed. There is something else going on, 8v will not cause these problems. Maybe power surges, etc. Can't hurt to contact the power company or talk to some neighbors and see if they're having the same problems. Your house does not have a step up transformer and will not manufacture voltage/amperage, it will only distribute what is delivered to it.

Second: The items you mentioned don't have a lot of protection, the charger protects the phone by blowing itself up, the fridge (unless it's a newer nice fridge) really didn't have protection circuits built in. Your fridge should be on a GFCI circuit and your kitchen should be wired on a GFCI circuit.

What all that in the second part means... don't worry about your ps4, computer, etc. Those all have VERY good protection circuits in their power supplies. I would recommend buying a good surge protector and maybe even a UPS to plug in your high dollar items. This will add another layer of protection and in many cases give you a claim route if they don't work and attached equipment is ruined.

Originally Posted by SeeingRed

A bad ground wouldn't cause an increase in voltage.

It's AC (alternating current) voltage guys. It fluctuates. That's why surges happen and that's why breakers and grounds are necessary. When the surge is higher than the breaker can handle, the breaker creates an "open" in the circuit. And if the surge happens after the breaker, it hits whatever is plugged in if the ground doesn't suck it up. Because the indecent was isolated to the one room and not the entire house, while the electric company should be able to answer why it has measured at a consistent 128VAC, there is still a chance there is something wrong between that room and the main breaker box.

But yeah, maybe more info is needed.

Originally Posted by ShaneFalco

Ok so basically i had an electrical engineer friend come over and check all my outputs, my 120 volt outlets are outputting 128. I recently had a toaster, a fridge, a couple of electrical timers, and a cell phone charger all short out in the same room. Is there anything i can do to find out whats wrong without getting an electrician over to my house?

Im worried about my TV/ps4/computer. ;(

http://www.apc.com/site/apc/?ISOCountryCode=US
Get a (some) UPS with line conditioning for your electronic devices. Check out APC's website

Originally Posted by artie_dale

It's AC (alternating current) voltage guys. It fluctuates. That's why surges happen and that's why breakers and grounds are necessary. When the surge is higher than the breaker can handle, the breaker creates an "open" in the circuit. And if the surge happens after the breaker, it hits whatever is plugged in if the ground doesn't suck it up. Because the indecent was isolated to the one room and not the entire house, while the electric company should be able to answer why it has measured at a consistent 128VAC, there is still a chance there is something wrong between that room and the main breaker box.

But yeah, maybe more info is needed.

I know what AC means. DC Power also requires grounding. See: cars. It has nothing to do with the current being alternating versus direct. Either way, a bad ground won't cause in increase in voltage. Voltage output from a source won't just magically go up if a bad ground occurs. The bad ground will just **** up the flow.

Originally Posted by SeeingRed

I know what AC means. DC Power also requires grounding. See: cars. It has nothing to do with the current being alternating versus direct. Either way, a bad ground won't cause in increase in voltage. Voltage output from a source won't just magically go up if a bad ground occurs. The bad ground will just **** up the flow.

smh. I know a bad ground won't "increase voltage". But, a bad ground won't give a surge an out. The surge itself is the increase (jolt). Like I must have poorly explained, if a ground isn't good, the surge will have no where else to go other than whatever is plugged in.