Feedback on Power Issues

[J&JD]

Thanks TJ. I will. Lil Alfie barked today. Who knew that would make me so happy. ?

Would gladly give you some of Dusty’s barking if I were able. ?

 

[Neemer]

Thanks TJ. I will. Lil Alfie barked today. Who knew that would make me so happy. ?

I’ve been around dogs my entire life but had never heard of MMM and had to look it up. Best of luck to you and Alfie. Dogs are about the best of God’s creatures.

 

[TJ&LadyDi]

Dogs are about the best of God’s creatures.

Amen to that!

TJ

 

[ARD]

Great news! Alfie picked up his ball to play. With mmm it is very painful to open the mouth. The vet's reference of how well the boy is doing is when he started playing ball again. So he may be weaned off the prednisone after 2 weeks instead of 3 months! We shall see. I'm feeling very positive that my lil guy is gonna be fine.

Meanwhile, this autoformer is the bomb. My readings have been consistantly 121v, 120v and the lowest it has gone was 119v, 119v. I've been at this campground over 2 weeks and I can tell you I've never had numbers like these. I wish I understood what this means. Does that mean that there is indeed something going on at the pedestal? I'm not out there looking at it so I don't know when it is boosting or even if it is. I thought it only boosted when I got really low.

Oh, fyi the trash can didn't work. I need a round one to accommodate the cords coming out. And like printers and bicycles, there seems to be a trash can shortage too. I put the autoformer on a stool so it has room to vent and wrapped it in a flammable tarp to keep the sprinklers from soaking it. ? I know it's only been 24 hours, but so far I couldn't be more pleased.

Happy Saturday Everyone!

Renee

 

[TJ&LadyDi]

Great news! Alfie picked up his ball to play. With mmm it is very painful to open the mouth. The vet's reference of how well the boy is doing is when he started playing ball again. So he may be weaned off the prednisone after 2 weeks instead of 3 months! We shall see. I'm feeling very positive that my lil guy is gonna be fine.

Meanwhile, this autoformer is the bomb. My readings have been consistantly 121v, 120v and the lowest it has gone was 119v, 119v. I've been at this campground over 2 weeks and I can tell you I've never had numbers like these. I wish I understood what this means. Does that mean that there is indeed something going on at the pedestal? I'm not out there looking at it so I don't know when it is boosting or even if it is. I thought it only boosted when I got really low.

Oh, fyi the trash can didn't work. I need a round one to accommodate the cords coming out. And like printers and bicycles, there seems to be a trash can shortage too. I put the autoformer on a stool so it has room to vent and wrapped it in a flammable tarp to keep the sprinklers from soaking it. ? I know it's only been 24 hours, but so far I couldn't be more pleased.

Happy Saturday Everyone!

Renee

That's great news on both counts. LadyDi and I are glad that Alfie is showing improvement. Our furry kids mean so much to us and when they're ailing, it hurts.

As for the question regarding the "pedestal," it could be either a problem with your specific pedestal or a broader system issue. If the problem is in the individual pedestal, it could be bad wiring (loose or corroded connections), a failing breaker or a bad ground connection. Moving to a different site with a properly wired pedestal could resolve the problem.

OTOH, if it is a system problem, there is simply not enough power capability to support all users at peak use times. This is where the Autoformer does its magic. It is simply an automatic transformer (hence Autoformer). When it detects voltage sagging to a preset level (too many users at a given time), it boosts the voltage up as much as 10%, if needed. So, for example, the incoming voltage drops to 110V, the Autoformer would boost it to 121V (110V + 11V boost = 121V). No need to go into the actual physics of how it does this; suffice to say that it does.

So, where does the extra 11V come from? Electrical power is measured in Watts and has two primary components; voltage and amperage (we will ignore phase and resistance as they are not important to this discussion). Ohms Law defines this relationship.* For a given amount of Watts, when voltage goes up, amperage goes down. So, the extra 11V comes from a reduction in available amperage.

In the voltage boost example mentioned earlier (110V to 121V), the Autoformer turns amps to volts, so the new 121V will only be able to draw a maximum of 45.8A instead of the normal 50A before tripping the breaker. This should not be a problem as long as you realize that you need to watch your power use a little more carefully; no three ACs running while simultneously running the induction stovetop and microwave at the same time. Probably not a good idea anyway.

Now, that was an attempt to explain the process in non-technical terms. A physics professor or master electrician (neither of which am I) would probably quibble on a few technical points, but I think would agree with the end result.

Happy Saturday to you as well.

TJ

* Watts/Volts/Amps/Ohms conversion calculator

 

[ARD]

That's great news on both counts. LadyDi and I are glad that Alfie is showing improvement. Our furry kids mean so much to us and when they're ailing, it hurts.

As for the question regarding the "pedestal," it could be either a problem with your specific pedestal or a broader system issue. If the problem is in the individual pedestal, it could be bad wiring (loose or corroded connections), a failing breaker or a bad ground connection. Moving to a different site with a properly wire pedestal could resolve the problem.

OTOH, if it is a system problem, there is simply not enough power capability to support all users at peak use times. This is where the Autoformer does its magic. It is simply an automatic transformer (hence Autoformer). When it detects voltage sagging to a preset level (too many users at a given time), it boosts the voltage up as much as 10%, if needed. So, for example, the incoming voltage drops to 110V, the Autoformer would boost it to 121V (110V + 11V boost = 121V). No need to go into the actual physics of how it does this; suffice to say that it does.

So, where does the extra 11V come from? Electrical power is measured in Watts and has two primary components; voltage and amperage (we will ignore phase and resistance as they are not important to this discussion). Ohms Law defines this relationship.* For a given amount of Watts, when voltage goes up, amperage goes down. So, the extra 11V comes from a reduction in available amperage.

In the voltage boost example mentioned earlier (110V to 121V), the Autoformer turns amps to volts, so the new 121V will only be able to draw a maximum of 45.8A instead of the normal 50A before tripping the breaker. This should not be a problem as long as you realize that you need to watch your power use a little more carefully; no three ACs running while simultneously running the induction stovetop and microwave at the same time. Probably not a good idea anyway.

Now, that was an attempt to explain the process in non-technical terms. A physics professor or master electrician (neither of which am I) would probably quibble on a few technical points, but I think would agree with the end result.

Happy Saturday to you as well.

TJ

* Watts/Volts/Amps/Ohms conversion calculator

Thanks TJ! I'm feeling so blessed to be a member of this group. The explanation is really helpful in my understanding and awareness of my power usage. ? I don't think it's my pedestal because the electrician checked it out, but no one else in the park seems to be having a problem so I don't know. I'm not going to borrow any trouble because right now it's doing its job. Thanks for spending my money. Well worth it. LOL. ?

 

[TJ&LadyDi]

Thanks TJ! I'm feeling so blessed to be a member of this group. The explanation is really helpful in my understanding and awareness of my power usage. ? I don't think it's my pedestal because the electrician checked it out, but no one else in the park seems to be having a problem so I don't know. I'm not going to borrow any trouble because right now it's doing its job. Thanks for spending my money. Well worth it. LOL. ?

One final comment here; I wouldn't put too much faith in a park "electrician." I have met too many who were, at best, a handyman. Not to demean the "electrician" who checked out your pedestal, but unless I knew he/she really was a licensed electrician, I wouldn't put much faith in the verdict they delivered.

"Not borrow[ing] any trouble" is a good thing! Or, "let sleeping dogs lie." Good plan!

TJ

 

[J&JD]

Always good to hear good health news these days....puppy or human!??

 

[AbdRahim]

I don't even plug in at home without the autoformer. Too many brown outs and outages here. Three air conditioner units on the house in less than 35 years.

Happy camping.

 

[ARD]

The autoformer came to my RESCUE again. I arrived in Auburn, AL and initially had power and then there was none. Showed power at the pedestal and I thought dang, it's my transfer switch. Finally it died. BUT NOOOOOO, I plugged in my autoformer and I have ALL the power. Best purchase ever!