Normal voltage drop for washing machine?

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Epalmateer

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Location
Michigan
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Electrician
How would I determine what a normal voltage drop would be when a washing machine agitates? I was measuring voltage at the receptacle and it was dropping 4 volts everytime it agitated.
 
Fred B

Fred B

Senior Member
Location
Upstate, NY
Occupation
Electrician
macmikeman said:
Thats slightly over 5%. I agree it's not too concerning.
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Normally not so much an issue unless it is creating a drop that is affecting other equipment or lighting. Neither of which was mentioned by OP. But there are several threads that ask about light flicker or other effects when washer running.
So I wonder if the drop mentioned by OP is strictly on the washer line or more global to the entire panel or service.
It is normal to see an amount of drop when a load, particularly motor loads, are switched on as load is applied. Another test is what happens to voltage during the spin cycle, is the voltage drop continuous during the load application or just during startup?
If OP is concerned, if drop is continuous during the continuous load application, one consideration might be to investigate terminations, loose terminations can, when load is applied, create a loss of capacity of the termination to carry the voltage, and a resulting voltage drop.
 
ptonsparky

ptonsparky

Tom
Location
NE (9.06 miles @5.9 Degrees from Winged Horses)
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EC - retired
Epalmateer said:
How would I determine what a normal voltage drop would be when a washing machine agitates? I was measuring voltage at the receptacle and it was dropping 4 volts everytime it agitated.
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A bigger issue would be if the voltage is going up on the other hot at the time it drops at the washer.
What is the voltage change at the service as the washer cycles?
 
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Epalmateer

Senior Member
Location
Michigan
Occupation
Electrician
No dimming lights, voltage is doesn't rise on opposite leg, VD is limited to the laundry circuit. I'm just curious how to determine a normal VD
 
growler

growler

Senior Member
Location
Atlanta,GA
Epalmateer said:
How would I determine what a normal voltage drop would be when a washing machine agitates? I was measuring voltage at the receptacle and it was dropping 4 volts everytime it agitated.
Click to expand...
If I thought the voltage drop was to high I would want to know how much of a load I was adding to the circuit. Use your ammeter to see the change in load. Then come up with some sort of the length for the cable ( probably a bit of an estimation). Then do a voltage drop calculation.
 
ptonsparky

ptonsparky

Tom
Location
NE (9.06 miles @5.9 Degrees from Winged Horses)
Occupation
EC - retired
growler said:
If I thought the voltage drop was to high I would want to know how much of a load I was adding to the circuit. Use your ammeter to see the change in load. Then come up with some sort of the length for the cable ( probably a bit of an estimation). Then do a voltage drop calculation.
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I noticed the UPS that I have on my main office computer would flag an occurrence when the laser printer cycled. I did as you have suggested and the calculated was very close to the measured.
 
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retirede

Senior Member
Location
Illinois
macmikeman said:
How far is the wire run is my next immediate question. In some of the houses it's not hard to run over a 100 feet from a source panel to an appliance. A good designer knows to put things closer but not always.

Thats slightly over 5%. I agree it's not too concerning.
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I come up with slightly over 3%. Even less to worry about.
 
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