I just got a new color laser printer in my office. Every thirty seconds or so it draws a huge amount of power to keep the drum warmed up (or something). The lights flicker when this happens, as the voltage on the circuit in my office drops.
The constant voltage drops are not good for my computer, and the flickering lights are annoying.
As I understand it, I can get a line conditioner to plug my computer into, to protect my computer from the voltage drops - but the lights will still flicker. So, what happens if I plug the printer into the line conditioner - will that prevent the voltage drops from happening in the first place, or does the printer draw more power than a line conditioner will be able to handle?
I know the best option is to get a separate circuit installed for the printer, but that’s expensive.
You must be refering to the UPS, and a normal one wouldn’t help you. On a 20A max draw your cheapest method other than a different printer will be a new power circuit. You may be able to but the current printer in a different location and network it.
You might want to have an electrician take a look at the wiring, even if you’re not planning to add an extra circuit. Large voltage drops from a 5.5 A load aren’t normal. A slight amount of dimming in the lights is to be expected for a load that size, but not to the point where it’s bad enough to be annoying. There may be a problem with neutral bonding or dirty/corroded/loose connections somewhere–something which causes the line resistance to be higher than it should, thus resulting in a larger voltage drop for a given current load.
I wrote this awile ago and agve up posting for a while until the board settled in.
If a connection from the wiring is lose, a heavy current draw can cause dimming because of the resistance at the lose connection. So unless you can work a volt meter and work on 110 volt lines you should call in a electrician. You shouldn’t see more than a couple points voltage variation between all the outlet in the circuit. Something is wrong if there is. Check both outlets at each location, because only one may be bad.
Anytime the lights flicker/dim like this, it means that the electrical circuits are being overloaded and stressed. So you should check into it, or have a qualified electrician check it. It won’t go away if you ignore it; it’s likely to just get worse, as you over time add other electrical devices in your office.
A surge protector won’t help, because it isn’t a surge you’re trying to protect your printer from, the printer is causing the surge (actually, a drop). Unless it’s a more powerful UPS type line conditioner, with batteries in it – the printer might be able to draw from the batteries and cause less of a drop in the electrical circuit. But this is expensive overkill – you’re buying an expensive UPS, and printers normally work fine on a regular electrical line.
Having an electrician run another circuit from your main electrical box is likely to be cheaper in the long run. And you’ll almost surely find use in the future for additional power circuits in your office. (Offices are becoming like kitchens, needing several dedicated circuits for all the appliances that people use nowadays.)
A cheap, temporary solution might be to run a heavy-duty extension cord from an outlet in another room that is on a different electrical circuit. But only temporarily – it’s illegal to use temporary extension cords to replace a permanent fix to electrical circuits. Probably voids your fire insurance. And it will be annoying to have a big cord running around, out the door, and into another room.