Sending a job to the printer causes a power outage in the living room.

[k3n]

Atleast 4 of the 8 time I have sent a "job" (pages to print) to a laser printer connected a power surge, from a different room of the house, has caused a power outage in the living room/basement, where the laser printer is located at.

To bring the power back on, I have to flip a switch on an electrical panel located in a bedroom. After flipping it and flipping it back (like turning on a light switch on a wall), a color changes from red to black.

How can this problem be permanently fixed?

Could it be, there are too much components connected to the surge protector?
Got it from Walmart around 6 years ago.

 

[highland145]

Too much stuff plugged into the circuit. Unplug something else.

 

[Brian Stirling]

Laser printers eat a lot of power when the fuser is heating up and that happens when you send it a print job. I had to run a dedicated line to power one.

Brian

 

[jaedaliu]

Laser printers eat a lot of power when the fuser is heating up and that happens when you send it a print job. I had to run a dedicated line to power one.

Brian

yeah, move the laser printer to its own instead of moving the small things off.

 

[Scarpozzi]

Yeah....laser printers have huge surge just before printing. Typically, it's 1000watts surge and 600 watts sustained while printing for most models.

A typical circuit on 120v power is 15amps....which handles approximately 1800 watts-2000 watts. If you have a high wattage computer, monitors, and a laser printer, it's easy to max that out (surge) if you've got a sensitive breaker and other stuff on the circuit.

 

[Anubis]

let me guess its a Brother

but as others have said to much draw on the circuit

 

[Meghan54]

let me guess its a Brother

I've always wondered how Brother lasers acted. I know when I used a Samsung laser, it really hit whatever circuit it was on...lights on same circuit would dim for a split second, etc.

Now I use a Canon ImageClass laser. It's on the same circuit as a 42" Panny plasma TV, NAD T748 receiver and 10" powered sub (all of which is on anytime the TV is on--and that's almost any time I'm at my desktop computer), my "main" desktop computer (477k cpu OC'd a tad with a GTX 780), a Klipsch 2.1 speaker system for the computer, etc., and have yet to see any effects when the laser kicks on for printing. Have never had the circuit breaker kick off.

I'm starting to think the cheaper lasers are just much more inefficient than "nicer" lasers. Could simply be misguided perception, but the Canon definitely starts faster and gets to printing quicker than the Samsungs I've owned previously.

 

[OCGuy]

A printer brings your house down?

I'd probably consider moving.

 

[sdifox]

let me guess its a Brother

but as others have said to much draw on the circuit

It's more the wiring in the house.

In my old house the Brother MFC-8480DN we have didn't affect anything. In current house the lights in the room dims. And this sucker draws 680W going full tilt.

 

[vi edit]

Couldn't you upgrade the breaker in the electric panel from say...a 15amp to a 20amp to help eliminate this?

Or I wonder if some DIY'er wired the recepticle off a switch or something and the light switch can't handle it.

 

[highland145]

Couldn't you upgrade the breaker in the electric panel from say...a 15amp to a 20amp to help eliminate this?

Or I wonder if some DIY'er wired the recepticle off a switch or something and the light switch can't handle it.

Not if the gauge wire is for 15A......

12 or 14? Anyone?

 

[vi edit]

Ah, guess I'm just used to everything for an outlet being 12 anyway. Shouldn't assume that.

 

[sdifox]

Couldn't you upgrade the breaker in the electric panel from say...a 15amp to a 20amp to help eliminate this?

Or I wonder if some DIY'er wired the recepticle off a switch or something and the light switch can't handle it.

breaker exchange should not be diy work. Electric panel is a dangerous place.

 

[sdifox]

Not if the gauge wire is for 15A......

12 or 14? Anyone?

Code calls for Romex 12/3 up here and it is rated for 20AMP. It can carry more but code says 20A.

 

[Jaepheth]

Can you use a UPS to create a power "reservoir" to prevent the draw from being drawn from wall all at once?

Or do UPSes not work that way?

 

[sdifox]

Can you use a UPS to create a power "reservoir" to prevent the draw from being drawn from wall all at once?

Or do UPSes not work that way?

You would need a data centre sized one for laser printers. Just plug them directly into the wall. And the tripping is not instantaneous, so your laser printer won't like it.

 

[OCGuy]

Tell the hamster to run faster

 

[Jaepheth]

Maybe you could hook it up to one of those audio power supplies with the huge (.5 - 1 farad) capacitors.

It might take some electrical engineering to make it work right though.

 

[vi edit]

If all else fails, just upgrade to a bloombox.

 

[sdifox]

Maybe you could hook it up to one of those audio power supplies with the huge (.5 - 1 farad) capacitors.

It might take some electrical engineering to make it work right though.

Except they are not real capacitors.

 

[NoTine42]

Code calls for Romex 12/3 up here and it is rated for 20AMP. It can carry more but code says 20A.

12/3 ? What do you plug the red wire into in the breaker panel?
(I'm used to 12/2 being Black White and ground)

I'll use 12/3 or 14/3 for 3-way switches, or a ceiling fan.
Generally 220 gets a heavier gauge than 12

 

[sdifox]

12/3 ? What do you plug the red wire into in the breaker panel?
(I'm used to 12/2 being Black White and ground)

I'll use 12/3 or 14/3 for 3-way switches, or a ceiling fan.
Generally 220 gets a heavier gauge than 12

black, white and ground would be 3...

 

[vi edit]

black, white and ground would be 3...

/3 designates additional hot(red) down this way.

 

[sdifox]

/3 designates additional hot(red) down this way.

Right, my mistake. I don't deal with 12/2 all that much.

 

[NoTine42]

Maybe you could hook it up to one of those audio power supplies with the huge (.5 - 1 farad) capacitors.

It might take some electrical engineering to make it work right though.

My heat pump has internal capacitors to start the compressor, while allowing a lower amp 220 feed (it didn't start one summer and that's all the repairman had to replace)
....but that was an engineered as sold solution.