[tdangelo]

Just got a PowerVar ABC-1200 on ebay an the thing trips my circuit breakers when I first turn it on.  I have 3 20amp dedicated circuits that have always worked perfectly (only 3 months old).  I plug in the Powervar, flick the on/off switch to on and immediately the breaker trips.  Tried it on all 3 and get the same result.  It also buzzes - I can hear it from 10 feet away - I dont have any load on it either....

Thanks for any ideas  - btw:  the seller on ebay is sending me a different one - nice seller

Tony

[warnerwh]

Well a 12 amps Powervar should not be tripping 20 amp breakers, sounds like an internal short somewhere but if it works after that I don't know. I had one and it never buzzed, load or not. Never tripped my dedicated 20 amp breakers either. Get the new one and see what happens. Something is obviously wrong with that one.

[byteme]

I've had email conversations with some of the Powervar engineers and the only reason that one of them would make noise is if there is a shortage of power coming to it or if it's being overdrawn.  Then it will emit a slight hum until this situation subsides.  If it's buzzing the transformer is bad.  If it's blowing fuses or circuits there's a short somewhere in it.

Good thing the seller is being cool about sending another!  Once you get it I'm sure you'll be impressed, out of the box it's a very impressive unit for the cost.  However, if you tweak it up just a bit with ERS cloth, Dynamat for damping, cryo'd outlets, bypass the power switch and LEDs - you'll take it to another level entirely for not very much money!

Let me know if you have any questions - I've got a bunch of pictures in my gallery of the tweaks.

[tdangelo]

Thanks for the advice guys  I get the replacement tomorrow and look forward to modifing it  The guy I bought it from on Ebay is also the guy that sells them on Audiogon - nice guy - good seller

Tony

[lonewolfny42]

I have one of the units that byteme was selling....OneAC. He did an excellent job on the mods....works great !  Look into taking that Powervar to the next level....with upgrades.

[tdangelo]

Well I got the replacement and it does the same thing    Trips the circuit when plugged in and the power switch is flicked.  The 20 amp circuit breakers are the same as the rest of the house.  My friend installed them (3 20 amp circuits) and they work fine other than this.  The output voltage from the 3 circuits is about 121.5 V and steady.  If I plug the Powervar into a non dedicated circuit it doesn't trip it.  I wonder if I bought 3 fast acting breakers???  I dont remember them being labeled as such - they are "Square D" brand.  At least this one doesn't hum as much.  It seems the turn on surge is makeing the circuit trip.  I have 2 Aragon Palladium 1K mono blocks and they dont do this.  Any ideas??

Thanks
Tony

[warnerwh]

Something is wrong. A 12 amp unit should not trip a 20 amp breaker.  I'd be very concerned about those lines if no other lines cause that problem.  Be sure the polarity is correct. You can get a polarity checker at any hardware store for about 5 bucks and they are easy to use.  Be sure to take a look at the electric panel too and make sure all looks like it should. If you don't know what you're looking at I'd call my friend.

[doug s.]

imo, something is wired wrong on yer dedicated circuit.  even if ya have fast-acting breakers, a 12a isolation x-former's turn-on shouldn't cause them to trip...

doug s.

[EDS_]

Something is wrong. A 12 amp unit should not trip a 20 amp breaker.  I'd be very concerned about those lines if no other lines cause that problem.  Be sure the polarity is correct. You can get a polarity checker at any hardware store for about 5 bucks and they are easy to use.  Be sure to take a look at the electric panel too and make sure all looks like it should. If you don't know what you're looking at I'd call my friend.

This will sound insane but check it out.......

Kill the power. I say again kill the power at the breaker box.

Then remove each outlet and make certain the contact screws are tight. If he used the push-in connections try to verify that no insulation or other trash is  preventing good contact.

Failing that you'll need to verify that your breaker(s) makes solid contact as well with tight connections. Without fail make certain the power is off up-stream from the breaker box before this effort.


I went through something very similar...............it was a single loose screw. Two days to find the problem ten seconds to fix...........

[tdangelo]

well I sent an email to Powervar tech support and the responded with this:

"I believe in this case the dedicated circuit is to blame. Because this transformer has extremely low impedance (approx. 2%)
and it is probably the only thing on this ckt., the inrush current which can be (700-800% of full load current) is taking out your 20 amp breaker. On the other ckts. there are branches which help disperse that inrush current and dampen the effects. If you feel you need this dedicated line, I would recommend looking into a breaker with different current characteristics, such as one with a different time-delay curve. As for the hum, I suspect that is due to a resonance situation on that line, which can be caused by many factors, length of wire, ckt impedance etc.
I hope this helps."

then I said:

"thanks - that makes sense.  I guess its not dangerous then - once it finally turns on it works good."


and then he said:

"Yeah, once you get the breaker to hold, I would leave the conditioner on and do any necessary shut downs with the power switches on the load equipment not the conditioner."

So I guess I'll just leave it on  THANKS for all the suggestions you guy provided

Tony

[warnerwh]

Thanks for informing us of this. I never had a problem with my dedicated line here but I probably have slightly different breakers. Glad it worked out for you.