When my chiller kicks on, my TV goes off.....

[DgenR8]

Hey guys,
The wife got me a new TV for my Birthday, and it's connected to a very sensitive surge protector. When my chiller kicks on, the surge protector farts and my TV, my cable box, my stereo receiver, etc (all plugged into the surge protector) all go off. The TV and cable box take a few minutes to reset before I can turn them back on.
Anyone have any idea why this is happening, or more importantly, how to stop it from happening?
Before you ask, no, the chiller is NOT on the same circuit as the TV.

 

[batt600]

Its sound like it is on the same breaker if your surge protector is tripping the chiller does surge power when it comes on. Find the breaker the chiller is on and turn the power off and see if youe tv still gets power if not the chiller on the same circuit and need to have it own .

 

[DgenR8]

Its sound like it is on the same breaker if your surge protector is tripping the chiller does surge power when it comes on. Find the breaker the chiller is on and turn the power off and see if youe tv still gets power if not the chiller on the same circuit and need to have it own .

Before you ask, no, the chiller is NOT on the same circuit as the TV.

The chiller has it's own dedicated 15 amp circuit. The TV actually has a 20 amp circuit that's dedicated to the entertainment center. Not only that, but the Chiller circuit is on the opposite phase from the TV circuit.

 

[OzoneParkGuy]

Is the wire 12-3, Blk Red White on that Circut Breaker?
You said it's on a 20AMP Dedicated CB on opposite phase(leg). Is the chiller's breaker next to the entertainment system breaker? If so move it... swap it out to another pole.
Is the Entertainment system's surge protector on a GFCI?
Possible the surge protector cannot handle the load of the entertainment system. Possible interference from the chiller being in the same area.

 

[DgenR8]

The entertainment ctr. is on a 20 amp breaker, 12-2 romex (black, white and ground). The chiller circuit is a couple breakers away. No GFCI on either circuit.
I'm thinking of adding a new dedicated 20 amp circuit, just for the chiller, but just for giggles, I tried plugging the chiller into a powerstrip on another tank related circuit. When the chiller came on, the TV went off. When I went back and looked, the powerstrip had to be reset, the chiller had tripped it.

 

[qy7400]

Sounds more like a mini brown out, the surge protector is shutting power due to voltage drop on the line. If the chiller and TVs are on the same leg then moving one to the other leg should help as Noel mentioned. For TV's/Entertainment I prefer a mini UPS like this http://www.staples.com/Tripp-Lite-ECO-Series-750VA-12-Outlet-UPS/product_785988?cmArea=SEARCH, you get the added bonus of everything staying on for those quick power outages plus 100K insurance should the devices plugged in blow due to power problems.

 

[OzoneParkGuy]

I know Harry had an issue with his Air Conditioning last summer.. it kept tripping only to find out that there was a problem with the panel itself.. the main phase's(legs) comming in from the street were fine but on the panel itself it was only showing 110 for both phase's(legs) if I recall. Could it be possible that they are somehow sharing the same nutural? Just a guess. Trying to throw out a possibility.

Shoot Big L A or Sparky310 a quick pm explaining the situation. They are "The Pro's" in this field. Wish I knew more to help... GL!!

 

[qy7400]

Power from the pole is 2 120V legs with a neutral so showing 110 on each leg is correct.

Unless the problem is with every cable box/TV the problem is with how this power strip handles the temporary voltage dip, remember it's a surge protector so its designed for spikes not dips/brownouts. To definitively isolate the problem to the strip plug the cable box into the wall, if the TV power cycles but not the cable box you have the answer.

 

[aagresti]

Motors cause a surge on the line when turned on, but I wouldn't expect it to be anywhere near high enough to trip a surge protector, The average surge protector trips anywhere from 300-500 volts. That said, have you tried a different surge protector? Obviously try switching to the other phase and verify you have a good connection on the neutral and the ground.

 

[OzoneParkGuy]

That's the way it is supposed to be... Harry's issue was the panel as mentioned before. It was showing 110 for both combined, not individual. Am I explaining that correctly? LOL!

 

[qy7400]

It's late Noel

I mis read what you were explaining, thought you meant each leg was 110 not both.

 

[OzoneParkGuy]

Yeah.. I'm tired. G'night bro. Keep us posted on your LED build also... like new pics by tomorrow! LOL!

 

[DgenR8]

I'm not an electrician, but I have handled a lot of things that many people would have called an electrician to do. I changed the service panel, have run several circuits, inside and out. I understand pretty well how alternating current works.
I have a deep freeze in the basement, refrigerator and water cooler in the kitchen. All of them have similar compressors to the one in my chiller. I also have an air compressor in my garage. None of them trip the surge protector on my entertainment ctr.
My surge protector is a bit more elaborate than the typical power strip.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Monster...kuId=8812065&st=Monster power surge&cp=1&lp=9
I'm thinking that there is an issue with the chiller drawing more power than it should to start.

 

[poolkeeper1]

You may just have a faulty Surge Protector? The better way to address this may be to install real GFCI Breakers in all the Different outlets. Just a thought as I had a similiar problem and this action corrected it! May or May not help!
Bill

 

[qy7400]

Device is working as it was designed, there is no flaw...

Patented Tri-Mode circuitry uses relays, MOVs, and thermal fuses to protect against dangerous power surges, dips and spikes that can travel over all three power lines (Line, Neutral, Ground). When it senses dangerous power conditions, Tri-Mode automatically disconnects AV components and sounds an audible alarm, letting you know that HDP 2500 has protected your AV components

The question now is what does the voltage drop to when the chiller kicks on to cause it and can it be 'fixed'. Larry, you may end up having to swap that power strip for a small UPS.

 

[OzoneParkGuy]

I'm not an electrician, but I have handled a lot of things that many people would have called an electrician to do. I changed the service panel, have run several circuits, inside and out. I understand pretty well how alternating current works.
I have a deep freeze in the basement, refrigerator and water cooler in the kitchen. All of them have similar compressors to the one in my chiller. I also have an air compressor in my garage. None of them trip the surge protector on my entertainment ctr.
My surge protector is a bit more elaborate than the typical power strip.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Monster...kuId=8812065&st=Monster power surge&cp=1&lp=9
I'm thinking that there is an issue with the chiller drawing more power than it should to start.

Pretty much all chillers made have the Copeland bill of laden numbers on them. Found on the compressors and on the fan shroud... Mine was ARE37C3E-1AA-103 if you google search yours, you'll find a pdf and have to look for your particular model numbers. It'll give you the capacitor part number and all the required info needed. Can it be the cap drawing more than it should... Who knows? My chiller is 1/3 HP = 7.2 Amps alone = 620Watts @ 165Volts according to the specs. So like you pretty much said ... can your starting cap be bad? Maybe. Thus possibly even causing a mini brown out as Bill has stated. Something to look into. Trying to help...

 

[DgenR8]

It looks like I was able to resolve the problem by adding a dedicated 20 amp circuit for the chiller. I only have one run cycle on the chiller so far, but when it kicked on that time, my TV was unaffected.

 

[OzoneParkGuy]

LOL... replacing the breaker from 15amp to a 20amp..... simple as that!!
Glad you got it corrected..
I guess I shouldn't quit my day job!!

 

[DgenR8]

LOL... replacing the breaker from 15amp to a 20amp..... simple as that!!
Glad you got it corrected..
I guess I shouldn't quit my day job!!

well, not just the breaker. I ran a new circuit. 20 amp breaker, romex and 20 amp outlet. I don't want anyone to think it's okay to put a 15 amp circuit (wire and outlet(s)) on a 20 amp breaker.

 

[DgenR8]

Also, it only worked once so far. Time will tell if I actually solved the problem, or just got lucky one time.