[sdiy] Studio Electrical Wiring Questions

[J.D. McEachin]

On Tue, 25 Sep 2001, BrightBoy wrote:
>
> A friend of mine recommended that I have a second 100Amp service brought
> to the house which would strictly power the studio with it's own
> seperate
> isolated ground (attached to a seperate grounding rod).  This would
> involve
> adding a 2nd power meter, breaker panel, etc.
>
> Is this really worthwhile or not????

Overkill.  For the money, you're better off w/ an isolation xfmr.


> If so, does it even meet the NEC????
>
> After reading over Article 230 (230-2) it seems that it might not be
> allowed....

You might be able to get it by your local permitting authority by saying
it's for a separate tenant or business.  But that will probably open up a
bigger can of worms. :P



> Or would I be better off just wiring the studio to the existing breaker
> panel and getting an Equi=Tech balanced power unit????
>
> Will the Equi=Tech system prevent other loads in the house
> (refrigerator, furnice, dehumidifier, etc) from dirtying up the power
> to the studio????

That's the way I'd go.  Spendy, but better than hearing refrigerator
compressor pops right in the middle of an otherwise perfect recording.

I grabbed a 2kVA isolation transformer out of a hospital operating room
that I was helping to remodel, and plan to use that in my studio when I
get around to wiring it. :)



> I've also been told by another electrician (Larry Hendry) that if I run
> a 2-pole 220VAC circuit to the studio (from my existing breaker panel)
> and then split it into two 110VAC outlets I should be able to acheive
> lower noise figures than running two seperate 110VAC circuits
> (especially
> if I load balance between the two outlets derived from the 220VAC)

It's not good to run 1 pole loads off a 2 pole breaker.


I second the motion to put the lights on a separate circuit.  And if you
use any fluorescents, get them with electronic ballasts, to shift the
noise into the ultrasonic range (and save power, and get rid of flicker).


Another thing I'm tempted to try is building a faraday cage.  If you're in
a basement, and insulating the walls w/ foam sheets, you might be able to
build one for cheap by soldering jumpers to the aluminum foil faces and
bonding the whole thing to your ground rod.  Just a wild-assed idea...

JDM