[slim] My fridge makes my speakers pop...
I have recently moved house and am renting while I build a straw bale house. The place I am renting is quite small with an open plan kitchen living space. Every time the compressor on my fridge comes on/off, my speakers pop. I have always used a surge protector but according to this thread http://www.physicsforums.com/archive/index.php/t-121929.html the protector is not reactive hence not stopping the voltage spike. Has anyone had this experience and resolved it? The above thread seems to suggest a power conditioner and I did look at this one: http://www.lindy.co.uk/mains-conditioner-power-strip-6-way/30087.html I would buy this if I thought it would help, but don't have bottomless pockets so paying more might not be possible. Ta. -- thurstongarden Thurston Garden SB2 - Duet Controller - SB Radio - Cyrus Two & PSX (off Freecycle!) - Mission 773's thurstongarden's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=20903 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=75596 ___ discuss mailing list discuss@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [slim] My fridge makes my speakers pop...
Disclaimer: IF YOU NOW NOTHING ABOUT ELECTRICITY DON*T DO THIS AND KILL YOURSELF !!! No really don't, hmm maybe if you put it on youtube ;) I suggest filtering the fridge not the hifi, doing away with the problem at the source. Hmm maybe these: http://www.schaffner.com/components/en/product/productL23.asp?level=3$1$4&language_id=12 They have IEC inlets with filter to. http://www.schaffner.com/components/en/product/productL22.asp?level=3$1$2&language_id=12 Or if the House have 3-phase power move the fridge to another phase. If you are unlucky it could be airborne interference the relay spark emits radio :( -- Mnyb Main hifi: SB3 (soon to replaced by a Touch :) It is on preorder) Bedroom/Office: Boom Kitchen: Receiver (soon to be replaced by my SB3 and the SBR to be stuffed in a box in the attic ) I use a Controller various ir-remotes and a Eee-PC with squeezeplay to control this Mnyb's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=4143 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=75596 ___ discuss mailing list discuss@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [slim] My fridge makes my speakers pop...
First off, make sure the circuit ground to the fridge is good. Then check the relay. in the 110V world, it should -not- be making a surge like that. If it's making radio interference, you might want to check that the relay case is properly grounded, and possibly replace the relay. All that said, how old is this fridge? If it's more than ten years old, it makes a lot of sense to replace it with a new model. If you get an energy efficient one, it'll pay for itself in electricity in a couple of years. In the US, we have a program called "EnergyStar" that makes it easy to spot the efficient ones. Even without the program, I'm pretty sure that a lot of UK fridges are tested for energy usage. BTW, beware LG energy ratings - they've figured out how to cheat on the energy tests. If the circuit's good and you can't move to a different one, Mynb's suggestions are spot-on. If you weren't renting I'd suggest putting the suppression on the fridge circuit, but where it connects to the breaker box. Failing that, I'd put the suppressor into an electrical box with a receptacle and plug and put that in series between the fridge and the wall. -- bobkoure bobkoure's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=14646 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=75596 ___ discuss mailing list discuss@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [slim] My fridge makes my speakers pop...
Thanks for the replies. The fridge is brand new and belongs to the landlord. I imagine it is on the same electrical circuit as my amp etc in the same room. It's a 240v system (in the UK) and I cannot really alter it as it's not mine. I am hoping only to rent for 12 months and thought I could get something to plug between the fridge and the wall outlet to suppress the spike? If it's radio then I might have to encase the fridge in swathes of aluminium foil -- thurstongarden Thurston Garden SB2 - Duet Controller - SB Radio - Cyrus Two & PSX (off Freecycle!) - Mission 773's thurstongarden's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=20903 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=75596 ___ discuss mailing list discuss@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [slim] My fridge makes my speakers pop...
thurstongarden;520141 Wrote: > Thanks for the replies. > > The fridge is brand new and belongs to the landlord. I imagine it is on > the same electrical circuit as my amp etc in the same room. > > It's a 240v system (in the UK) and I cannot really alter it as it's not > mine. I am hoping only to rent for 12 months and thought I could get > something to plug between the fridge and the wall outlet to suppress the > spike? > > If it's radio then I might have to encase the fridge in swathes of > aluminium foil OK - STOP! The pop is caused by faulty suppression capacitor (normally a Y-Capacitor) on the compressor in the fridge itself. This is a specialised item. The lack of a working capacitor causes an RFI spike which is airborne and not carried by the mains wiring, hence a mains supressor on your hi-fi won't stop it. The fridge is faulty (even if it is brand new) and you should tell your landlord, as the compressor needs to have a working capacitor by UK law (Wireless & Telegraphy act I think) to prevent interference with TV and Radio signals. There is also an outside possibility that the earth wiring may not be to standard... If it was me for my own peace of mind I'd get one of those plug in mains testers (that look like a 3-pin plug with lights on the back) and make sure the earth tests ok - if it doesn't, escalate to Landlord immediately. If the earth is OK, then tell Landlord that there is a problem with the fridge. Either way, you need to get your landlord to do something. Phil -- Phil Leigh You want to see the signal path BEFORE it gets onto a CD/vinyl...it ain't what you'd call minimal... SB Touch Beta (wired) - TACT 2.2X (Linear PSU) + Good Vibrations S/W - MF Triplethreat(Audiocom full mods) - Linn 5103 - Aktiv 5.1 system (6x LK140's, ESPEK/TRIKAN/KATAN/SEIZMIK 10.5), Townsend Supertweeters, Blue Jeans Digital,Kimber Speaker & Chord Interconnect cables Kitchen Boom, Outdoors: SB Radio Phil Leigh's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=85 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=75596 ___ discuss mailing list discuss@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [slim] My fridge makes my speakers pop...
Thanks Phil. This is the third fridge in as many weeks. The one here when I moved in was u/s. The landlord replaced with new one which had a duff thermostat. The third one appears to work fine. All three caused a spike. I think I will look at a socket tester -- thurstongarden Thurston Garden SB2 - Duet Controller - SB Radio - Cyrus Two & PSX (off Freecycle!) - Mission 773's thurstongarden's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=20903 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=75596 ___ discuss mailing list discuss@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [slim] My fridge makes my speakers pop...
Further to my last, I think we can discount an RF spike - the fridge does not affect my wind-up FM radio in the same location as my amp. Just done a wee test. -- thurstongarden Thurston Garden SB2 - Duet Controller - SB Radio - Cyrus Two & PSX (off Freecycle!) - Mission 773's thurstongarden's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=20903 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=75596 ___ discuss mailing list discuss@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [slim] My fridge makes my speakers pop...
thurstongarden;520237 Wrote: > Further to my last, I think we can discount an RF spike - the fridge > does not affect my wind-up FM radio in the same location as my amp. Just > done a wee test. Try it with AM... -- Phil Leigh You want to see the signal path BEFORE it gets onto a CD/vinyl...it ain't what you'd call minimal... SB Touch Beta (wired) - TACT 2.2X (Linear PSU) + Good Vibrations S/W - MF Triplethreat(Audiocom full mods) - Linn 5103 - Aktiv 5.1 system (6x LK140's, ESPEK/TRIKAN/KATAN/SEIZMIK 10.5), Townsend Supertweeters, Blue Jeans Digital,Kimber Speaker & Chord Interconnect cables Kitchen Boom, Outdoors: SB Radio Phil Leigh's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=85 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=75596 ___ discuss mailing list discuss@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [slim] My fridge makes my speakers pop...
Brand new stuff should not do this ? even the relay coil itself can have a surge suppression diode to avoid voltage spikes when it's released . Phils idea of cheking the GND is good, btw is not all UK outlets grounded ? Hopefully it's not broken. In Sweden it depends on age but kitchen area has always demanded ground as far as i can remember (and before that). And it has always been verboten to mix grounded and ungrounded outlets in the same room ? -- Mnyb Main hifi: SB3 (soon to replaced by a Touch :) It is on preorder) Bedroom/Office: Boom Kitchen: Receiver (soon to be replaced by my SB3 and the SBR to be stuffed in a box in the attic ) I use a Controller various ir-remotes and a Eee-PC with squeezeplay to control this Mnyb's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=4143 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=75596 ___ discuss mailing list discuss@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [slim] My fridge makes my speakers pop...
Mnyb;520249 Wrote: > Brand new stuff should not do this ? even the relay coil itself can have > a surge suppression diode to avoid voltage spikes when it's released . > > Phils idea of cheking the GND is good, btw is not all UK outlets > grounded ? > Hopefully it's not broken. > > In Sweden it depends on age but kitchen area has always demanded ground > as far as i can remember (and before that). > And it has always been verboten to mix grounded and ungrounded outlets > in the same room ? yes Ground/Earth is mandatory - VERY mandatory in the UK. -- Phil Leigh You want to see the signal path BEFORE it gets onto a CD/vinyl...it ain't what you'd call minimal... SB Touch Beta (wired) - TACT 2.2X (Linear PSU) + Good Vibrations S/W - MF Triplethreat(Audiocom full mods) - Linn 5103 - Aktiv 5.1 system (6x LK140's, ESPEK/TRIKAN/KATAN/SEIZMIK 10.5), Townsend Supertweeters, Blue Jeans Digital,Kimber Speaker & Chord Interconnect cables Kitchen Boom, Outdoors: SB Radio Phil Leigh's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=85 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=75596 ___ discuss mailing list discuss@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [slim] My fridge makes my speakers pop...
Did you get this solved? I have a very similar problem. Bought a UPS off Amazon on some recommendations, which I got around to using last night, but it hasn't solved the problem. Just ordered a power supply as suggested earlier in the thread... It's not only popping my speakers, we suspect it's killing the TV too, as we keep needing to get it repaired :-P -- pjlsergeant pjlsergeant's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=54198 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=75596 ___ discuss mailing list discuss@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [slim] My fridge makes my speakers pop...
If your fridge is causing so many problems and is actually damaging other devices, why not replace the fridge? Probably save time, money, hassle in the long run. -- toby10 toby10's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=12553 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=75596 ___ discuss mailing list discuss@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [slim] My fridge makes my speakers pop...
Ok, by way of an update... The OP was made when I was in a rental place. Since then I have lived in a caravan (with a different fridge) and am now living in the finished straw bale house (again with a different, but brand new fridge). Sadly, the popping has not been fixed. The only thing constant in the process is my Cyrus 2 amp. I used different speakers in the caravan due to lack of space but am now back with my Mission floor standers in the new house. When I built the new house, I made sure the fridge was on it's own spur, so as to be as far electronically from the other sockets. There is still a pop/spike, but it is less pronounced. Sadly I now have significantly less money than when I made the OP so a power conditioner is out of the question. I have/did, some time ago, resign myself to the fact that the spike was not doing much/any harm to my amp/speakers and that it is something I need to live with. I have filtered the spike out of my hearing, a bit like someone would do with trains living next to a busy railway line! -- thurstongarden Thurston Garden SB2 - Duet Controller - SB Radio - Cyrus Two & PSX (off Freecycle!) - Mission 773's thurstongarden's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=20903 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=75596 ___ discuss mailing list discuss@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [slim] My fridge makes my speakers pop...
Have you tried a different amp? I had an amp that would hum when the HVAC kicked in. I assume because of an inadequate power supply. -- Daverz Daverz's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=32335 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=75596 ___ discuss mailing list discuss@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [slim] My fridge makes my speakers pop...
Daverz;689929 Wrote: > Have you tried a different amp? I had an amp that would hum when the > HVAC kicked in. I assume because of an inadequate power supply. Was it transformer hum, the transformer itself hummed ? There migth be a good reason if you lived with a weak network and the hvac used halv period rectifying for example in the fan speeds, old stuff can be designed that way. I was living in a rural place for a while and managed to get my power amps humming with the halv power setting on the heater for My car ? It was a crude old design where the heat setting was done with half bridge rectifying yuk. What happens if the electrical net is weak, you get significant DC potential on AC mains ! That is around > 1 volt DC this is not much you say ? But the core of a AC transformer are saturated when faced with DC how much it can stand depends on it's design . You can also try this with an old hairdryer many of them have equally shoddy design. -- Mnyb Main hifi: Touch + CIA PS +MeridianG68J MeridianHD621 MeridianG98DH 2 x MeridianDSP5200 MeridianDSP5200HC 2 xMeridianDSP3100 +Rel Stadium 3 sub. Bedroom/Office: Boom Kitchen: Touch + powered Fostex PM0.4 Misc use: Radio (with battery) iPad 64gB wifi +3g with iPengHD & SqueezePad (in storage SB3, reciever ,controller ) Mnyb's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=4143 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=75596 ___ discuss mailing list discuss@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/discuss