In article 201305162116512010-nobody@nowhereca,
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-

Also look for evidence of a poor neutral connection. When that happens,
voltage will divide according to the load on each line. If that were
the case, ten volts drop at a high current load could cause a ten volt
rise across the other line-to-neutral circuit.

Five or ten volts doesn't sound like a serious problem, but a poor
neutral connection could get worse with age.

Fred