Hi
Recently we have been experiencing extended 'brown outs' from our electrical input supply, it is fluctuating between 170 - 200 Volts. This is causing us a number of problems, our pool pump is struggling to start, also our server, which is connected through a UPS keeps turning itself on and off as the UPS battery cannot cope with such low power.

I wondered if others have similar problems and if anyone has any solutions, I think the problem is worse at this time of year when there are many more people about using aircon, pools etc.

We live in a non-urbanised area of Chiclana and some would say that we are lucky to have any electricity at all!

Yvonne

I know this sounds strange but the only problem I experience is none of the cd trays in the pc or stereo system work well. Sometimes with the pc I have to give it a bit of help with a paperclip The stereo I have to press open close two or three times before it works, and then only under protest

Hi,
Firstly fit an surge protector, available from Cheltron the electrical shop opposite the Repsol garage on the way into Chiclana. Surges kill electrical appliances. Secondly your UPS should simply take over whenever the electrical suply does not supply sufficient volts. I regularily flip the mains off to check the UPS is working OK. So try putting a surge protector before the UPS.
As an aside, I suggest a surge protector on all valuable electrical items, they cost 11 euros and are very cheap when protecting hundreds of euros worth of hi-fi etc.

Dave

Look for a thing called a line interactive UPS. What this does is detect
a lower mains voltage and boosts it to the voltage your PC expects. It does
this without draining the battery by drawing more current from the supply
and (crudely speaking) turning it into additional voltage.
They are more expensive typ. 200-300 pounds.
One brand I've used is the APC Smart-UPS

Thanks for the responses, it looks like we need to invest some money in a more professional UPS or perhaps look at investing in a whole house solution.

Yvonne

And to enforce the point ..... I have surge protectors but this afternoon my power started dropping out for split seconds, about 4 times over an hour. Internet connection stopped working, as it always does after a power cut.

I was waiting till I went home to get some UPS as good Belkin ones are cheap, but might have to get some sooner

We have two Belkin superior series UPS F6H350, which we bought from Carrefour, they cost approx 90€ each, they will cope in some situations but not with our current under voltage.
Since Petes helpful post I have found out that Dell spain sell the line interactive APC smart UPS range.
Not sure how the price compares with the UK but dont think I could manage one in my hand luggage on Ryanair

Mitzy, do you realise how heavy they are?, Fine if you intend driving them back, but I wouldn't recommend flying back with them! You can get Belkin stuff here from (dare I say it?!) PC City(PC World), Media Markt and Boulanger.
On your next trip up to Valencia, call in at the Bonaire shopping centre, just to the south of the City (accessed from the A3). There is a PC City and Boulanger there. I run a satellite internet business through a Belkin, and it's fine for power drops etc, but don't try to run too much equipment through them as you will end up with only a few minutes of battery power, just the essentials like the modem/ router and base unit, leave monitors and printers etc on the main supply.
I can also point to in the direction of some IT kit suppliers in Madrid who deliver.
Regards
Tim

I have just found the link for a UPS that someone on this forum recommended some time ago. It is Salicru
They seem to have sales offices all over Spain.

Heh he, yes I am driving back next time we go.
Yes you're right .... I know where that place is as I see the Bonaire sign and the PC City sign, but I never managed to get to the shopping centre

Yep, Salicru have a good range, and you can generally buy them from any decent size electrical wholesaler. NB these are professional standard models, and they are listed on their website.

I would not recommend surge protectors as being sufficient in Spain, In the Uk with small fluctuations maybe, but with variations from 170 to 260V's no chance,
also when have you known something worth 9 to 11 Eu protect something as valuable as a HD 42" plasma worth 1,900€.

There are various solutions to this problem, the simplest being a Generator with Voltage regulating monitor on autostart, problem is that the bloody thing will be running most of the time, (I have installed a few of these and the problem is to get the settings out to cover the fluctations here!!)

The safest and most secure by far, would be a fairly large voltage regulating power supply unit on all critical equipments, ( Running these equipments thru the Battery powered supply at all times). I have fitted this in my house on the TV , SKY and PC sockets, power failures are not now known!

For those with no electrical suppy, Solar power with Generator backup and you will never have this problem.