Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

dealing with overvolts
self ^ | 030/25/22 | self

Posted on 03/25/2022 9:33:36 AM PDT by zeugma

click here to read article


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-8081-90 next last
To: zeugma

Voltage from your supplier will always vary from 110 to 125v. If you want to keep that from happening you’ll need a line conditioner.

I’d just buy a new UPS. It’s just a battery that goes bad after time.


41 posted on 03/25/2022 10:14:25 AM PDT by Brasky (You miss every shot you never take.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: zeugma

Anything between 110 and 125 V is supposed to be okay. Check your UPS and see what it claims to support. Also check your battery — plug in a load (doesn’t have to be a computer, a lamp works) and then unplug the UPS from the wall. The load should keep working for several minutes; if it goes out immediately, your battery is probably bad.


42 posted on 03/25/2022 10:16:49 AM PDT by Campion (All we are saying is give peace a chance.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Brasky

Battery is usually pretty easy to replace, and much cheaper than a new UPS.


43 posted on 03/25/2022 10:18:46 AM PDT by Campion (All we are saying is give peace a chance.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 41 | View Replies]

To: BiglyCommentary

Ditto. I have a surge protector but never turn off my mac-mini. That said, I have a laptop that I turn off when not in use. I’ve seen enough battery failures in older laptops to suggest that I should disconnect it from the power grid when not in use.


44 posted on 03/25/2022 10:24:14 AM PDT by EVO X ( )
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 40 | View Replies]

To: GOPJ
"This is an electrical problem that you must take very seriously."

If your neutral connection to the transformer on the pole loses connection, your home appliances could find themselves being powered by voltages approaching 240 volts instead of 120 volts. You can lose a lot of appliances in a hurry if this happens. Happened to a friend.

Even just a loose connection could cause some of your appliances to experience damaging voltages.

45 posted on 03/25/2022 10:24:37 AM PDT by William Tell
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 35 | View Replies]

To: zeugma
How old is the UPS? If it is more than 4 years old, it's time to replace the Gel Cell batteries inside.

Like others have said, 124V is nothing to worry about. You could get surges of over 130V and not be noticed. But if your batteries are going bad, then the UPS will shut itself down.

46 posted on 03/25/2022 10:34:25 AM PDT by Yo-Yo (Is the /sarc tag really necessary?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: GOPJ

We did have an electrician, two,actually, (we had by beother’s elecricisn friend come over and check,too) check it out, and say they weren’t concerned because they couldn’t find anything obvious. Themone electrician tried to,say the light bulbs were causing the issue, but id be surprisedmifmthat were really the case.

The problem does resolve when the appliance if off (ie the washer machine seems to be the big issue).

The problem hasn’t really gotten worse, it just started happening about a year ago. We are gonna cal.,another electrician thiugh before we call,the power company. We didn’t really,tell the last electrician that the issue is so bad that it kicks off the computer, and I have to restart the bac,up,power box because it won’t quit beeping until we do.

I am concerned about loose wiring, but the fella stated that he woild,have detected it. I dunno much about these things. Just going by what they said, but yeah, we are gonna get a other opinion right off quick.


47 posted on 03/25/2022 10:40:34 AM PDT by Bob434
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 35 | View Replies]

To: PeterPrinciple

That only,works with fishing.


48 posted on 03/25/2022 10:41:13 AM PDT by Bob434
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 30 | View Replies]

To: Dr. Sivana; z3n; ShadowAce; Red Badger; Bloody Sam Roberts; bicyclerepair; EVO X; bhl; Bob434; ...

Thanks much for all the good comments. Gave me some stuff to think about. I’m reasonably sure the battery is OK, as if I unplug the thing, the computer will run OK. I haven’t done a full powerfail test on it recently, but might just do that tonight to validate the battery.

I have one that is about a year older that I have hooked up to my media player and stereo, and it doesn’t drop like this one. I have noticed a =very= slight blip in music playback when power drops on my desktop one, so it does seem like =something= is going on with my house power.

Using the ‘pwrstat’ tool from Cyberpower to query it, I see the following.
The UPS information shows as following:

Properties:
Model Name................... LX1500GU
Firmware Number.............. BF014xxx
Rating Voltage............... 120 V
Rating Power................. 900 Watt(1500 VA)

Current UPS status:
State........................ Normal
Power Supply by.............. Utility Power
Utility Voltage.............. 122 V
Output Voltage............... 122 V
Battery Capacity............. 100 %
Remaining Runtime............ 94 min.
Load......................... 72 Watt(8 %)
Line Interaction............. None
Test Result.................. Unknown
Last Power Event............. None

Unfortunately, Looking at the configs for ‘pwrstat’ there doesn’t seem to be an option for its sensitivity.

I’m going to try to see if opening a TT to Cyberpower does any good, and will try running a self-test tonight as well.

Again, thanks all. Hopefully I won’t have to buy a new one.


49 posted on 03/25/2022 11:19:52 AM PDT by zeugma (Stop deluding yourself that America is still a free country.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: Bob434

Duke Energy has a home protection program for wiring - it’s something like $6 or $7 dollars a month added to your power bill. The advantage is they assign the work to people who know what they’re doing - and are available on an emergency 24/7 our call basis - AND if the repairs falls within their tight range they cover the repairs for free. Your energy company might offer a similar program. It sounds to me like something’s not normal... Glad you’re concerned...


50 posted on 03/25/2022 11:29:02 AM PDT by GOPJ (We can ignore reality, but we cannot ignore the consequences of ignoring reality. Ayn Rand)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 47 | View Replies]

To: zeugma

If you have an older home, try pulling the MAIN FUSE or BREAKER, for the entire house, at the meter box.

Then remove the front panel to your home’s electrical fuse/breaker Box and TIGHTEN ALL THE SCREW CONNECTIONS WITH AINSULATED SCREWDRIVER. Replace cover and reinstall fuse/breaker.

The connections can loosen over time and cause intermittent electrical spikes. This comes from heating/cooling the connections as they are passing current that builds up resistance and thus heat and eventually fails.........................


51 posted on 03/25/2022 11:30:37 AM PDT by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegal aliens are put up in hotels.....................)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 49 | View Replies]

To: Bob434

I had a similar issue with voltage variance in my house. It turned out that my old FPE panel had a stripped screw on one breaker leg of the box.

I was having random trips of certain breakers *mostly* on one side of the panel, and could occasionally feel heat on that side as well.

I knew something was wrong, but could not find it until in the middle of the night I went to the panel and heard a slight sizzling sound. I pulled the covers, and could see some small arcing.

The whole panel has been replaced ($$yeowchie!), and no more sizzling or oddball breaker trips. Much cleaner power, too.


52 posted on 03/25/2022 11:34:53 AM PDT by Don W (When blacks riot, neighbourhoods and cities burn. When whites riot, nations and continents burn.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]

To: Red Badger

“You need a Surge Protector................”

It is a surge protector.


53 posted on 03/25/2022 11:46:52 AM PDT by TexasGator (UF)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: Red Badger

“Your UPS Battery may be getting to the end of its life and needs replacing...........”

He says his battery works fine.


54 posted on 03/25/2022 11:47:51 AM PDT by TexasGator (UF)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: SpaceBar

“You are describing a situation where a separate power conditioner is required before the UPS.”

No, he is not! Besides , the UPS is a power conditioner!


55 posted on 03/25/2022 11:49:34 AM PDT by TexasGator (UF)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 19 | View Replies]

To: EVO X; zeugma

That was an unwritten rule even back in the DOS days. It was healthier for the PC to stay on rather than turn it off every day.

zeugma, I tried to reach the end (to make sure it wasn’t already stated) before I mentioned this, but another possibility is that you may have too much plugged into the UPS.
Also, if you have a laser printer connected, that could be the issue too. Laser printers are a no-no for a UPS because they use a power surge to use the fuser (the thing it melts the toner to the paper).

All the other assistance here on this thread have probably already covered your problem, but I thought I would throw this in too.


56 posted on 03/25/2022 11:53:16 AM PDT by Bikkuri (I am proud to be a PureBlood.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 44 | View Replies]

To: zeugma

” However, right after It drops power and I bring it back online, it will show the input as high as 123v, and I think I’ve even seen 124v a time or two.”

UPS TYPICALLY SHOW OUTPUT VOLTS! Which model do you have?

Typically 120 +/- 5% or up to 126 volts.


57 posted on 03/25/2022 11:55:16 AM PDT by TexasGator (UF)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: GOPJ

thanks didn’t even know hey had something like that- we should look into it as our house is older-


58 posted on 03/25/2022 11:55:41 AM PDT by Bob434
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 50 | View Replies]

To: zeugma
This is watt (🤣) I was talking about. You have to keep the wattage of everything plugged in under 900 watts.








59 posted on 03/25/2022 11:59:53 AM PDT by Bikkuri (I am proud to be a PureBlood.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 56 | View Replies]

To: Don W

I’ll bet that cost a pretty penny- Yeah, i don’t feel any heat- and cant hear anything- we turn the washing machine on and stand by the panel (You can see the cellar lights flickering the whole time)- but nothing seems wonky at the panel- the electricians checked the panel- I’ve gone aroudn to the outlets too to feel for heat (We once had an old air conditioner that the chiord heated up pretty bad- luckily we found it fairly quickly-) but haven’t’ found anything- The one i woudl suspect woudl be the ceramic heater- but it’s fine-


60 posted on 03/25/2022 12:01:00 PM PDT by Bob434
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 52 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-8081-90 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson