20" iMac G5 2Ghz blows my circuit breaker!

[sethypoo]

I'm just curious to see if anyone else is having this problem.

I recently bought a 20" iMac G5. I tried plugging it directly into the wall, and then into a UPS system (a battery backup), but whenever I wake the computer from sleep or turn it on after a complete shut down, it flips my circuit breaker in my apartment.

Now, when this happens, I usually only have one or two lights on in my apartment. I'm not running a vacuum or my microwave, or even my TV, so the strain on the circuit is not great at all. I find this very strange since the iMac is supposed to be Energy Star compliant. Any advice, or is this just a fact of life?

 

[MacFan25863]

Is there another circuit you could try it on? You may have a defective breaker.

 

[CanadaRAM]

You need to get an electrician in. There is something wrong with this scenario. If the iMac were faulty to the extent of shorting the mains, it wouldn't run. If it were drawing over about 15 amps it would throw the breaker on the UPS or powerbar.

iMac spec: Maximum continuous power: 180W -- that's like 2 lightbulbs worth.

You must have a problem where your electrical circuit is blowing at excessively low amps. Either that or the iMac power supply has a extremely odd defect that momentarily draws a ton of juice before the computer starts. Is the back of the machine hot?

 

[sethypoo]

You need to get an electrician in. There is something wrong with this scenario. If the iMac were faulty to the extent of shorting the mains, it wouldn't run. If it were drawing over about 15 amps it would throw the breaker on the UPS or powerbar.

iMac spec: Maximum continuous power: 180W -- that's like 2 lightbulbs worth.

You must have a problem where your electrical circuit is blowing at excessively low amps. Either that or the iMac power supply has a extremely odd defect that momentarily draws a ton of juice before the computer starts. Is the back of the machine hot?

The back of the iMac gets a little warm when I'm rendering video or encoding a DVD for awhile, but not that "hot."

I'm going to call an electrician. Or, actually, the management. Hopefully they'll be able to help me out.

 

[sethypoo]

I think I'm going to try plugging in my microwave into the same outlet the computer is plugged into, to see if the microwave blows the circuit. That should tell me whether or not its the iMac or the circuit breaker. I'll post the result when I get back to my apartment.

 

[CanadaRAM]

The back of the iMac gets a little warm when I'm rendering video or encoding a DVD for awhile, but not that "hot."

If your Mac were drawing enough to throw a properly functioning breaker, it would be hot - as in hot like a small space heater - until it burned up.

A typical breaker is 15 Amps, or 1700 Watts. A heater that heats a room up is 1500 Watts. You'd notice...