Question on Power Conditioners (1 Viewer)

[JeremyFr]

Ok I hope I'm putting this in the right forum. Ok I live in an apartment building that has roughly 30 units spread between 4 floors so it has an elevator. The problem I'm having is that when someone uses the elevator it causes the lights to dim dramatically for a very quick amount of time which of course leads me to know a dramatic decrease in voltage on the line. Now I haven't hooked up my meter yet to see how bad a drop this is but I can't imagine it being any good for any of my equipment hell I know its not though its never bad enough to reset my computer or shut the TV/stereo off but still bad enoug its quite annoying. If I get a power conditioner will it help with this or am I going to need to get something like the AVS-2000 from Monster. Any suggestions on this issue and if you have any equipment to suggest that would be appreciated to.

Thanks guys

Jeremy in Brownoutville

 

[John Garcia]

I immediately noticed in my new apartment, that the power there is quite poor. It is possibly insufficient for the number of units in the building, and/or the circuit where my system is is not a high enough rating. Whenever I turn on my TV, sub or amp, the lights in the room dim briefly. The earth ground does not seem to be totally adequate either.

I bought my Panamax 4300 when I was at my last place, eventhough I didn't have any power problems there, but now I am happy that I have it at the new place. I can't say I had ever noticed problems with my gear without the conditioner, but I feel better knowing it is there. It has not indicated an unsafe condition yet to my knowledge, with the exception of one power outage due to a large lightning storm.

 

[JeremyFr]

yeah I get the same dimming sometimes if my amp hasn't run for several hours and the Capacitors have dumped charge kinda makes you feel cool though dont it?? hehe at any rate my apt I know is wired for 100 amp service though I dont have a water heater in unit or washer dryer just a range, fridge and dishwasher, and all my lighting is compact florescent. hehe most people envy my $20 a month power bill which is one reason why I like living there.

 

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

Jeremy,

A line conditioner might clean up the “hash” from something like that, but it will have no effect on the voltage fluctuations. For that you need a power regulator.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[JeremyFr]

hmmmm ok is there something cheaper than the AVS-2000 then that I can consider that may help with this issue as for voltage regulation?

 

[John Garcia]

Yes, I forgot to mention that the panamax will not solve the voltage issue, but it WILL protect your gear from crap on the line and low voltage conditions.

See this thread also. Look at Bill Kane's response, as well as his write up in the primer.

 

[Bill Kane]

Jeremy,

In your situation, yes, a VOLTAGE REGULATOR wud assure a steady 120VAC output. True, the MonsterPower AVS 2000 does this, but at a big $$$ cost AND this unit has NO surge suppression.

Take a look at the Tripp Lite LC1800 (1800 watts designed for a 15A circuit). HERE It comes with 6 outlets.

I see this unit at www.partsexpress.com for $230. Part 125-102. It includes some surge suppression and AC line noise filters too! Looks good to me if one needs such backup.

 

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

Hmm... If you read the Tripplite's specs you can see that nominal 120V will actually vary plus or minus 12.5V, between 106-132V. So the elevator would have to be sucking the voltage below 106V before the Tripplite would offer any benefit.

Furman's cheapest unit (the AR1215) maintains 120V plus or minus 5V. But then it costs more than $230.

Perhaps Bill can tell us what he thinks about this one.
http://www.furmansound.com/pro/reg/reg1.htm

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[Bill Kane]

The Furman AR-1215 was one I looked at (online) a year ago, and regarded it as a well-engineered pro audio unit -- but for $400 or more. And yes, it offers a much tighter nominal 120V output commensurate with the +or-5% tolerance used by electric power utilities.

The TrippLite LC1800 then seemed to be a more affordable voltage regulator, again "on paper."

Jeremy, our poster, does report voltage drop he attributes to the elevator. It may be that voltage drop is just an annoyance, given that modern component power supplies are designed to handle some spread. Who knows, the Tripp Lite cud take the edge off what he's experiencing, and keeping his equipment more stable, but the proof is eating the pudding, by trying one. I'm sure there are others.

bill

 

[JeremyFr]

thanks for the help guys I'm starting to look at a house and dont know how much longer I'll be living here its just after you invest as much as I have (not nearly as much as others here but still its alot to me anyways) I kinda want to make sure it last me a very long time. I'm gonna look into options and see whats out there.