Simple - easy question

I love these forums where people help others. I am a single woman who does not have an electrical background. I have had issues with many appliances. I have a battery charger for my cordless drill which does not function and a charger for my handheld receiver which does not charge amongst other issues.

I put a digital multimeter in an outlet and it reads between 123.3 and 124.5. I am wondering if this is a little high for some appliances or if the fluctuation could cause a problem.

Any assistance is greatly appreciated!

That is fine for voltage. 125v is fine and well within specs for a typical 120/240v service.

Don't rely on the myth that we have 110v and 220v in the US. We have 120v and 240v.

Thank you for your speedy reply. Should the voltage fluctuate? Any thought on why certain battery chargers do not work? Someone's cell phone wouldn't charge here either.

Thanks again!

As batteries age, the slowly will take less and less of a charge, so in some cases, it's just an old battery.

Depending on the charger, you might be able to check the output of it wth your meter. The data plate should tell what the voltage should be... You need to be careful to not short things out.

p3digital said:

I put a digital multimeter in an outlet and it reads between 123.3 and 124.5. I am wondering if this is a little high for some appliances or if the fluctuation could cause a problem.

!

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That is not fluctuation; it is less than 0.2%, and your meter on a good day may be 1% accurate. At various times of day, it would not be unusual for your voltage to vary between 110 and 125. Most of the time it would not fluctuate that much, but it certainly could. You have no problem here.

Thank you Jimbo and Jadnashua,

jadnashua said:

As batteries age, the slowly will take less and less of a charge, so in some cases, it's just an old battery.

Depending on the charger, you might be able to check the output of it wth your meter. The data plate should tell what the voltage should be... You need to be careful to not short things out.

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When I first plug in the charger, the little red led lights go on for a short period of time, like 15 seconds and then they die out. I switch outlets and it does the same thing. Would that actually sound like a "Sag"? I have had issues with appliances like a microwave, bran new, shooting what looked like lightning within the cabinet and my dryers plug burned up and metled into the outlet, replaced both, and with a ray o vac battery charger melting.

Would those be instances of too much electricity charge or too little? Seems quite odd, as I have never lived anywhere that those things occurred.

Should I try to check for other issues? Maybe keep the meter on for a longer period of time to see what is happening? I will try anything to figure out what is happening so that I can keep appliances and I fear more damage to what I have.

Thanks again for all your assistance!

It sounds like you may have a neutral problem. This can be serious IF I'm right. See what the pros have to say.

You really have 240vac coming into your house. From the transformer, there's a wire connected half-way across the coil so that the voltage from that reference to either side is 120vac. If the neutral is loose or corroded, depending on how things are wired, you could end up with significantly higher voltages at you outlets. Note, the dryer may not use the neutral, but it could.

Thanks Jim,

I suppose that this may not be as simple and easy as I once thought.

As far as the coil, where exactly would that be? In the box? At the main breaker? Just outside? Or are you basically referring to the ground which is only about 4' deep outside?

I tried to read amps with my meter but it only goes to .2 - I must not be using the meter right. It didn't come with any instructions and I might just take it back. It is a digital multimeter that seems to be a nice one, but with no instructions, it is almost useless. There are buttons such as hold, maximum, and NCV - can't believe there are no instructions included.

Anyway, I am sure it is my operation which is giving me the fake reading of .2 for amps.

Any further insight is appreciated!

Thanks again!

You are going to hurt yourself and your meter if you try to read amps.

Amps must be measured with the meter in series with the wire...meaning you have to disconnect a wire, then connect the meter to the two ends. On a small meter like you have, if you try to measure 10 or 20 amps with a 0.2 amp scale on the meter, you will let all the smoke out that is stored in the meter, and once the smoke is gone, the meter can never work again. Also, if you connect the amp leads to the two prongs of a wall socket, that will also let the smoke out of the meter.


Honestly , you need some help here. We have gone from a bad battery or charger for your gizmos... which is not unusual. They conk out all the time.....to now we hear the plug on the dryer melted and the microwave is exploding!

jimbo said:

You are going to hurt yourself and your meter if you try to read amps.


Honestly , you need some help here. We have gone from a bad battery or charger for your gizmos... which is not unusual. They conk out all the time.....to now we hear the plug on the dryer melted and the microwave is exploding!

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It is amazing how over the past three years I have put up with the electrical issues, I had a certified electrician giving me help and he seems to think everything is fine. That is scary! I just thought that I was missing something and I realize that "not every battery charger for every device is bad" that is just too much of a coincidence. Even when someone brought their cell phone charger over they couldn't get it to charge here. Guess I just need to find a good electrician. I was told that the appliances would "Get used to different levels of electricity". I don't understand that theory, but if that is true, then some of mine must not. The electricity that used to come in to this house was at about 112 and now it is 124.

I suppose that I will continue to charge my appliances at other peoples houses when I can and try to find a reputable electrician.

I have had so much crap from people in the past that just about the only information I can get that I can even try to rely on is from forums such as this. Thanks for your assistance.

power

Unless I make the measurements myself, I seldom trust others to have made them correctly. Too little power will cause overheating with a constant amperage device, and dryers always use a 120 v. circuit for the control wiring. You apparently have serious issues and DO need a qualified electrician to evaluate the entire system.

I wouldn't worry about those readings, but I am wondering what the humming noise is when the probes are plugged in.

Mikey said:

I wouldn't worry about those readings, but I am wondering what the humming noise is when the probes are plugged in.

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The meter just does that the manufacturer said it was normal