POLL: Fun with bias/voltage meters? What is your wall voltage?

[meagain]

I'm still skeptical about any electrical issue I might have other than 124-125 volts. When I get my meter back, I'll check all the wall outlets in this area to see if one is amiss, but other than that..... I wish more people would chime in if they have higher volts at the wall and if they're having issues with amps.

What is the perfect optimal wall volts that VRDs are designed for? What is the perfect number? And, what is the limit of the parts inside for volts? Is it not a big window?

Dean - see any 126 or so levels yet? I have to go learn more about this soft start and what's involved. I don't think it's SS rectification where the rectifier tube just lights up for show. Hope not anyway.

[sheltie dave]

Lisa, this is exactly what pisses Craig off. He already has posted the voltage range, shown the operating voltage calculations, stated the projected tube life, and indicated his diagnosis of the amps from the builder's workbench.

The problem(s) may lie in the amps, the amps and your electrical, usage and your electrical, and/or your electrical.

Craig has done everything in his power to observe, note, correct, and detail what is happening related to the amps. His report shows the amps functioning as designed, built, and tested, with the current tubes flogged. Even with the exhausted tubes, a clean bill of health. That leaves electrical, usage and electrical, and electrical as potential culprits.

I can understand your hesitancy to spend money on a modern 200 amp service box and updating your interior circuits. Given two complete sets of tubes, getter flashing completely exhausted, multiple fuses blown on both amps, and consistent proven unreliabile performance, why would you believe a soft start feature will eradicate all the problems?

Blowing fuses, getter flashing entirely consumed, cracked base glass, and flickering power lights on the VRDs are the symptoms/results of operation. A soft start feature will help, but you are only nibbling at the edges of the root cause. Figure out how much money you want to spend chasing the problem(s,) and if it won't solve the issues, sell the amps and switch back to a SS amp that can withstand the torture with more aplomb. The VRDs are about as bomb-proof a set of high powered and high quality tube amps as you will find. The Heyboer transformers are uniformly superb, and there aren't any corners cut to generate a larger profit margin elsewhere in the amp either.

I'm looking at this with a juandiced eye after spending six months recently at Magnesium Electron foundry in East St. Louis. Their entire casting cradle metal melting system is controlled using 12ax7, 12au7, and KT88/8417 tubes that get repeatedly deep cycled, and yet they last longer than your tubes, and without blowing fuses. The cradle electrodes generate some nasty temperatures.

[meagain]

SD - I'm not even going to read your post. My concern is what else is wrong with my electric other than being high! And if I need a conditioner in addition to a volt regulator. And yes, I'm going to need to know down to the hair where to bias these properly. I'd much rather have a meter that gave me hard numbers on a display so I can know where to bias. I'm saying that there must be something ELSE wrong with my wiring cuz my volts isn't at Dean level. Get it? FFS

[Guest " "]

"I wish more people would chime in if they have higher volts at the wall and if they're having issues with amps. "

We don't have your electrical conditions....odds are most folks on the forum have different challlenges. Thru my panel meter on my AVS-2000 and HTPS-7000 I see inbound voltage fluctuations which are handled by the devices. What I would not see is reflective inductance effects from motors, ballast, microwave machines, pool pumps, air conditioners, etc. I won't see them for 2 reasons...1 all my inductive devices are on the opposite phase that my electronics are on. What this means is that modern homes have inbound 220, which is split at the panel box to provide 2 opposite phases of 110. Each side or phase, can power half the homes outlets. The other reason I would not see the effects of inductive devices is due to a 5000VA or 50amp medical grade balanced isolation transformer I put in on my elctronics side pahse. This transformer acts like a brick wall stoping spikes. There are some power correction capacitors co-located with the transformer which helps with th refective inductance created by above mentioned devices.

Some homes have no issues, some have complext ones.

To measure the effects of devices which generate reflective inductance you would need a power correction factor meter.

[mas]

.

[Guest " "]

meagain

Did Mas just call you a dead horse?

[Marvel]

SD - I'm not even going to read your post. My concern is what else is wrong with my electric other than being high! And if I need a conditioner in addition to a volt regulator. And yes, I'm going to need to know down to the hair where to bias these properly. I'd much rather have a meter that gave me hard numbers on a display so I can know where to bias. I'm saying that there must be something ELSE wrong with my wiring cuz my volts isn't at Dean level. Get it? FFS

You seem to be the one who doesn't get it. Hire an electrician. Your voltage isn't all that different. Mine is different than yours- not good or bad. I don't lose equipment and I have taken absolutely no special precautions. I plug my stuff in and it works. I lived outside of Madison WI where every morning and evening the voltage would go up a lot, as the utility prepared for all the milking machines to get turned on. I still never lost anything. People have been trying to help you and you...just aren't listening.

[meagain]

That's why I'm going to buy a voltage regulator.

[Piranha]

What Sheltie Dave and then Marvel said.

Hire an electrician, end of story. Sheesh!!!

[Audio Flynn]

SD - I'm not even going

to read your post. My concern is what else is wrong

with my electric other than being high! And if I need a

conditioner in addition to a volt regulator. And yes, I'm

going to need to know down to the hair where to bias these properly.

I'd much rather have a meter that gave me hard numbers on a

display so I can know where to bias. I'm saying that there

must be something ELSE wrong with my wiring cuz my volts isn't at Dean

level. Get it? FFS

You seem to be the one who doesn't get it. Hire an electrician. Your

voltage isn't all that different. Mine is different than yours- not

good or bad. I don't lose equipment and I have taken absolutely no

special precautions. I plug my stuff in and it works. I lived outside

of Madison WI where every morning and evening the voltage would go up a

lot, as the utility prepared for all the milking machines to get turned

on. I still never lost anything. People have been trying to help you and you...just aren't listening.

This

thread to me is not about audio is it about safety. Sheltie Dave is one

of the more focused and rational Engineers on this forum and he gets

ignored? Foolish.

Let us try an analogy.

Would you

concously drive your car on the highway with only 2 lugnuts per wheel

installed? That is about where your electrical system is.

If

you do not go the recommended route with the electrical system

investment, please consider more smoke alarms and fresh batteries. May the Lord keep you safe.

[kev313]

SD - I'm not even going to read your post. My concern is what else is wrong with my electric other than being high! And if I need a conditioner in addition to a volt regulator. And yes, I'm going to need to know down to the hair where to bias these properly. I'd much rather have a meter that gave me hard numbers on a display so I can know where to bias. I'm saying that there must be something ELSE wrong with my wiring cuz my volts isn't at Dean level. Get it? FFS

You seem to be the one who doesn't get it. Hire an electrician. Your voltage isn't all that different. Mine is different than yours- not good or bad. I don't lose equipment and I have taken absolutely no special precautions. I plug my stuff in and it works. I lived outside of Madison WI where every morning and evening the voltage would go up a lot, as the utility prepared for all the milking machines to get turned on. I still never lost anything. People have been trying to help you and you...just aren't listening.

This thread to me is not about audio is it about safety. Sheltie Dave is one of the more focused and rational Engineers on this forum and he gets ignored? Foolish.

Let us try an analogy.

Would you concously drive your car on the highway with only 2 lugnuts per wheel installed? That is about where your electrical system is.

If you do not go the recommended route with the electrical system investment, please consider more smoke alarms and fresh batteries. May the Lord keep you safe.

YES! But she would post about it on the car company's forum for months, ignore the advice to see a mechanic, ignore the tire/ wheel maker's advice, and buy a pretty blue net for the side of her car to *hopefully* catch her in case the wheels came off.

[kev313]

The wheels have come off!

The wheels have come off!!

[johnyholiday]

OMG pumps?...same circuit?.................bench test >do VRDs run good on the same circuit as a cycling 120 volt, light duty 5hp air compressor,running a 3/4" drive impact wrench

[sfogg]

"My concern is what else is wrong with my electric other than being high! "

You mean like not having a ground on the outlet you use for your audio equipment? Things like that?

Shawn

[flannj]

SD - I'm not even going to read your post.    My concern is what else is wrong with my electric other than being high!   And if I need a conditioner in addition to a volt regulator.   And yes, I'm going to need to know down to the hair where to bias these properly.   I'd much rather have a meter that gave me hard numbers on a display so I can know where to bias.    I'm saying that there must be something ELSE wrong with my wiring cuz my volts isn't at Dean level.  Get it?   FFS

You seem to be the one who doesn't get it. Hire an electrician. Your voltage isn't all that different. Mine is different than yours- not good or bad. I don't lose equipment and I have taken absolutely no special precautions. I plug my stuff in and it works. I lived outside of Madison WI where every morning and evening the voltage would go up a lot, as the utility prepared for all the milking machines to get turned on. I still never lost anything. People have been trying to help you and you...just aren't listening.

 

Jeez Louise Lisa - Voltage regulator, Voltage shmegulator. Fix what needs fixing first, hire a QUALIFIED electrician to make sure your wiring is correct, safe, and adequate for the job asked of it. Your house was built in 1958, start there. 

BTW... mas & kev you guys crack me up.

- Jim

[fini]

Hire an electrician, and close this bloody thread!!!

[meagain]

1. My electric to the house reads from 121.2ish-124.5 (last week or 2). Lately it was ramped up to read at 122-126 with seeing a peak at night of 127.2ish. I can't control what the electric company does.

2. I have 100 amp service for a 2 person household. It's plenty for now.

3. It has screw in fuses. I do not see this as being a problem OR dangerous. They are perfectly fine. Just a nuisance if one blows a fuse and doesn't have extra.

4. There are zero electrical oddities noted here. No frequent bulb blowing, no dimming or flickering lights, nothing except the amps.

5. The pond pumps total about 430 watts MAX. This is not a freekish number. They do not cycle and are on 24/7 6-7 months a year.

6. There was a 20 amp fuse on a circuit that should have 15. I changed that. I feel even if everything is running at once (never happens), I'll be at the recommended 80-ish% total watts for this fuse. If I find I'm at the edge, I can tap off another circuit.

7. Some outlets are not grounded. I will fix this. This is not a big deal.

8. We've had 2 electricians here within the last 3.5 years. The recent one worked on the fuse box itself. I was not notified of anything amiss or concern at this time. No he wasn't a 'handyman'.

So no, I don't feel there is anything super crazy going on over here except highish volts to the house and now that I've put the right size fuse in..... grounded outlets on my audio gear. I see no reason to hire an electrican at this time nor feel anyone can peg my electrical as bad from many states away.

[Piranha]

1. My electric to the house reads from 121.2ish-124.5 (last week or 2). Lately it was ramped up to read at 122-126 with seeing a peak at night of 127.2ish. I can't control what the electric company does.

2. I have 100 amp service for a 2 person household. It's plenty for now.

3. It has screw in fuses. I do not see this as being a problem OR dangerous. They are perfectly fine. Just a nuisance if one blows a fuse and doesn't have extra.

4. There are zero electrical oddities noted here. No frequent bulb blowing, no dimming or flickering lights, nothing except the amps.

5. The pond pumps total about 430 watts MAX. This is not a freekish number. They do not cycle and are on 24/7 6-7 months a year.

6. There was a 20 amp fuse on a circuit that should have 15. I changed that. I feel even if everything is running at once (never happens), I'll be at the recommended 80-ish% total watts for this fuse. If I find I'm at the edge, I can tap off another circuit.

7. Some outlets are not grounded. I will fix this. This is not a big deal.

8. We've had 2 electricians here within the last 3.5 years. The recent one worked on the fuse box itself. I was not notified of anything amiss or concern at this time. No he wasn't a 'handyman'.

So no, I don't feel there is anything super crazy going on over here except highish volts to the house and now that I've put the right size fuse in..... grounded outlets on my audio gear. I see no reason to hire an electrican at this time nor feel anyone can peg my electrical as bad from many states away.

Yea, what was I thinking advising you to hire a qualified electrician from way out here in So Cal? You're right, everything is fine on your end after swapping 20A to 15A fuses. I am truly sorry for all your anguish. May I suggest that you call/email Craig tomorrow and have him send your amps back. He said they're fine so why waste his time too? Once you receive them, plug everything back in on your pond pump circuit like before. Enjoy the results. End of story.

Moderator please close this thread as my head is spinning.

[meagain]

Sorry, IDK what's wrong with having 430 watts running of this one 15amp fuse. A HT receiver probably does more than that or a few lamps, etc. And surely those pumps aren't even at the max of 430. What's the difference as long as I'm in the recommended wattage for a circuit? What's the big deal about them over other electrical draws/items?

[arfandbark]

Is everything gas in your your house, Meagain?

Electric stove is 50 amps of 220

Electric dryer is 40 amps of 220

Electric water heater is 30 amps of 220