Cheap Line voltage (120V) Data logger or other suggestion?

[tortillasoup]

I've been trying to assist a friend who has a house that is fairly old (60s) but has had some updates done to it with more recent electrical work done in the last 10 years and one thing I've noticed is that the lights tend to briefly flicker for no particular reason. It's really prominent in one particular room and while I had the breaker replaced due to it being old, I saw no improvement in the situation. I thought this issue was a load issue but even with almost all of the loads eliminated on the circuit, the problem persists. Yes I have LED lighting and yes it's on a dimmer and while it's tempting to blame that setup, it's too sporadic to really attribute it to the dimmer IMO.

Also, just recently in another part of the house on a different breaker, the there are four can lights with LEDs in them and at one point, even though they're all on a series parallel circuit, random in no particular sequence would start alternating in turning on and off but the problem sporadically resolved itself.


It's possible that there is an outlet or two somewhere that has burnt, loose wiring as there is ANOTHER circuit in the kitchen whereby if you flip the breaker on, you can hear a brief loud SNAP like as if something had arc'ed.


So I was thinking of getting a data logger such as this one here: http://www.acrsystems.com/products/powerwatch120v/
but at $600+, that's really expensive and was hoping there was something less expensive available or perhaps you guys have some ideas.

 

[Kwatt]

Check the connections on the line side of the main. And if you can the load side in the meter base.

A loose connection will heat up, arc clear, and reconduct.

Happened in my fathers panel. Drove us crazy for about a month.
It finnaly melted loose and he lost a phase, then we found it.

Repairing a main lug while energized will test your hands steadiness.

.

 

[who?]

If the distribution system in that area is old it may be from the power company. The flickering may be an indication that somebodys central heat or air conditioning or dryer just kicked on. One of the old printers here at work made the light on the same outlet flicker which indicated that it was about to print.

 

[who?]

While the power is off you could undo each connection, scrape all the corrosion off then put them back together. I wonder if mice with high body resistance have been chewing on the wires.

 

[Red Squirrel]

You could use arduino, but AC is tricky to monitor because it's actually a sine wave, so you have to decide how you want to monitor it, ex: do you want to take a bunch of readings for 1/60th of a second and print the average, or do you want to just print the peak (ex: highest recorded value in the last 1/60th second), or do you want to actually record the entire sine wave and look for any oddities then log those. Lot of different ways you can do it. I'd also rectify it so it's only positive pulses just to make things easier. As simple as it would sound to just add a capacitor, you don't want to do that either, that will smooth out any issues that you're actually trying to monitor for.

If you're simply trying to log when it flickers the easiest is to probably monitor 1/60th of a second chunks at a time and then track the peak value.

I'm not sure how volt meters do it, but basically if you can find out, do the same thing in the arduino. Trigger or log each time the voltage goes below a threshold.

 

[NutBucket]

I would say there's no easy way short of using an oscilloscope. And 60's isn't that old, sheesh.

 

[tortillasoup]

I would say there's no easy way short of using an oscilloscope. And 60's isn't that old, sheesh.

Well it has been my experience and same with a professional contractor I know is that houses over 25 years start to experience all sorts of problems whether electrical or what have you so 1960s would be pretty old in that regard. I have a house made in '72 and while it doesn't experience these issues, I have from time to time had to fix outlets and other such things that were burnt up, corroded or loose. In fact, I replaced ALL of the electrical outlets in the house and that's when I discovered all sorts of problems and "things" inside of those outlets.

 

[mooosh]

I work for a large electric utility. Sorry, I can’t help much with the cheap voltage monitor, but I’ll offer up what advice I can. A 1960’s house isn’t all that old in the grand scheme of things.

1. One thing to watch out for is if there is aluminum wiring in the house. Due to a spike in copper prices, home builders tried to save a few bucks in the 60’s and 70’s by installing it in lieu of copper. Aluminum to copper splices can oxidize or come lose due to expansion/contraction. You would typically want to check all connections on the problem circuit to ensure everything is tight.

2. Wire connections can come loose over time if they were never done right. Once again, check all connections.

3. The issue can be utility related. Other customers on the line can be causing voltage sags from heat pumps or heavy equipment running. There could also be a faulty neutral giving you grief.

4. Also utility related, LED lights and dimmer switches can be damaged by high voltage. The damage will cause them to sporadically flicker. If you’re comfortable that all the wire connections are tight on the LED lighting circuit try giving your utility a call to investigate.

 

[feralkid]

Well it has been my experience and same with a professional contractor I know is that houses over 25 years start to experience all sorts of problems

I find that statement arbitrary and capricious.

Also, check the neutral connections in the breaker box.

 

[mrblotto]

Had a similar problem when our business was first upfitted. Apparently the electrician installed the can lights and piled insulation around them in the attic. This caused the unit to overheat and shutoff. Then they would come back on after they cooled. Another electrician who diagnosed/fixed the issue said wtf was that guy thinking.

Just a thought

 

[Red Squirrel]

Had a similar problem when our business was first upfitted. Apparently the electrician installed the can lights and piled insulation around them in the attic. This caused the unit to overheat and shutoff. Then they would come back on after they cooled. Another electrician who diagnosed/fixed the issue said wtf was that guy thinking.

Just a thought

Canned lights are a pain for that. You WANT to insulate/seal around that area or you'll be losing heat and possibly even lead to condensation/mold issues in the attic, but the lights do get warm and will shut off like that. Those lights are best off for a basement where they don't need to be in an insulated space. Or if using them on the upstairs ceiling use LED lights instead.

 

[zardthebuilder]

if you want to install canned/recessed lights between living spaces and unconditioned areas, you need to buy the "Insulation contact (IC) rated" ones. then insulate as your heart desires.