Will Step down transformer affect HiFi's performance??

[SuhasG]

Thank you Suhas. But after reading earlier posts I got more confused or even scared. Do I have to worry about Hz, spikes, UPS, stabilizer and all or just buying a good quality 220/240 to 110V transformer with Wattage higher than receiver's will do the job?

Just to begin , you need a good quality 230 ->110 V step down transformer.
Check with Mr Murthy from Bangalore , he will make an excellent Step Down trasformer as per your spcification.

If voltage fluctuations are too wide then a servo can be add it (at a later date also) Vertex, KryKard are some good brands to look for.

Forget about UPS as a true sine wave UPS of adequate in rush and steady state current ratings might cost anything between Rs 40K to Rs 100K. I already wrote about Spike buster etc.

Hope this helps.

 

[sudhirbhan]

Gurus, I have an Onkyo TX-SR502 and Polk Audio PSW303 sub that I bought in the US. After relocating to India, I bought a 1000 W off the shelf "voltage converter" grossly underestimating the power requirements. Recently, when I was away from home, the unit just stopped working. The connection was mains --> 2 KVA stabilizer --> spike arrestor --> voltage converter --> receiver + sub

Discovered that the fuses of both stabilizer and converter had blown off. A second off the shelf converter also conked off in a similar way, albeit with a different application (Wii this time).

From various posts in this forum, I could gather that I would be needing the following configuration for the converter
Receiver = (120 V * 4.6 A)/0.8 = 690 VA. With a factor of safety of 2, it will come to = 1400VA
Sub = 250 W peak demand from transformer (as provided by the Polk customer support). Again to be on ultra safe side, assuming a power factor of 0.8, and a factor of safety of 2, the converter rating would be 250*2/0.8 = 625 W, rounded to 700W.

Could you please let me know if there are any issues with the above calculations? Also, would you suggest one voltage converter (say 2.5KVA) or two separate ones (1400 VA and 700 VA)?

Once I get this converter, will Mains (15 A) --> 3 KVA stabilizer --> two voltage converters --> receiver + sub work? Do you foresee any issues.

Any pointers to good custom transformer manufacturers in Mangalore? Also, is Mr Murthy from Bangalore still into manufacturing transformers?

Those were a lot of questions. Thanks in advance for your advice/ suggestions

 

[murali_n]

Hai,

Pl contact Maxine Transformers at Chennai. Their quality of transformers are good their address is available at their website. Search the forum for their details some one from Hyd had already been informed about the details.

N.Murali

 

[malvai]

Guys, I have just ordered a preowned ROTEL RCD 991 cdp. Its a 110v thingee. Will its performance be affected by a stepdown transformer?

 

[murali_n]

Hai Malvai,

I am using for the last 3 years , a Sony cassette deck that is 110v rated, with a step-down transformer. I dont find any distortion in its sound quality nor its performance. So the same must be the case with your CDP.

N.Murali

 

[anandkrishnantc]

Hello all,
I am looking for a good quality Servo steabilizer under .75KVA. Where can I start in Bangalore?

 

[sudhirbhan]

Pl contact Maxine Transformers at Chennai.

Thanks Murali, have contacted them and they responded giving various options. Mostly will go with a 3 KVA step down transformer unit with an inbuilt Servo Voltage stabilizer.

 

[skumar]

A couple of queries:

a) will step-down transformers keep drawing full rated power/current/electricty once they are switched on, even if the connected appliance is not switched on? i.e. will my power meter run just by switching on the transoformer?

b) How about voltage/servo stabilizers? say the stabilizer for my tv is switched on the tv itself is off, what will be the power consumption?

 

[svenkateshsmart]

Hi Skumar,

Congrats on your Yammy from ebay. I recently bought a step-down for my denon from Shah Electronics chennai, 1500 w at Rs. 2900.

I tried connecting it to an ordinary point, but it needed more power. So, I had to create a 15A exclusive power outlet and now everything works fine!

contact Shah Electronics chennai, they've models with and without in-built stabilizer.

 

[venkatcr]

A couple of queries:

a) will step-down transformers keep drawing full rated power/current/electricty once they are switched on, even if the connected appliance is not switched on? i.e. will my power meter run just by switching on the transoformer?

b) How about voltage/servo stabilizers? say the stabilizer for my tv is switched on the tv itself is off, what will be the power consumption?

Transformers and stabilizers are not consumers of power by themselves. They are like bridges with filters in between. They take power from one side, clean it, and send it out to your audio/video or other units.

They may consume a little bit of electricity to power their display or internal electrical/electronic circuits. A servo stabilizer, for example, has a internal motor that will work constantly to ensure that the output is stable within it's rated specifications. When the motor works, it does consume some power.

But all these will be small amounts of power. They are usually in the range of 0.5% to 1.5% of the rated capacity depending upon how often the stabiliser is brought to clean the input voltage.

Cheers

 

[skumar]

Venkat - appreciate the gyaan.

On the same line, I have read somewhere that there is a factor of saving in stabilizers (if the input voltage is higher than the output voltage). Does this apply to 220-110v transformers also, i.e do we pay for only half the power (roughly) when we use 110v appliances via a 220-110v step down transformer?

Ex: Will an 110v appliance which consumes .5kw/hr result in a power bill for .25kw (roughly) when used in India via step-down for an hour?

 

[cmsajith]

Transformers or Stabilisers cannot generate power. So the required power will be taken from the same line itself. The basic law of energy applies here also, the Energy cannot be produced from nothing. Moreover Volt doesnt denote power. The power consumption will be same in 220v/110v for a 100w device.

 

[skumar]

Transformers or Stabilisers cannot generate power. So the required power will be taken from the same line itself. The basic law of energy applies here also, the Energy cannot be produced from nothing. Moreover Volt doesnt denote power. The power consumption will be same in 220v/110v for a 100w device.

Stabilizer manufacturers vouch that there is a factor of (money) saving and do advertise payback periods for stabilizers (apart from protection of equipment), example, scroll to the bottom of this page...

I do think that 220/110 transformers will not cut down the power bills by half, otherwise we would be seeing lot of 110v appliances with step-down transformers every where in India... just trying to understand the basics...

 

[idlebrain]

Guys,

I need to connect BDP with power source of 120V/60Hz and power consumption of 23W. Will 40W step down transformer will do for this?

Thanks
Satya

 

[venkatcr]

Venkat - appreciate for the gyaan.

On the same line, I have read somewhere that there is a factor of saving in stabilizers (if the input voltage is higher than the output voltage). Does this apply to 220-110v transformers also, i.e do we pay for only half the power (roughly) when we use 110v appliances via a 220-110v step down transformer?

Ex: Will an 110v appliance which consumes .5kw/hr result in a power bill for .25kw (roughly) when used in India via step-down for an hour?

Electrical consumption of an appliance is measured in Watts which is voltage multiplied by current. The Electricity department also charges you in terms of Kilowatts used. So whether you use 220 volts or 110, for an appliance rated at a particular wattage, the power consumption will be the same.

Look at the following example:

Let us say the load is 2.2 KW per hour.

A heater element made for 220 volts will consume 10A of current. A heater designed for 110 volts will consume 22A of current for the same hour.

The two systems are identical when it comes to power consumption. When you reduce the voltage, you will be supplying more current for the same appliance.

Cheers

 

[venkatcr]

I need to connect BDP with power source of 120V/60Hz and power consumption of 23W. Will 40W step down transformer will do for this?

Yes it will. A player does not have surges and consumes steady power during standby and during playback. If the power consumption during playback is 26W, a 40W step down is all right.

cheers

 

[idlebrain]

Yes it will. A player does not have surges and consumes steady power during standby and during playback. If the power consumption during playback is 26W, a 40W step down is all right.

cheers

Thanks Venkatcr for confirming this.
If I bought a 1.5KVA or 1000W Step down transformer and connect an equipment with 26W, will there be any problem?
Why 1.5KVA one is, I will be getting some more equipments from US in coming 3 months..so I wanted to have one Transformer which can be connected for other 2 equipments.

Regards
Satya.

 

[venkatcr]

If I bought a 1.5KVA or 1000W Step down transformer and connect an equipment with 26W, will there be any problem?

It depends upon the equipment. If you are going to use an amplifier, the general advise is to get a transformer/stabiliser of twice the capacity. Calculate the total wattage of all your equipment and get a transformer that has at least 1.5x capacity. Preferable is 2x.

Added on 15/10 after Malvai and Dinyaar's exchange below
The wattage to be calculated is the wattage in terms of consumption and not amplifier output. Please check the manual of the appliance.


Cheers

 

[malvai]

It depends upon the equipment. If you are going to use an amplifier, the general advise is to get a transformer/stabiliser of twice the capacity. Calculate the total wattage of all your equipment and get a transformer that has at least 1.5x capacity. Preferable is 2x.

Cheers

So how many Kw stabiliser/transformer should I go for if my power amp is delivering 200 w rms pc?

 

[dinyaar]

Malvai do u get surges/fluctuation where u are at in mumbai?
If not dont put that Rotel on a stab.
Its not the 200 WPC output to consider its the POWER CONSUMPTION of the device, which is mentioned in the manual or on the Rotel website. For example if it mentions 800 watts , this is at full load and 8 ohms and one cannot drive an amp at full load. A 1.5KVA is more than sufficient.
If u are adding more components on the servo stab then u have to add up the consumption of all those and then keep a buffer so the amp is not starved of current.
Generally guys route all the components except power amps thru the stab and plug the power amp directly into the mains.
Apart from a few manufacturers who are reliable, the run of the mill servo controlled stabilizer available at 2/3 K at lamington road is NOT WHAT IT CLAIMS TO BE. A 3KVA is not 3KVA.
Some brands like ARGO are good but they are not dead silent plus there is a surge on start up which can trip the line.
Too many things to consider when buying a large capacity servo stabilizer.
Rgds