Laser Printers May Require a Dedicated Electrical Circuit

I work from home and have 2 computers, a Brother MFC 8640 fax, modem, and a LCD TV. When both computers are running and the fax machine comes on to print it surges power and shuts down my computers… © By: Dave Rongey

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Home Office Equipment and Electrical Power Requirements
[ad#block]Question: I work from home and have 2 computers, a Brother MFC 8640 fax, modem, and a LCD TV. When both computers are running and the fax machine comes on to print it surges power and shuts down my computers. Both computers are plugged into the same surge protector that is plugged into a UPS. The Fax machine is plugged into a separate surge protector, and plugged into a different outlet. What can I do to stop the surge from shutting my computers off?

This electrical question came from: Rosalie, a Homeowner from Arlington, TX
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Additional Comments: I have found a lot of useful help with outlet wiring! Thank you so much!!

Dave’s Reply:
Thanks for your electrical question Rosalie.
Rosalie, the Brother MFC 8640 is a Laser Copier which consumes 1090 watts of power when it is in the copy mode. The outlet circuit in your home office is either a 15 or 20 amp circuit which is being shared by your computers and the LCD TV which can require a lot of power as well, so you can see that your circuit is getting maxed out. My suggestion is to install a separate circuit for the Brother 8640 laser printer or consider replacing the laser copier with an ink jet type printer. I’ll bet that Brother makes a fine all in one ink jet printer unit that would take care of all your needs, otherwise look into other brands. Most laser printers and laser copiers are high consumers of electricity whereas ink jet printers comparatively lower power consumers and still produce high quality copies.

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