foto-r3 said:This has to do with an OMEGA D5 Dichroic enlarger we recently bought here in Spain. To the best of my knowledge, these enlargers all came with the US voltage and were rigged-converted to 220V. Mine has two big transformers. The problem is: the enlarger works correctly but makes a annoying humming noise from the head --different from the otherwise quiet humming noise of the fan itself. When we hooked it up to a third-party solid-state voltage stabiliser, the fuse pops on the stabiliser every so often. I suspect that these enlargers do not normally make this annoying humming noise. Can anyone verify this, and, has anyone had a similar experience with voltage conversions and-or voltage problems that could shed some light on this...thanks.
foto-r3 said:This has to do with an OMEGA D5 Dichroic enlarger we recently bought here in Spain. To the best of my knowledge, these enlargers all came with the US voltage and were rigged-converted to 220V. Mine has two big transformers. The problem is: the enlarger works correctly but makes a annoying humming noise from the head --different from the otherwise quiet humming noise of the fan itself. When we hooked it up to a third-party solid-state voltage stabiliser, the fuse pops on the stabiliser every so often. I suspect that these enlargers do not normally make this annoying humming noise. Can anyone verify this, and, has anyone had a similar experience with voltage conversions and-or voltage problems that could shed some light on this...thanks.
Donald Miller said:The second thing to recognize is that there are two types of electrical load. The first is inductive and is characterized by such devices as transformers, coils, and motors. The second type is resistive and it is characterized by such devices as resistance heating elements and incandescent lamps.
You mentioned that you are using a solid state voltage stabiliser. These devices are designed to automatically switch between different taps on a transformer to comensate for changes on the input voltage. The issue you have may be that it is being operated out of its specified input range (e.g. they may be only designed to cope with voltage input ranging from say 200 to 260VAC). Try and find the specifications for the voltage stabiliser and see if it will cope with say 180V on the input (while still being able to convert the voltage to 220V)foto-r3 said:Thanks much, Monophoto, for your assessment of the situation. Yes, the head is an original. What we don't know yet is if the power company will remedy the situation, which, as it seems, is fairly widespread where we are, in a "rural" area. Apparently, if they boost the voltage for us, then this may create problems of over-voltage for houses closer to the transformer, or at least this is what they have told other users with similar problems.
Another suggestion I received was buying an adjustable transformer that could be adjusted to the real voltage entering the transformer (to compensate for the fact that we are getting 184 instead of 220). Personally I have never seen one of these. What remains to be seen is if this voltage remains constant throughout the day. My friend suggested that at night when there is little consumption this might change, but I do recall using the enlarger at night with the same problem.
PeterB said:Hi Donald,
there are actually 3 types of AC component loads: resistive, inductive and capacitive. When analysing a circuit, these 3 components will exist to varying degrees. e.g. an AC motor has a high inductance, a moderate resistance and a small capacitance (between its windings). The complex electrical impedance (a.k.a. AC impedance) of the lumped combination of the components can be calculated. This AC impedance will have two parts to it - a resistive (or 'real') part and a reactive (or an 'imaginary') part. In the case of a motor the reactance will be 'inductive', and in the case of a fluorescent light the reactance can be 'capacitive'.
The effect of inductive reactance is to cause the current to lag the voltage, while that of capacitive reactance is to cause the current to lead the voltage.
Anyway, I posted this more just to correct a point rather than benefit the original question. So I should probably add something useful for foto-r3.
regards
Peter
foto-r3 said:The fuse we are using (I think) is a normal blow --neither fast nor slow--. I don't know whether slow/fast blow is something you can see on the fuse itself, since I can look to see what the original was. Unfortunately, nowhere on the unit itself is there any indication of what fuse rating to use. Would there be some advantage in using one or the other in this case?
Maybe the thing to do would be to use it and see how long we go before another blow. If it occurs at long intervals maybe we can live with this, too. Fuses are cheap.
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