On Thu, 16 May 2013 21:16:51 -0400, bilfre wrote:

On 2013-05-16 16:17:16 +0000, said:

That voltage drop is excessive. The National Electric Code specifies
a drop of no more than 5% from the breaker box to the furthest outlet
at full load (Note that a 1500 watt load is about 85% of full load).

Checking the drop at various points from the breaker box to the outlet
supplying the computer is a good idea. The faq at
http://www.psihq.com/iread/faqvolt.htm also has suggestions.

PlainBill

Hi PlainBill,

Thanks for the response and the link. I will go back to my friends
and look for the problem. I suspect there is a loose connection at one
end or the other since it seems to be intermittent. Checked my own
wiring with same load and only had a 4 volt drop.

billfre
With standard wiring practices there are several outlets in this run
of wire. The most likely point for a problem is at the point an
outlet or switch is connected to the wire. IF you can determine
intermediate points along the wire run, the best approach is to
determine if the majority of the drop occurs between a pair of
outlets.

Someone else gave a wattage - they miscalulated. The TOTAL power
dissipation for the drop is about 125 watts - still a sizeable amount.
The EXTRA dissipation is about 75 watts. One approach would be to
hook up the 1500 watt load, then carefully check outlets to see if any
feel warm. If no suspects are identified, wait 15 minutes or so (with
the load still present), then repeat.

PlainBill