My apologies to the group. The message quoted below should have had a new subject and I forgot to clean it up. The quoted message below is cleaned up and the subject line of this message has been changed. If all the >, >> and >>> makes the message formatting hard to read open the message full screen and the formatting should be much better. Don ----- Original Message ----- From: "Don101" <don101@xxxxxxxxxx> To: <pctechtalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Monday, June 30, 2008 9:33 AM Subject: -=PCTechTalk=- Re: My LCD produces too much heat? > Wire, including that used for extension cords and other electical use is > measured according to size of the wire (not including the insulation > around > it). A standard electrical cord for a lamp is typically 18 guage wire. > Small lamps might use 20 or 22, larger ones 14 or 16. The smaller the > number, the larger the wire. > > When plugging in multiple items you should use an extension cord made > with > larger wire than the largest wire you will plug into it. Do not use > extension cords for high amperage rating items such as toasters and > toaster > ovens. The longer the extension cord, the larger the wire should be. I > do > not buy extension cords that are not at least 16 or 14 guage in size and > have a three prong plug and sockets. When used in, on or around a water > source the wall socket or the extension cord should be protected by a > Ground > Fault Isolation circuit breaker. > > When the wall socket is behind a piece of furniture, do not allow the > furniture to be pushed back against the wall and bend the cord over. Buy > flat plug or wall-hugger extension cords instead (that is all I buy for > indoor use because the sockets I want to use are always behind furniture). > > Do not use an adapter to plug a three-prong plug into a two-prong socket. > Do not break off the the third prong to make it fit a two-prong socket. > > Surge protectors are rated in Joules. The higher the rating, the better > protection. A large surge, such as a close-by lightning strike, that > would > be stopped by a 4500 joule surge protector would zap through a 650 joule > surge protector like a warm knife through melted butter. Surge protectors > do nothing to protect against power outages. . . not even the short > interruptions provided by many utility companies. > > I do not recommend you depend on a surge protector to protect you from > electrical overload. I encourage my customers to buy battery backup units > or Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS) instead. A small $40-50 unit will > provide enough power for your system long enough for you to complete a > safe > shutdown. I have two $175 units to protect literally everything in my > system.... CPU, monitor, printer, speakers, router, modem, external drives > and my telephone and a small desktop fan. > > Many home improvement stores and hardware stores have trained electricians > on their staff. Pick his or her brain and then buy an extension cord > there. > > > DISCLAIMER: Every electrical item you buy these days comes with a safety > sheet of some sort that provides information on how to safely use the > item. > It is a lot of boring details and common sense items but should be read > one > once in a while just to make sure it stickes in your head. Use of > extension > cords is frequently discouraged or prohibited by these instructions. Read > and heed your safety instructions. Where those instructions vary from > what > I said above you should follow the instructions. Improper use of > extension > cords causes far too many fires, injuries and deaths to treat them > lightly. > > > Don > > > > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "cristy" <poppy0206@xxxxxxx> > To: <pctechtalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> > Sent: Sunday, June 29, 2008 11:26 PM > Subject: -=PCTechTalk=- Re: My LCD produces too much heat? > > >> heat (and a subsequent loss of a small amount of that initial electrical >>> potential) that actually warms up the wire. Attach too many appliances >>> to >>> the same extension cord and it'll REALLY heat up, so much that it >>> becomes >>> a >>> fire hazard since the heat generated can eventually melt the protective >>> insulator and cause a short circuit or worse. >> >> >> So how do the surge protectors help with this and I have lots plugged >> into >> the one my computer is using. I also could not figure why some had red >> lights on, some green, some none, why do they differ? >> >> I know there is "grounding" involved here that protects from electrical >> surges. So I guess extension cords have no protection? How do you know >> what type of extension cord to use for a piece of electical equipment? >> >> "just curious" ;0 >> >> Christine >> ----- Original Message ----- >> From: "Gman" <gman.pctt@xxxxxxxxx> >> To: <pctechtalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> >> Sent: Sunday, June 29, 2008 11:10 PM >> Subject: -=PCTechTalk=- Re: My LCD produces too much heat? >> >> >> Correction: Fluorescent lamps are NOT vacuum sealed. As I mentioned, >> inside the sealed tube is a gas that glows when electricity is applied. >> I >> just should not have included the word "vacuum". :O) >> >> Peace, >> G >> >> "The only dumb questions are the ones that are never asked" >> >> ----- Original Message ----- >> From: "Gman" <gman.pctt@xxxxxxxxx> >> To: <pctechtalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> >> Sent: Saturday, June 28, 2008 8:21 PM >> Subject: -=PCTechTalk=- Re: My LCD produces too much heat? >> >> >>> Rudy, >>> No part of my description here takes into account devices that are >>> actually designed to produce heat as their basic function such as >>> electric >>> clothes dryers, electric space heaters, electric water heaters, etc.. >>> Those >>> intentionally convert electricity into heat. I will only be discussing >>> unintentional heat generation here. >>> >>> At its simplest form (and within the context of electronics and the >>> components it brings to life), operational heat is generated as a result >>> of >>> friction at the molecular level. As current travels through a wire, >>> there >>> is a certain amount of resistance as electrons jump from one atom to the >>> next on their way to the other end of the line. While most of the >>> electricity will reach its intended target (the appliance at the end of >>> the >>> line) and be converted into other types of energy (it'll make a blender >>> spin >>> or a washing machine pump water), this resistance results in a little >>> bit >>> of >>> heat (and a subsequent loss of a small amount of that initial electrical >>> potential) that actually warms up the wire. Attach too many appliances >>> to >>> the same extension cord and it'll REALLY heat up, so much that it >>> becomes >>> a >>> fire hazard since the heat generated can eventually melt the protective >>> insulator and cause a short circuit or worse. >>> >>> With electronic components such as a CPU, they are made up primarily >>> of >>> microscopic transistors that are constantly turning on and off to direct >>> data through itself. The switching is accomplished by applying a >>> voltage >>> to >>> what is called a gate. Depending on the type of transistors employed, >>> the >>> presence of voltage at the gate allows current to pass from one side of >>> the >>> transistor to the other. The absence of voltage will instead turn the >>> transistor off. Since there are hundreds of millions of transistors in >>> a >>> modern CPU and those switches operate at astronomical speeds (measured >>> in >>> Ghz.), a LOT of heat is produced by all of the miniscule resistances >>> present >>> throughout the processor. As more transistors are added to CPU designs >>> and >>> the faster they make the chip, the more heat it will produce simply >>> because >>> there will be more places for resistance to fight against the flow of >>> electricity. Fortunately, they have been working towards reducing the >>> size >>> of the transistors used in these beasts. Each reduction in transistor >>> size >>> allows them to operate using less electricity and that means less >>> electrical >>> resistance and therefore less heat. >>> >>> I could go into a lot of additional examples, but I think those two >>> should help explain that the heat originally produced is a product of >>> the >>> electricity that never gets to be used for whatever the component is >>> supposed to do. Operational heat results in the loss of a tiny >>> percentage >>> of the actual electricity used by the component or system, even if the >>> heat >>> produced is almost unbearable. >>> >>> As far as your LCD goes, there are fluorescent lamps behind the >>> window >>> you stare at all day. They operate by exciting the electrons within a >>> gas >>> inside a vacuum sealed tube when voltage is applied to them. This gas >>> has >>> a >>> much smaller resistance than the filament found in incandescent bulbs >>> (the >>> screw in type found in many table lamps), so they don't natively produce >>> anywhere near as much heat as incandescent lamps. They also cannot >>> produce >>> anywhere near as much heat as your tower. Just consider the fact that >>> your >>> Hanns only uses 49 watts Max of electricity (watts = voltage X amperes) >>> compared to hundreds of watts being used by the tower. Of course, this >>> doesn't mean fluorescent lamps don't get warm over time, just not to the >>> degree you are questioning here. LCD monitors and TVs should all have >>> vents >>> to allow heat to escape rather than build up within the confines of the >>> casing. If these vents are covered, clogged, etc., I could see this >>> problem >>> developing after a while of continuous monitor use. If the vents are >>> unobstructed, consider the placement of your tower. Is it possible that >>> the >>> heat is actually rising up from the back of the tower and making it seem >>> like it's coming from the monitor? In our computer room, the two nearly >>> constant running towers certainly do act as room warmers as you >>> described, >>> but the two LCD monitors add very little to that equation. >>> >>> Peace, >>> G >> >> --------------------------------------------------------------- Please remember to trim your replies (including this sentence and everything below it) and adjust the subject line as necessary. To unsubscribe or change your email settings: //www.freelists.org/webpage/pctechtalk To access our Archives: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PCTechTalk/messages/ //www.freelists.org/archives/pctechtalk/ To contact only the PCTT Mod Squad, write to: pctechtalk-moderators@xxxxxxxxxxxxx ---------------------------------------------------------------