DIY Balanced AC Power Conditioner

[skeptic]

I think your floating secondary is very dangerous. The voltage can drift all over the place with respect to the rest of the household wiring. This can be a real problem if you connect some components to the floating conditioned supply and some to household wiring. You should read applicable sections of NEC article 250 on grounding or get advice from an electrician or your town's building department electrical inspector. Look for specific information about grounded electrodes and grounding neutrals. IMO, what you should do is tie the neutral of the primary and one of the secondar legs together. this will bring the neutral through to the other side and establish the same reference zero voltage point for the conditioned side of the transformer as the rest of the system. BTW, it is illegal to use a circuit breaker or fuse on the neutral leg so be sure it's on the hot side. In case you haven't done it, you need to bring the safety ground through to the ground leads for your receptacles as well. They should be securely bonded. Get advice from expert help if you do not understand this.

[Glen B]

I think your floating secondary is very dangerous. The voltage can drift all over the place with respect to the rest of the household wiring. This can be a real problem if you connect some components to the floating conditioned supply and some to household wiring. You should read applicable sections of NEC article 250 on grounding or get advice from an electrician or your town's building department electrical inspector. Look for specific information about grounded electrodes and grounding neutrals. IMO, what you should do is tie the neutral of the primary and one of the secondar legs together. this will bring the neutral through to the other side and establish the same reference zero voltage point for the conditioned side of the transformer as the rest of the system. BTW, it is illegal to use a circuit breaker or fuse on the neutral leg so be sure it's on the hot side. In case you haven't done it, you need to bring the safety ground through to the ground leads for your receptacles as well. They should be securely bonded. Get advice from expert help if you do not understand this.

What are you talking about ? Before launching into what I consider to be a condescending diatribe, did you even look at the schematic ? Do you even know the first thing about balanced power ? Its funny that out of the many responses I received when I posted this project at Audio Asylum, no one else found a problem with the implementation.

Now, to respond in fact to your comments:

“I think your floating secondary is very dangerous. the voltage can drift all over the place with respect to the rest of the household wiring.”

The secondary is NOT floating. The center tap is grounded. The power company transformer supplying your home has the same balanced configuration with the center tap grounded at the pole with two 120V hots.

“IMO, what you should do is tie the neutral of the primary and one of the secondary legs together. this will bring the neutral through to the other side and establish the same reference zero voltage point for the conditioned side of the transformer as the rest of the system.”

Wrong. Tying the incoming neutral to one of the secondary legs will unbalance the system and defeat its purpose. The NEC recognizes that with balanced power the two hots are ungrounded and permits this. That’s why the NEC requires a GFCI on the secondary for safety.

“BTW, it is illegal to use a circuit breaker or fuse on the neutral leg so be sure it's on the hot side. In case you haven't done it, you need to bring the safety ground through to the ground leads for your receptacles as well. They should be securely bonded. Get advice from expert help if you do not understand this.”

I have the breaker in the hot line. The center taps of the transformer(s), receptacles, GFCIs and EMI filter cans are all bonded to the incoming ground.

I have been working with electricity for more than 36 years and don’t need advice from you. Read up on balanced power before you make criticisms and assumptions about my knowledge and capabilities. Although my profile says “newbie,” I have been posting at AudioReview in one of its previous incarnations since 1998. I would be happy to provide links to some of my old reviews.

[skeptic]

Pretty touchy GlenB. No I didn't look at your schematic. Now that I have, I've changed my opinion.

[SoloScott]

Glen, that looks gorgous!!! Impressive.

BTW, you did take skeptic's criticism pretty rough. "Clark, I haven't seen a beating like that since [someone] put a banana in my pants and let a monkey lose!" -Eddie from one of the Vacation movies

[skeptic]

He's from Audio Asylum, it's to be expected. That's how a lot of them are over there. With Jon Risch as the moderator, they're often at each other's throats.

[E-Stat]

He's from Audio Asylum, it's to be expected. That's how a lot of them are over there. With Jon Risch as the moderator, they're often at each other's throats.

That and the fact that with your infinite wisdom, you shot first, insulted your fellow electrical engineer and asked questions later. You "changed your opinion" but never apologized. Some call that arrogance.

rw

[skeptic]

"Some call that arrogance."

In civilized society it is. At Audio Asylum, it's just par for the course. (I wanted him to feel at home here. Making the transition out of the bizzarro world and into ours, it's only natural that he might feel culture shock so a few insults and a little abuse will ease the change.) Besides, E-Stat, what do you want, a signed Magna Carta? I already said I changed my mind when I looked at it. After staying around here for a while, my motto is "Ready, Fire, Aim." (After my threads on "A Love Supreme" it seems many times all I have to do is fill in between the dots.)

[ciscokid1970]

He's from Audio Asylum, it's to be expected. That's how a lot of them are over there. With Jon Risch as the moderator, they're often at each other's throats.

Hey skeptic you asked for it...take your beating, eat your crow. It will teach you not to smack someone around before carefully seeing if your arguments have merit.

To quote one of my favorite movies: "Hmm I don't know I could use a good beating, I haven't had one in a while"

The only comment I have on Glen B is that he is brave...I am a EE Yet I have never been comfortable building anything that even has a remote chance of sparking or catching fire.
(When I was 8 I modified a ocillating fan control and it sparked and knocked me flat, memorable).
His design looks sound but I perfer to shell out $80 for a good Triplite AC filter surge protector.

Peace, Love and Audio for all
Ciscokid1970

[Glen B]

Hey skeptic you asked for it...take your beating, eat your crow. It will teach you not to smack someone around before carefully seeing if your arguments have merit.

To quote one of my favorite movies: "Hmm I don't know I could use a good beating, I haven't had one in a while"

The only comment I have on Glen B is that he is brave...I am a EE Yet I have never been comfortable building anything that even has a remote chance of sparking or catching fire.
(When I was 8 I modified a ocillating fan control and it sparked and knocked me flat, memorable).
His design looks sound but I perfer to shell out $80 for a good Triplite AC filter surge protector.

Peace, Love and Audio for all
Ciscokid1970

The only parts of concern are the Auricaps. A number of companies are using them as differential filters in their products, most notably Balanced Power Technologies. I am not alone in my bravado.

[Glen B]

He's from Audio Asylum, it's to be expected. That's how a lot of them are over there. With Jon Risch as the moderator, they're often at each other's throats.

I haven't visited AR in some time so that is why I am now responding. Hey, you caught me on a bad day. In hindsight, my response could have been "more diplomatic." I really wouldn't say people are at each other's throats at AA. Actually, there was a time when you could say that such was the case here at AR. I find things more quiet and civilized here now.

Peace.