# Laser Printer With High (Initial) Current Draw - Any Way To Buffer?



## The Egg (Nov 11, 2019)

Hey Guys.  I have a small laser printer (Brother HL-2270DW) which has an uncomfortable amount of initial current draw when first powered on.  My wall meter only shows a max of 950 watts (8 amps), but apparently it's enough of a sudden jolt to momentarily set off multiple UPS's in my apartment and cause a change in the lights.  It's also very likely that my wall meter isn't refreshing fast enough to show the true momentary max draw (the spec sheet says it updates only once per second).  Separately, a Dyson vacuum measuring 10 amps at the wall does NOT cause the same problem, though it appears to take a few seconds to ramp up to full draw. 

I'm in a 50-60 year old building, but I expect the wiring is fairly decent.  The breaker panels look brand new (though they were changed before I got here 10 years ago), so some amount of updating has been done relatively recently.  I have a 100 amp main to my unit, and a mixture of 15 and 20 amp circuits.  The printer will cause this behavior even when there is near-zero load elsewhere.  

In any case, in-wall wiring is beyond my control, so please don't suggest nonsense like telling the landlord to gut and re-wire the whole building.  Barring that, is there any sort of relatively cheap/easy method to buffer the brief initial current draw??


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## FordGT90Concept (Nov 11, 2019)

Plug it in to a different circuit?

You can use the breakers and a light to isolate outlets to circuits.  If power fluctuations on one circuit cause problems on another circuit...then the current coming into the panel might not be as strong as it needs to be.


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## TheLostSwede (Nov 11, 2019)

That can't be normal, I have had multiple laser printers over the years and none have ever done anything like that. It might be because of a faulty power supply in it, or something else that's wrong.


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## oobymach (Nov 11, 2019)

A ups or a good line conditioner maybe? Any circuit with a big capacitor (see capacitive power supplies) would probably work.


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## Jism (Nov 11, 2019)

At first i thought it must be a big printer, but then i googled and was like, something like that cant consume initially like 8 amps on 110/220V. Something else is up.


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## newtekie1 (Nov 11, 2019)

Laser printers have an insane initial power draw, but it isn't going to hurt anything because it happens so quickly.  The only thing I've ever heard it hurting was UPSes if the printer was plugged into the UPS.  The high initial current flowing through the UPS can damage them.

I had it happen when I moved into my home that was built in the 1960s.  All my UPSes would go off when I printed something on either of my two laser printers(one Samsung and one Brother).  Putting both printers on a good surge protector actually helped a lot.  The USPes no longer go alert when I printer _most_ of the time, but the lights still flicker a little.

If the laser printer turning on is causing lights to flicker throughout your entire house, then even putting the printer on its own circuit isn't really going to help.  The issue is likely the feed coming into the house can't adapt to the sudden current spike from the printer.  I think most draw 1100-1200w(10-11A) when they first turn on. This will cause a voltage dip until the transformer outside the house can adjust.  This is also why your vacuum doesn't cause the same issue even though it is drawing 10A as well.  It doesn't go from 0 to 10A instantly like a laser printer does, so the voltage has time to adjust to the power draw.



TheLostSwede said:


> That can't be normal, I have had multiple laser printers over the years and none have ever done anything like that. It might be because of a faulty power supply in it, or something else that's wrong.



It's pretty normal in countries with 110v power.  And it's become way more noticeable now that we live in a world of LED lights.


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## TheLostSwede (Nov 11, 2019)

newtekie1 said:


> It's pretty normal in countries with 110v power.  And it's become way more noticeable now that we live in a world of LED lights.


I live in a 115V country (110V isn't really used anywhere anymore, just like 220V) and only have LED lights, not having this issue when I fire up my Samsung laser printer.


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## The Egg (Nov 11, 2019)

FordGT90Concept said:


> Plug it in to a different circuit? ........  If power fluctuations on one circuit cause problems on another circuit...then the current coming into the panel might not be as strong as it needs to be.


The circuits aren't labeled at the breaker box, but I do know that the outlet for the A/C is isolated on its own circuit.  Powering up the printer on the A/C outlet does NOT cause issues on other circuits, so at least it's not crossing over.  Unfortunately the only two circuits which are reasonably accessible to the printer are also powering PCs, UPS's, and plenty of electronics.  Relocating the printer to a yet-further circuit isn't possible, and I'm also not going to run a 25ft+ extension cord.  At least not as a permanent solution.



oobymach said:


> A ups or a good line conditioner maybe? Any circuit with a big capacitor (see capacitive power supplies) would probably work.


Please explain further.  Googling "capacitive power supply" quickly got deep into electrical design discussion (over my head), and didn't really net any useful products.


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## Bill_Bright (Nov 11, 2019)

newtekie1 said:


> Laser printers have an insane initial power draw, but it isn't going to hurt anything because it happens so quickly.


^^^This^^^ 

If you look at your user guide on page 126, it says the instantaneous peak power consumption for your printer is 1,056W! So you are actually under. 



The Egg said:


> My wall meter only shows a max of 950 watts (8 amps), but apparently it's enough of a sudden jolt to momentarily set off multiple UPS's in my apartment and cause a change in the lights.


Setting off your other UPS and causing the lights to flicker would give me some concern (though not panic). You may just have the sensitivity on your UPS set too low. 

I recommend you make sure your apartment wiring is correct. Every home and every computer user should have access to a AC Outlet Tester to ensure your outlet is properly wired and grounded to Earth ground. I recommend one with a GFCI (ground fault circuit interrupt) indicator as it can be used to test bathroom and kitchen outlets (outlets near water) too. These testers can be found for your type and voltage outlet, foreign or domestic, (like this one for the UK) at most home improvement stores, or even the electrical department at Wal-Mart. Use it to test all the outlets in the home and if a fault is shown, report it to your apartment manager to have it fixed by a qualified electrician.

If all your outlets are properly wired, then I would not worry about it (and consider an ink jet next time if concerned).

BTW, almost every UPS I've seen says do NOT connect a laser printer to it - and that is just because of that initial power demand. Remember, toner is set by heat. And to keep owners from complaining about the excessive times needed to print the first page of print jobs, designers make sure they heat up quickly - and that takes a lot of power.


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## The Egg (Nov 11, 2019)

^ I do have an outlet tester, and checked everything shortly after moving in.  Aside from one of the outlets having hot & neutral reversed (now corrected), everything is good.  I have a long-standing disdain for inkjet printers, so that isn't happening.

It does seem like some sort of capacitor could be a solution (much like what you see in cars which have sound systems), but I don't know if such a thing exists for 120v AC, much less at any decent price.  The easiest hack solution is to plug into the A/C outlet with an extension cord and then unplug when not in use, but that's alot of screwing around.


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## Bill_Bright (Nov 11, 2019)

But you are suggesting solutions for a problem that really does not exist. As noted by your manual and your wall outlet meter, that printer is not drawing too much current.

Did you check the sensitivity settings for your other UPSs? I note on the APC UPS connected to this machine, I can easily adjust the sensitivity from its PowerChute monitoring program. For my older APC, there are DIP (tiny toggle) switches on the back I can easily change. 

You said you had one outlet that was wired with reversed polarity. I note such a configuration would automatically flip a circuit breaker, unless the ground wire was disconnected too. I am assuming that was corrected when the outlet was repaired, but I wonder if you other outlets have a proper path the Earth ground?


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## FordGT90Concept (Nov 11, 2019)

The Egg said:


> The circuits aren't labeled at the breaker box, but I do know that the outlet for the A/C is isolated on its own circuit.  Powering up the printer on the A/C outlet does NOT cause issues on other circuits, so at least it's not crossing over.  Unfortunately the only two circuits which are reasonably accessible to the printer are also powering PCs, UPS's, and plenty of electronics.  Relocating the printer to a yet-further circuit isn't possible, and I'm also not going to run a 25ft+ extension cord.  At least not as a permanent solution.


You're overloading the circuit.  You need to reduce the load on it one way or another.


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## Bill_Bright (Nov 11, 2019)

> Relocating the printer to a yet-further circuit isn't possible


The 2270DW is a wireless device. Moving it to a different, less loaded circuit may be your own option.


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## The Egg (Nov 11, 2019)

Bill_Bright said:


> But you are suggesting solutions for a problem that really does not exist. As noted by your manual and your wall outlet meter, that printer is not drawing too much current.
> 
> Did you check the sensitivity settings for your other UPSs? I note on the APC UPS connected to this machine, I can easily adjust the sensitivity from its PowerChute monitoring program. For my older APC, there are DIP (tiny toggle) switches on the back I can easily change.
> 
> You said you had one outlet that was wired with reversed polarity. I note such a configuration would automatically flip a circuit breaker, unless the ground wire was disconnected too. I am assuming that was corrected when the outlet was repaired, but I wonder if you other outlets have a proper path the Earth ground?


Yeah, but I don't really care whether it falls within the manual's spec.  I'm seeing undesired operation, and therefore it's a problem.  I have a significant amount of high-value electronics including audio equipment connected, and I don't want to add even the smallest risk of problems due to a printer.  All outlets have proper ground.


FordGT90Concept said:


> You're overloading the circuit.  You need to reduce the load on it one way or another.


As noted above, I've tested with virtually zero load, and still saw the same behavior.  It's not the overall load, otherwise the breaker would be popping.


Bill_Bright said:


> The 2270DW is a wireless device.


Indeed, but the other options are the bathroom or my bedroom.  I'd like to explore my other options and hear possible suggestions first.


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## FordGT90Concept (Nov 11, 2019)

The Egg said:


> It's not the overall load, otherwise the breaker would be popping.


Breaker could be defective but I doubt it because the problem isn't too much power, it's not enough.

I wonder if the breaker is actually too high for the cables installed in the wall.  If it is, that's a potential fire hazard.

Regardless, the easiest solution is to move it to a different circuit.  There might be two circuits in that room.  Like I said, use the breakers and a lamp to figure out which are wired to which.


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## Bill_Bright (Nov 11, 2019)

FordGT90Concept said:


> I wonder if the breaker is actually too high for the cables installed in the wall.


He's only pulling 8A. Even if his apartment is 50 years old, the code back then stated they all should handle 15A. 

This is just an annoyance. It is NOT a technical problem or safety issue. 


The Egg said:


> I have a significant amount of high-value electronics including audio equipment connected,


I understand. I live in Tornado Alley so I am very conscience about protecting my equipment from power anomalies too. That's why I have an UPS on all my computer and my home theater and big screen TV too. 

I'll ask again - did you check the sensitivity settings of your UPSs?

As far as other options, I don't see any other than (1) Locating the printer in your bedroom or (2) getting your landlord to add more outlets on new circuits, or (3) moving.


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## FordGT90Concept (Nov 11, 2019)

Bill_Bright said:


> He's only pulling 8A.


That's not taking into account everything else pulling on the circuit.


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## Bill_Bright (Nov 11, 2019)

Good point. How many outlets are on that one circuit and what is plugged into them?


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## thesmokingman (Nov 11, 2019)

Don't plug it into a UPS. 



			Recommendations for protecting a laser printer - APC USA


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## eidairaman1 (Nov 11, 2019)

thesmokingman said:


> Don't plug it into a UPS.
> 
> 
> 
> Recommendations for protecting a laser printer - APC USA



A printer isnt a critical part like a monitor/tower, nor are speakers


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## The Egg (Nov 11, 2019)

Bill_Bright said:


> I'll ask again - did you check the sensitivity settings of your UPSs?


Some (like the UPS for my home theater) aren't connected to a PC to allow for the adjustment.  In any case, my issue isn't so much that the UPS's are switching, but rather that they're detecting enough of a power anomaly to trigger them.  Loosening the sensitivty doesn't solve anything, it just masks it.

Anyhow, it feels like we keep going around in circles here.   I figured someone might have something to suggest, but if it's just going to be me trying to argue the merits of my concern, maybe this thread is done.


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## DeathtoGnomes (Nov 11, 2019)

an apartment 50 years old or so could have been remodeled at some point and had wiring updated. ONE way is to check is to pull an outlet and see what the wiring is wrapped with, if its 3 wire and wrapped in a white plastic, thats good to go.  after that talk to your landlord about this as there could problems farther up the line and a potential fire hazard


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## The Egg (Nov 11, 2019)

thesmokingman said:


> Don't plug it into a UPS.





eidairaman1 said:


> A printer isnt a critical part like a monitor/tower, nor are speakers


Ugh......

Well I guess I didn't explicitly say it:  The printer itself is not plugged into a UPS.  It's setting off other UPS's on the same circuit.


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## thesmokingman (Nov 11, 2019)

The Egg said:


> Ugh......
> 
> Well I guess I didn't explicitly say it:  The printer itself is not plugged into a UPS.  It's setting off other UPS's on the same circuit.



That's cuz you've over taxed the circuit. The UPS is responding to a brown out. Different circumstances, same annoying beeeps.


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## DeathtoGnomes (Nov 11, 2019)

that explains the lights dimming.


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## Bill_Bright (Nov 11, 2019)

The Egg said:


> Anyhow, it feels like we keep going around in circles here. I figured someone might have something to suggest, but if it's just going to be me trying to argue the merits of my concern, maybe this thread is done.


We are going around in circles. It is not about the merits of your concerns.  It is that you don't want to, or can't (because you don't own the place) accept any of the suggestions given. And that is due, in part, because you don't want to accept that this is no more than an annoyance. 

Your printer is NOT faulty. So there is nothing to fix there. You checked your outlets and they are all wired correctly. You don't own the place so you cannot add more circuits. 

I realize your UPS are not switching over to battery. But they apparently are detecting the anomaly (likely a low voltage event or sag), but its duration is too quick to flip to battery. But they are still alarming. Perhaps you can silence their alarms. I can via the software menus, or UPS front panel displays.  Or temporarily connect a computer and change the sensitivity.

If you don't want to do any of that - then yes, we are back full circle and it is time for you to move to a new place.


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## The Egg (Nov 11, 2019)

Bill_Bright said:


> Your printer is NOT faulty. So there is nothing to fix there.


Correct.  I never claimed the printer was "faulty", per se (notice how I've never mentioned replacing it).  It's simply causing a condition I don't care for (yes, mostly an annoyance) and was hoping someone with electrical knowledge might know of a way to mitigate that.  



Bill_Bright said:


> We are going around in circles. It is not about the merits of your concerns.  It is that you don't want to, or can't (because you don't own the place) accept any of the suggestions given.


What suggestions, exactly?  I haven't seen anything aside from "adjust the sensitvity on your UPS's", which does nothing to alleviate my actual concern; it just masks what's happening from being brought to my attention.  More or less putting my fingers in my ears and going "la-la-la-la-la".

I guess I've also seen "reduce the load on the circuit" a good 4-5 times, despite me repeating that I've tested with near-zero load (8 amps on a 15 or 20 amp circuit) in nearly every post.  I'm starting to feel like I'm stuck in a room with dementia patients.  Why don't we just lock the thread and call it done.


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## FordGT90Concept (Nov 11, 2019)

DeathtoGnomes said:


> that explains the lights dimming.


Uh huh and if the lights are on a separate circuit and they're dimming, then there's bigger problems.

Safety first!


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## R-T-B (Nov 12, 2019)

Bill_Bright said:


> Even if his apartment is 50 years old, the code back then stated they all should handle 15A.



Not entirely true.

I live in a house from that era at present.  At least in Washington, outlets intended for lighting (often but not always tied to a switch) were allowed to be wired for 10A.



DeathtoGnomes said:


> that explains the lights dimming.



Yes.  It's also a sign he's on a circuit wired under lighting 10Amp regulations PLUS running lighting load.  Couple that with an old tired breaker, and I could see 8 amps getting weird.


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## Bill_Bright (Nov 12, 2019)

R-T-B said:


> I live in a house from that era at present. At least in Washington, outlets intended for lighting (often but not always tied to a switch) were allowed to be wired for 10A.


Wow. That's low. I knew in older homes that was possible but not from the late 60's. I failed to follow my own advise and do my homework.   The NEC standards were not implemented nationwide until the 70s. Thanks.
Still, 8A is under 10A and "should" not be a problem, "assuming" (and I know that's a bad word too) all is in good repair. The outlet checker, while not 100% conclusive, is pretty close. It, at lease would detect a bad (or missing) ground and reverse polarity.


> and was hoping someone with electrical knowledge might know of a way to mitigate that.


Well, you can follow the link in my sig and see that I do have a little experience.

The problem, again, with us not being able to offer you any satisfactory solutions to mitigate your concern is there does not appear to be any real problem that needs mitigating.


The Egg said:


> What suggestions, exactly? I haven't seen anything aside from "adjust the sensitvity on your UPS's"
> I guess I've also seen "reduce the load on the circuit"


You haven't seen any? 

We suggested redistributing the load on the circuit - you've checked that.
We suggested making sure the printer is not connected to a UPS - you said it was not.
We suggested connecting the printer to a good surge and spike protector - no response provided.
We suggested checking your outlet wiring - you did that.
We suggested changing the sensitivity of the UPS - you refuse to even give it try despite the fact UPS manuals state scenarios like this is one of the reasons for such sensitivity settings.
We suggested moving the printer to another room in the house - you don't want to do that or, apparently, even try it in the bedroom to see if it helps.
We suggested moving the printer to a different circuit - you said that is not possible.
We suggested a ink jet - you refuse to even consider it.
We suggested adding circuits - not possible as you don't own the place.
We suggested just moving.
And now, when you don't hear what you want to hear (in part, because you have your fingers stuck in your ears while you go "la-la-la-la-la" ), you insinuate we are a bunch of dementia patients not listening to you!

So I see no reason we should be wasting any more of our valuable volunteer free time trying to help when our efforts are not appreciated and our words fall on fingers that are blocking deaf ears.

Good luck with your "problem". I sincerely do hope you are able to resolve it.


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## newtekie1 (Nov 12, 2019)

We missed the suggestion that he put the printer on a good surge protector.  That helped greatly in my home built in the 1960s.

But in the end, you're right, there is no problem.  The voltage is likely sagging to maybe 100v, at the worst 90v, and any piece of equipment that is manufactured at least half way decently is not going to be damaged by dipping to those voltages for a fraction of a second.  In fact, the power supplies in any equipment should have a hold up time that is easily long enough to handle that minor of a dip.


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## Bill_Bright (Nov 12, 2019)

newtekie1 said:


> We missed the suggestion that he put the printer on a good surge protector.


Added. Thanks.


newtekie1 said:


> The voltage is likely sagging to maybe 100v, at the worst 90v


This is an important point too. I note in PowerChute, my monitoring program for the APC on this UPS, I can change the high and low voltages where the UPS "intervenes". So simply changing that to 88V could make a difference too. Not on the lights flickering, of course. But on the UPS alarming.

So suggestion number 11. Lower the low voltage threshold for UPS intervention.


newtekie1 said:


> In fact, the power supplies in any equipment should have a hold up time that is easily long enough to handle that minor of a dip.


It should be noted that ATX compliant computer power supplies are required to "hold up" output voltages for any outage (or sag below 90VAC) that has a duration of at least 17ms.


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## The Egg (Nov 12, 2019)

Bill_Bright said:


> You haven't seen any?
> _(List)_


Thing is, those 9 things aren't actually solutions.  They either fall under "testing the building", aren't viable (moving, rewiring), or don't actually solve anything (silencing the UPS's).  Yes, moving to a different circuit isolates the issue (I mentioned testing on the A/C circuit multiple times), and no, I'd prefer not to locate the printer in my bedroom or run an extension cord.  You can imagine I was already aware I could do those things before creating the thread, and decided to seek out other options.



Bill_Bright said:


> The problem, again, with us not being able to offer you any satisfactory solutions to mitigate your concern is there does not appear to be any real problem that needs mitigating


You do realize that's just your opinion?  Lets say you had 20k of sensitive audio equipment.  Would you be comfortable with me connecting my printer to the same circuit and firing it up while all your stuff is going?  It's a problem if I say it's a problem.  This is all my equipment, and the behavior is not desirable regardless of what the printer's spec sheet says.



Bill_Bright said:


> So I see no reason we should be wasting any more of our valuable volunteer free time trying to help...


I get it.  I've been a regular at many forums for a long time before I came to TPU, generally doing much more answering than the asking.  At the same time, you have to understand that it's quite frustrating to see multiple people continue to state the obvious, repeat the same thing ("reduce the load on the circuit", after it's been clearly refuted multiple times), or tell me "you don't have a problem" when that's my call to make.   I _DO_ appreciate everyone's time, but we're not really getting anywhere productive.


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## Bill_Bright (Nov 12, 2019)

> You do realize that's just your opinion?


It is not my opinion. It is a technical fact. You tested your printer and you found for yourself, that it is NOT demanding too much current. You tested your outlets and claim they are properly wired.

Just because it is YOUR opinion that it is a "problem", "technically" speaking, it is not.

If your car is rated to get 25mpg and it is getting 27mpg, it is NOT a "problem" (technically speaking) just because you want it to get 30mpg. 



> Lets say you had 20k of sensitive audio equipment.  Would you be comfortable with me connecting my printer to the same circuit and firing it up while all your stuff is going?


Audiophile quality audio reproduction equipment was my first love as a technician in consumer electronics, long before I got into computers. It is still a very close second. If my ears were not 67 years old and I didn't work next to a military flightline (and very loud jet engines) for 24+ years, it would still be #1.

I don't have $20K of sensitive audio equipment but believe it or not, if you include my speakers and my OLED TV, I come pretty close to $20K. And no I would not be comfortable connecting a laser printer to the same circuit. So *I WOULDN'T DO IT! *

Just like I would not connect my coffee pot, refrigerator, microwave oven or toaster to that circuit either. 

So my advice and suggestion to you is, *DON'T DO IT! *

I get that you are in a pickle here. You love your laser printer and I don't blame you. But you don't own your home and you don't have the luxury of being able to put all your electronics on their own isolated circuits. So what are your options? (1) Get an ink jet. (2) Move. (3) Learn to live with it. 

It does not matter to me which of those 3 you do. But for sure, blaming your frustration and lack of getting anything productive out of this discussion on us, when clearly it is you refusing to accept the advice and suggestions "multiple people" in this thread have offered, really just is not cool. It is not our fault you choose to live where you do. It is not our fault you insist on using a power-hungry laser printing device. And it is not our fault you have $20K of sensitive audio gear on the same circuits. 

I feel your pain. I really do! And I wish we could change your scenario, or change your mind. It is clear we can do neither. But that is not our fault either.


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## dorsetknob (Nov 12, 2019)

Bill_Bright said:


> I get that you are in a pickle here. You love your laser printer and I don't blame you. But you don't own your home and you don't have the luxury of being able to put all your electronics on their own isolated circuits. So what are your options? (1) Get an ink jet. (2) Move. (3) Learn to live with it.


 He Could Buy a 1KVA Stand by Gen just for his printer  no one has Suggested that


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## newtekie1 (Nov 12, 2019)

The Egg said:


> It's a problem if I say it's a problem.



No, it's not.


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## hurakura (Nov 12, 2019)

get an extension cord and plug it into your neighbours wall socket.


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## The Egg (Nov 12, 2019)

The Egg said:


> It's a problem if I say it's a problem.





newtekie1 said:


> No, it's not.


Well that settles it then.  These inanimate objects weren't put here (by me) just to behave as I'd like them to.  So long as the numbers in the manual say it's performing within spec, I need to change my opinion and desired behavior to conform to that.  Problem solved.  Thanks everyone.


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## Bill_Bright (Nov 12, 2019)

The Egg said:


> I need to change my opinion and desired behavior to conform to that


That's just a fact of life and life lesson I'm afraid.  Adapt and overcome, or don't adapt and fail.


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## The Egg (Nov 12, 2019)

I have seen the light (‘s flicker).


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## Bill_Bright (Nov 12, 2019)

LOL


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## Grog6 (Nov 12, 2019)

You said it worked if it was on the AC plug.

Can you work out a timesharing approach to using that plug? 
Not having the AC on when you use the printer?

Otherwise, the thing to do is figure out the loads on all the circuits you have, and combine the sensetive loads on one or two circuits, leaving the lighting loads, and things like the microwave or stove on the one you use with the Printer.

If you can get it on a circuit with nothing else but lights, then it will work out.


The reason the printer uses a bunch of power when you power it on is it's heating up the fusor unit; the little oven-like section that fuses the toner to the paper.
If that unit goes out, the toner will form letters, but will blow off like dust; I've fixed those before, lol.

There's also a High Voltage power supply that charges up, that puts the static charge on the toner drum, but that's minimal.

It also cycles all the feed motors around, looking for errors; those use a fair amount of power too, and they usually are sequenced, except on startup; they want to know in 10 seconds or so if something wrong.

Good luck with it! 

There's usually a plug on the stove; it draws from one leg of the 220V stove power usually, so it's a good heavy use outlet, if you have one.
That's what I plug power tools into; mine is fused for 15A, so it's a good one.


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## ambercapuchin (Jan 29, 2021)

The Egg said:


> I have seen the light (‘s flicker).


Hey there. I see you've been gaslighted into believing laser printers are supposed to make lights flicker as well. I've been searching this same issue lately and I've concluded that laser printer manufacturers don't want to spend the extra cash on "edge case" customers. The idea being if you spend serious dollars on a printer you'll be in an office with high current capability. We are not worth adding $10 in components and 3 seconds to warm-up time to their printers. Luckily, I built a tube amp in junior college electronics class... (why the "pro's" here are hypnotized by Brother idk)
If you want to design your own cheaply: https://www.instructables.com/Soft-Starter-Inrush-Current-Limiter-for-AC-and-DC-/
If you want to buy a super cheap one-off that might work: https://www.amazon.com/Hitachi-371468-Soft-Start-C10Rj/dp/B07DTBTS9D
Plug it in, it go:https://www.raymondinnovations.com/products/c10

Figure out what your peak draw is on that stupid beast, find a combination of thermister/cap/inductor that get's you to 75% of that and make it adjustable by 25% with a simple potentiometer. watch your printer slow down when it needs to heat powder to goo by a noticeable amount. yay win. c10 is uL listed if you want to do the safe thing. 

Cheers!


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## lexluthermiester (Jan 29, 2021)

The Egg said:


> Hey Guys.  I have a small laser printer (Brother HL-2270DW) which has an uncomfortable amount of initial current draw when first powered on.  My wall meter only shows a max of 950 watts (8 amps), but apparently it's enough of a sudden jolt to momentarily set off multiple UPS's in my apartment and cause a change in the lights.  It's also very likely that my wall meter isn't refreshing fast enough to show the true momentary max draw (the spec sheet says it updates only once per second).  Separately, a Dyson vacuum measuring 10 amps at the wall does NOT cause the same problem, though it appears to take a few seconds to ramp up to full draw.
> 
> I'm in a 50-60 year old building, but I expect the wiring is fairly decent.  The breaker panels look brand new (though they were changed before I got here 10 years ago), so some amount of updating has been done relatively recently.  I have a 100 amp main to my unit, and a mixture of 15 and 20 amp circuits.  The printer will cause this behavior even when there is near-zero load elsewhere.
> 
> In any case, in-wall wiring is beyond my control, so please don't suggest nonsense like telling the landlord to gut and re-wire the whole building.  Barring that, is there any sort of relatively cheap/easy method to buffer the brief initial current draw??


Get yourself a quality UPS and plug the printer into it alone. This will instantly solve your problem as most quality UPS units act as a buffer between the devices they power and the wall power.


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## Frick (Jan 29, 2021)

Woo necroing.



ambercapuchin said:


> We are not worth adding $10 in components and 3 seconds to warm-up time to their printers.



This is, perhaps sadly, correct. You're not worth it. But yeah someone probably should have mentioned inrush current limiters. It's a solved problem. I have no idea how it would affect the printer (longer warm up time?) though.



The Egg said:


> The circuits aren't labeled at the breaker box,



I don't know what the rules say where you live, but this is really, really terrible and should absolutely be sorted out by the landlord. It's such a basic thing.


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## Bill_Bright (Jan 29, 2021)

lexluthermiester said:


> Get yourself a quality UPS and plug the printer into it alone.


@lexluthermiester - Please note first, the OP's post you quoted was from way back in Nov 20*19*. The brand new poster prior to you suspiciously necroed this long dormant thread with his one and only post - long after the OP's problem was resolved. 

Second, I note laser printers should not be connected to a UPS. Most if not all UPS makers advise against connecting a laser printer to a UPS due to their excessive current demands. And some warn doing so can damage the UPS and *void the warranty*. For example, as noted in the CyberPower FAQs,



> Can I Connect My UPS to a Laser Jet Printer?​FAQ Category: UPS
> 
> Laser printers use a very high amount of power and can easily overload your UPS. Overloads of this type can damage your UPS. As such we ask that you do not plug laser printers in to the battery backed outlets of the UPS.
> 
> ...



APC FAQ include similar advice, 


> *Issue:*
> 
> What are APC's recommendations for protecting Laser Printers?
> 
> ...



In fact, the APC FAQ goes on to say,


> ...the high current draw of a Laser Printer can "sag" the utility line causing low voltage situations. The Laser Printer should not be plugged into a UPS's Battery Outlets *OR *in to its Surge Only Outlets. These low voltage situations may cause an APC Back-UPS to transfer to battery operation repeatedly, eventually exhausting the unit's internal battery unnecessarily.
> 
> If you must use a UPS with a Laser Printer it is important to size your UPS appropriately.
> 
> We do not recommend the use of Back-UPS products with a laser printer.



I note the Back-UPS series is one of their most popular lines commonly used by home users due to their more affordable prices. The Back-UPS series is great for computers and network gear, but not laser printing devices. 

As I noted back in 2019 in this thread for the OP's laser printer,


Bill_Bright said:


> If you look at your user guide on page 126, it says the instantaneous peak power consumption for your printer is 1,056W!



1056 Watts is a huge amount! Using the standard watts to voltamps conversion formula (W = VA x PF or VA = W/PF) where PF is .6 (unless otherwise specified), it would require a massive UPS of  at least 1760VA. A quality UPS of that size would be expensive just for the printer. 

Therefore, as recommended back in 2019, the better solution is to use a quality UPS on the computer and network equipment, protecting the computer from power anomalies from all sources, not just the laser printer.


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## Jism (Jan 29, 2021)

Yeah, i was about to write it, but in worst case you can blow the fets inside your UPS that could leave some nasty smoke or even fire if the UPS is bad already.

Switch printer then; if the startup current is such a issue. We have a Aircon here as well; we use it for heating (reversed). Once the compressor starts up it pretty much dampens the whole house in relation of surge.


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## Bill_Bright (Jan 29, 2021)

Jism said:


> Switch printer then


 Again, the OPs problem was resolved long ago! This necroed thread needs to die - again.


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