GPU to 72 status...

[storm5510]

I looked at some of my gadgets here to see what their ratings are. The majority say 100-240V 50-60Hz. I guess it is easier for them to use a range. The text is quite small on a cell-phone charger.

The last I knew, Texas was still 50Hz with the other 47 contiguous being 60Hz. Alaska and Hawaii, I do not know about them.

I worked in several factories over the decades. They all had the very long fluorescent tubes for lighting. Their panel boxes on the walls were easy to pick out. 277V.

Majorly Off-topic: One of the craziest things I ever saw a maintenance man do in one factory I was at, was to use a long screwdriver to check a 480V overhead bus duct by shorting two of the fuse holders. The result was a brilliant white flash and something that sounded like a shotgun blast. I found what was left of his screwdriver a short time later. Just the handle with a tiny bit of the steel blade protruding from it. He had his meter right there with him. I saw it; bright yellow. Why did not use it, I have no idea.

I think chatsall would like to have his topic back.

[axn]

Originally Posted by storm5510

I think chatsall would like to have his topic back.

Who dat?

[James Heinrich]

Originally Posted by storm5510

The last I knew, Texas was still 50Hz with the other 47 contiguous being 60Hz

That I doubt. Perhaps Texas was 50Hz sometime in the past, but I doubt that was anytime in the past 50 years. I'd be curious to see evidence to the contrary.

[Mark Rose]

Originally Posted by James Heinrich

And when it does you call in the army to plow the streets?

Yeah, even after living here a decade I still tease the locals about it. But I leave for Alberta tomorrow.

[James Heinrich]

Originally Posted by Mark Rose

Yeah, even after living here a decade I still tease the locals about it. But I leave for Alberta tomorrow.

Ah, nothing like Edmonton in January. I remember turning on my car 20 minutes before I left for work, driving half an hour to work, and when I got there the engine temperature gauge was still pegged at minimum (not even close to warm enough to register "C"old).

One day (-42°C I believe) I turned the ignition and the dome light just went out (indicating the starter motor was drawing massive current) but absolutely nothing else, no hint of cranking. Had to leave the key turned for 10 seconds for it to turn over even once. Did you know that engines can run at <100rpm? I didn't think so, but I could easily count the cylinders firing, not much faster than my heartbeat.
Tip: get a block heater and a garage.

[chalsall]

Originally Posted by James Heinrich

Tip: get a block heater and a garage.

LOL... Yeah, I remember having to plug my car in for at least three months out of the year during High School. Oh, and of course, to always carry chains and a toe-rope!

There's a lot I miss about Canada. But, not the snow!

[James Heinrich]

Originally Posted by James Heinrich

Tip: get a block heater and a garage.

Oh, and second tip: don't try to drive the Crowsnest in January in a small front-wheel-drive car with half-bald all-seasons. Don't ask me how I know this...

[storm5510]

Originally Posted by axn

Who dat?

My typo.

Originally Posted by James Heinrich

That I doubt. Perhaps Texas was 50Hz sometime in the past, but I doubt that was anytime in the past 50 years. I'd be curious to see evidence to the contrary.

You are correct, it does not. I don't know where I got that from. Something I heard long ago perhaps. All the inter connectivity now rules that out. I found the diagram below interesting. Look at Alaska.

[petrw1]

Originally Posted by Mark Rose

But I leave for Alberta tomorrow.

Visiting or moving?

[sdbardwick]

Originally Posted by storm5510

My typo.



You are correct, it does not. I don't know where I got that from. Something I heard long ago perhaps. All the inter connectivity now rules that out. I found the diagram below interesting. Look at Alaska.

Don't feel too bad. The US really was a mishmash of grid frequencies until after WW2. Parts of southern California were 50Hz until the late 1940's. Old timers told me stories of swapping 50Hz clocks into 60Hz workplaces to mess with the boss.

[storm5510]

Originally Posted by sdbardwick

Don't feel too bad. The US really was a mishmash of grid frequencies until after WW2. Parts of southern California were 50Hz until the late 1940's. Old timers told me stories of swapping 50Hz clocks into 60Hz workplaces to mess with the boss.

I would have never thought of that.

About Alaska. Municipalities must have their own private power stations. Fairbanks has a population of around 31,000. Nome is around 3,600. Neither appears to be on a grid system. Elmendorf AFB is near Anchorage. Both are on a grid. I have a brother that was in the USAF back in the '60's. He said it got so cold at Elmendorf at times that the jet engines would not fire. Something about the air density at really low temperatures.