06-26-2008, 05:14 PM
[quote space-time][quote davester]On the original question, heavy duty motors such as those that drive compressors have a motor starting circuit that draws a lot of current when the motor first starts up. I didn't think they'd be on for a long time after startup, but perhaps that's what's causing the power surge.
I know that, but this is not a few seconds surge, it's a few minutes, I think it's a defroster.
The question was aimed more at other kill-a-watt users if they noticed the same or not?
Yeah, my current frost-free fridge does something similar. About once a day it uses 400 W for about 8 minutes. I thought the Kill-a-watt meter was bad or the compressor motor got jammed when starting until I figured what was going on.
I know that, but this is not a few seconds surge, it's a few minutes, I think it's a defroster.
The question was aimed more at other kill-a-watt users if they noticed the same or not?
Yeah, my current frost-free fridge does something similar. About once a day it uses 400 W for about 8 minutes. I thought the Kill-a-watt meter was bad or the compressor motor got jammed when starting until I figured what was going on.