HELP I think I have an electrical issue??


A few months ago I had 2 20amp dedicated lines with hospital grade duplex's installed. All was well with my Bel Canto Ref1000 mono's. Well a few days ago I just got a pair of Genesis m60 tube amps. I was noticing a clicking noise coming through my speakers. I first noticed this when I was just warming up the amps with no source on. Then I also noticed the clicking when a source was on with music playing.

So it turns out that the clicking noise is my electric ignition of my gas furnace, is somehow playing through my speakers (Or maybe its just one of them, not exactly sure yet) This is a very strange and annoying. If anyone has any ideas please let me know!

Tim
tmesselt
How old is your house and the develepment. Most new house the gas and electrical are plastic not metal. The piping to your house could be plastic also so grounding to them will do nothing. In that case the electrician puts 2 rods in the ground 6 feet from each other for house ground.

My house was built in the 20s, although I just had gas service ran to my house last fall and that is when the furnace was installed as well. The gas lines are metal in my house.

Also last fall when I moved into the house the ground was actually not grounded to anything. So I had an electrician come to reground the house. 2 were ran, 1 to the water main and the other he ran a ground rod in the ground.

Tmesselt,
By chance do you have a gas fired cloths dryer?
If so have your wife start the dryer while you listen for for any ignitor clicking noise sound from your speakers.

I do have a gas dryer, I will try this tonight!

So based on all of the suggestions I have a starting point to begin to hopefully isolate where my issue is coming from. So on another note though, I am using 12/2 NM-B romex and so with this wire I can not correctly run an isolated ground?? If so, what is a good receptacle that I can use in place of my hospital grade outlets with isolate ground, (note: these are no longer in my system) I heard suggestions of a Hubbel above but I think that had an IG??

Thanks again for all of the feedback!!
Tim
... ,I am using 12/2 NM-B romex and so with this wire I can not correctly run an isolated ground??
Tim, what is your understanding of an isolated ground?

(note: these are no longer in my system) I heard suggestions of a Hubbel above but I think that had an IG??
If the face of the hospital grade receptacle is orange in colour or has a orange colour triangle on the face then yes it is an IG recept. Don't confuse a red face with a orange face. But a recept with a red face that has a orange triangle on the face is an IG recept.
Albert Porter's Porter ports are not IG recepts..... But they are hospital grade receptacles.
So I have just spoken with the company that put my furnace in. He has pretty much told me that it is RF noise and that the furnace is hooked up correctly or else the computer would not let it start. That included the fact that I asked him about not being grounded correctly, and the neutral and hot wires being crossed, etc....
He basically said to me that there was pretty much no way that the furnace wasn't hooked up correctly assuring me that what they did was done correctly.

Then he said I should put a rf noise filter on my amps!!
So obviously I am not wanting to do this, but he also said that it is possible to maybe put a rf noise filter in line with the circuit to the furnace.
Tim, what is your understanding of an isolated ground?

Instead of hooking the outlet like you would to normal outlet.
You use a 3 wire + ground (12/3).

Black -> Power
White -> Neutral
Red w/ green tape -> Ground
Bare wire -> Ground to metal receptacle box

So what I am getting from this is that an isolated ground outlet differs from a standard, is that it the receptacle box is also grounded in addition to the outlet.

Now, that I am thinking about it, would actually hooking up the isolated ground correctly possibly help me get rid of the rf noise coming from my furnace ignition??
Tim,
Installing an IG recept on an NM-B branch circuit will not have any benefit whats so ever. Using a ferrous metal box in place of the plastic box could actually degrade the sonics of you audio system.

IG receptacles are mainly used in commercial or industrial buildings where EMI/RFI noise may be present on metallic electrical conduits, building steel structures, metal wall studs, ect, ect.
In this case for sensitive electronic equipment a IG recept may be desired.
Lets say a customer bought a piece of equipment that states the equipment must be connected to a 120V 20 amp dedicated circuit with an IG NEMA 5-20R receptacle.

First off to be a "true dedicated" branch circuit the circuit wiring can not share a conduit with any other branch circuit wiring.

So the electrician installs a 1/2" EMT, (thin wall), conduit from the electrical panel to the new recept outlet location. (Distance is short voltage drop is not a problem)
For the wire he selects #12 THHN.
(1)Black conductor, hot.
(1) White conductor, neutral.
(2) insulated green conductors.
** One green wire bonds, connects to the metal rough-in box and the other green wire connects the ground screw terminal on the IG recept.
Back at the electrical panel The black hot connects to a 20 amp breaker. The white wire to the neutral bar. And 99.9% of the time both green equipment grounding wires connect to the same equipment ground bar..... NEC will allow the ground wire that is connected to the IG recept to extend through other upstream panels,(that feed the panel that is feeding the new dedicated branch circuit), and connect the ground wire where the main feeder neutral is connected to earth.... How often do you think that happens?

Now, that I am thinking about it, would actually hooking up the isolated ground correctly possibly help me get rid of the rf noise coming from my furnace ignition??
Simple answer, no....

At this point you can't say for sure the EMI/RFI is being radiated through the air or being carried on your homes wiring... Or Both...

You would of thought the Heating and Air Conditioning Contractor would have at least sent out a tech to make sure the ignitor assembly was firmly connected to the burner assembly. And the burner assembly securely fastened to the furnace. That the ignition module grounding jumper was securely fastened to the metal structure of the furnace.

What make is the furnace. Manufacture and model number? I assume the furnace is a forced air furnace.

When you get home tonight try the gas cloth dryer...

The Midwest is full of gas furnaces with electronic ignition/ignitors.... I can't recall ever reading a thread here on Agon or AA where a member experienced your same problem.

For what it is worth My furnace is a Lennox high efficiency with an electronic ignition system. It even uses a VFD to ramp down the fan speed before shutting off after a cycle.

Audio system,
Sonic frontiers Line One preamp, tubes.
ARC VT50 power amp, tubes.

The furnace does not effect my audio system whats so ever.