HELP I think I have an electrical issue??


A few months ago I had 2 20amp dedicated lines with hospital grade duplex's installed. All was well with my Bel Canto Ref1000 mono's. Well a few days ago I just got a pair of Genesis m60 tube amps. I was noticing a clicking noise coming through my speakers. I first noticed this when I was just warming up the amps with no source on. Then I also noticed the clicking when a source was on with music playing.

So it turns out that the clicking noise is my electric ignition of my gas furnace, is somehow playing through my speakers (Or maybe its just one of them, not exactly sure yet) This is a very strange and annoying. If anyone has any ideas please let me know!

Tim
tmesselt
Tmesselt,
How old is your house and the develepment. Most new house the gas and electrical are plastic not metal. The piping to your house could be plastic also so grounding to them will do nothing. In that case the electrician puts 2 rods in the ground 6 feet from each other for house ground. This has been an issue here in Mass and else where and do not know if it has been resolved. For now we do both just to be safe and pass inspection.

Like i said before it could be your furnace wiring. I myself have found a few wired backwards it still work cause its 115. The motor or most anything 115 volt does not care if you connect the blacjk wire to common and the white wire to hot it will still work it is just not correct. It could also be your ignitor has a loose ground. Have your service company check the wiring to make sure all parts are in phase. It could be just the control transformer output grounded on the wrong side.

Ngjockey.
This is why I am thinking line reactor for my equipment.
I have not read all of the responses, so I may be repeating what has already been said. Many ignition systems use a high voltage gas tube spark gap to insure ignition.It creates noise just like a spark plug would in your car. The noise has always been there but the Bel Canto had built in line filtering that eliminated the noise. You can purchase filters, from Mouser or any other supply house which might do the job for you. They come in different current ratings and must be wired for your need. The one I have in front of me is ten amps, it's a metal box 2"x1.5"x1.5" It has the internal component stamped on the out side of the box, it filters both sides of the 120 volts.If you have any question you can e-mail me. The info on the filter is SRE
Along the lines of what Jea48 said in an earlier post, disconnecting the interconnects from the inputs is not conclusive unless you put shorting plugs on them. Especially considering the M60's high input impedance (250 Kohms), it seems conceivable that the inputs are picking up airborne rfi and then amplifying it.

If you don't have shorting plugs handy, you could take rca cables (the shorter the better), plug them into the inputs, and at their other end stuff in some aluminum foil so that it shorts the center pin and the outer (ground) part of the connector together. Obviously, have the power off while you are doing that.

Regards,
-- Al
Tmesselt,
By chance do you have a gas fired cloths dryer?
If so have your wife start the dryer while you listen for for any ignitor clicking noise sound from your speakers.
I know not all hospital outlets are not isolated. Most people here who are installing hospital grade are doing it for the isolated ground and unless wired correctly it will not be or can hurt someone. When an electrician or home owner installs it and does not use the correct wire it is a waste of time & money. You must bond grounds.
Hevac1
Sorry Hevac your post is a little confusing. I am sure you are aware Hospital Grade receptacles are made either isolated ground,(IG), and non isolated ground type. I would venture to say the majority of hospital grade recepts used for typical home audio equipment are not IG type. Example is Albert Porter's Porter Ports. A NASA cryoed Hubbell HBL8300H duplex receptacle.

As for Tmesselt case if he paid the extra bucks for a good quality IG hospital grade recept, say like the Hubbell IG8300 he can still use the recept for its great build quality and sonic benefits it may yield for his audio system. As for the equipment ground I assume the dedicated branch circuits are 2 conductor/ with bare grd NM-B sheathed cable. Did he waste his money buying an IG recept in his case? Yes....

As you, I am aware of NEC 2008 Art 406.
You might want to refresh your memory... 406.2 (2)
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If the recept has a ferrous metal yoke he could always use a stranded wire grd pigtail from the yoke, strap, to equipment grounding conductor of the branch circuit. That is if he thinks the ferrous strap is affecting the sonics of his audio system. Brass un-plated strap... there would be no problem jmho.
Jim