Will this cause a fire?
 

Hey everyone,
Hopefully I'm posting this in the right place. My home is around 80
years old and the wiring has been updated. I use one of the upstairs
bedrooms as my office and have my computer, a television, a phone,
speakers and couple of misc items plugged into a decent Monster-brand
surge protector. I recently added a nice laser printer to the mix and
had to plug it into the same wall outlet that the surge protector is
in. When I did this, I noticed that the overhead room light starts to
slightly flicker in cycles. So far, it hasn't tripped the breaker, but
am I putting to much of a load on it? I don't want anything to catch
fire. Could the problem be remedied plugging it into a different
outlet in the same room? Not much of an electrician myself so any help
/ advice would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!!!!

Chris wrote:
Hey everyone,
Hopefully I'm posting this in the right place. My home is around 80
years old and the wiring has been updated. I use one of the upstairs
bedrooms as my office and have my computer, a television, a phone,
speakers and couple of misc items plugged into a decent Monster-brand
surge protector. I recently added a nice laser printer to the mix and
had to plug it into the same wall outlet that the surge protector is
in. When I did this, I noticed that the overhead room light starts to
slightly flicker in cycles. So far, it hasn't tripped the breaker, but
am I putting to much of a load on it? I don't want anything to catch
fire. Could the problem be remedied plugging it into a different
outlet in the same room? Not much of an electrician myself so any help
/ advice would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!!!!

Assuming the wiring and breaker are up to code you are not risking fire
damage, but that voltage drop you are seeing is not good for computer
equipment. Best bet is a new circuit, or maybe a new printer with lower
power demands.

--
Joseph Meehan

26 + 6 = 1 It's Irish Math

Greetings,

Assuming you are using a standard 15 amp breaker:
Using a different outlet probably won't help unless the plug is on a
different circuit (breaker). If the breaker does not trip, you are not
using more amps than the breaker allows. Breakers are sized to avoid
dangerous overload conditions. Unless your house is miswired, you are not
in danger of causing a fire.*

Hope this helps,
William

*computer equipment can be affected by excessive voltage drop.


"Chris" wrote in message
om...
Hey everyone,
Hopefully I'm posting this in the right place. My home is around 80
years old and the wiring has been updated. I use one of the upstairs
bedrooms as my office and have my computer, a television, a phone,
speakers and couple of misc items plugged into a decent Monster-brand
surge protector. I recently added a nice laser printer to the mix and
had to plug it into the same wall outlet that the surge protector is
in. When I did this, I noticed that the overhead room light starts to
slightly flicker in cycles. So far, it hasn't tripped the breaker, but
am I putting to much of a load on it? I don't want anything to catch
fire. Could the problem be remedied plugging it into a different
outlet in the same room? Not much of an electrician myself so any help
/ advice would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!!!!

On 13 Dec 2004 15:18:34 -0800, (Chris) wrote:

Hey everyone,
Hopefully I'm posting this in the right place. My home is around 80
years old and the wiring has been updated. I use one of the upstairs
bedrooms as my office and have my computer, a television, a phone,
speakers and couple of misc items plugged into a decent Monster-brand
surge protector. I recently added a nice laser printer to the mix and
had to plug it into the same wall outlet that the surge protector is
in. When I did this, I noticed that the overhead room light starts to
slightly flicker in cycles. So far, it hasn't tripped the breaker, but
am I putting to much of a load on it? I don't want anything to catch
fire. Could the problem be remedied plugging it into a different
outlet in the same room? Not much of an electrician myself so any help
/ advice would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!!!!

Move the TV to another circuit to reduce the load. An electrician
should take a look at this.

Some laser printers do this to warm up quickly. It is not an indication of
an electrical problem though I would recommend a UPS for the computer in the
same room on the same circuit. Don't hook the ups to the laser. They cannot
handle laser printers.


"Chris" wrote in message
om...
Hey everyone,
Hopefully I'm posting this in the right place. My home is around 80
years old and the wiring has been updated. I use one of the upstairs
bedrooms as my office and have my computer, a television, a phone,
speakers and couple of misc items plugged into a decent Monster-brand
surge protector. I recently added a nice laser printer to the mix and
had to plug it into the same wall outlet that the surge protector is
in. When I did this, I noticed that the overhead room light starts to
slightly flicker in cycles. So far, it hasn't tripped the breaker, but
am I putting to much of a load on it? I don't want anything to catch
fire. Could the problem be remedied plugging it into a different
outlet in the same room? Not much of an electrician myself so any help
/ advice would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!!!!

Joseph Meehan wrote:
Chris wrote:

Hey everyone,
Hopefully I'm posting this in the right place. My home is around 80
years old and the wiring has been updated. I use one of the upstairs
bedrooms as my office and have my computer, a television, a phone,
speakers and couple of misc items plugged into a decent Monster-brand
surge protector. I recently added a nice laser printer to the mix and
had to plug it into the same wall outlet that the surge protector is
in. When I did this, I noticed that the overhead room light starts to
slightly flicker in cycles. So far, it hasn't tripped the breaker, but
am I putting to much of a load on it? I don't want anything to catch
fire. Could the problem be remedied plugging it into a different
outlet in the same room? Not much of an electrician myself so any help
/ advice would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!!!!


Assuming the wiring and breaker are up to code you are not risking fire
damage, but that voltage drop you are seeing is not good for computer
equipment. Best bet is a new circuit, or maybe a new printer with lower
power demands.

Hi,
Think surge protector has breaker as well which will pop if load is
excessive.
Tony

Chris wrote:
When I did this, I noticed that the overhead room light starts to
slightly flicker in cycles.

Lasers are notorious for this, and you're probably the 80,000,000th new
laser owner to be somewhat alarmed by the effect.

So far, it hasn't tripped the breaker, but
am I putting to much of a load on it?

Not unless you trip the breaker. You have relatively light duty loads
on that outlet.


I don't want anything to catch
fire. Could the problem be remedied plugging it into a different
outlet in the same room?

If it happens to be on a different circuit. Best bet is to put the
computer on a UPS and relax.

Not much of an electrician myself so any help
/ advice would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!!!!

Hi Chris,

No, you do not have a fire danger. It sounds like you're well
within the limit of a 15 amp breaker also so if I'm right, there
is no specific problem. By way of explanation:
The slight light flicker is typical for most laser printers,
especially the better ones. Periodically, the fuser in the
printer turns "on" for a short period of time, keeping itself
warm. That does a couple of things; it keeps the printer ready
to print (short print-start delays), and allows the fuse wire to
cool down a little, thus extending its life.
IFF you don't mind the flickering, and IFF it's not causing
any problems with your computer, then you could live with it if
you wanted to. The electrical surges the printer is drawing can
sometimes cause lockups, unexpected and "funny" problems with a
computer, but usually everything will work fine.
As one poster said, it would be better if you could power the
printer from a different beaker if there is one within reach.
However, if that other line also had lights on it, then THOSE
lights will likely flicker.
In my case, I have an Uninterruptable Power Supply (UPS) for
my computer/monitor/external peripherals, and the printers plug
into the same outlet the UPS is on. The UPS does an excelleng
job of keeping the surges from getting into my system. Also, I'm
a cheap sob, so when I'm not using the printer, it's turned off,
along with scanner, the big color printer, etc. and I have
flourescent lighting so I don't see the spikes. ALL equipment is
on power bars so that I only turn on what I need at any
particular time. That way I know when I turn the power
bar -off-, that things are actually OFF, not just asleep and
still drawing just lower power.
Someone mentioned it being the "warmup" phase of the printer,
which I suppose is possible, but ... IMO you are probably seeing
the flickering peridically all the time, not just when the
printer comes on.
Usually, the manual for printers mentions the flickering.
Yours might, too.

HTH,

Pop


"Chris" wrote in message
om...
| Hey everyone,
| Hopefully I'm posting this in the right place. My home is
around 80
| years old and the wiring has been updated. I use one of the
upstairs
| bedrooms as my office and have my computer, a television, a
phone,
| speakers and couple of misc items plugged into a decent
Monster-brand
| surge protector. I recently added a nice laser printer to the
mix and
| had to plug it into the same wall outlet that the surge
protector is
| in. When I did this, I noticed that the overhead room light
starts to
| slightly flicker in cycles. So far, it hasn't tripped the
breaker, but
| am I putting to much of a load on it? I don't want anything to
catch
| fire. Could the problem be remedied plugging it into a
different
| outlet in the same room? Not much of an electrician myself so
any help
| / advice would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!!!!

Speaking of all these home offices, my guess is thet it's only a matter of time
now, that the NEC will require either 20a circuits in bedrooms, or that all
bedrooms have receptacles on 2 different circuits.

HaHaHa wrote:
Speaking of all these home offices, my guess is thet it's only a matter of time
now, that the NEC will require either 20a circuits in bedrooms, or that all
bedrooms have receptacles on 2 different circuits.



Hi,
Not likely with the advancement of technology, the power consumption of
all digital stuffs are decreasing. Look at the LED Chiristmas lights for
an example.
Tony

I mentioned the warm up phase. Most laser printers go to sleep when not
used for a certain length of time. They will not cause flickering when in
sleep mode.


"Pop" wrote in message
...
Hi Chris,

No, you do not have a fire danger. It sounds like you're well
within the limit of a 15 amp breaker also so if I'm right, there
is no specific problem. By way of explanation:
The slight light flicker is typical for most laser printers,
especially the better ones. Periodically, the fuser in the
printer turns "on" for a short period of time, keeping itself
warm. That does a couple of things; it keeps the printer ready
to print (short print-start delays), and allows the fuse wire to
cool down a little, thus extending its life.
IFF you don't mind the flickering, and IFF it's not causing
any problems with your computer, then you could live with it if
you wanted to. The electrical surges the printer is drawing can
sometimes cause lockups, unexpected and "funny" problems with a
computer, but usually everything will work fine.
As one poster said, it would be better if you could power the
printer from a different beaker if there is one within reach.
However, if that other line also had lights on it, then THOSE
lights will likely flicker.
In my case, I have an Uninterruptable Power Supply (UPS) for
my computer/monitor/external peripherals, and the printers plug
into the same outlet the UPS is on. The UPS does an excelleng
job of keeping the surges from getting into my system. Also, I'm
a cheap sob, so when I'm not using the printer, it's turned off,
along with scanner, the big color printer, etc. and I have
flourescent lighting so I don't see the spikes. ALL equipment is
on power bars so that I only turn on what I need at any
particular time. That way I know when I turn the power
bar -off-, that things are actually OFF, not just asleep and
still drawing just lower power.
Someone mentioned it being the "warmup" phase of the printer,
which I suppose is possible, but ... IMO you are probably seeing
the flickering peridically all the time, not just when the
printer comes on.
Usually, the manual for printers mentions the flickering.
Yours might, too.

HTH,

Pop


"Chris" wrote in message
om...
| Hey everyone,
| Hopefully I'm posting this in the right place. My home is
around 80
| years old and the wiring has been updated. I use one of the
upstairs
| bedrooms as my office and have my computer, a television, a
phone,
| speakers and couple of misc items plugged into a decent
Monster-brand
| surge protector. I recently added a nice laser printer to the
mix and
| had to plug it into the same wall outlet that the surge
protector is
| in. When I did this, I noticed that the overhead room light
starts to
| slightly flicker in cycles. So far, it hasn't tripped the
breaker, but
| am I putting to much of a load on it? I don't want anything to
catch
| fire. Could the problem be remedied plugging it into a
different
| outlet in the same room? Not much of an electrician myself so
any help
| / advice would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!!!!

Temporarily move laser printer to another circuit with
incandescent lights. Learn if printer does same on other
circuits. It is possible that a wire in that 15 amp circuit
is loose - not properly connected. In which case, you might
have a potentially serious problem. But we don't know since
we don't really know what is and is not a flicker - the
numbers. Some flickers are serious. Others are irrelevant.
Its all about how much. How much difference in light
intensity would tell us how large or minor the voltage drop
is. BTW, we are discussing brownouts - not surges. Those are
two completely different problems.

That Monster protector only provides two functions - more
receptacles and the 15 amp circuit breaker. Everything else
is irrelevant to your problem and has grossly enriched them at
your expense. A $3+ power strip from Walmart or Home Depot
would have accomplished same - assuming it too has the all so
important 15 amp circuit breaker.

As others have noted, other items on that 15 amp circuit are
a minor load. Furthermore, it may not be advisable to move
laser to another circuit - depending on how that laser
connects to computer.

Chris wrote:
Hey everyone,
Hopefully I'm posting this in the right place. My home is around 80
years old and the wiring has been updated. I use one of the upstairs
bedrooms as my office and have my computer, a television, a phone,
speakers and couple of misc items plugged into a decent Monster-brand
surge protector. I recently added a nice laser printer to the mix and
had to plug it into the same wall outlet that the surge protector is
in. When I did this, I noticed that the overhead room light starts to
slightly flicker in cycles. So far, it hasn't tripped the breaker, but
am I putting to much of a load on it? I don't want anything to catch
fire. Could the problem be remedied plugging it into a different
outlet in the same room? Not much of an electrician myself so any help
/ advice would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!!!!

w_tom wrote:
Temporarily move laser printer to another circuit with
incandescent lights. Learn if printer does same on other
circuits. It is possible that a wire in that 15 amp circuit
is loose - not properly connected. In which case, you might
have a potentially serious problem. But we don't know since
we don't really know what is and is not a flicker - the
numbers. Some flickers are serious. Others are irrelevant.
Its all about how much. How much difference in light
intensity would tell us how large or minor the voltage drop
is. BTW, we are discussing brownouts - not surges. Those are
two completely different problems.

That Monster protector only provides two functions - more
receptacles and the 15 amp circuit breaker. Everything else
is irrelevant to your problem and has grossly enriched them at
your expense. A $3+ power strip from Walmart or Home Depot
would have accomplished same - assuming it too has the all so
important 15 amp circuit breaker.

As others have noted, other items on that 15 amp circuit are
a minor load. Furthermore, it may not be advisable to move
laser to another circuit - depending on how that laser
connects to computer.

Chris wrote:
Hey everyone,
Hopefully I'm posting this in the right place. My home is around 80
years old and the wiring has been updated. I use one of the
upstairs
bedrooms as my office and have my computer, a television, a phone,
speakers and couple of misc items plugged into a decent
Monster-brand
surge protector. I recently added a nice laser printer to the mix
and
had to plug it into the same wall outlet that the surge protector
is
in. When I did this, I noticed that the overhead room light starts
to
slightly flicker in cycles. So far, it hasn't tripped the breaker,
but
am I putting to much of a load on it? I don't want anything to
catch
fire. Could the problem be remedied plugging it into a different
outlet in the same room? Not much of an electrician myself so any
help
/ advice would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!!!!

Great advice everyone. Thanks. I am turning the printer off when not in
use. When I say the lights "flicker" I mean they dim slightly every few
seconds, which I guess is indicating a voltage drop. I don't notice it
in the television or computer monitor. Anyway. Thanks everyone.

"Art" wrote in message
nk.net...
|I mentioned the warm up phase. Most laser printers go to sleep
when not
| used for a certain length of time. They will not cause
flickering when in
| sleep mode.

Ah! I see where you're coming from. I wasn't aware any of them
would go any furhter down in status than to keep the wires etc.
warm.

|
|
| "Pop" wrote in message
| ...
| Hi Chris,
|
| No, you do not have a fire danger. It sounds like you're
well
| within the limit of a 15 amp breaker also so if I'm right,
there
| is no specific problem. By way of explanation:
| The slight light flicker is typical for most laser
printers,
| especially the better ones. Periodically, the fuser in the
| printer turns "on" for a short period of time, keeping itself
| warm. That does a couple of things; it keeps the printer
ready
| to print (short print-start delays), and allows the fuse wire
to
| cool down a little, thus extending its life.
| IFF you don't mind the flickering, and IFF it's not causing
| any problems with your computer, then you could live with it
if
| you wanted to. The electrical surges the printer is drawing
can
| sometimes cause lockups, unexpected and "funny" problems with
a
| computer, but usually everything will work fine.
| As one poster said, it would be better if you could power
the
| printer from a different beaker if there is one within reach.
| However, if that other line also had lights on it, then THOSE
| lights will likely flicker.
| In my case, I have an Uninterruptable Power Supply (UPS)
for
| my computer/monitor/external peripherals, and the printers
plug
| into the same outlet the UPS is on. The UPS does an
excelleng
| job of keeping the surges from getting into my system. Also,
I'm
| a cheap sob, so when I'm not using the printer, it's turned
off,
| along with scanner, the big color printer, etc. and I have
| flourescent lighting so I don't see the spikes. ALL
equipment is
| on power bars so that I only turn on what I need at any
| particular time. That way I know when I turn the power
| bar -off-, that things are actually OFF, not just asleep and
| still drawing just lower power.
| Someone mentioned it being the "warmup" phase of the
printer,
| which I suppose is possible, but ... IMO you are probably
seeing
| the flickering peridically all the time, not just when the
| printer comes on.
| Usually, the manual for printers mentions the flickering.
| Yours might, too.
|
| HTH,
|
| Pop
|
|
| "Chris" wrote in message
| om...
| | Hey everyone,
| | Hopefully I'm posting this in the right place. My home is
| around 80
| | years old and the wiring has been updated. I use one of the
| upstairs
| | bedrooms as my office and have my computer, a television, a
| phone,
| | speakers and couple of misc items plugged into a decent
| Monster-brand
| | surge protector. I recently added a nice laser printer to
the
| mix and
| | had to plug it into the same wall outlet that the surge
| protector is
| | in. When I did this, I noticed that the overhead room light
| starts to
| | slightly flicker in cycles. So far, it hasn't tripped the
| breaker, but
| | am I putting to much of a load on it? I don't want anything
to
| catch
| | fire. Could the problem be remedied plugging it into a
| different
| | outlet in the same room? Not much of an electrician myself
so
| any help
| | / advice would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!!!!
|
|
|
|

From: Tony Hwang


HaHaHa wrote:
Speaking of all these home offices, my guess is thet it's only a matter of
time
now, that the NEC will require either 20a circuits in bedrooms, or that all
bedrooms have receptacles on 2 different circuits.



Hi,
Not likely with the advancement of technology, the power consumption of
all digital stuffs are decreasing. Look at the LED Chiristmas lights for
an example.
Tony

Let's consider other examples, as I don't think the load in typical bedrooms
has decreased any due to LED Christmas lights.

The code for bedrooms has remained pretty much unchanged, (other than added
AFCI protection) at 3 watts per sq. ft. since the 60's. Since then, in typical
bedrooms it has become commonplace to add many appliances which weren't common
in the 60's. TV sets, a VCR/DVD player, a settop cable or dish network box, a
stereo set, some kind of game system, computers and printers, and in many
Northern homes w/o central a/c those 99.00 window shakers are becoming all the
rage.

I was not suprised at all when the NEC changed the bathroom receptacle from
being one of many sharing a 15a circuit, to having it's own dedicated 20a
circuit. I think the same is in store for bedrooms.