OT: Computer's electrical outlet

Dotan Cohen dotancohen at gmail.com
Fri Nov 16 03:37:23 UTC 2007


On 15/11/2007, Mikkel L. Ellertson <mikkel at infinity-ltd.com> wrote:
> 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.
> >
> First a minor correction - I am willing to bet it is a 10 amp, and
> not a 10 watt fuse. Even the LCD monitor probably draws more then 10
> watts. (AC watts = volts x amps x power factor)

Yes, it is 10 amps. Some of the dorms do have 16 amp fuses, but in her
building it is a measly 10.

> > 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)
> >
> The popping sound may be because of the RF spike when the contacts
> that turn on the heating element open or close. I have notices
> amplified speakers with long leads to the speakers tend to be
> sensitive to this.

Do you say in English "induced current" when a changing magnetic field
causes current to flow? What is the correct English term? It is this
phenonenon to which I attribute the popping sounds.

> The things I would expect to cause problems are
> the microwave and the refrigerator. They both tend to have fairly
> high startup loads. This is known to cause a voltage drop. The
> extent of the drop depends on the wiring. also, depending on the
> type of fuse used, the spike may blow the fuse. Time delay fuses
> handle it best, fast blow fuses handle it the worst. I suspect that
> you have a time delay type fuse.

I don't think that it's a time delay fuse because I recently did
something stupid, and it tripped right away. I've never heard of a
time delay fuse, but it sounds rather dangerous.

Dotan Cohen

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