OT: Computer's electrical outlet

[Gene Heskett]

On Thursday 15 November 2007, Dotan Cohen wrote:
>Not strictly a Fedora question, but where else will I find a willing
>audience of brains?
>
>A fried lives in the university dorms. She has two electrical outlets
>in her part of the room, both on the same fuse. One has a splitter
>which powers her computer, LCD monitor, printer, cellphone charger,
>speakers, and maybe something else. The other powers the room's
>refrigerator, electric kettle, microwave, and maybe something else.
>Not everything is in use at the same time (the computer is always on)
>and somehow the 10 watt (220 volt) fuse handles it all and even a
>small electric heater to boot.
>
-ERRNomenclature Dotan.  Fuses aren't rated in watts, but amps, and the 
voltage they can successfully blow and interrupt the circuits current flow at 
in the event of a total crowbar with several thousand amps flowing until the 
fuse can interrupt it some milliseconds later.

Secondly, that certainly sounds like a fire looking for a place to happen.

Who is the legal authority responsible for that?  Here in the US we have 
pretty well enforced codes that would be grounds for legal action in the 
event some old, grandfathered construction such as you are describing should 
malfunction and start a fire.

>Here's the question: is there any disadvantage to plugging the heater
>into the computer's electrical outlet splitter, as opposed to the
>other one? As mentioned, they are on the same fuse. I noticed that
>when the heater is started and stopped the speakers make a popping
>sound. Is this harmful to the computer? (fire hazard notwithstanding)

That is probably a radiated noise problem, where better cables in the audio 
system might reduce it.  If the lights dim so that you can see it whebn the 
heater comes on, that would indicate undersized wire, and when all that is 
added up, I think she should be changing her address to a more modern 
building for her own safety.

>Thanks in advance.

A dose of luck would be handy too.

>Dotan Cohen
>
>http://what-is-what.com
>http://gibberish.co.il
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-- 
Cheers, Gene
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