2022-09-24 13:46:16 Ok - you guys are going to love this one. 2022-09-24 13:46:29 I've spent the last few days installing a pair of whole home dehumidifiers in my attic. 2022-09-24 13:46:48 There is an outlet up there, that had little things related to the alarm system and so on plugged in. 2022-09-24 13:46:52 No spare plugs. 2022-09-24 13:47:22 So I zip-tied a power strip to the beam next to that outlet, moved one of the previously existing things over to it, and plugged the strip in in the vacated outlet. 2022-09-24 13:47:28 Great - so far so good. 2022-09-24 13:48:04 Well, turns out that one circuit won't quite handle both dehumidifiers, but I initially had them both plugged into that strip, and they ran for a while at least. 2022-09-24 13:48:30 They're rated at 5.1 amps, so 10.2 for the pair of them. 2022-09-24 13:49:00 I can't believe the other little things really take nearly 5A, but at any rate earlier today unbeknownst to me the breaker box breaker tripped. 2022-09-24 13:49:14 i got a voice mail from my alarm company, saying they detected a power outage. 2022-09-24 13:49:39 I didn't immediately click to the real problem, because our alarm system was complaining about a low battery somewhere anyway, and i just lumped the new call in with that. 2022-09-24 13:49:55 But it reported batteries in places there aren't any, so I called them to ask them about it. 2022-09-24 13:50:30 When I described what all I had done, the lady I was talking to immediately said that the transformer couldn't be plugged into a power strip - that it had to be plugged directly into the outlet. 2022-09-24 13:50:37 Or otherwise "it wouldn't get enough voltage." 2022-09-24 13:50:48 I probably bruised the bottom of my jaw. 2022-09-24 13:50:53 When it hit the floor. 2022-09-24 13:51:21 I told her I was an electrical engineer and what she'd just said made absolutely no sense, but I never was able to budge her from her party line. 2022-09-24 13:51:51 After the call I went up to stick my voltmeter in the actual socket I'd plugged the transformer into, because it was certainly possible the strip had a bad outlet. 2022-09-24 13:52:07 But then I discovered that everything was off and checked the breaker. 2022-09-24 13:52:37 Temporarily I've just run an extension cord down from the attic to a bedroom near the attic door for the second unit - now I've got them on two separate breaker circuits. 2022-09-24 13:53:05 But anyway, I just shook my head - most people that call them who don't have any education in the area will believe inane statements like what she told me. 2022-09-24 13:53:18 What exactly is it that she thinks a power strip DOES? 2022-09-24 13:53:50 Maybe some huge power hungry appliance shouldn't be plugged through an extension cord, but the piddly little 24VAC transformer that they're using will not care at all. 2022-09-24 13:59:57 Anyway, it reminded me of all the times I've called tech support places and the first thing is always "is your software fully up to date?" 2022-09-24 14:00:15 Even if the issue has nothing to do with that at all - they won't even talk to you until you jump all those first hoops.