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USA voltage?

post #1 of 12
3/4/04 at 3:00pm
Thread Starter 
hi.... i was wondering, anyone know what the voltage is supposed to be in USA? i keep hearing 110v or 120v.... which one is it? (reason i ask is someone is changing the voltage for an amp for me.....)

it seems the voltage at my own house is around 120v... but it's unstable. where would 110v be used if indeed voltage is 120v?

thanks.
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post #2 of 12
3/4/04 at 3:13pm
The difference is negligible for most things. Besides, do you want single phase or 3 phase or what now? LOL

Voltage is voltage, it creates current, depending on the resistance of the circuit, more or less. Since the supply to your local area is taken from the larger supply, it too is regulated with massive transformers which are prone to voltage swing, and as the loads of millions of A/Cs and refrigerators and large battery chargers and 3 phase motors switch on and off, things are bound to bounce around....in addition to naturally occuring voltage loss/gain due to solar phenomenon, etc.

I've seen local voltage as high as 130V. For us audiophiles that sure isn't acceptable, but for everyone else it does just fine.

I would think, even if the voltage were said to be a fixed number, it wouldn't matter much, because it fluxes so much.
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post #3 of 12
3/4/04 at 3:18pm
Thread Starter 
oh okay..... thanks

but let's put it this way: i'm adapting a asian power supply to american standars.

should the target be 110v or 120v?
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post #4 of 12
3/4/04 at 4:02pm
I'd probably go with 120V, just to be on the safe side. Dont want anything burning up.
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post #5 of 12
3/4/04 at 4:37pm
what's wrong with 115v?
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post #6 of 12
3/4/04 at 5:43pm
Orpheus,

I agree with the other responses that it shouldn;t really matter, but FWIW the line voltage where I live (Northern NJ) is generally between 120 and 124. So if you have to choose which number to use I'd go with 120.

-- Bob
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post #7 of 12
3/4/04 at 5:58pm
110, 115, and 120 are all RMS voltage ratings, not peak. Peak voltages are more like 170v on the up and down swing. IIRC these are all referring to the same US voltage, but for some reason they put different number on the inputs to devices.

Whether something is stated as being any of these voltage shouldn't matter. A few extra volts is likely to mean nothing. They are all basing their voltage inputs on US voltage, which is centered around 115v or so. 5-10 volts should affect most equipment, but sensitive stuff like certain electronics need to have a voltage that is much closer to 110 or 115. At 130 you could enounter problems. A voltage stabilizer will become necessary at some point to protect your investment.
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post #8 of 12
3/4/04 at 6:35pm
In the UK it's supposed to be 230v but it can vary from 216 to 253 which is within tolerance.
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post #9 of 12
3/4/04 at 6:37pm
the only time you run into trouble is when the AC voltage falls below the point where any internal equipment regulators do not have a high enough voltage to regulate

this happens more than you might suspect during summer peak electricity periods
anything btween 110 and 125 should be ok , below 100 and the above mentioned deregulation can occur

too high and you risk overloading equipment if it is not protected or causin a shorter life through the extra power being dissapated as heat , which is never good for long life

hope this helps

rickmonster
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post #10 of 12
3/4/04 at 6:47pm
Thread Starter 
it does... i understand things more now...

but maybe i didn't explain myself correctly. i'm not worried about the electricity in my house. i am having a power supply for an amp customized....... and i'm not an electrician or anything or evey DIY amp person, so i dunno how it works................ but the guy was modding the power supply for 110v... and since USA is 120v? then i should get him to change to 120v right? or does that make any difference at all?
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post #11 of 12
3/4/04 at 6:55pm
should be a simple matter of changing one primary wire on the power transformer . If the transformer does not allow for that then a simple tranny swap will porrk fine

you will find the trannies have a primary spec all over the map

110

115

120

any of those will work just fine on our power grid , This is not a precise voltage

where you may want to pay specific attention is the current rating

you can go higher but never lower
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post #12 of 12
3/4/04 at 7:01pm
Quote:
Originally posted by rickcr42
you can go higher but never lower
Just to clarify, he means you can buy a transformer that is rated to put out more current than you need, but can't buy one rated for less current that you need. If you hook-up a tranny rated at 4amps, yet try to draw 5amps it will likely fry the tranny or ruin it.
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