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August 14 Information
Fan speed controls
Sometimes you look closely at something familiar, and a small detail gets you to wondering. I have three electric fans, each a different model, size, design and manufacturer. On all of them, the speed controller goes OFF • HIGH • MEDIUM • LOW. Why this order? It seems more logical that the controller would gradually step up the speed. →
Michael JⓉⒸⓂ01:44, 14 August 2012 (UTC)reply
I remember reading or being told that it's better for the motor to switch from off to high, but I don't know enough details to back that up. Here are some things I've found online:
Because most people will use the high setting in normal occasions, so it saves time and wristwear? Bavi's answer seems quite likely.
μηδείς (
talk)
02:06, 14 August 2012 (UTC)reply
I have a certain room in the house that is hot due to sun exposure, and almost always run a fan when I am in it. I always turn the fan to high to get it up to speed, rather than hear it labor at low speed, but usually turn it down to low if I run it more than a minute or so.
μηδείς (
talk)
03:29, 14 August 2012 (UTC)reply
I don't know if this is related, but I was told by a gas fitter to put my gas fire on the High setting immediately after switching it on, so that the flue would warm up: apparently it works better when warmer. I wonder if the "works better if warmed up" principle applies to this question too? --
TammyMoet (
talk)
08:45, 14 August 2012 (UTC)reply
The exhaust fan in our oven goes to high first too. Our ceiling fans go to the current setting (same thing in the car). It might depend on how much torque is required for that fan compared to the size of the motor.
Bubba73You talkin' to me?13:47, 17 August 2012 (UTC)reply
From memory, all fans I've ever used in both Malaysia and New Zealand actually went from off to low speeds to high speeds or had a continous dial (so you couldn't say which direction it went) or had the speed seperate from the off or had buttons for speed rather then a dial (although even then the other would normally be off to low speed to high speed).
Nil Einne (
talk)
03:11, 15 August 2012 (UTC)reply
Drama - Villa for Sale
While reading the drama - 'Villa for Sale' written by
Sacha Guitry, I didn't got the meaning of two sentences. Those sentences are -
"On earth" is an expletive: see
wikt:on earth. "What on earth" just means "what", but with added emphasis. Semantically, it is saying "what (including extreme possibilities that might be found in extreme places)?"
If "what are you driving at" puzzles you, that phrase driving at could be replaced with getting at, or (less commonly) digging at. The question means: what fact is the speaker trying to establish? Less literally, it means "what do you mean?"
Card Zero (talk)14:27, 14 August 2012 (UTC)reply
"What on earth...?" is a generic and much politer thing to say than "What in hell...?" or similar such stuff. It also has extensions, such as, "What on God's green earth...?" etc. — Preceding
unsigned comment added by
Baseball Bugs (
talk •
contribs)
23:43, 14 August 2012 (UTC)reply
I'm not sure why "fuck" in that phrase takes the definite article, as if there was only one fuck. (It might be a partially-
minced oath, to avoid mention of the devil?) It's not usual for "hell", for that matter, to take the definite article (which would produce go to the hell!), although "the" is usually put in front of "earth". Yet there's no "what the earth?" phrase. WTE?
Card Zero (talk)17:21, 15 August 2012 (UTC)reply
I've read lots of Oliver Sacks, and studiously avoided Steven Pinker. I've probably mentioned before now a documentary I saw once in which the surface of a patient's brain was stimulated in such a way as to produce either involuntary laughter or involuntary swear words, as if the two things were nearly the same. (This seems off-topic, although the topic was already off-topic, so I'll just STFU.)
Card Zero (talk)09:28, 16 August 2012 (UTC)reply
I'm in the US where we have 120 volt A/C. I want to get a lamp made in the UK that is designed for their 220-250 volts. There are simple adapters so I can plug the UK plug into a US socket, but won't the lamp be about half as bright as I do that? If so, a voltage converter will make it work correctly, right?
Bubba73You talkin' to me?23:40, 14 August 2012 (UTC)reply
In general, yes, you would need a device which has a
transformer in it to convert from 120v to 240v AC for the lamp to work as designed. However if the lamp is a simple one that uses incandescent bulbs and has no other electronics, I wonder if it might be possible to replace or adapt the light-bulb socket to take a US-bulb (light-bulbs in th UK typically use a
bayonet-style fitting and will only produce the intended light-level at 240v).
Dave w74 (
talk)
06:48, 15 August 2012 (UTC)reply
It depends on the type of lamp. For a constant resistance, you would expect the lamp to be about a quarter as bright (because it would draw only half the current, and light output is (very roughly) proportional to power (watts = volts x amps)). In reality, the resistance of an incandescent lamp increases with temperature, so the power will be slightly more than a quarter. The lamp will be almost useless at 120 v because it will glow only dimly, and will give out more heat than light. Many US households do have 240v available, but not on lighting circuits. Employ an electrician to provide you with a 240v lighting outlet. A "voltage converter" might solve your problem if it is designed to handle the power of the lamp (transformers are the traditional method, but
Switched-mode power supply voltage converters might also work. If your lamp if of the fluorescent type, it may already contain switched-mode circuitry, and unpredictable effects often result when connecting two such circuits. For safety and economic reasons, I would advise you not to try this -- I've blown switch-mode circuitry in the past.
Dbfirs07:03, 15 August 2012 (UTC)reply
In that case, a simple 1:2 transformer (rated 100w or whatever your lava lamp is rated) or a switched-mode converter with appropriate rating should be OK. How easy is it in the USA to access the 240v supply (center-earthed)? Is it legal there to wire this to a British-style power outlet (13a socket)? (UK appliances are designed for 240v which is the actual supply voltage in most areas.) I assume that your lava lamp will be "double-insulated" (look for a square inside a square symbol) so that you needn't worry about earthing.
Dbfirs07:42, 16 August 2012 (UTC)reply
We have 240 volt A/C into houses in the US, but only big appliances use it. The stove, the oven, and probably the air conditioner, but these are all hard-wired (in our house, at least). The clothes dryer also uses 240V and it has a big three- or four-pronged plug. So it is not easy to access the 240V - the only jack for it is in the laundry room.
Bubba73You talkin' to me?15:53, 16 August 2012 (UTC)reply
Yes, I can see that it would not be worthwhile getting British-style sockets installed unless you wanted to use lots of British appliances (and it might be illegal anyway -- regulations in the UK have become much stricter over recent years -- do you still have the freedom to install your own wiring in your own house?)
Dbfirs21:22, 16 August 2012 (UTC)reply
Yes, we do. Except that when a new house is being built or something else that requires a building permit (say extensive remodeling), a licensed electrician is required then (may depend on the locality).
Bubba73You talkin' to me?13:49, 17 August 2012 (UTC)reply
Welcome to the Wikipedia Miscellaneous Reference Desk Archives
The page you are currently viewing is an archive page. While you can leave answers for any questions shown below, please ask new questions on one of the
current reference desk pages.
August 14 Information
Fan speed controls
Sometimes you look closely at something familiar, and a small detail gets you to wondering. I have three electric fans, each a different model, size, design and manufacturer. On all of them, the speed controller goes OFF • HIGH • MEDIUM • LOW. Why this order? It seems more logical that the controller would gradually step up the speed. →
Michael JⓉⒸⓂ01:44, 14 August 2012 (UTC)reply
I remember reading or being told that it's better for the motor to switch from off to high, but I don't know enough details to back that up. Here are some things I've found online:
Because most people will use the high setting in normal occasions, so it saves time and wristwear? Bavi's answer seems quite likely.
μηδείς (
talk)
02:06, 14 August 2012 (UTC)reply
I have a certain room in the house that is hot due to sun exposure, and almost always run a fan when I am in it. I always turn the fan to high to get it up to speed, rather than hear it labor at low speed, but usually turn it down to low if I run it more than a minute or so.
μηδείς (
talk)
03:29, 14 August 2012 (UTC)reply
I don't know if this is related, but I was told by a gas fitter to put my gas fire on the High setting immediately after switching it on, so that the flue would warm up: apparently it works better when warmer. I wonder if the "works better if warmed up" principle applies to this question too? --
TammyMoet (
talk)
08:45, 14 August 2012 (UTC)reply
The exhaust fan in our oven goes to high first too. Our ceiling fans go to the current setting (same thing in the car). It might depend on how much torque is required for that fan compared to the size of the motor.
Bubba73You talkin' to me?13:47, 17 August 2012 (UTC)reply
From memory, all fans I've ever used in both Malaysia and New Zealand actually went from off to low speeds to high speeds or had a continous dial (so you couldn't say which direction it went) or had the speed seperate from the off or had buttons for speed rather then a dial (although even then the other would normally be off to low speed to high speed).
Nil Einne (
talk)
03:11, 15 August 2012 (UTC)reply
Drama - Villa for Sale
While reading the drama - 'Villa for Sale' written by
Sacha Guitry, I didn't got the meaning of two sentences. Those sentences are -
"On earth" is an expletive: see
wikt:on earth. "What on earth" just means "what", but with added emphasis. Semantically, it is saying "what (including extreme possibilities that might be found in extreme places)?"
If "what are you driving at" puzzles you, that phrase driving at could be replaced with getting at, or (less commonly) digging at. The question means: what fact is the speaker trying to establish? Less literally, it means "what do you mean?"
Card Zero (talk)14:27, 14 August 2012 (UTC)reply
"What on earth...?" is a generic and much politer thing to say than "What in hell...?" or similar such stuff. It also has extensions, such as, "What on God's green earth...?" etc. — Preceding
unsigned comment added by
Baseball Bugs (
talk •
contribs)
23:43, 14 August 2012 (UTC)reply
I'm not sure why "fuck" in that phrase takes the definite article, as if there was only one fuck. (It might be a partially-
minced oath, to avoid mention of the devil?) It's not usual for "hell", for that matter, to take the definite article (which would produce go to the hell!), although "the" is usually put in front of "earth". Yet there's no "what the earth?" phrase. WTE?
Card Zero (talk)17:21, 15 August 2012 (UTC)reply
I've read lots of Oliver Sacks, and studiously avoided Steven Pinker. I've probably mentioned before now a documentary I saw once in which the surface of a patient's brain was stimulated in such a way as to produce either involuntary laughter or involuntary swear words, as if the two things were nearly the same. (This seems off-topic, although the topic was already off-topic, so I'll just STFU.)
Card Zero (talk)09:28, 16 August 2012 (UTC)reply
I'm in the US where we have 120 volt A/C. I want to get a lamp made in the UK that is designed for their 220-250 volts. There are simple adapters so I can plug the UK plug into a US socket, but won't the lamp be about half as bright as I do that? If so, a voltage converter will make it work correctly, right?
Bubba73You talkin' to me?23:40, 14 August 2012 (UTC)reply
In general, yes, you would need a device which has a
transformer in it to convert from 120v to 240v AC for the lamp to work as designed. However if the lamp is a simple one that uses incandescent bulbs and has no other electronics, I wonder if it might be possible to replace or adapt the light-bulb socket to take a US-bulb (light-bulbs in th UK typically use a
bayonet-style fitting and will only produce the intended light-level at 240v).
Dave w74 (
talk)
06:48, 15 August 2012 (UTC)reply
It depends on the type of lamp. For a constant resistance, you would expect the lamp to be about a quarter as bright (because it would draw only half the current, and light output is (very roughly) proportional to power (watts = volts x amps)). In reality, the resistance of an incandescent lamp increases with temperature, so the power will be slightly more than a quarter. The lamp will be almost useless at 120 v because it will glow only dimly, and will give out more heat than light. Many US households do have 240v available, but not on lighting circuits. Employ an electrician to provide you with a 240v lighting outlet. A "voltage converter" might solve your problem if it is designed to handle the power of the lamp (transformers are the traditional method, but
Switched-mode power supply voltage converters might also work. If your lamp if of the fluorescent type, it may already contain switched-mode circuitry, and unpredictable effects often result when connecting two such circuits. For safety and economic reasons, I would advise you not to try this -- I've blown switch-mode circuitry in the past.
Dbfirs07:03, 15 August 2012 (UTC)reply
In that case, a simple 1:2 transformer (rated 100w or whatever your lava lamp is rated) or a switched-mode converter with appropriate rating should be OK. How easy is it in the USA to access the 240v supply (center-earthed)? Is it legal there to wire this to a British-style power outlet (13a socket)? (UK appliances are designed for 240v which is the actual supply voltage in most areas.) I assume that your lava lamp will be "double-insulated" (look for a square inside a square symbol) so that you needn't worry about earthing.
Dbfirs07:42, 16 August 2012 (UTC)reply
We have 240 volt A/C into houses in the US, but only big appliances use it. The stove, the oven, and probably the air conditioner, but these are all hard-wired (in our house, at least). The clothes dryer also uses 240V and it has a big three- or four-pronged plug. So it is not easy to access the 240V - the only jack for it is in the laundry room.
Bubba73You talkin' to me?15:53, 16 August 2012 (UTC)reply
Yes, I can see that it would not be worthwhile getting British-style sockets installed unless you wanted to use lots of British appliances (and it might be illegal anyway -- regulations in the UK have become much stricter over recent years -- do you still have the freedom to install your own wiring in your own house?)
Dbfirs21:22, 16 August 2012 (UTC)reply
Yes, we do. Except that when a new house is being built or something else that requires a building permit (say extensive remodeling), a licensed electrician is required then (may depend on the locality).
Bubba73You talkin' to me?13:49, 17 August 2012 (UTC)reply