Help with Equitech 1.5Q power conditioner

@devinplombier said:

o, essentially the outlets on the back of the Equitech are wired the same way as old 240V appliances,

No not all all.

Click on the Link below. Look at the secondary winding on the right hand side of the transformer.

https://www.electronics-tutorials.ws/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/transformer-trans63.gif

At the top of the drawing there is a lead that has IA + ___>______60V___

The bottom of the drawing there is a lead that has IB - ___>______60V___

(*Note: I added 60V to each lead.)

The 2 Hot leads, (60V + 60V = 120V between them), connect to the Hot and neutral terminals on a 120V GFCI duplex receptacle LINE. . (A GFCI duplex receptacle has LINE and LOAD connections).

It doesn’t matter which lead you connect on the neutral and Hot terminals on the GFCI duplex receptacle. (* Though ALL DUPLEX RECEPTACLES INSTALLED ON THE LOAD SIDE OF THE GFCI OUTLET SHOULD FOLLOW THROUGH THE SAME AS YOU WIRED THE GFCI OUTLET. That’s why two different colors of conductors should be used. Any two different colors other than WHITE or GRAY.

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Safety Equipment Ground that is created, wired, on the secondary side of the transformer.

Per NEC code the secondary winding of an isolation transformer shall be earth grounded. NEC code says the ground shall connect to the main grounding system (Grounding Electrode System) of the main electrical service entrance neutral conductor. (NEC allows the connection to be made at any point on the system ground.)

(Here Equitech may have violated the NEC. It depends on when the unit was made. For many years the NEC allowed the EGC at the wall outlet to be used for a grounding electrode conductor, ground. That was changed many years ago. The Equitech 1.5Q power conditioner uses the in-wall branch circuit wiring EGC, (Equipment Grounding Conductor), for the earth ground for the secondary of the transformer. The EGC ground pin on the IEC inlet connector connects, bonds, to the Equitech 1.5Q metal enclosure.

I’m getting there...

Back to the drawing of the transformer’s secondary winding.

https://www.electronics-tutorials.ws/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/transformer-trans63.gif

See the Blue line that connects to the center of the secondary winding? It has a - on top of it and a + on the bottom. This lead is the neutral Center Tap of two 60V windings.

For electrical safety the Secondary winding of an isolation transformer must be wired as a Grounded AC Power System. That is accomplished by connecting the winding center tapped neutral lead to earth ground and bonding the neutral to the metal enclosure housing the transformer. (The neutral lead from the center tap of secondary winding connects to the same point the EGC ground wire from the IEC inlet connector is bonded to the transformer metal enclosure. This is the same point that all EGCs for outlets will connect.

There is the safety equipment ground for all the power oulets.

How does it handle floating-ground loads?

There is not any floating ground loads.

One down side of a plug and play isolation transformer power system? IF the wall outlet, the unit plugs into, is not grounded...

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So maybe I am conceptualizing this all wrong.

I guess in my mind I view electricity like water. It flows in through the hot pipe and out the neutral pipe, if you will, and the ground catches spills :)

Here we have 2 hots at 60V each flowing in through both the hot wire and what normally is the neutral wire. How does it flow out then? Can’t be through the ground wire. Is it then that the two hots are also neutrals? They just swap duties 60 times a second?

@devinplombier

Just so you know the Equitech 1.5Q is a Balanced Power 60Vac - 0Vac - 60Vac System.

It is not like the 120/240Vac power system that feeds your home.

120/240Vac,... 120Vac - 0Vac -120Vac

Both have split phase secondary windings.

Equitech 1.5Q has two 60V secondary windings in series with one another.

60Vac + 60Vac =120Vac

The simple answer

If a 120V load is connected to the two Hot leads current will travel in the circuit. From one Hot lead, from the secondary winding of the transformer, through the load and return to the the secondary winding on the other hot lead.

Think of it like a 240Vac Central Air Conditioning condensing unit outside your house. It’s fed with two Hot ungrounded Conductors and a safety equipment ground. No neutral conductor.

The Equitech 1.5Q secondary winding neutral center tap is not used for power. That is unless you have something that runs on 60Vac. That’s what the voltage is from either Hot to neutral.

It is only used to created a Grounded Power System and provide a safety equipment ground system.

The Equitech 1.5Q puts out 120V only. Two ungrounded Hots and a safety equipment ground.

 

An Overview of Audio System Grounding & Interfacing

Read pages 201, 202, and 203.

Page 202 has a simple wiring diagram for a Balanced Power System.

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thanks for all the tips... a lot go well beyond my ski’s. I’ll tinker this weekend - I thought the outlet would be a quick swap but looks like I have to take the whole chassis apart.

Interesting enough, I have everything plugged in a furman surge protector power strip and nothing has tripped. So hope it is just a faulty gfci outlet.

I don’t have any meters or other devices to measure current and if I did it would be all Greek to me.

@califortini

I see you live about 400 miles from LA. Be safe... It’s hard to believe how fast and far the Santa Ana Winds have spread the fires. It looks like a war zone.

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I thought the outlet would be a quick swap but looks like I have to take the whole chassis apart.

https://img.usaudiomart.com/uploads/large/5443352-eed0392e-equitech-15q-balanced-power-system.jpg

Looking at the photos it looks like you can remove the top cover to access the GFCI duplex receptacle. It appears the top cover also wraps around both sides so will will need to remove those screws as well.

IT is very important you wire the new outlet exactly the same as the one you remove. Don’t just use your memory... Use a pencil and a piece of paper and make a detailed drawing showing the colors of the wires and where they connect to the terminal screws. Hopefully the wires are color codded. IF not you will need to install a number or letter to each wire and write them down on your detailed drawing.

IT is a must the LINE wires reconnect to LINE and the LOAD wires reconnect to LOAD terminals.

Before you reinstall the GFCI outlet back in the rear panel VERIFY 100% is wired exactly the same as it was...

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Interesting enough, I have everything plugged in a furman surge protector power strip and nothing has tripped. So hope it is just a faulty gfci outlet.

Different type wiring scheme. The Furman outlets have a neutral and a HOT. (Your house’s AC mains power.)

Neutral, Grounded Conductor. HOT, Ungrounded Conductor.

The Furman, NO GFCI protection...

Voltage measurements taken at an outlet.

Hot to neutral 120Vac nominal.

Hot to safety equipment ground 120Vac nominal.

Neutral to safety equipment ground 0 Vac nominal.

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The Equitech 1.5Q is a whole different Animal.

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So hope it is just a faulty gfci outlet.

More than likely easier than finding which piece of equipment plugged into the Equitech 1.5Q outlets is causing the GFCI to trip.

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