Best upgrade ever: cryo outlet for my refrigerator

P.Animal-

If the reefer is off or unplugged, any receptacle downstream doesn't know it exists, since residential branch circuit receptacle outlets are wired in parallel. Individual receptacle outlets are "tapped" off of the main wiring runs, so that removal of any individual receptacle will not kill any other recptacle.

So I'd experiment (in the interest of science ) and unplug the reefer and have a listening session. Then I'd remove the Acme, wirenut the wire ends for safety, and have another listening session.

Possibly the original installation - if it was anything like my place - was 25 yr old back-wired, bottom-of-the-line residential/builder grade, sub $1.00 receptacles where you could blow on a plug and it would fall out, the contact pressure was so low. In that case, you have some high impedance values on the hot, ground and neutral connections that may have contributed to audible and inaudible noise when the reefer was running. And that would also contribute a voltage drop to downstream outlets. Possibly what you're hearing is the result of another plus volt or three AC to your equipment, so it may be a wee bit louder than before. Note that most audio equipment is spec'ed with a AC spread of like 95-130 VAC, but who knows how it sounds at different levels within that spread?

When I purchased my home 2 years ago, I undertook the replacement of every receptacle and wall switch with Leviton Commercial grade devices. Part of this operation included cleaning & ProGold'ing the wire ends and receptacle terminals before reinstalling. No surprise that the screw terminals on new high quality receptacles are grungy... Devices were side-wired and torqued to manufacturer specs (HIGHLY critical.)

For cleaning copper wire, ketchup (aka catsup) works in a pinch. I used Wright's Brass Polish, since it's water based, and in conversation with the factory they confirmed that it doesn't contain any anti-tarnish agents (i.e. oils.)

I then disassembled the interior branch circuit panelboard and cleaned all wire ends, the hot and neutral busses, the ground wire ends, and ProGold'd everything. Aluminum feeders to the range and clothes dryer were de-greased, sanded, and treated with anti-oxidation compound.

At the service panel, I repeated the same operation on the feeders to the interior panelboard. These also were aluminum conductors, and they need special care and feeding.

I believe that one need to approach home power on an entire system basis, from the utility connection on down. As a result of what I did above, when I replaced my system receptacles with the FIM's, I only noticed a slight (very slight) increase in midrange clarity.

I'd sure like to hear the results of the experiments mentioned in paragraph 2 above...

I'll chime in on the cryoed outlet band wagon, with out a doubt the best dollar:performance ratio on an upgrade. At $240 retail it helped more then a little and wish I did it along time ago(I bought the jena labs outlets, others can be had for MUCH less).

Garfish, don't wait. Try the cryoed outlet. Just did so myself a few days ago. Wonderful results and we have somewhat similar systems, mine being perhaps a step or three down. You can exchange speakers with me and I'll call it even, though! :-)

Psychicanimal; thanks for sharing your experience with your fridge. I gave up long ago trying to explain some of these things, but like you have discovered the value of good outlets-- and they all sound different, cleaning contacts, good contacts, better power cords with better plugs on both ends etc. etc. etc. I haven't tried cryoed outlets yet, but plan to soon.

It can seem pretty goofy, but it's fun too. I have 5 dedicated outlets that have made a significant difference in my whole system, ie much, much lower noise floor, and as Albert noted, the cost of running dedicated lines is not that much relative to many other high end "things". Cheers. Craig

PS...I have experienced the effect of replacing an outlet in another room that came right before the outlet the TV is plugged into. The TV picture got a little sharper, so I can believe what you say.

Many home outlets for ease of installation reasons are designed so that the installer just has to insert the wire into the back of the outlet. There are no screws to tighten; the wire is just clamped. I can believe this is not the most ideal connection.

Psychic, RUN don't walk! Go get yourself a cryoed outlet to plug your gear into too! Put the PS on the TV or something. I think you have read some of my rantings about what these did for me. They are amazing! Get more!

Motors are notorious for throwing out hash, and they have large power swings during cycling. There may be 2 motors in your fridge working at different times.

Poor contact on the fridge outlet could cause increased draw or even small arcing. Smooth power delivery to the motors in the fridge can cause the motors to run smoother, and maybe put less hash on the line.

I don't know exactly what was happening in your case, but it is clear that the fridge was affecting your powerline negatively, by some kind of outlet contact flaw. Perhaps the fridge is cycling less often, and it will not affect the audio system when the motors are off.

If you like this kind of upgrade, you should try battery power. Battery takes the whole power feed thing into another level entirely.

What you are hearing is part of what you get by using one breaker and dedicated line for each component in the system. This is exactly why I have 14 dedicated breakers.

The cost to have dedicated wiring (assuming you own the place) is reasonable, compared to what many of us have invested in our equipment.

Hey,I don't dissagree with you one bit.-----I'm going over to the neighbors and will be installing some cryoed outlets for them ; then as soon as I can afford it --I'll try some in my house for overkill. ----- Actually, one might think of it as one wire that gets interrupted as it goes in and out of each outlet. I wouldn't have thought of it;but it does make sense.

You will find that your food taste better also. Especially cryo'd frozen food.