Crowley
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Since we deal with a lot of lightning strikes my boss got me a Cooler master PSU tester. It has saved me a lot of time and effort.
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Dead PC (lightning)
- Thread starter adsl2
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A PSU tester is an inferior tool. Many defective PSUs (including the last one I worked on) would be reported good by the tester.
1) A tester costs almost as much as the meter. 2) Can only be used to test ATX computer PSUs. 3) Does not report on the rest of a computer's power 'system'. 4) Does not result in knowledge of how a computer really works. 5) Requires disconnecting wires. Good diagnostic procedure is to always collect facts and numbers before making any changes. 6) Cannot say why a PSU or any other component of the power 'system' failed.
Grant
Honorary Master
There was a point in time where we were getting frequent power surges in my area. (power surges - not lightning strikes)
I was told a UPS was the best thing to "arrest" surges.
I have 2 in the study at home. The one is for the laptop power supply, the other is for the router & printer.
Would a UPS be the best solution for power surges - or was I suckered ?
I was told a UPS was the best thing to "arrest" surges.
I have 2 in the study at home. The one is for the laptop power supply, the other is for the router & printer.
Would a UPS be the best solution for power surges - or was I suckered ?
Read manufacturer specification numbers for each UPS. How many joules does it claim to absorb? Hundreds? Destructive surges are hundreds of thousands of joules. A UPS has near zero joules. Just enough so that more naive consumers can be told it is 100% protection.
View an output from a typically UPS. When it connects the appliance directly to AC mains, then it has a fairly clean sine wave. When a UPS switches to battery, well, view what is described as a pure sine wave:
http://www.duke-energy.com/indiana-business/products/power-quality/tech-tip-03.asp
The utility's Tech Tip shows a 'pure sine wave' UPS output. They did not lie. From high school math, those spikes and other 'dirt' are a sum of pure sine waves.
Claims made subjectively can say almost anything. How clean is the output from a UPS? That means specification numbers such as %THD. Does your UPS provide that number? When deceiving consumers with subjective claims and hearsay, some UPS manufacturers 'forget' to provide those spec numbers. Then naive consumers will proclaim it outputs a pure sine wave. Deception is easy and often routine when a claim is made without reasons why - and numbers.
Protection inside electronics is so standard and robust that even 'dirtiest' power from a UPS is also ideal power for electronics. Unfortunately a UPS is often recommended by hearsay to somehow do surge protection and to even 'clean' AC mains.
A typical UPS does none of that. It provides temporary and 'dirty' power during a blackout. Due to superior protection already inside electronic appliances, even its 'dirty' power is 'clean' enough.
Hearsay often recommends a UPS to 'clean' power or to protect from surges when even manufacturer spec numbers say something different.
Spec numbers for protectors even claim better protection than a UPS. However even those numbers are near zero. Power from a UPS, in some cases, can be so 'dirty' as to even degrade some power strip protectors.
Protection starts with manufacturer spec numbers. Some manufacturers 'forget' to provide those numbers. Many will then use hearsay and subjective reasoning to recommend that product.
I was not clear about the point. Electronic appliances are robust due to functions standard inside a power supply. UPS only provides one useful function - temporary and 'dirty' power during a blackout. UPS does not protect from surges (ie lightning) that would overwhelm that existing protection. 'Dirty' power from a UPS demonstrates that all electronics are robust. Concern is for a transient that can overwhelm existing protection inside electronics.
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You are traversing, not answering the question.
True - by means of poor dynamic respone to the input voltage spikes. In some conditions poor design can generate output overshots exceeding those received on the input, particular cheap designs with AVR.
True, as I have seen more blown PC's by poor UPS's than PC's connected without UPS's.
Very generic statement. True, but not reflecting a real cause. It might suggest that shape (poor or lack of sine wave) can trip protectors. This is not true.
True - by means of poor dynamic respone to the input voltage spikes. In some conditions poor design can generate output overshots exceeding those received on the input, particular cheap designs with AVR.
True, as I have seen more blown PC's by poor UPS's than PC's connected without UPS's.
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I have no idea what those sentences reply to. Or what they mean. Reality is defined by perspective provided by numbers. "Poor" is only subjective. Numbers are required to define what is meant by "poor", "input voltage spikes" (which mean nothing because surges are defined by current), dynamic response (to what?), or how a non-sinusoid can *"trip"* a protector. Since protectors do not work by tripping.
Protection means you know and can state where hundreds of thousands of joules dissipate. Protection means you can state where thousand of amperes flow without creating damage or destructive voltages.
Above describes how to avert future failures. Meanwhile, a solution to an existing failure also means numbers obtain by using a multimeter. Described is how to find the problem before replacing anything or purchasing any parts. And then how to avert future failures to everything including the dishwasher, refrigerator, and all clocks. All defined by concepts put into perspective with ... numbers.
I am giving up on this bunch of nonsence. In one place you say that surges are defined by current to oppose my writing about voltage spikes. In the next paragraph you say about Joules, which brings voltage and current to the same importancy.
The same when you claim that protectors do not work by tripping. In the next paragraph you say that protectors can chunk thousand of Amps. But they do not conduct such massive current if voltage is within norm, do they? Read more about MOVS before entering discussion.
The same when you claim that protectors do not work by tripping. In the next paragraph you say that protectors can chunk thousand of Amps. But they do not conduct such massive current if voltage is within norm, do they? Read more about MOVS before entering discussion.
Unfortunately you are reciting claims made by hearsay and other subjective reasoning. Anyone can read specification numbers provided with 'whole house' protectors. A minimal protector is rated for 50,000 amps. An effective protector remains functional.
When speaking about subjective reasoning: All your posting with your obsevation is correct and matching my experience..
The area you definitely fall apart is where you are trying to explain things in 'scientific' terms and definitely you don't have sufficient background to make such assessments, no mention of understanding technical specs, as you seem to confuse such basic terms like Amps, Volts with Joules. Missing primary school science subjects.
So I suggest, pass your experience, it is valuable input, but not try to shine, as it doesn't work.
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