On 15/11/2007, Mikkel L. Ellertson <mikkel@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> 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 http://what-is-what.com http://gibberish.co.il א-ב-ג-ד-ה-ו-ז-ח-ט-י-ך-כ-ל-ם-מ-ן-נ-ס-ע-ף-פ-ץ-צ-ק-ר-ש-ת A: Because it messes up the order in which people normally read text. Q: Why is top-posting such a bad thing?
