Seriously. WTF.

[zdashamber]

This would make the second time in the last hour I've gotten back from flipping the circuit breakers for my bedroom. It goes like this: come in. Flip on power strip. Computer and space heater turn on. Two seconds later, circuit breaks. Room plunged into darkness. Go put on shoes, coat, headlamp. Flip circuit breakers. Go in. Turn off space heater. Turn on computer, mess about. Decide a little heat would be nice...

...and it's worked more than a dozen times before to have the computer and the space heater on at the same time...

...But no, tonight the space heater comes on and two seconds later the circuit breaks.

No heat for you!

So, I need to get a new space heater. What do I need to look for in terms of volts or amps? The old one... Looks like 70s-era... When it came on, I could tell, even in the bathroom, because the lights dimmed. I think that's an Amp thing?

Comments

[tlatoani.livejournal.com]

It's an Amp thing. Volts, you got two choices, and the first one doesn't count: get 110v, because unless the previous occupant of your apartment was Dr. Science, you don't have a 220v line in your bedroom.

Amps measure current. Circuit breakers allow a certain amount of current to flow at one time. Go and check, but it'll either be 10A or 15A. That's your limit; if you draw more than that, even for an instant, the breaker is supposed to pop.

Since you say you've been able to have the space heater and the computer on at the same time, the problem might be that you're turning them on simultaneously. Some devices draw more current when they're starting up than when they're running, so while the routine current draw might not go over the breaker's limit, if you start both devices at once the total may trigger it.

That said, if the heater's dimming your lights, you may be coming close to the total amount of current your whole apartment is set up to draw. We used to have that problem before we upgraded our house's electrical service. Does the space heater have an Amperage or Wattage rating on it?

[zdashamber.livejournal.com]

Hm. I thought lightbulb Wattage had something to do with voltage? And voltage was related to the amount of power you were using? I guess I should bust out my physics textbooks.

My clever plan the second time was to turn on the space heater while the computer was already going, since I am pretty sure it's the startup power that was particularly choking the system. I don't know, maybe someone else in the house was running an electric blanket last night, or something.

Now that you ask, I look on the back of the heater and see it's from Sears Roebock, Amps 12.5, Volts 120, Watts 1500. It's a monster! The circuit is 15 Amps, so yeah, no wonder it's breaking.

[tlatoani.livejournal.com]

Yep. That would do it. If you check your computer, you'll probably find that together they draw enough to pop that breaker easily when they're both at peak draw.

By the way, Power (Watts) = EMF (Volts) x Current (Amps). So yes, they're related.

[cochese.livejournal.com]

I'm delighted by the image of you wearing a headlamp.

[zdashamber.livejournal.com]

It's fun. I'll probably bring it to ACNW... I ususally do. It's an LED thing, so: tiny and portable; and I like to have my own light sources handy.