View Full Version : UPS is going crazy since yesterday
N2CHX
10-26-2012, 09:02 AM
No, not the brown kind... The UPS that keeps all my equipment online and protected. Since yesterday afternoon, it's been kicking on randomly several times an hour. No visible fluctuations but for a few days we were having really short brownouts visible in the lights flickering. Frequency seems to be right on at 60.0 Hz.
I threw a voltmeter on an outlet and get 121.5 volts. Normal, but a bit higher than it usually is by about 6 volts. Guessing something blew up somewhere and they have us on an alternate path and the voltage is high, close to the UPS' threshold. Either that or the UPS is losing its marbles. Either way, it's bugging me. A UPS doesn't usually do this sort of thing unless some bad shit is about to go down.
KC2UGV
10-26-2012, 09:03 AM
It's the October Surprise of 2012 :)
N2CHX
10-26-2012, 09:06 AM
It's the October Surprise of 2012 :)
Yeah, and after that NOM rally last year, I will never again keep a cop's lights on with my generator during another power outage.
It's the October Surprise of 2012 :)
Mitt Romney's using his hairdrier.
http://content9.flixster.com/question/54/49/89/5449899_std.jpg
N2CHX
10-26-2012, 09:10 AM
Mitt Romney's using his hairdrier.
http://content9.flixster.com/question/54/49/89/5449899_std.jpg
:rofl:
And his tanning lights?
Mitt Romney's using his hairdrier.
http://content9.flixster.com/question/54/49/89/5449899_std.jpg
:rofl:
And his tanning lights?
http://images35.fotki.com/v1167/photos/1/1317618/6073030/roflbot-vi.jpg
n2ize
10-26-2012, 11:18 AM
No, not the brown kind... The UPS that keeps all my equipment online and protected. Since yesterday afternoon, it's been kicking on randomly several times an hour. No visible fluctuations but for a few days we were having really short brownouts visible in the lights flickering. Frequency seems to be right on at 60.0 Hz.
I threw a voltmeter on an outlet and get 121.5 volts. Normal, but a bit higher than it usually is by about 6 volts. Guessing something blew up somewhere and they have us on an alternate path and the voltage is high, close to the UPS' threshold. Either that or the UPS is losing its marbles. Either way, it's bugging me. A UPS doesn't usually do this sort of thing unless some bad shit is about to go down.
What are the high/low thresholds set at on your UPS's. ? I tend to run mine at 130 V at the high end and 90 V at the low end. Round here Con Edison seems to deliver 121-122V. You may want to weak the settings a bit. If course that also depends on the tolerances of the equipment you are protecting.
N2CHX
10-26-2012, 11:22 AM
What are the high/low thresholds set at on your UPS's. ? I tend to run mine at 130 V at the high end and 90 V at the low end.
No clue. It has a programming port but I've never bothered with it. The only time I've ever heard it kick in was during an actual outage or once a week when it self-tests.
n2ize
10-26-2012, 11:37 AM
No clue. It has a programming port but I've never bothered with it. The only time I've ever heard it kick in was during an actual outage or once a week when it self-tests.
Sometimes they can get finicky if they are near the end of their battery life. Lead Acid batteries don;t last too long. I get on average about 2 years on mine before replacement give or take a year. Or, it could be that its just doing its job. They will jump to battery if the voltage goes above/below threshold, frequency drifts, .etc. If we get any heavy rain and wind this weekend or early next week I expect I'll see my UPS's switching over quite a bit. The joys of having an overhead distribution system + trees.
W8XLR
10-26-2012, 11:41 AM
Perhaps distribution to the grid is being re-arranged in anticipation of the "Frankenstorm"?:chin:
n2ize
10-26-2012, 11:43 AM
Perhaps distribution to the grid is being re-arranged in anticipation of the "Frankenstorm"?:chin:
Maybe... but I sorta doubt it.
W2NAP
10-27-2012, 01:47 PM
well.. I know where i live they are building wind farms... since they have started building them beeen getting alot of brown outs.
K7SGJ
10-27-2012, 09:25 PM
well.. I know where i live they are building wind farms... since they have started building them beeen getting alot of brown outs.
Don't worry, it'll blow over.
KC2UGV
10-27-2012, 09:57 PM
well.. I know where i live they are building wind farms... since they have started building them beeen getting alot of brown outs.
Weird. Are you sure it's not the coal plants having issues? Wind farms, at best, fill in for brown outs. I couldn't see how they would cause them, unless they are taking legs off line to connect them.
W2NAP
10-28-2012, 01:37 AM
Weird. Are you sure it's not the coal plants having issues? Wind farms, at best, fill in for brown outs. I couldn't see how they would cause them, unless they are taking legs off line to connect them.
well they have a few online now. but the full project will cover n.w. madison n.e. tipton. s.e. howard and s.w. grant counties in Indiana (a huge area).
where I live and family has lived on this property power outages and brown outs were very rare. we went from 1991 till 2008 without a power outage or brownout. (power dropped when a transformer exploded behind the house) then they started in with the farm in 2010 i believe. since 2011 brownouts have happened quite a bit here now. so as far as I can tell the farm is the cause of them.
K7SGJ
10-28-2012, 09:58 AM
I'm betting on the battery too, Kelli. I've had UPS units do all kinds of crazy shit when the battery goes TU.
N2CHX
10-28-2012, 10:00 AM
I think the voltage was high. It's back down to 118 volts or so and the UPS has been quiet since late yesterday afternoon.
n2ize
10-28-2012, 10:04 AM
I think the voltage was high. It's back down to 118 volts or so and the UPS has been quiet since late yesterday afternoon.
yeah, that could do it. Round here Con Ed delivers 120-123 VAC as I have measured. I keep my UPS threshold at 130. With this death storm coming I expect my UPS's will be doing their job over the next couple days, be it momentary outages or full shutdowns. What make are your UPS's. ?
N2CHX
10-28-2012, 10:05 AM
yeah, that could do it. Round here Con Ed delivers 120-123 VAC as I have measured. I keep my UPS threshold at 130. With this death storm coming I expect my UPS's will be doing their job over the next couple days, be it momentary outages or full shutdowns. What make are your UPS's. ?
APC.
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