My wife SWEARS that her hair dryer gets hotter when she uses it at
other people's houses. I seem to think that our George Forman grill
doesn't get as hot as I've seen in others' houses. Is this a
perception thing, or is there something with the power in our house
that would cause appliaces with heating elements to not get as hot as
other places? Is it something with the ol' W = V x A equasion? Could
there not be enough Amps to create enough Wattage to properly power
these types of devices that require a lot of Wattage?? Help!! Thanks
so much to all who respond!!

possible.

Have you checked your line voltage?

Long runs, undersized wiring, overloaded transformers, a wealth of
things can contribuite to this.

check line voltage at different times of day, middle of the nite may
see higher voltage.

if you have heard of brownouts? thats basically a lower line voltage

wrote in message
oups.com...
possible.

Have you checked your line voltage?

Long runs, undersized wiring, overloaded transformers, a wealth of
things can contribuite to this.

check line voltage at different times of day, middle of the nite may
see higher voltage.

if you have heard of brownouts? thats basically a lower line voltage

Since P=V(2)/R, it doesn't take much voltage drop to affect power.

Oner advantage iot leads to longer light bulb life, although
dramatically less briteness

jlatenight wrote:
My wife SWEARS that her hair dryer gets hotter when she uses it at
other people's houses. I seem to think that our George Forman grill
doesn't get as hot as I've seen in others' houses. Is this a
perception thing, or is there something with the power in our house
that would cause appliaces with heating elements to not get as hot as
other places? Is it something with the ol' W = V x A equasion? Could
there not be enough Amps to create enough Wattage to properly power
these types of devices that require a lot of Wattage?? Help!! Thanks
so much to all who respond!!


Highly doubtful. Perhaps you don't have a humidifier in your home? Or
moreover, the air conditions are different between the homes creating a
perception of performance.

My GF grill has a light and a dial on it. Thus its temperature is
monitored/adjustable to some degree. So its not 100% pegged to line
voltage.

--
Thank you,



"Then said I, Wisdom [is] better than strength: nevertheless the poor
man's wisdom [is] despised, and his words are not heard." Ecclesiastes 9:16

Defective Electricity. Definately defective. Complain to your
electric company and tell them you are not going to pay your electric
bill until they correct it. It's probably recycled power you are
getting. It's already been used once and you are just getting the
left over, used power.

However, before you complain too loudly, be sure your wiring is not
worn out. It could be old wiring where the copper has simply run out
of electrons. You could even have some clogs in the wires. Get a can
of "Wireno" (wire drano), and thoroughly flush out your wires.

And the last possibility are the houses where they wanted to save
money, so they used the HOT water pipes for the HOT LINE VOLTAGE, used
the COLD water pipes for the NEUTRAL, and used the GAS pipes for the
GROUND. You could have a bad dielectric union, so all the power is
leaking into the hot water heater and is heating water instead of
going to the outlets. If your water is too hot, this is an indicator
of this condition. Also note if the gas coming out of the burners in
your stove is hot before it is ignited, you have an electrical leak to
ground.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


On 18 Feb 2006 07:10:32 -0800, "jlatenight"
wrote:

My wife SWEARS that her hair dryer gets hotter when she uses it at
other people's houses. I seem to think that our George Forman grill
doesn't get as hot as I've seen in others' houses. Is this a
perception thing, or is there something with the power in our house
that would cause appliaces with heating elements to not get as hot as
other places? Is it something with the ol' W = V x A equasion? Could
there not be enough Amps to create enough Wattage to properly power
these types of devices that require a lot of Wattage?? Help!! Thanks
so much to all who respond!!

"jlatenight" wrote in message
oups.com...
My wife SWEARS that her hair dryer gets hotter when she uses it at
other people's houses. I seem to think that our George Forman grill
doesn't get as hot as I've seen in others' houses. Is this a
perception thing, or is there something with the power in our house
that would cause appliaces with heating elements to not get as hot as
other places? Is it something with the ol' W = V x A equasion? Could
there not be enough Amps to create enough Wattage to properly power
these types of devices that require a lot of Wattage?? Help!! Thanks
so much to all who respond!!

It is possiable. For less than $ 20 you can find out. Get a digital meter
(you may hear it referred to as a VOM or voltmeter). Plug the dryer in
where it is normally used if it is a duplex socket. Then measuer the
voltage at the socket. It should be around 110 to 125 volts. Then turn on
the dryer and remeasuer the voltage. If it only drops a volt or two then
the wireing is probalby ok. If it drops 10 volts or more, it is time to
call an electrician to see where the voltage is going.

Then go to the house where the dryer is working 'beter' and do the same
check. If the voltage is moer than about 5 volts diffearant then your wife
is probably right. Be sure to do this check around the same time as the
power company voltage can vary during the day or season.

The voltage at the socket is what maters. The same device will use more
current with a higher voltage and produce more heat. As was mentioned, if
the voltage is low the dryer will produce less heat and the light bulbs will
last longer.

wrote:
possible.

Have you checked your line voltage?
You should check your line voltage with a good DMM with the hair dryer
plugged in to that same outlet (assuming it's not separated or
switched) turning the dryer on and off. I do electrical repairs for
people and carry a hair dryer for circuit load testing and finding
breakers.
I have seen many wire gauge problems the one that comes quickly to mind
is the apartment building that was owned by a friend of mine. Looking
into this exact kind of problem I found that the building had been
rewired with #16 or smaller. I don't even know anyone who will sell you
that as a electrical contractor. I don't know how it got past the
inspectors in the first place or how it got past them the 2nd time when
my friend sold the building.
It could also be bad junctions.
Richard

On a SERIOUS NOTE he could have alunimum wiring

It was used years ago to cut costs. trouble is its higher resistance
and can become a fire hazard. its trouble can lead to low voltage and
this situation should be investigated.

jlatenight wrote:
My wife SWEARS that her hair dryer gets hotter when she uses it at
other people's houses. I seem to think that our George Forman grill
doesn't get as hot as I've seen in others' houses. Is this a
perception thing, or is there something with the power in our house
that would cause appliaces with heating elements to not get as hot as
other places? Is it something with the ol' W = V x A equasion? Could
there not be enough Amps to create enough Wattage to properly power
these types of devices that require a lot of Wattage?? Help!! Thanks
so much to all who respond!!

It certainly is possible.

It is easy to check. Any good volt meter will tell you what voltage you
have. I suggest measuring at the same outlet that the hair dryer and or
grill are plugged into. Measure with out anything else on and with the
dryer or grill on. You should be seeing about 120V with the devices off and
something a little less with it on. I am going to let someone else suggest
how much of a drop is acceptable for that kind of load.

If it is below 120V without a load, then you may have a wiring problem
in your home or a supply problem. If it is within your home it could be
dangerous. Maybe a floating neutral. It would be wise to have it checked.

If the voltage drop is related to the use of the equipment and is
greater that it should be, then it is almost certainly in your home and it
is dangerous, including possible bad connections, aluminum wiring issues.



--
Joseph Meehan

Dia duit

wrote:

Defective Electricity. Definately defective. Complain to your
electric company and tell them you are not going to pay your electric
bill until they correct it. It's probably recycled power you are
getting. It's already been used once and you are just getting the
left over, used power.

However, before you complain too loudly, be sure your wiring is not
worn out. It could be old wiring where the copper has simply run out
of electrons. You could even have some clogs in the wires. Get a can
of "Wireno" (wire drano), and thoroughly flush out your wires.

And the last possibility are the houses where they wanted to save
money, so they used the HOT water pipes for the HOT LINE VOLTAGE, used
the COLD water pipes for the NEUTRAL, and used the GAS pipes for the
GROUND. You could have a bad dielectric union, so all the power is
leaking into the hot water heater and is heating water instead of
going to the outlets. If your water is too hot, this is an indicator
of this condition. Also note if the gas coming out of the burners in
your stove is hot before it is ignited, you have an electrical leak to
ground.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


ROTFLMAO!!!

Next time, consider also including my favorite, the "loose disconnection".

That's what we used to tell our non-tech savvy customers when the real
cause of the problem we fixed would have taken too long to explain and
they wouldn't have understood a word of it anyway.

Jeff

--
Jeffry Wisnia

(W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)

"Truth exists; only falsehood has to be invented."

Joseph Meehan wrote:

jlatenight wrote:

My wife SWEARS that her hair dryer gets hotter when she uses it at
other people's houses. I seem to think that our George Forman grill
doesn't get as hot as I've seen in others' houses. Is this a
perception thing, or is there something with the power in our house
that would cause appliaces with heating elements to not get as hot as
other places? Is it something with the ol' W = V x A equasion? Could
there not be enough Amps to create enough Wattage to properly power
these types of devices that require a lot of Wattage?? Help!! Thanks
so much to all who respond!!


It certainly is possible.

It is easy to check. Any good volt meter will tell you what voltage you
have. I suggest measuring at the same outlet that the hair dryer and or
grill are plugged into. Measure with out anything else on and with the
dryer or grill on. You should be seeing about 120V with the devices off and
something a little less with it on. I am going to let someone else suggest
how much of a drop is acceptable for that kind of load.

If it is below 120V without a load, then you may have a wiring problem
in your home or a supply problem. If it is within your home it could be
dangerous. Maybe a floating neutral. It would be wise to have it checked.

If the voltage drop is related to the use of the equipment and is
greater that it should be, then it is almost certainly in your home and it
is dangerous, including possible bad connections, aluminum wiring issues.




And, heed Joseph's words regarding using a "good" voltmeter. I still
prefer to trust my 40 year old Simpson 260 analog VOM when I want
correct RMS ac voltage measurements.

The $9.95 digital VOMs (Sometimes even as cheep as $4.95 at Harbor
Freight.) will give you a reading, but the indicated voltage can be
thrown off a fair amount if there is a bit of spikey noise on the ac
line you're measuring. If you're hunting for a few volts of line voltage
difference between your home and another location, try and make sure the
meter is not going to fool you.

Like with so many other things, you sometimes get what you pay for, but
almost never do you get more than you pay for.

Jeff

--
Jeffry Wisnia

(W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)

"Truth exists; only falsehood has to be invented."

spudnuty wrote:
wrote:

possible.

Have you checked your line voltage?

You should check your line voltage with a good DMM with the hair dryer
plugged in to that same outlet (assuming it's not separated or
switched) turning the dryer on and off. I do electrical repairs for
people and carry a hair dryer for circuit load testing and finding
breakers.
I have seen many wire gauge problems the one that comes quickly to mind
is the apartment building that was owned by a friend of mine. Looking
into this exact kind of problem I found that the building had been
rewired with #16 or smaller. I don't even know anyone who will sell you
that as a electrical contractor. I don't know how it got past the
inspectors in the first place or how it got past them the 2nd time when
my friend sold the building.
It could also be bad junctions.
Richard

Hi,
To be sure, measuring voltage with dryer plugged in and running vs.
without to see if there is too much vltage drop. Or use an Amprobe
to see current draw. Good thing your friend's apartment did not start
electrical fire!

On Sat, 18 Feb 2006 14:08:04 -0500, Jeff Wisnia
wrote:

wrote:

Defective Electricity. Definately defective. Complain to your
electric company and tell them you are not going to pay your electric
bill until they correct it. It's probably recycled power you are
getting. It's already been used once and you are just getting the
left over, used power.

However, before you complain too loudly, be sure your wiring is not
worn out. It could be old wiring where the copper has simply run out
of electrons. You could even have some clogs in the wires. Get a can
of "Wireno" (wire drano), and thoroughly flush out your wires.

And the last possibility are the houses where they wanted to save
money, so they used the HOT water pipes for the HOT LINE VOLTAGE, used
the COLD water pipes for the NEUTRAL, and used the GAS pipes for the
GROUND. You could have a bad dielectric union, so all the power is
leaking into the hot water heater and is heating water instead of
going to the outlets. If your water is too hot, this is an indicator
of this condition. Also note if the gas coming out of the burners in
your stove is hot before it is ignited, you have an electrical leak to
ground.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


ROTFLMAO!!!

Next time, consider also including my favorite, the "loose disconnection".

LOL I like that one. Thats funny !!!!! I will have t remember
that.

That's what we used to tell our non-tech savvy customers when the real
cause of the problem we fixed would have taken too long to explain and
they wouldn't have understood a word of it anyway.

Jeff

On Sat, 18 Feb 2006 14:08:04 -0500, Jeff Wisnia
wrote:

wrote:

Defective Electricity. Definately defective. Complain to your
electric company and tell them you are not going to pay your electric
bill until they correct it. It's probably recycled power you are
getting. It's already been used once and you are just getting the
left over, used power.

However, before you complain too loudly, be sure your wiring is not
worn out. It could be old wiring where the copper has simply run out
of electrons. You could even have some clogs in the wires. Get a can
of "Wireno" (wire drano), and thoroughly flush out your wires.

And the last possibility are the houses where they wanted to save
money, so they used the HOT water pipes for the HOT LINE VOLTAGE, used
the COLD water pipes for the NEUTRAL, and used the GAS pipes for the
GROUND. You could have a bad dielectric union, so all the power is
leaking into the hot water heater and is heating water instead of
going to the outlets. If your water is too hot, this is an indicator
of this condition. Also note if the gas coming out of the burners in
your stove is hot before it is ignited, you have an electrical leak to
ground.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


ROTFLMAO!!!

Next time, consider also including my favorite, the "loose disconnection".

That's what we used to tell our non-tech savvy customers when the real
cause of the problem we fixed would have taken too long to explain and
they wouldn't have understood a word of it anyway.

Jeff

I know someone who had one of those loose disconnections around the
electric meter, and was accused of cheating (something about
inductance affecting the meter).

On Sat, 18 Feb 2006 18:08:15 GMT, "Joseph Meehan"
wrote:

jlatenight wrote:
My wife SWEARS that her hair dryer gets hotter when she uses it at
other people's houses. I seem to think that our George Forman grill
doesn't get as hot as I've seen in others' houses. Is this a
perception thing, or is there something with the power in our house
that would cause appliaces with heating elements to not get as hot as
other places? Is it something with the ol' W = V x A equasion? Could
there not be enough Amps to create enough Wattage to properly power
these types of devices that require a lot of Wattage?? Help!! Thanks
so much to all who respond!!

It certainly is possible.

It is easy to check. Any good volt meter will tell you what voltage you
have. I suggest measuring at the same outlet that the hair dryer and or
grill are plugged into. Measure with out anything else on and with the
dryer or grill on. You should be seeing about 120V with the devices off and
something a little less with it on. I am going to let someone else suggest
how much of a drop is acceptable for that kind of load.

If it is below 120V without a load, then you may have a wiring problem
in your home or a supply problem. If it is within your home it could be
dangerous. Maybe a floating neutral. It would be wise to have it checked.

If the voltage drop is related to the use of the equipment and is
greater that it should be, then it is almost certainly in your home and it
is dangerous, including possible bad connections, aluminum wiring issues.

I decided to try that on my receptacles. Most have drops less than 5V
(lowest near the breakers). However, I got higher drops at one (this
is the same circuit that had problems with my holiday lights. A lot of
those lights were flashing, and that showed at the fixed lights too).
This receptacle is at the end of a line where wires pass through 3
other receptacles which use those connections where you stick a wire
in a hole in the receptacle (no screws). Maybe I need to rewire those
(using pigtails on the screws?).
--
Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.laughingsquid.com

"Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what
to have for lunch. Liberty is a well armed lamb
contesting the vote." - Benjamin Franklin

On Sat, 18 Feb 2006 20:14:07 -0600, Mark Lloyd
wrote:

On Sat, 18 Feb 2006 18:08:15 GMT, "Joseph Meehan"
wrote:

jlatenight wrote:
My wife SWEARS that her hair dryer gets hotter when she uses it at
other people's houses. I seem to think that our George Forman grill
doesn't get as hot as I've seen in others' houses. Is this a
perception thing, or is there something with the power in our house
that would cause appliaces with heating elements to not get as hot as
other places? Is it something with the ol' W = V x A equasion? Could
there not be enough Amps to create enough Wattage to properly power
these types of devices that require a lot of Wattage?? Help!! Thanks
so much to all who respond!!

It certainly is possible.

It is easy to check. Any good volt meter will tell you what voltage you
have. I suggest measuring at the same outlet that the hair dryer and or
grill are plugged into. Measure with out anything else on and with the
dryer or grill on. You should be seeing about 120V with the devices off and
something a little less with it on. I am going to let someone else suggest
how much of a drop is acceptable for that kind of load.

If it is below 120V without a load, then you may have a wiring problem
in your home or a supply problem. If it is within your home it could be
dangerous. Maybe a floating neutral. It would be wise to have it checked.

If the voltage drop is related to the use of the equipment and is
greater that it should be, then it is almost certainly in your home and it
is dangerous, including possible bad connections, aluminum wiring issues.

I decided to try that on my receptacles. Most have drops less than 5V
(lowest near the breakers). However, I got higher drops at one (this
is the same circuit that had problems with my holiday lights. A lot of
those lights were flashing, and that showed at the fixed lights too).
This receptacle is at the end of a line where wires pass through 3
other receptacles which use those connections where you stick a wire
in a hole in the receptacle (no screws). Maybe I need to rewire those
(using pigtails on the screws?).

Whether this affects the hair dryer and all of that is hard to say,
but your xmas light issue sounds like a definate problem. Those
backstab outlets are bad news. Yes, rewire them using the screws.

wrote:

On a SERIOUS NOTE he could have alunimum wiring

It was used years ago to cut costs. trouble is its higher resistance
and can become a fire hazard. its trouble can lead to low voltage and
this situation should be investigated.

The wire is not the problem. Because of the higher resistance of
aluminum larger wire is used. Connections to aluminum wire are what fail.

bud--

maybe neighbor's room is warmer and her hairdryer adds to that higher
starting temperature.
i looked at those grills a couple years ago and found george foreman
makes a variety of similar grills, check the model numbers and wattages
on the device plate; also check starting temperature of the product
from the neighbor's warmer freezer.

On 18 Feb 2006 09:01:18 -0800, "spudnuty" wrote:


wrote:
possible.

Have you checked your line voltage?
You should check your line voltage with a good DMM with the hair dryer
plugged in to that same outlet (assuming it's not separated or
switched) turning the dryer on and off. I do electrical repairs for
people and carry a hair dryer for circuit load testing and finding
breakers.
I have seen many wire gauge problems the one that comes quickly to mind
is the apartment building that was owned by a friend of mine. Looking
into this exact kind of problem I found that the building had been
rewired with #16 or smaller. I don't even know anyone who will sell you
that as a electrical contractor. I don't know how it got past the
inspectors in the first place or how it got past them the 2nd time when
my friend sold the building.
It could also be bad junctions.
Richard

Back when I was a handyman, I got a call from a guy who had a
brownout. He called late in the evening and I was done for the day.
But he agreed to pay the extra cost of an emergency call. He's very
lucky he agreed to that. The entire house was wired with 18-2 lamp
cord tacked to the baseboard with those cheap baseboard outlets they
sold back in those days (this was in the late 70's). When I arrived I
noticed a burnt smell when I walked in the door. When I placed my
hand over the one outlet where all the wires originated, the wall was
very hot. I immediately shut off the power and told the guy to call
the fire dept. He refused to call. (The guy was a drunk). As soon as
he refused, I just said "then I got to do this), and I started busting
open the wall. There was no flame (yet), but the wires were charring
wood. I ended up ripping open the whole wall, and dumping a few
buckets of water down from the second floor to the basement.
Another 10 minutes that place would have been in flames.

This is a long story, but the guy refused to have the place wired
correctly, so he just paid me to run one outlet into the kitchen, hook
it to the old fuse box (where I changed the fuses to 15A instead of
the 30A ones that was there) This box had 2 fuses, one for the lower
apt, one for the upper apt, and this guy lived in the upper).
After I got that one outlet installed, he told me to just hook all
those 18-2 wires to that outlet again. I refused, and told him that
if he wanted to do it himself, he could put a plug on the end and plug
them in, but I was not going to wire them to the screws on the outlet
like they were when I got there. He was ****ed, but I told him it's
against the law and I can not do it. He paid me, said he'd get
someone else to hook it up, and also to clean up and repair all the
busted walls.

I should also note that the refrigerator was being run on that 18-2
and I offerred to help him move it to where the new outlet was
installed, but he said it dont belong there and went and got another
18-2 lamp cord to plug it in.....

I tried to explain he was living in danger, but he did not care.
I just took the check and said "Whatever"....

Mark

Mark Lloyd wrote:
...
This receptacle is at the end of a line where wires pass through 3
other receptacles which use those connections where you stick a wire
in a hole in the receptacle (no screws). Maybe I need to rewire those
(using pigtails on the screws?).

We hear of lots of problems with those "back stabbed" outlets. I
suggest you start going though your whole home one outlet at a time and
remove the wire from the back stab terminal and use the screw terminals on
the side. Start with the ones you have identified with possible problems.
I would also suggest that if you find any outlets that show signs of sparks
or bad connections, replace them with top quality outlets (they will not
have the back stab terminals) that may cost a dollar or two more than the
cheap contractor grade you now have.

--
Joseph Meehan

Dia duit

On Sun, 19 Feb 2006 15:34:19 GMT, "Joseph Meehan"
wrote:

Mark Lloyd wrote:
..
This receptacle is at the end of a line where wires pass through 3
other receptacles which use those connections where you stick a wire
in a hole in the receptacle (no screws). Maybe I need to rewire those
(using pigtails on the screws?).

We hear of lots of problems with those "back stabbed" outlets. I
suggest you start going though your whole home one outlet at a time and
remove the wire from the back stab terminal and use the screw terminals on
the side. Start with the ones you have identified with possible problems.
I would also suggest that if you find any outlets that show signs of sparks
or bad connections, replace them with top quality outlets (they will not
have the back stab terminals) that may cost a dollar or two more than the
cheap contractor grade you now have.

Yes. I'll start on that today. There's 4 outlets on that line and they
all need to be rewired (and maybe replaced). The wire is 12AWG copper,
but the outlets are old ones that do allow backstabbed connections
with it.
--
Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.laughingsquid.com

"Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what
to have for lunch. Liberty is a well armed lamb
contesting the vote." - Benjamin Franklin

Before spending a penny on a voltmeter, call up your utility company and
ask them to check the voltage coming into your house - maybe it's their
problem and not yours.

jlatenight wrote:
My wife SWEARS that her hair dryer gets hotter when she uses it at
other people's houses. I seem to think that our George Forman grill
doesn't get as hot as I've seen in others' houses. Is this a
perception thing, or is there something with the power in our house
that would cause appliaces with heating elements to not get as hot as
other places? Is it something with the ol' W = V x A equasion? Could
there not be enough Amps to create enough Wattage to properly power
these types of devices that require a lot of Wattage?? Help!! Thanks
so much to all who respond!!

) said...

Oner advantage iot leads to longer light bulb life, although
dramatically less briteness

Not only less bright, but also a shift in its colour spectrum. That can
lead to things looking a little "redder" than normal.

--
Calvin Henry-Cotnam
"I really think Canada should get over to Iraq as quickly as possible"
- Paul Martin - April 30, 2003
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check voltage at socket. Turn hair dryer on. Check voltage again. See if the
run voltage is much lower than no load. Four or five volts is expected.

--

Christopher A. Young
You can't shout down a troll.
You have to starve them.
..

wrote in message
oups.com...
possible.

Have you checked your line voltage?

Long runs, undersized wiring, overloaded transformers, a wealth of
things can contribuite to this.

check line voltage at different times of day, middle of the nite may
see higher voltage.

if you have heard of brownouts? thats basically a lower line voltage

Thanks everyone. I tested the voltage with and without load. Started
at 119.6v and was 112.3v with the hair dryer on. I'll have to do the
same test at someone elses house to see if there's a difference.
Thanks again.

jlatenight wrote:
Thanks everyone. I tested the voltage with and without load. Started
at 119.6v and was 112.3v with the hair dryer on. I'll have to do the
same test at someone elses house to see if there's a difference.
Thanks again.


You should compare it to the load applied across the hot and the neutral
at the same receptacle as you compared the load accross the hot and the
ground.
--
Tom Horne

"This alternating current stuff is just a fad. It is much too dangerous
for general use." Thomas Alva Edison

jlatenight wrote:
Thanks everyone. I tested the voltage with and without load. Started
at 119.6v and was 112.3v with the hair dryer on. I'll have to do the
same test at someone elses house to see if there's a difference.
Thanks again.


That drop sounds excessive to me. Where did you make the measurement?
At the same outlet? A hair dryer should not change the voltage by more
than a tenth of a volt or so.

How about at different outlets?

A measurement at the circuit breaker would be also in order to see if
the drop is external to the house. A measurement on a different circuit
with nothing turned on would also accomplish this. You could turn on
the dryer and go around measuring at various outlets to see if any or
all drop.

If you have aluminum wire it could be a poor connection in either the
hot or return wires. That includes at the return buss in the breaker box.

According to Rich256 :
jlatenight wrote:
Thanks everyone. I tested the voltage with and without load. Started
at 119.6v and was 112.3v with the hair dryer on. I'll have to do the
same test at someone elses house to see if there's a difference.
Thanks again.

That drop sounds excessive to me. Where did you make the measurement?
At the same outlet? A hair dryer should not change the voltage by more
than a tenth of a volt or so.

That's a bit excessive, agreed. But, a 12A hair dryer on the end of
a longish 14ga 15A circuit could easily pull down a circuit by a couple
volts.

200' of 14ga is about .2 ohms. At 12A, that's 2.4V.
--
Chris Lewis, Una confibula non set est
It's not just anyone who gets a Starship Cruiser class named after them.

Chris Lewis wrote:
According to Rich256 :
jlatenight wrote:
Thanks everyone. I tested the voltage with and without load. Started
at 119.6v and was 112.3v with the hair dryer on. I'll have to do the
same test at someone elses house to see if there's a difference.
Thanks again.

That drop sounds excessive to me. Where did you make the measurement?
At the same outlet? A hair dryer should not change the voltage by more
than a tenth of a volt or so.

That's a bit excessive, agreed. But, a 12A hair dryer on the end of
a longish 14ga 15A circuit could easily pull down a circuit by a couple
volts.

200' of 14ga is about .2 ohms. At 12A, that's 2.4V.

But 7.3 volts (36A)? And are hair dryers over 1400 Watts? I really
don't know.

I recall that once I noted that when an appliance turned on some lights
would dim and others would get bright. I found that at times some lines
were 110 and others were 130. Also true at the breaker box. Called the
power company (quite surprised when their truck drove up in front of the
house about 5 minutes later - just happened to be close by). They found
that there was a burned return line in a main junction box - it was a
big aluminum wire that they still use for main lines. I was probably
using the ground rod at the meter for a return.