More Power To You [embroidery]

Connect that new embroidery machine with confidence that you can survive any potential electrical problem.

Your new embroidery machine has just arrived and you can hardly wait to get it going. Carefully, you uncrate it and move it into position. Looks like it’s ready to try out, so all that’s left is to plug it in and turn it on. HOLD IT! Do you know what lurks behind that receptacle in the wall? Before you plug any electronic equipment into an outlet, it’s best to do a little bit of investigating into the world of electricity.

Ideally, the electrical power that is generated at a power plant is very dependable and reliable. However, as it travels from the generating station to your home or business, it can be affected by many variables, which can ultimately affect your equipment. While a modern embroidery machine may appear to be a heavy-duty piece of machinery, it does contain delicate electronic circuits which can be damaged by electrical variations. Your equipment depends on a steady supply of voltage to function properly: 110 volts AC for the smaller machines, 220 volts AC for the larger ones. (These values are for the United States, and may be different for other countries.) As long as the current stays consistent, everything runs great. Unfortunately, voltage fluctuations occur quite often, and may eventually damage your equipment. Let’s take a look at some of the more common power problems and the devices that are used to lessen their effects.

Too Much Voltage This typically occurs in two forms, surges and spikes. A surge is a small, short-lived (fraction of a second) increase in voltage. It is commonly caused when a nearby electrical device such as an air conditioner, well pump, or even a refrigerator compressor, turns off. When this happens, there is a sudden excess of power that must be dissipated. This increase in current will create a wave of extra voltage that will travel throughout the immediate electrical system and into every device that is connected to it. The best way to protect against surges is to install a surge-suppressor between your equipment and the wall outlet.

Spikes are similar to surges, but much more powerful. One significant electrical spike can literally “burn-up” sensitive electronics. Spikes are usually caused by lightning striking a nearby power line or telephone line. In fact, electrical spikes are just as common in phone lines as power lines, and can even damage equipment that isn’t connected to a phone line. How does that happen? If a spike comes into a device, such as a fax, via the phone lines, it can travel through that device and then out the power cord into the wall socket. From that point, the electrical spike can make its way into any other device that is plugged into a power receptacle. This is not a frequent occurrence, but it does happen. A good quality surge suppressor can protect against the effects of a mild spike. Unfortunately there is very little protection against a direct lightning strike. The best protection for this situation is to unplug your equipment and phones during a thunderstorm.

Too Little Voltage There are two common causes for under-voltage. The first is referred to as “start-up” demands. As mentioned before, large energy-consuming devices such as air conditioners can cause surges when they shut off. But they also demand a large amount of power to turn on, which causes a momentary “dip” in the available voltage to surrounding devices. Other items guilty of causing under-voltage include refrigerators, vacuum cleaners, well pumps, and power saws.

The second source of under-voltage is known as a “brown-out”. When there is excessive consumer demand for electrical power, it sometimes results in a voltage reduction throughout a local community. This can be evidenced by a dimming (constant) of your lights. Most electrical equipment will continue to operate under these conditions, but it can be detrimental to some devices, especially electric motors. And of course, embroidery machines have drive motors.

So how do you protect yourself from “too little voltage”? UPS. (No, not the guys in the brown trucks.) UPS stands for Uninterruptible Power Supply. This device is essentially a large battery that will maintain uninterrupted power to the equipment plugged into it. When the supply voltage dips below normal levels, the UPS kicks in to make up the difference. This ensures a continuous feed of current at the proper voltage.

Blackouts Of course we all know what these are. Unfortunately, they are quite unpredictable, both in frequency and duration. As with under-voltage problems, the best line of defense with blackouts is a UPS. When the power goes out, the UPS will take over instantaneously. However, it does have a limited output time, usually only a few minutes. So it is imperative that you finish all tasks immediately, and then turn your equipment off, before the UPS battery drains down.

When shopping for a UPS, ensure that it is large enough to support your needs. Look for the Electrical Specification plate on your machine. It will list the power requirements for that model. (Make a special note of the wattage.) When shopping for a UPS, make sure the unit you are considering will supply the required wattage of the embroidery machine. And make sure you know how long the UPS can supply it. Models with longer output times cost more, but may be worth the price.

Dirty Voltage This problem is often referred to as “noise”. You can’t hear it, but sometimes you can see it. Have you ever noticed fuzzy lines on your television or computer monitor when a power tool is running? This is the result of tiny voltage fluctuations caused by the equipment during operation. These variations feed back into the electrical supply and travel to other devices (such as the TV). Noise should not be confused with surges and spikes. It is not nearly as serious. However, it can cause error signals to be introduced into the circuit cards that control your embroidery machine.

To combat this problem you may want to consider a Power Conditioner or an Isolated Filter Bank. However, most Surge Suppressors and UPS’s have built-in noise filters, so you may not need a separate device. Okay, so what do you really need to protect your equipment from power problems? Ideally, you should purchase a top-of-the-line surge suppressor, with built-in noise filters. Then add in a UPS. Plug the UPS into the output of the surge suppressor. Then plug your embroidery machine into the UPS. This configuration will ensure maximum protection for your equipment. (Don’t forget to protect your computer the same way.)

Okay, now that we are getting the best voltage possible, there is one other potential problem to address. If your business is based in your home, you need to be aware of GFI circuits. GFI or GFIC stands for Ground Fault Interrupter Circuit. If your house is less than fifteen years old, you probably have some of these protection devices. Their purpose is to quickly “trip” when they sense an excessive electrical surge, therefore preventing potential electrocutions. Example: You are taking a bath and the blow dryer (which is plugged in) falls in with you. Theoretically, a GFI circuit will “trip” before you can even feel an electrical shock, therefore preventing a potential tragedy. A conventional circuit breaker may or may not “trip” in the same situation, certainly not quick enough to prevent some current from flowing through your body.

There are two types of GFI circuits. One is an actual circuit breaker located in your breaker panel. It can service several receptacles located throughout your home. These receptacles will have no identification that they are GFI protected. The second type of GFI circuit is an electrical outlet box with the circuit built in. These are commonly found in bathrooms and are easily identified by the “T” and “R” pushbuttons located on the outlet. This type of GFI can also feed several other unidentified receptacles located throughout your house.

So what does this have to do with a home-based embroidery business? If your equipment is located in a garage or basement, it probably is plugged into a GFI circuit that also feeds several other receptacles in the house. This means that any sudden surge of current from, say a blow dryer in the bathroom or maybe a power saw plugged into an outside socket, could “trip” the GFI circuit, causing a loss of power to your embroidery equipment. In addition, if there is an outdoor receptacle tied into this GFI circuit, a rain shower can sometimes cause the circuit to “trip”. So be aware of where you connect up your machine and/or computer. If in doubt, contact a local electrician. Better yet, have an independent circuit installed for all of your business equipment.

Now that you have been introduced to the “villains” of electricity, you can arm yourself with the necessary weapons to defend yourself from their wrath. Go ahead and connect up that new embroidery machine with confidence that you can survive any potential electrical problem. Throw the switch and start making money.

By: James M. (Jimmy) Lamb
Published: January 2007