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Thread ID: 111595	2010-08-03 06:15:00	Power Surges	wainuitech (129)	PC World Chat

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
1124248	2010-08-03 06:15:00	Must be that time of the month/Year . So far since the weekend had SIX people call all with the same problems (and its only Tuesday) -- UPS's crapping them selves due to massive power whacks, and three blown PSU's that didn't have good surge protection . Not all the same brand - One common Statement from the people --- OH we have had a series of power outages/surges ever since the weekend . This is ranging from Wellington to Upper Hutt . Poor courier -- damn heavy objects :D	wainuitech (129)
1124249	2010-08-03 06:39:00	What UPS would you recommend if someone were to ask you this question?	Renmoo (66)
1124250	2010-08-03 07:08:00	I use both liebert and APC. Three of the ones that blew were over five years old that I supplied (lieberts), so they have lasted well - the others I have not supplied and the people have no idea as to the brands,all they have said is basically a heavy Black box that the power cords plug into. Not expensive UPS's only about $250 -$300 -- But they have done their jobs, rather fry the PC due to a massive surge, the UPS blows saving the PC and other expensive equipment attached. One lady said her Microwave and one radio died in the surge, and the UPS had a "hot" smell after-wards and was completely dead, so she turned it off at the wall and unplugged it. We had surges here as well, all 8 of ours went off -- What a racket!!	wainuitech (129)
1124251	2010-08-03 07:13:00	I use both liebert and APC. Three of the ones that blew were over five years old that I supplied (lieberts), so they have lasted well - the others I have not supplied and the people have no idea as to the brands,all they have said is basically a heavy Black box that the power cords plug into. Not expensive UPS's only about $250 -$300 -- But they have done their jobs, rather fry the PC due to a massive surge, the UPS blows saving the PC and other expensive equipment attached. So is a Belkin power surge protector multi board good enough? Sometimes we get the occasional power flick in Taupo. LL	lakewoodlady (103)
1124252	2010-08-03 07:18:00	laptops = Screwed, not many people carry surge protectors around with their lappys!	The Error Guy (14052)
1124253	2010-08-03 07:24:00	I will, from now on! LL	lakewoodlady (103)
1124254	2010-08-03 08:28:00	people do tend to forget to fit spike protectors before the UPS. the other old trick was the first spike kills the surge protector, they replace the fuse, then 2nd spike kills the appliance as the spike protector is no longer working.	tweak'e (69)
1124255	2010-08-03 08:41:00	So is a Belkin power surge protector multi board good enough? Sometimes we get the occasional power flick in Taupo . LL Generally Speaking Belkin are OK as a straight surge protector . Personally I would rather use a UPS, which has a battery backup . Mainly because if you have a power cut, or brown out (power drop), the battery will kick in and supply clean power to the PC . This means if the power goes out, the PC wont suddenly shut down and possibly corrupt data etc . laptops are slightly different as they have a battery anyway, but still advised to have surge protection . The battery back up on a UPS is only meant to last long enough to safely shut down the PC, not keep it going for hours on end . The expensive UPS's and I mean in the thousands will run a lot longer (for dedicated servers etc) Any good Surge protection will generally cost a little more = hopefully better quality . Any surge protection can fail after taking a reasonable hit . What "Should happen" is with good surge protection, the over load should trip, breaking the power flow, in the event of a GOOD hit, the onboard circuits should blow if the overload fails - meaning the protection gets fried, but still breaks the power -- no good if they let damaging current through and fry the PC . One example I show people who dont really know what a UPS does, is attach one, then pull the power cord out the wall, swirling the plug about in circles -- they normally go :eek: But then release the PC is still running sweet as, all the time the UPS is beeping away . :)	wainuitech (129)
1124256	2010-08-05 08:30:00	Domestic surge protectors do not handle voltage "surges" at all well. They are principally designed to deal with short duration switching transients or "spikes" and they can only handle a limited number of those before they lose their effectiveness. The problem is that you can never know how many spikes have hit it. I deal with power quality issues professionally and for poor power quality affecting industrial computers and other sensitive equipment I install a special filter with the ability to absorb a huge number of spikes. This unit displays a green light that goes out when the last level of protection has failed, and it also has power conditioning that can deal with modest voltage surges. That unit costs around $500 trade, so what chance does a cheap 'surge protector' have of providing adequate protection? Typical mains voltage surges do not usually cause problems as most equipment can stand short term increases of up to 255-260 volts rms (360-370 volts peak), unless they are caused by accidents such as car vs pole where high voltage lines may drop across low voltage and provide a surge until the supply trips out, or lightning strikes. A good UPS will have input protection, because it is designed to take over after power incidents and it is no good to man or beast if a simple power incident can kill it, so that is a better option. However, even a good domestic UPS will only hold the power up for a maximum of five minutes so it is best to buy one that comes with a software package that saves all open docs then shuts the computer down. Cheers Billy 8-{)	Billy T (70)
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