RealityRipple

Being on solar power, my home runs on a generator when the batteries get low. Recently, the generator has been having problems, and all the lights in the house flicker constantly while it's on. How much of an effect will this have on my computer? Will my 520 watt PSU keep a stable frequency to all my devices?

Also, ever since I got this PSU (a few years ago), it's had a somewhat annoying problem. If it's unplugged (or the switch on the surge protector is turned off) for longer than about a minute, the computer will refuse to turn on once power is restored. I have to flip the PSU's switch off, press the computer's power button repeatedly until the lights "jump" on, and then quickly throw the PSU switch back on. I'm guessing the voltages aren't reading right until it's jumpstarted... Is there any way to fix this aside from leaving it plugged in 24/7?

Matth

If the lights are unsteady, then the computer will not like it at all!

Actually, a PSU with active PFC (full range voltage with no selection) may tolerate voltages away from optimum better than a no/passive PFC model, but you really need to sort the generator or run the computer through a UPS or seperate power converter from the battery with the generator charging.

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Her father shot it dead
Now Mary takes her lamb to school,
Between two crusts of bread

Judas

i'd highly suggest investing in a high end ups such as an apc va1000 or higher model with AVR. even high end psu's were never designed for irregular flux such as that.... it's extremely hard on them and therefore hard on your computer components as well.

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RealityRipple

I've had two UPS's and both fried out within a month. One of them left a huge brown burn stain on my floor, and both cost over $700. On the other hand, this $60 PSU has lasted a few years. Does the fact it's a giant capacitor do nothing to clean up the signal to the components?

Judas

obviously it will help...

what were the ups's that you had?... and considering that they burnt that quickly they should have been replaced.. (course considering you have had 2... i personally wouldn't touch that same model again obviously)

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RealityRipple

The PSU, I mean, not the UPS...

The first one was an APC, and I forget what the second one was (it was black and had a weird round button that felt like it was broken, whereas the APC was off-white and had a simple red button). I don't think warranties cover damage caused by electricity that doesn't come from a company (we're not hooked up to the grid at all).

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Mac Daddy

1) I would suggest a UPS due to the AC power fluctuations but another simpler question. What would the generator cost to replace to solve the actual problem instead of putting a bandage on it?

2) On the PSU sounds like it has issues. I swap PSU's in systems all the time for tests never had that issue.

Hope that helps

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RealityRipple

I have no idea how much it'd cost. It runs our entire house and uses propane instead of gasoline. It's still got 3 of the 5 year parts and labor warranty, so it'll be fixed eventually. I'm worried about the meantime, though.

As for the PSU, it's lovely other than that problem (I noticed if I let it sit for a good 5-10 minutes before trying to turn it on, it works. I guess it just takes a while to 'heat up').

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Mac Daddy

Well in the meantime get a solid UPS and don't take Judas's suggestions lightly he is in the business and I have a stack of his business cards here

On the PSU it is a pulse width modulated device it doesn't need to warm up. I suspect there is broken or cold solder joints in it somewhere or perhaps a defect in a component most likely on the primary side. If its under warranty RMA it .. QUICK !!

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"My mom said the only reason men are alive is for lawn care and vehicle maintenance." - Tim Allen

RealityRipple

It's way out of warranty. I've been running on this PSU for the last three plus years, and it's just had this one problem for all that time. Nothing else has gone wrong with it, and it's only a problem after it's lost power.

I'll look through Newegg's UPS list... But I'm hoping the problem will be solved sooner than it'd take to ship what I'd buy (though, I had hoped the same thing last week).

Edit: I remember what the other brand was: CyberPower. That's the one that burnt a spot on my floor.

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Mac Daddy

OK well that problem is not normal and if you get a PSU that behaves in that fashion in the future warranty it right away.

On the UPS I have no suggestions for you perhaps Judas or others could suggest a good one for you. Hope you get it solved for now but overall this generator isn't just affecting your computer it's affecting all the electronics devices in your house!

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"My mom said the only reason men are alive is for lawn care and vehicle maintenance." - Tim Allen

RealityRipple

Everything in the house is on surge protectors, and we turn most everything vital off when it has to run. I'm half tempted to take my computer and walk into town to steal someone else's power for the day...

PS: Do you think a product like this voltage regulator would work just as well? A reviewer said that specific product didn't have a UL stamp, so I wouldn't get that one, but is an AVR all I really need?

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Mac Daddy

Dang that's a tough situation to be in and our other members including myself should be grateful they are not dealing with the issues you are.

On that regulator upon reading the comments may help when coupled with a UPS. It is meant more to clean dirty power lines not lines that are dropping out as yours are. I looked around and found a full blown regulator but its almost 4 grand

I will take a look around for ya later and see what I can find. If anyone else can help out post it up

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"My mom said the only reason men are alive is for lawn care and vehicle maintenance." - Tim Allen

Judas

the higher end ups are designed to take full blown power outages and super brown outs.. i mean we have flux power here at random times.... my apc's still are holding up well.

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RealityRipple

Well, it sounds like this problem might not be fixed for a few weeks, and money's a bit tight at the moment. Hopefully a job I have planned will follow through soon... Let's say my budget is within a couple hundred dollars (less than 100 would be lovely, though not realistic, I suppose).

A side note: I hadn't paid attention before, but it looks like the lights on my comp (power/hdd and the lights in my PSU and case fans [which aren't normally plugged in cause of the power problems]) don't flicker with the rest of the lights in the house.

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Mac Daddy

The lights in your house run off unregulated AC power whereas the LED indicators and your computer components run off a regulated DC supply. You would need to see a measurable droop in the AC power either potential or duration to make those indicators flicker. Thats more or less the idea of the UPS or regulator you are looking for it helps maintain the AC potential feeding the DC regulation of the PSU.

Hope you get it sorted as soon as you can money is tight everywhere these days so I hear ya. Best of luck with this

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"My mom said the only reason men are alive is for lawn care and vehicle maintenance." - Tim Allen

RealityRipple

I've decided I'd rather spend my money on getting a cheap text-editing/web browsing laptop. I can probably find one for less than a UPS or AVR, and it'll be portable besides. Thanks for your help though, guys!

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Mac Daddy

That might be your best solution for now because there really is nothing wrong with your desktop PC just the power issue. Use the laptop until that generator is replaced .. on the help no biggie just holler if ya need a hand with anything else

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"My mom said the only reason men are alive is for lawn care and vehicle maintenance." - Tim Allen