Miswired Outlets Questions

>
> To anyone:
>
> as Marc wrote
>
>>>>> - some people have miswired outlets, so the lights could
> be emitting a far greater field than necessary (solution
> - fix the outlet) <<<<
>
> Can I *very easily* determine this myself? Or the Head of
> Maintainince for my building? Any Electrician friend?
>
> Just wondering if there is a simple no-cost way to determine.
> Then, what process and cost are needed to fix things.
>
> {Does each outlet and fixture get tested/changed individually?}
>
> What should I ask for or watch myself or when asking for help?
>
> Thanks!
>
> Katrina
>
>
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>

>
> I think some wiring problems can be found by a simple socket tester,  
> but others (and perhaps the ones more important to ES) are often more  
> subtle. For instance, in 2 separate rooms of my home, I found that  
> fields jumped dramatically throughout the room when I turned on an  
> appliance. It took me a while to figure out what was happening.
>
> In both cases, the problem was caused by incorrect 'joining' of  
> neutral wires between multiple circuits. For instance, if there are  
> 2 breakers leading from the main panel, breaker A and breaker B,  
> feeding circuit A and circuit B, and in some junction box in a  
> particular room, the neutrals from circuit A and B are tied together,  
> it can cause big problems for ES.
>
> Normally, any currents which are carried by the hot (black) conductor  
> of circuit A are returned to the entrance panel by the neutral  
> (white) conductor of circuit A, which cancels the magnetic field  
> produced by the conductors of circuit A, as the two fields generated  
> from the two conductors are carried in the same cable, and the fields  
> cancel. The field from the wiring will be miniscule farther than a  
> few inches from the cable.
>
> If, however, the neutrals are tied together, then any appliance or  
> light which is plugged in to circuit A draws all of it's current  
> through the hot conductor (black wire) of circuit A, but returns only  
> half its current via the neutral conductor of circuit A (white wire),  
> the remainder being returned through circuit B's neutral (white  
> wire). Assuming circuit B's wire is routed differently than circuit  
> A's wire, the fields no longer cancel properly in circuit A, because  
> the return/neutral (white) current is only half as strong as the  
> supply (black,hot) current. In addition, the current returning  
> through circuit B's neutral is not cancelled by any supply current in  
> circuit B, and therefore a strong magnetic and electric field is  
> generated around both circuits A and B, which is often detectable  
> throughout the room.
>
> It is my opinion that this kind of wiring error is one of the more  
> common ways that large electric or magnetic fields are generated in a  
> room by wiring. It is fairly easily corrected by a knowledgeable  
> electrician -- neutral wires (and certainly hot wires!) must be kept  
> separate for each circuit and not connected to any other circuit, and  
> the two current carrying conductors (hot/neutral) for any branch  
> should always be routed together.
>
> The telltale sign of this kind of wiring error is that the fields  
> jump throughout the room (not just near the appliance) whenever a  
> light switch or appliance is turned on, and then return to low values  
> when that appliance is turned off. These fields will be strong even  
> if the actual appliance does not produce any field at all. I have  
> a small electric heater which I use for tests, as it draws high  
> current but doesn't produce much field. This makes any wiring  
> issues on the circuit quickly apparent as fields throughout the room  
> are strongest when current draw is highest.
>
> Some appliances produce high frequency harmonics on the power line  
> (computers, for instance). These devices cause especially acute  
> problems when plugged into circuits which are improperly wired, as  
> the resulting magnetic/electric field throughout the room then also  
> contains high frequency harmonics, which some people (including me)  
> find intolerable. Yes, I have found the stetzer filters helpful in  
> this case, but fixing the wiring problem is also required. No amount  
> of filtration can solve the problems of bad wiring.
>
> You can often find the source of the wiring problems by plugging in a  
> load (like a portable heater), provoking the strong field, and then  
> using a ELF magnetic field meter (trifield works) to scan the wall to  
> find the wiring - the strongest fields will be around the wiring.  
> Sometimes by following the wiring (using the magnetic field as a  
> guide), you can find a junction box where neutrals are improperly  
> tied together. This technique worked for me.
>
> Of course, I would suggest you contact a qualified electrician before  
> making any changes to your wiring. This information should be  
> understandable to most electricians, although some seem clueless that  
> tying neutrals from different circuits together is a bad idea.
>
> Hope that was helpful -- Garth
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On Dec 27, 2006, at 8:39 PM, kattemayo wrote:
>
> >
> > To anyone:
> >
> > as Marc wrote
> >
> >>>>> - some people have miswired outlets, so the lights could
> > be emitting a far greater field than necessary (solution
> > - fix the outlet) <<<<
> >
> > Can I *very easily* determine this myself? Or the Head of  
> > Maintainince for my building? Any Electrician friend?
> >
> > Just wondering if there is a simple no-cost way to determine.  
> > Then, what process and cost are needed to fix things.
> >
> > {Does each outlet and fixture get tested/changed individually?}
> >
> > What should I ask for or watch myself or when asking for help?
> >
> > Thanks!
> >
> > Katrina
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Yahoo! Groups Links
> >
> >
> >
>