[PLUG] Power Conditioner

[Chuck Hast]

Ahh forgot the G/N bonding, in the industrial environments I
worked in, we never saw that one it was caught prior to hotting
up the circuit, but indeed home installations are a crap shoot.

Indeed the home I bought where I now live was like that I had
to make sure the G/N bond was solid as it looked more like an
afterthought. Now it is a bazen thought...


On Thu, Sep 24, 2020 at 8:54 PM Michael Barnes <barnmichael at gmail.com>
wrote:

> You need to verify the wiring from your generator through the transfer
> panel. Depending on how it is configured, it is possible the ground does
> not make it all the way through when on generator. This can easily be
> checked with one of those 3 light circuit testers. I have run into this in
> the field using generators. In many generators, the ground and neutral are
> not bonded. A UPS will see this as a fault and not accept the power.
>
> For a building, a transfer panel may be wired a couple of different ways.
> For a large "whole house" system, the transfer panel simply switches
> between commercial power and a big generator prior to the main service
> panel. In that case, the ground-neutral bond takes place in the service
> panel and all should be good. In some cases, however, the generator is not
> big enough for the whole house. In those situations, there will be a sub
> panel for the "priority" circuits. The transfer switch then toggles between
> the feed from the main service panel and the generator. Sometimes, the
> transfer panel is wired incorrectly and does not provide the G-N bond when
> on the generator.
>
> Most modern generators are pretty well regulated, so the UPS rejecting due
> to frequency or voltage is not likely. (Unless it is a cheapo Harbor
> Freight or similar generator.)
>
> Working a lot of field communications activity and back-up power for
> critical sites, I have run into this quite often.
>
> Check the wiring before worrying about power conditioners.
>
> My $.0002,
>
> Michael
>
>
> On Thu, Sep 24, 2020, 18:16 Mike C. <mconnors1 at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > You shouldn't have to buy anything to fix this problem. You should be
> able
> > to accomplish this by adjusting the governor / idle speed of the
> generator
> > to the rpm that produces a stable 60 hz signal.
> >
> > Ideally, you'd have a cheap multimeter to use to quickly and easily dial
> in
> > the rpm but if not, you could just try playing around with it until the
> > battery accepts the signal and starts charging.
> >
> > On Thu, Sep 24, 2020 at 5:56 PM Dick Steffens <dick at dicksteffens.com>
> > wrote:
> >
> > > During the fire event last week we were without PGE power a couple of
> > > times. We have a generator connected to the house through a transfer
> > > panel which worked fine for everything except the battery backup units
> > > we have for our computers. They rejected the power that wasn't a stable
> > > 60 Hz. I have now heard that this is not uncommon with some generators,
> > > and that there are devices one can use between the wall outlet and the
> > > battery backup to maintain clean power.
> > >
> > > Searching for these online is proving to be challenging. Some people
> > > call them inverters. The hits I get for inverters are for converting
> 12v
> > > to 120v. I tried power conditioner. That seems to be what I need, but I
> > > call upon the collected wisdom of this group for confirmation, or a
> > > suitable clue stick.
> > >
> > > The two search hits I looked at are:
> > >
> > > https://www.newegg.com/p/pl?d=120+volt+line+conditioner
> > >
> > > and
> > >
> > >
> > >
> >
> https://www.amazon.com/Tripp-Lite-Conditioner-Regulation-LS606M/dp/B00006B83G
> > >
> > > Further thoughts appreciated.
> > >
> > > --
> > > Regards,
> > >
> > > Dick Steffens
> > >
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-- 

Chuck Hast  -- KP4DJT --
I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
Ph 4:13 KJV
Todo lo puedo en Cristo que me fortalece.
Fil 4:13 RVR1960