Voltage fluctuation caused power supply failure

vivekam

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This I am writing to know the possible ways to avoid damage to amplifiers due to voltage fluctuations.
Actually couple of days back in my locality voltage supply reached 400V. Unfortunately my Yamaha amplifier was on at that time, due to this high fluctuation it switched off automatically. When voltage came back to normal level it never turned on. Luckily my amplifier was under warranty and yesterday I got it back. Its runnning fine now.

But, when I asked service center guys about how to avoid this in future. They said using voltage stablizers is only 50% safe. Still your amplifier will be in danger.

So my query is, is it really true (50% logic) Or can we really protect our amplifier from voltage fluctuations?
 
Hi vivekam

Use a good quality Servo Stabilizer 1 kVA . This should solve the problem. If there is lot of fluctuations in your area , use a isolation transformer along with the stabilizer. This should give you constant power supply and thus prevents your equipments from fluctuations.

Vijay.
 
Hi vivekam

Use a good quality Servo Stabilizer 1 kVA . This should solve the problem. If there is lot of fluctuations in your area , use a isolation transformer along with the stabilizer. This should give you constant power supply and thus prevents your equipments from fluctuations.

Vijay.
Hi dali,
Fluctuations occurance chances are minimal. It reached to 400V due to some short circuit in transmission line.

I see your location as Pune. Can you please guide me from where can I get servo stabilizer in Pune. Also it would be great if I get to know approx. price.

Thanks,
Vivekam.
 
Hi Vivekam

I use a servo Stabilizer from Vertex ( recommended by most of the members from this forum ) I use 2KVA and the price i paid was Rs.13k , shipped directly from Chennai.

vijay.
 
Hi Vivekam

I use a servo Stabilizer from Vertex ( recommended by most of the members from this forum ) I use 2KVA and the price i paid was Rs.13k , shipped directly from Chennai.

vijay.

Hi Vijay

did you notice a difference in SQ with and without stab?

TIA
Regards
 
This I am writing to know the possible ways to avoid damage to amplifiers due to voltage fluctuations.
Actually couple of days back in my locality voltage supply reached 400V. Unfortunately my Yamaha amplifier was on at that time, due to this high fluctuation it switched off automatically. When voltage came back to normal level it never turned on. Luckily my amplifier was under warranty and yesterday I got it back. Its runnning fine now.

But, when I asked service center guys about how to avoid this in future. They said using voltage stablizers is only 50% safe. Still your amplifier will be in danger.

So my query is, is it really true (50% logic) Or can we really protect our amplifier from voltage fluctuations?

Am surprised that the Yamaha service centre guy told u that the stab can only offer about 50 % protection.
A well made servo stab from vertex, Argo etc with over /under voltage cut off should offer adequate protection IMO. We had checked the Argo stab on a VARIAC and the stab cut off when the incoming voltage crossed 250V
U can get 3 KVA servo stabilizers for as low as 3K in bbay where as a 3 KVA Argo is about 12 K so if one opts for the former one is in trouble but if one opts for reputed brands one should be safe.
Rgds
 
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Am surprised that the Yamaha service centre guy told u that the stab can only offer about 50 % protection.

Same surprise factor led to this query.
Dinyaar Ji in bbay where can I get it. I wish to protect my equipment rather than keep it testing against high voltage.
Any where in Pune servo stabilizers are available?
 
As per my understanding none of the stabilizer can handle a sudden dip or hike in voltage (within the cutoff limit) because of the fluctuation detection and correction time delay. It will be passed on to the connected equipments till it crosses the cutoff limit or it will be rectified within the correction time. Compared to normal stabilizers, servo will provide a smooth voltage correction. Normal stabs handles this by increasing the voltage to some fixed 30/40 volts when it is crossing the voltage correction range (usually is +/- 20-40v from the calibrated o/p, unlike 2-3v in servo). So better choose a servo and from reputed brands coz' the voltage sensors and the quality of the servo motor matters a lot.
"Am surprised that the Yamaha service centre guy told u that the stab can only offer about 50 % protection.", correct with normal stabilizers because of the sudden voltage corrections of 30-40v.
Correct me if i am wrong.
I am using Vertex servo 3Kva with RF/EMI filters and spike protection (11500/- under special disc.:)).
 
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Can you please guide me from where can I get servo stabilizer in Pune. Also it would be great if I get to know approx. price.

Thanks,
Vivekam.

Hi Vivakam,
I am finally getting 3 KVA Krykard servo stabiliser with RF/EMI Filter and spike suppressor directly from Chennai for about 13.5K. It is currently in transport, should reach my home around next weekend. If you read some old threads, you will know about this Krykard brand, it is equal or better than the Vertex. Another good brand is Aplab for servo, their factory is in Thane. Based on my information, the transformer in Krykard is something special which others may not have.

Krykard has a selling office in Pune. All you have to do is contact them and pay directly to them and they will deliver the product.

Our forum member SuhasG who lives also in Pune and an Electrical Enginner by training and profession owns a 3 KVA Krykard stabiliser and he bought it exactly the way I have described above. Please contact him to know the address and phone no of this place in Pune.

Before I made my decision, I did contact him by sending him a PM. The only problem in my case was that Krykard does not have an office in Kolkata, they only have one service person here, so I myself had to get it directly from Chennai.
 
no more worries ..no more sepnding 12k... 13k for me ..

i use a protector rated 6AMPS made by su-kam
[does not regulate the voltage,it is a voltage and freq. window protector]
it has
-60 sec Time delay relay,upon switching on ,during this it checks for line condition
-It will protect the equipments from bad power quality like under voltage, over voltage, Frequency variation, surges, spikes, sparks due to loose connections and short power interruptions
-It has very fast response time of typical 15-20 millisecond to cut off the equipment from the bad
quality power
-allows only 190 -230v
>>> SU-KAM <<< Leading manufacturer of Power Products in India, Only Power back up company manufacturing world class UPS, Home UPS, Online UPS, Inverters, Batteries, Battery Chargers, Solar Products
costs 350Rs hehe :p ..now some people will express serious doubts ..for me it worked very well so far
 
kaushik, u r a very lucky guy. For a serious spike, 15-20 ms is more than enough to fry the equipments connected to it.

i have a MX 6 OUTLET UNIVERSAL SPIKE PROTECTOR for additional safety..MOV[metal oxide varistor]inside this takes care of high transients in order of microseconds,
so
AC INPUT->SPIKE SUPPRESSOR--> PROTECTOR->Equipments

may be my knowledge is poor here,still i would like to know about reasons to go for a 12k + protector :D

However in future i may replace with a better Belkin-SP
 
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Hi Vivakam,

Krykard has a selling office in Pune. All you have to do is contact them and pay directly to them and they will deliver the product.

Before I made my decision, I did contact him by sending him a PM. The only problem in my case was that Krykard does not have an office in Kolkata, they only have one service person here, so I myself had to get it directly from Chennai.

Thanks Asit. For this information. I will get in touch with SuhasG.
 
i have a MX 6 OUTLET UNIVERSAL SPIKE PROTECTOR for additional safety..MOV[metal oxide varistor]inside this takes care of high transients in order of microseconds,may be my knowledge is poor here,still i would like to know about reasons to go for a 12k + protector :D

Hi kaushik,

The real concern is to protect your equipment from high voltages. This can never be predicted when your equipment will be feeded with voltages of the order of 400V.
Just for your information, in my locality several TVs, ACs and fans are not working. As it was a long weekend May 1, 2, 3 and everyone was enjoying Indian summer with movies and music.
So why to put your equipment in danger when you can protect it.

A golden proverb is there,
Prevention is better then cure.

Thanks,
Vivekam
 
Kaushik, u r confused b/n stab and spike protector. Stab is for giving the desired output voltage within the specified limits for a range of input voltages by means of voltage correction methods (normal / servo). Surge suppressor is also there in my stab as inbuilt. Both will give a better control over the o/p voltage and give more protection. Moreover the MOV based protectors are degradable with surges/spikes which are within the limits of the MOV. I preferred vertex because of the 2 year onsite warranty and the price. Qualitywise both are equal, the transformer material is different in krykard, but i dont think this will make any difference. Also they give only 1 year warranty. All the filters and protectors will be charged separately.
Manjunath is a very good person to deal with and he came to my home several times (not to attend any complaints) for some modifications, like changing the reference voltage, upgrading to another front panel and all these for free.
 
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Hi kaushik,

The real concern is to protect your equipment from high voltages. This can never be predicted when your equipment will be feeded with voltages of the order of 400V.
Just for your information, in my locality several TVs, ACs and fans are not working. As it was a long weekend May 1, 2, 3 and everyone was enjoying Indian summer with movies and music.
So why to put your equipment in danger when you can protect it.

A golden proverb is there,
Prevention is better then cure.

Thanks,
Vivekam

vivek you missed my prev post...
i have protector + spike guard as a whole a safety wall already there..1 prevented and protected.
[protector keeps equipment in 190 to 230V range,if supply varies i.e. goes less than 190 or more than 230v,it cuts off load ]
cmsajith ,
i think i know a little bit of stab and protector difference, check my post for protector .. i have written "[it does not regulate].."
my point was to avoid burn out like viveks with some device.

MOV age in many years time not months ..a replacing MOV is also cost effective :)
why input AC needed to be regulated ?i want to know technically.

amps,DACs normally have regulated supply inside
plasmas/LCD come with SMPS .
 
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I heard the protection circuits meant for computer power strips degrade SQ.

als oheard a transformer for audio applications should use EI core not Toroidal core. Though the bulk of amps seem to be made with toroidal ...

anyone care to enlighten on that?

Regards
 
Same surprise factor led to this query.
Dinyaar Ji in bbay where can I get it. I wish to protect my equipment rather than keep it testing against high voltage.
Any where in Pune servo stabilizers are available?

Hi Vivek,
We have only used Argo for years and hence suggested it. There may be others which are equally good. Krykard seems a good bet and they are available in Pune so it seems safe to go with it. Insist on the under/over voltage cut off additional extra as i have found that it really works.
With Argo we always gave our own power cable + Mains plug and they happily did the needful.
One thing to keep in mind is these (2/3 KVA) stabs have huge in rush current so provide accordingly or it will trip the breaker. There is no soft start feature on these kind of stabilizers and my 3 KVA sometimes even trips a 15 AMP breaker!!
Rgds
 
vivek you missed my prev post...
Yes, I really missed your post. Thanks for your note.


why input AC needed to be regulated ?i want to know technically.
amps,DACs normally have regulated supply inside
plasmas/LCD come with SMPS .


Volatge Stabilizer:
A voltage stabilizer is a type of household mains regulator which uses a continuously variable autotransformer to maintain an AC output that is as close to the standard or normal mains voltage as possible, under conditions of fluctuation. It uses a servomechanism (or negative feedback) to control the position of the tap (or wiper) of the autotransformer, usually with a motor. An increase in the mains voltage causes the output to increase, which in turn causes the tap (or wiper) to move in the direction that reduces the output towards the nominal voltage.


Surge protector:
A surge protector is an appliance designed to protect electrical devices from voltage spikes.
Some specifications which define a surge protector for AC mains and some communication protection.

Clamping voltage better known as the let-through voltage. This specifies what voltage will cause the metal oxide varistors (MOVs) inside a protector to conduct electricity to the ground line. A lower clamping voltage indicates better protection, but a shorter life expectancy. The lowest three levels of protection defined in the UL rating are 330 V, 400 V and 500 V. The standard let-through voltage for 120 V AC devices is 330 volts.

Joules This number defines how much energy the surge protector can absorb without failure. A higher number indicates greater protection and longer life expectancy because the device will divert more energy elsewhere and will absorb less energy. More joules conducting the same surge current means a reduced clamping voltage. Generally, 200 joules is undersized protection since harmful spikes are significantly larger than 200 joules. Better protectors exceed 1000 joules and 40,000 amperes. If properly installed, for every joule absorbed by a protector, another 4 or 30 joules may be dissipated harmlessly into ground.

Response time Surge protectors don't kick in immediately; a slight delay exists. The longer the response time the longer the connected equipment will be exposed to the surge. However, surges don't happen immediately either. Surges usually take around a few microseconds to reach their peak voltage and a surge protector with a nanosecond response time would kick in fast enough to suppress the most damaging portion of the spike.


I have just listed the basic differences between protector and stabilizer. Anyways choice is upto end user. There is always a tradeoff.
 
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