Electrical question

@boomerbillone I usually have the Panamax where I can’t see the Volt meter which is on the same line where some stuff is plugged in when she turned on the microwave on it freaked me out. It’s been doing this for quite a while didn’t notice it before. Probably just get the microwave on a different line. 

Just put in a new circuit with heavy gauge wire, like 20 amp.  And use a hospital grade outlet.  Thank me later.

Assume the microwave is in the kitchen above a countertop.

Kitchen, above countertop branch circuit wiring is 20 amp. #12awg copper wire minimum, 20 amp breaker(s). 

Assume, hard to believe, someone, other than an electrician fed a convenience outlet circuit to the room the audio system equipment is plugged into a wall outlet, off the circuit the microwave is plugged into. (Again assuming the microwave is located in the kitchen.)

Click on Voltage Drop Calculator

Fill in these areas to:

Wire material ........... Copper

Wire size ................... 12 AWG

Material of conduit ..... PVC (Romex)

.

.

.

.

Distance one way ....... 65 feet

Load current ................ 20 amps

.

Result:

Voltage drop: 4.52
Voltage drop percentage: 3.77%
Voltage at the end: 115.48

 

Load current. Plug in 25 amps (15 amps for an 1800 watt microwave. 10 amps for audio equipment.) 

Result;

Voltage drop: 5.65
Voltage drop percentage: 4.71%
Voltage at the end: 114.35

Breaker should trip after 2 to 3 minutes of constant load.

Lets push the 20 amp breaker to 30 amps load current.

Result:

Voltage drop: 6.78
Voltage drop percentage: 5.65%
Voltage at the end: 113.22

(15 amps for microwave, 15 amp for the audio equipment.) (One heck of a big power amplifier.)

If breaker does not trip after 2 to 3 minutes it probably never will.

While playing music I noticed my amp fell from 120 volts to 112 when the wife turned the microwave on…they must be on the same circuit..is that going to damage anything?…

8 volt VD.

Does the circuit breaker in the electrical panel, that kills the microwave power, kill the power to the wall duplex outlet the audio equipment is plugged into? Simple thing to check...

.

In my state, the microwave, refrigerator, disposal and outlets have to be on separate circuits.  Also, a typical home microwave should NOT draw that much amperage to mess that much with the voltage.  If your microwave is pulling that much power there might be another problem and you might want to get it checked out by a licensed electrician.

 

Interesting how no one seems aware that their gear have regulated power supplies. Regulated means that DC fed to the actual circuitry remains exactly the same whether the microwave is on or off.

Of course, regulation stages can’t handle severe surges or brownouts, but temporary voltage drops from appliances are fine.

Dedicated circuits direct from your gear to the panel (aka home runs) are never a bad idea.