Do I need a Power Conditioner ?

[rolski]

Well ?

Is there a guide to Power - one that I haven't found in my searches - that tells me how to check my mains power & tell me whether I have a problem or not, how effective power conditioners are, what they actually do & how they do it, and if they're worth using....?

There are several threads that touch on the subject from various angles, but who's going to take the challenge & put some comprehensive advice down in words....?

 

[Johnd]

I don't know what anyone can add that you can't find in the manuals. Simply put a power conditioner (vs. a simple filter) regulates the voltage to a "constant", say 117 volts, here in the US, or, say, 208 volts there in Germany that can be harmful to equipment, including surges, spikes and brownouts. Typically not necessary unless:
a) you have some high end equipmment; and
b) your electrical supply is unstable.

Otherwise, a simple (or a stage four) filter/suppressor is fine in the vast majority of cases. At least that's my take on it. Cheers.

 

[Johnd]

To check your main's power supply, or more accurately, it's stability, all you need is a voltmeter. If it strays much, say more than a couple of volts in a 110 system, you don't have a stable supply. If you want to do it high tech, record it over a few weeks with a voltage recorder.

 

[Nick250]

Otherwise, a simple (or a stage four) filter/suppressor is fine in the vast majority of cases. At least that's my take on it. Cheers.

John, do you have any recomendations for the above?

 

[Johnd]

Recommendations for what? Testing, conditioners, filters or suppressors?

Edit: I personally have the Monster HTS 5000, and Panamax makes as good (or better) a quality of product. But if all you need is protection from rf or emi, solutions can be had for $50.00. The question is, what is your equipment worth, and what type of protection do you need or want?

 

[Nick250]

Recommendations for what? Testing, conditioners, filters or suppressors?

Edit: I personally have the Monster HTS 5000, and Panamax makes as good (or better) a quality of product. But if all you need is protection from rf or emi, solutions can be had for $50.00. The question is, what is your equipment worth, and what type of protection do you need or want?

"Originally Posted by Johnd
Otherwise, a simple (or a stage four) filter/suppressor is fine in the vast majority of cases. At least that's my take on it. Cheers."

John, I was asking about the simple filter/suppressor.

Nick

 

[rolski]

The question is, what is your equipment worth, and what type of protection do you need or want?

My equipment's worth a heck of a lot of cash - and I live right in the middle of a city - so I'm interested in equipment that's going to protect my investment & possibly improve the sound at the same time.

Anyway, back to the point, there isn't a general guide to the truth & myths of power supply itself - anyone feel like writing one for the benefit of all ?

 

[Johnd]

I don't know what you're looking for specifically...a tell all book that espouses the bent truths, half lies and fiction spewn by the marketers, manufacturers and chat rooms vs. an electrical engineer's dissertation on electrical theory?

My understanding is as follows:
1) stray and fluctuating voltage can, and will harm equipment (not to mention the sound and picture quality while it's occuring); and
2) interference (rf/emi as well as all the noise) can be controlled by a good filter (as well as, of course, properly laying arranging wiring/cabling).

But these are basic facts, and I would think you already know them. As far as disproving the myths and fiction (and misunderstandings) that seem to circulate and recirculate, I'll allow you and others post them. Then we can disprove them one at a time (if that's what you're looking for). Cheers.

 

[Geno]

I've been a field service engineer for over 20 years in the medical imaging industry. My take on this whole subject is this: We test the power line using a "power line viewer" with an oscilloscope to look at the AC waveform, and view and measure the normal mode and common-mode noise. If there's no measureable noise, we do NOTHING. If there is noise, or other power line disturbances, we put a recording line viewer for a period of time and determine what sort of problems are present. Only then do we add expensive line conditioners or have the building wiring/distribution system corrected. Personally, I put a Tripplite strip on my system to protect from surges/spikes, but those uber-expensive boxes I see at all the trendy stores are a heck of a profit center for the retailers. Guess what I'm saying is "if it ain't broke, don't fix it"

 

[mtrycrafts]

Guess what I'm saying is "if it ain't broke, don't fix it"

How will that help employ all those in the gimmick industry then? LOL

Audio gear tend to have pretty good built in filters anyhow.

 

[rolski]

Any simpler equipment than a power-line-viewer available for joe-public to check their mains electricity ? Will a simple Voltmeter really do the trick ?

 

[Geno]

Rolski:
No, a voltmeter will only tell you the voltage at a given instant. You need a little more elaborate equipment to see the 'quality' of the power.

 

[rolski]

OK, thanks, will try to find a friendly Electrician that will loan me equipment / not charge me too much for measuring my mains power supply....

 

[Johnd]

Or, a simple voltage recorder (most electricians will never have one) will do the trick. They can be had fou under $100.00, or used for less than half of that.

 

[Daz3d&Confus3d]

I had been wondering about this very topic!!! That's for the input!!!

 

[Daz3d&Confus3d]

The one question I have is that I live in an area with alot of electrical/thunder storms (Tulsa OK) and inevidibly my power seems to constently flicker and dim on and off over the course of a few minutes sometimes. I hate that and it concerns me. I live just outside if town and the power never seems to be as stable here (during or not during storms)....as when I lived in town. Soo is this a situation where I may actually want to consider more than just my Tripplite?

 

[skrivis]

The one question I have is that I live in an area with alot of electrical/thunder storms (Tulsa OK) and inevidibly my power seems to constently flicker and dim on and off over the course of a few minutes sometimes. I hate that and it concerns me. I live just outside if town and the power never seems to be as stable here (during or not during storms)....as when I lived in town. Soo is this a situation where I may actually want to consider more than just my Tripplite?

Other than a big Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) that does power conditioning, I don't see that there's much you can do in a case like this.

Make sure your outlets are wired correctly, use a Tripplite power strip for its filtering and surge supression, and try to turn off delicate electronic equipment during storms.

A big UPS will simply cost too much to be worthwhile, so I don't see it as an option you should consider.

You could try complaining to the power company. It probably can't hurt anyway.

 

[Daz3d&Confus3d]

good.....thx for the info

 

[Geno]

I hafta agree with skrivis - unless you're prepared to pay for the ungodly costs of generating your own power, you're pretty much consigned to protecting your gear from the worst that your local power company can deliver.