Is 127v too high?

[Lt.Dan]

Hey guys, I have a situation where a 15a circuit is being tripped often, not because we're pulling more than 15 amps (not exactly per say), but because voltage drops to 110-111v, causing the amperage to go up, and trip the circuit.

There is an option on this inverter in question, for 127v output, compared to 120v, which will rise my 110-111v up to 117-118v and bring my amperage down a bit.

My question is, is 127v too high for other appliances (TV, fridge, etc?)

 

[Brett V]

No, it won’t hurt. I doubt it will help either but can’t hurt to try.

 

[rmaddy]

Is there an option to run the correct size wire to avoid the voltage drop? Or is the drop being caused by a subpar connection that could be fixed?

 

[sunshine_eggo]

I've seen a lot of appliances list a range up to 130VAC. In our motorhome, we had the generator voltage regulator fail. It would put out 160VAC unloaded. It cooked the converter, but nothing else died.

 

[Lt.Dan]

It is more than likely from improper gauge wire, but it is very difficult to replace with the correct gauge in this instance. Soon we will be moving this heavy load to its own dedicated 20a circuit with the correct wiring, but in the mean time, id like to raise the voltage if it would not damage anything.

 

[Lt.Dan]

It doesn't help that ive seen my grid power varies from 126v down to 111v on its own! Right now my Solar assistant is reporting that leg 1 is 126v and leg 2 is 114v. How is that acceptable to the power company??

 

[time2roll]

127 should be fine. Not sure you will get the amperage reduction you are looking for. Please post the results.

 

[Lt.Dan]

Going from 111v at 1600w is 14.4a, to 118v at 1600w is 13.3a. Just a little more buffer.

 

[time2roll]

Can the breaker get replaced?

 

[Lt.Dan]

Can the breaker get replaced?

Yes but not the wiring, which i believe is already undersized for the breaker in question.

 

[time2roll]

Might just be weak. Replace with a new 15.

 

[robby]

It doesn't help that ive seen my grid power varies from 126v down to 111v on its own! Right now my Solar assistant is reporting that leg 1 is 126v and leg 2 is 114v. How is that acceptable to the power company??

Double check the mains coming into the panel box with a voltmeter. If it really that much of a difference the power company is obliged to come out and fix it.

 

[Brett V]

It doesn't help that ive seen my grid power varies from 126v down to 111v on its own! Right now my Solar assistant is reporting that leg 1 is 126v and leg 2 is 114v. How is that acceptable to the power company??

Grid power is 220-240. If you are seeing 126 and 114, your grid voltage is 240. Leg 1 and leg 2 only reference to neutral and should always be equal. You likely have a bad connection somewhere. Are you measuring the two legs in the breaker box where the main feed from your meter is?

 

[Lt.Dan]

Grid power is 220-240. If you are seeing 126 and 114, your grid voltage is 240. Leg 1 and leg 2 only reference to neutral and should always be equal. You likely have a bad connection somewhere. Are you measuring the two legs in the breaker box where the main feed from your meter is?

I'm just reading it from my Solar Assistant, which is getting the info from the inverters. I'll measure at the pole and see whats im getting and compare to inverter

 

[Brett V]

@Lt.Dan I once had an imbalance problem at a summer home, the imbalance varied according to load. It turned out to be a bad connection in the neutral line between the meter and the pole. I remember the guy from the power company telling me they often see this when squirrels chew on the bare aluminum neutral line. Anyway, after they replaced the three conductor lead from my house to their pole, it was fixed.

 

[time2roll]

Yes a high voltage reading similar to the low can indicate a poor neutral.

 

[Lt.Dan]

@Lt.Dan I once had an imbalance problem at a summer home, the imbalance varied according to load. It turned out to be a bad connection in the neutral line between the meter and the pole. I remember the guy from the power company telling me they often see this when squirrels chew on the bare aluminum neutral line. Anyway, after they replaced the three conductor lead from my house to their pole, it was fixed.

Interesting. I notice with no load right now they are both roughly 124v. But last night I snapped this screenshot.



I wonder if I'm seeing this imbalance here just because of the 2100w load on the one leg?

 

[acdoctor]

As a heating and air contractor I have been told by several manufacturers through the years that circuit boards start flaking out at 256 V split phase. I have whiteness this personally.

 

[robby]

Interesting. I notice with no load right now they are both roughly 124v. But last night I snapped this screenshot.

View attachment 73787

I wonder if I'm seeing this imbalance here just because of the 2100w load on the one leg?

I had a problem like this about 18 years ago. In the daytime the power was fine but at night when everyone in the community was drawing lots of power I was getting one leg low and one high. I called the power company and after an investigation they determined that the transformer was bad. A few days later a truck showed up and they changed it and the problem was solved. If you have double checked this at the mains and your getting this kind of flaky power then it is completely out of your hands, just report it.
BTW if I remember correctly the lineman told me that if these transformers are not serviced and fixed within a certain time period the imbalance gets worst until they eventually blow out.

 

[Lt.Dan]

I think its just because of unbalanced load on one leg causing the voltage fluctuation. See these 2 graphs here.

The constant ~1700 is an electric heater and some other small appliances in the trailer right now, which are all on Leg 1, The spike at 21:00 is the water heater kicking on from a shower, and the 2 small spikes are the water heater kicking on to maintain temp. The Large spike at the end is when I woke up this morning to get ready for work. Each time the water heater kicks on, which is on Leg 2, the Voltage comes closer together.




I will still need to measure it myself with a multimeter to be sure. But this is what I have for now.