high house voltage, Run a Variac in front of Power Cond.

[joessportster]

As the topic states I have high house  voltage it runs between  123 and 127  VAC I am considering putting a 10 Amp  Staco Variac between my  home outlet and my balanced Power conditioner to  lower the output  voltages to my  amps etc...... it could run as long as 6 - 8 hours at a time  anyones thoughts on this   ?  Is there a better  way that  does not include hiring an electrician ?   I am fairly efficient with  electrical but dont  know everything

 

Advice appreciated

[rplace]

Joe, what does the power conditioner do, if not condition the power? I ask because I have the same issue. My Furman has green, yellow and red lights on it with some numbering scale. Typically my yellows are all lit and 1 red from time to time. From memory I think that is about 127 in the light's scale.

 

I've always been under the impression that the power conditioner takes in whatever it is given (high, correct or low) and sends out to what is plugged into the correct Volts/watts/amps/AC/DC or whatever the name is of the stuff that comes out of a wall socket I'm no electrical wiz so sounding like I don't even know what my Furman PL-8 Pro does.

[joessportster]

I dont  know how the furman works but  in my case I bought Justins balanced Conditioner which to my understanding takes the incoming power splits it runs it through a torodial transformer to  clean up the wave IE... balance it out.  I can take a measurement at the wall and out  of the power  supply and I get virtually the same reading   on my fluke  meter.  There are step up and down transformers but they  typically dont get used for 5 volts  difference

 

I can not  personally see an issue with using a variac  (Joule electra used  to supply them with some of his  amps, I had a pair  and never experienced an issue, but that was  1 per amp, not 1 powering a PC with 4   items plugged in)   Now my PC is only good for 8 amps according to Justin so a 10 am Variac should handle  the load  (I would think)

 

I am hoping others that know more than me will chime in

[babadono]

Using a variac you will be able to adjust it down when it is high(or higher than you want) but it will track the input. Sounds like you want a constant voltage transformer. They are pricey but also give you galvanic isolation. What balanced conditioner are you using? I'll bet that was not cheap.

[joessportster]

Just now, babadono said:

Using a variac you will be able to adjust it down when it is high(or higher than you want) but it will track the input. Sounds like you want a constant voltage transformer. They are pricey but also give you galvanic isolation. What balanced conditioner are you using? I'll bet that was not cheap.

It  was  one Justin  AKA ampsandsound Posted for sale not terribly expensive at 500...............Thanks much for  the info

[babadono]

What brand and model? I am curious.

[joessportster]

You would have to ask Justin. Its  something he built not a manufacturer he  compared it to 

 

 

[Edgar]

Have your electric company check to see if you have a broken neutral connection.

[joessportster]

7 minutes ago, Edgar said:

Have your electric company check to see if you have a broken neutral connection.

I assume you are talking about the power leading to  the house..........Correct ?  

 

I will have  to wait on that I am  sure with Covid. Thanks  for  the suggestion

[OO1]

24 minutes ago, joessportster said:

I assume you are talking about the power leading to  the house..........Correct ?  

 

I will have  to wait on that I am  sure with Covid. Thanks  for  the suggestion

The problem may be on your side of the line (main panel) or it may be on the utility's side(meter can or transformer).

 

[Edgar]

40 minutes ago, joessportster said:

I assume you are talking about the power leading to  the house..........Correct ?  

 

Correct. If the neutral line from the transformer to your house is broken, or if the connections are corroded or otherwise faulty, then the voltage on each side of the 120V/240V split-phase can vary unpredictably.

[babadono]

But.....I checked this this morning when @joessportster first posted because I was curious and did not want to cause more confusion. Google says voltage can fluctuate  +/- 5% from the nominal 120v so 114-126v is not uncommon. But by all means have your power co. check of course.

Have you used that balanced power unit yet? Do you hear any difference?

Does the safety ground get carried through from the input power to the output outlets? It was not clear to me in the diagrams that Justin showed.

[justinsweber]

Joe, 

 

Let me do some digging, you should be able to swap out the CL for one that will drop more voltage... This is a better idea than variac.

Another option might be to add a bucking transformer?

I posted previously on how to build a DIY balanced transformer conditioner with part numbers. If needed I can make a separate post about it.

Additionally there are china hif options on ebay. One of my customers bought the unit I suggested and has been happy. 

 

[Mighty Favog]

For years, I've been using APC H15's with automatic voltage regulation.

[JJkizak]

The best power supplies for tubes I ever saw were made by the old Western Electric Co. and they used 5--- 5r4's in parallel to hold the 120 volts from 90 volt input to 130 volt input as solid as a rock. I tested them myself with a variac. Later on in life we had variacs powering tube equipment and they continously failed. (Burned to a crisp) Then switched to huge electronic regulated power supplies which did work. If your power supplies in your equipment are designed under the "Demming 1% rules" your in trouble. If you have bad a-- power supplies (like the old Marantz's)  it doesn't matter what happens to the input voltage. They do make big time industrial line filters (Lots of money) to filter out electronic junk from electronic facilities which every industrial electronics facility employ's if they know what they are doing. I used to know the names of these things but I'm getting old now. The old Bell telephone exchanges used them.

JJK

[joessportster]

appreciate all the info guys that APC H15 looks like it might be a good solution

[Marvel]

Peavey has a paper on balanced power. It has been included in the NEC for year, and legal. Doesn't deal with the high voltage problem, though.

 

https://peavey.com/PDFs/PWRDIST.pdf

[mikebse2a3]

I would not be happy seeing 127vac rms at my home especially if it seemed to stay at the upper range for long periods of time.

 

I would suggest you contact them and ask what their voltage range is and let them know your concerns.

 

I would be concerned about my HVAC and all my other appliances if the voltage coming in from the Power Company is excessive at times and if you observe large voltage swings and lights dimming (very short life of incandescent bulbs can be an indicator of voltage issues) when for example the  HVAC turns on and off is an indication of possible connection issues on the power company side or at your service panel.

 

Sometimes the power company will push the voltage to high for some residences trying to cover to many households further down the line instead of installing another transformer on their lines to save cost.

 

I’ve been fortunate to have always been with good power companies and they have responded well to solve the problem when I brought it to their attention each time so maybe yours will as well.

 

[314carpenter]

5 hours ago, joessportster said:

appreciate all the info guys that APC H15 looks like it might be a good solution

I have that one, but also just purchased one like this (below) today. Here is a diagram of what to expect. I do not have the problems you have though. Also, when you contact your power company, they are responsible for checking their end and they will do so with no hassle to you.

 

 

Source: http://www.laaudiofile.com/max5400pm.html