Power Conditioners

I have a hi-fi system in Mumbai and have used PS Audio power cells to very good effect. The TV picture is better, and so is the sound, more defined, lower noise floor.

Now I am setting up a new place in Lonavala where the power fluctuates between 180V-240V and I am using a genset too over there. So have decided to buy a full power conditioner now and the P300 is ideal, but PS Audio website does not show any Indian dealer. Isotek at Rs.1,20,000 entry level is overpriced for my system there, which costs Rs. 2,00,000 plus HDTV. Anyone - suggestions welcome, I think around Rs.25,00-50,000 for a 4 outlet conditioner is appropriate.

The PS300 is what is called a A/c power regenerator.

It converts AC to DC then generates new AC to feed to your components. The regeneration process removes harmonic distortion and DC offset from the power line. The idea is to get an perfect sinewave.

In India we have four options:

1. One is a stabiliser that stabilises the voltage.
2. An UPS that does what the PS300 does.
3. An invertor that is an UPS with longer life, but with a larger battery bank.
4. A combination of one of these with a RFI/EMI Filter

Some members from Bangalore have been using power conditioning equipment from a Chennai based company caller Vertex. Please check their website at Universal Electronics - Home. They have a good reputation.

You should be able to access some good Invertor manufacturer locally in Mumbai.

Thanks. I have contacted them and await a quote. Since the system costs a few lacs, I really want to go to a trusted brand. Many people do stuff, coz they need to earn money, but I find they dont care for the customers at all, and they could well design a power supply that fries the equipment when it fails. No failsafe at all. Its not their problem.

If you want to add an UPS it must be of Pure Sine wave type , if not you are better off without an UPS.

A non UPS solution could be:

AC mains -> Sevo Voltage Stabilizer -> Ultra Isolation trasnformer -> Terminal strip -> Audio Syste.

For Servo and Ultra I recommend 'KryKard' brand. They are in this business for last 20+n years and are quite innovative, for example their patented Aluminium Foil trasformer. Get the Servo with factory fitted EMI/RFI filters.

3 KVA KryKard Servo with EMI/RMI filter would cost you around rs 13K

Ultra Isolation would cost you about Rs 10K.

Vertex is also a good brand (I heard that Vertex people are ex KryKard).

Another brand to consider is Aplab, a Thane (Mumbai) based big Electronics company. Products are excellent but more expensive.

All three companies suggested will provide you very good after sales service.

Hope this helps.

Regards

SUhas

SuhasG and Chetan:

I have myself been using a 500VA Krykard UPS for my computer for the last 6 odd years. I have a lot of respect for Krykard. recently I had an issue with the UPS and called Krykard. They sent an engineer immediately. He was unable to service the unit as he said they have stopped stocking parts for consumer based UPS. he said it will cheaper to buy a new unit instead of trying to repair the existing one.

Though I have a lot of respect for Krykard (I yet respect them a lot) my concern was that they went in through rough patch a few years ago, and are just recovering from that. Though they do manufacture a large number of products, I got the feeling from the engineer that they prefer industrial clients rather than single consumers.

Outside Chennai, if you are sure of the servicing backup in your town, Krykard is also an excellent choice.

venkat, do we have any dealers of krykard in bangalore, my HT guy has advised to buy a 5oo va ups for the projector,

Krykard has an office in Bangalore. their contact details are:

Alacrity Energy Services
#4, Govt. School Road, Off Chunchugatta Main Road
Konankunte, Bangalore - 560062

Mobile: 93429 47611, 93427 65444
E-mail: aesbangalore@gmail.com

I am not sure whether Krykard makes UPS of less than 3KVA.

Cheers

I understand the servo stabilizer, but what does an isolation transformer do that would not already be done in the stabilizer with a filter ? If I have a 2KV @ 220V max load rated stabilizer, what sort rating numbers should a transformer have ?

Sorry for the dumb questions but I am not an engineer.

An isolation transformer is a transformer, often with symmetrical windings, which is used to decouple two circuits. In other words, the input and output are completely isolated. If there is sudden surge at the input end, there will be no change at the output end. If there is sudden demand peak at the output end, the windings at the output end along with capacitors will provide the load without any effect on the input

Isolation transformer with Faraday shield reduces the cumulative leakage current of the isolator and connected equipment to levels below 300 microamps. Some isolation transformers can also remove EMI/RFI noise, utility switching transients, and harmonics generated by other onsite loads such as utility or lightning related surge conditions.

Isolation transformers are used in industrial environments where a large surge in requirement could adversely affect a stabiliser and even burn it. Many manufacturers study the environment and insist on a isolation transformer to protect the stabiliser. It is also used in places such as hospitals, where the power going to very sensitive instruments can never be affected by any transient or noise at the input level.

This may not have much value in the home segment as the transient on the load are never very sudden or of huge value. Even when you increase the volume, good amplifiers restrict the change to be of a gradual degree, particularly when you use a remote control. That is the reason why the volume potentiometers are usually heavy and are stiff. Even if you do twist it hard, internal fail safe mechanism, should come into play.

An UPS does provide a pure sine wave output which is perfect for audio system. Coupled to a external RFI/EMI filter, you will be able to provide clean power to your system.

The capacity of a isolation transformer is usually prescribed as being 20-25% more than the stabiliser. So if you have a 2KVA stabiliser, the isolation transformer should be about 2.4KVA.

Cheers