IG receptacles

[jeff43222]

I'm wondering if there is a consensus regarding the installation of IG receptacles. I have a customer who is experiencing interference on her computer when various appliances are running, most notably her washing machine.

I figured installing a dedicated circuit just for the computer equipment might help, as it's currently connected to a circuit that might have outlets all over the house. Would it be worthwhile to install an IG receptacle on this new circuit, or would it be redundant?

 

[bdarnell]

Re: IG receptacles

Installing a dedicated circuit might help. Be sure to put it on the opposite phase as the washer.

IMO, installing an isolated ground receptacle for a PC is a waste of your time and her $$.

Just my $.02 Your mileage may vary.

 

[haskindm]

Re: IG receptacles

The main advantage of an IC receptacle is that you are allowed to take the isolated ground all the way back to main service before connecting it to the ground/neutral bar. You may by-pass the grounding bar in any sub-panels. This is especially beneficial if the sub-panel has an incorrectly installed GROUNDED conductor connected to the GROUNDING BAR or has grounds and "neutrals" tied together, which would put current on the grounding conductors. In a residential application with no sub-panels a dedicated circuit gives you the same benefit as an isolated ground.
Just my opinion. Hope it helps.

 

[electricguy61]

Re: IG receptacles

Have you considered purchasing a small UPS (uninteruptible power supply)?

This will completely isolate her circuit & give her time to power down in the event of a power outage.

The cost would probably be less then running a dedicated circuit.

As one of the engineers in this forum will tell you, a true isolated ground can be a difficult and troublesome project (ground loops)

 

[jeff43222]

Re: IG receptacles

I went over to her house today and found a solution that seems to work for her. I moved the laundry circuit to the opposite bus, and that cleared up most of the problem. The rest of it was caused by a space heater that was causing some flickering on her computer monitor. I moved that to another circuit, and her monitor stopped flickering. I had her power up everything on the office circuit (minus the space heater), and it only pulled a little less than 5A. With the space heater, it was in the 15-16A range (on a 15A circuit).

She's having me back Friday for some additional projects. She seems pretty happy that I solved the problem without resorting to surgery.

[ February 28, 2006, 09:57 PM: Message edited by: jeff43222 ]