Let's talk power!

[Don S]

Like most of us, I have to deal with many different locations and venues. The PSW lab has been a great place to learn about basics of AC loading and how to avoid some serious disasters.
My questions are about the practical use of UPS, regulator and/or isolation transformers. Since this is predominantly for recording, and I don't have worry about noise leaking into a PA, are all of these units necessary? Is a UPS also a (reliable) voltage regulator? Does the transformer in a decent regulator (I have the furman AR1215) isolate as well as some of the larger units made by tripp-lite? Should a regulator be in front of, or behind a regulator? What order do these units have to be in to provide the best protection?

[5flagsaudio]

I've not run into any issues (yet) with location power, but for peace of mind, and the safety of the HD24 drives, I run a double conversion UPS on site.

It's 80# that I'd rather not lug around in an ideal world, but since I'm only as good as my last recording, it goes with me every time. It saved a recording recently when the power went out on a big band for about a minute and the band kept playing in the dark.

[7rojo7]

UPS before the isolation transformer, or you'll blow it up.
You need an on line UPS that always runs through the inverter to have the most protection, isolated grounds
UPSes don't like to see a funky neutral

[fifthcircle]

I've had great luck with my Furman boxes for cleaning up and regulating power. The things that they have saved me from is almost too long to list- the worst being a venue with 100 volts coming out of the wall, except when the fridge turned on and it momentarily dipped to 85 or so. My AR-117 regulated that and saved the recording.

I then have a small UPS that I purchased from Best Buy (or some similar store) that I use for the computers/recorders and hard drives. In most situations, if we loose power, there are far bigger issues that affect the show. The UPS for me saves the drives from loosing power when they shouldn't.

--Ben

[noamraz]

Can you please expand on the reason for placing the UPS before the isolation transformer?

I am placing my UPS "before" my Furmans but that is due the fact that my UPS is feeding all the components of the Rig, If i was choosing to use the UPS "after" the Furman for only several of the rig's components - Would i harm the UPS in anyway?

Originally Posted by 7rojo7

UPS before the isolation transformer, or you'll blow it up.
You need an on line UPS that always runs through the inverter to have the most protection, isolated grounds
UPSes don't like to see a funky neutral

[noamraz]

any1?

[Don S]

Just by doing some research on manufacturer's sights, suggests that the online UPS is better way to go. They start about $650 and have zero transition time. They must be worth it because I see so many in touring systems. I bought a small, inexpensive APC just to keep the hard drive spinning. It powered my entire rig for about 10 minutes, but I can't see running 2 lines from the AC source to keep the furman regulator on a separate line from the ups.

[Jim vanBergen]

I put a voltage regulator first, then a UPS. It depends on the UPS, most rackmounted units of any decent value are pretty solid. I like SurgeEx and Tripplite. It's important to have power regulation and spike/surge suppression before the UPS due to the nature of most UPS designs. They are delicate circuits with big batteries that are very messy and can cause extensive damage if they, or the large battery they encapsulate, have a problem.

JvB

Originally Posted by noamraz

Can you please expand on the reason for placing the UPS before the isolation transformer?

I am placing my UPS "before" my Furmans but that is due the fact that my UPS is feeding all the components of the Rig, If i was choosing to use the UPS "after" the Furman for only several of the rig's components - Would i harm the UPS in anyway?

[Don S]

Thanks Jim,
So we WON'T blow the UPS?! It seems logical to prevent spikes and irregularities before the UPS to make a transition as smooth as possible to battery. There is a transformer in the UPS, but I assumed it was for the DC to AC inverter only. Does it isolate/regulate as well?

[Jim vanBergen]

Don, the problem is it totally depends on the UPS. If you go with really good brands, you will be OK, but even the Tripplite Smart 1500's which do voltage regulation, only so SO MUCH regulation- ie, a % drop if you get 174VAC, which is not enough to be entirely stable. You have to decide what your power needs are and design a system to regulate and protect it.