Chinese vs Japanese Voltage stabilizer

[drummerdimitri]

So I'm in the market for a voltage stabilizer since my mains voltage tends to fluctuate anywhere from 170-230 V and my UPS constantly making clicking noises so it's always going from mains power to battery power and the voltage keeps changing so I need a Voltage stabilizer that will keep feeding 220V to my UPS.

My UPS is rated at a max of 700W continuous output so will a 1000VA stabilizer be enough or do I need a 1.5 or 2KVA model?

Also there seems to be a large price difference between the Chinese models (40-60$) and the Japanese ones (150-400$).

Not sure which one suits my needs maybe someone can help me with that.

[NiHaoMike]

Find and fix the bad connection that's causing the large voltage drop.

[james_s]

Depending on the country the OP is in (I don't recognize the flag) it may not be a bad connection in or around his home. There are some places where the electrical grid is nowhere near as robust as it is in more developed nations.

[james_s]

The stabilizers I'm familiar with used ferroresonant constant voltage transformers, no moving parts or active circuitry. Sola was a common brand, they ran hot and tended to hum, it's been a while now since I've seen one of those.

[edpalmer42]

Depending on the country the OP is in (I don't recognize the flag) it may not be a bad connection in or around his home. There are some places where the electrical grid is nowhere near as robust as it is in more developed nations.

James, how could you have over 3700 posts without noticing that if you hover your mouse over the flag it tells you the name of the country?  Lebanon, in this case.  I can't remember if I was told this, read it somewhere, or just stumbled over it.  Probably stumbled.  I do that a lot.

No, I don't recognize the flag either. 

Dimitri, have you considered selling the UPS you've got and getting one that's better suited to your situation?  A high-end UPS is always running from the batteries so it wouldn't care.  A middle-level UPS can use the batteries to boost a low voltage without actually switching to pure batteries.  A low-end UPS just switches to batteries if the input voltage is too low.  I've also seen a couple of UPSs that had two or three levels of switching so they'd tolerate more or less input drop before they switched.

What model of UPS do you have?

Ed

[james_s]

James, how could you have over 3700 posts without noticing that if you hover your mouse over the flag it tells you the name of the country?

Because it doesn't do that for me.

Ok I just tried in Chrome and it does in fact work, nifty. My ad blocker or script blocker must break that feature in my main browser.

[drummerdimitri]

Depending on the country the OP is in (I don't recognize the flag) it may not be a bad connection in or around his home. There are some places where the electrical grid is nowhere near as robust as it is in more developed nations.

James, how could you have over 3700 posts without noticing that if you hover your mouse over the flag it tells you the name of the country?  Lebanon, in this case.  I can't remember if I was told this, read it somewhere, or just stumbled over it.  Probably stumbled.  I do that a lot.

No, I don't recognize the flag either. 

Dimitri, have you considered selling the UPS you've got and getting one that's better suited to your situation?  A high-end UPS is always running from the batteries so it wouldn't care.  A middle-level UPS can use the batteries to boost a low voltage without actually switching to pure batteries.  A low-end UPS just switches to batteries if the input voltage is too low.  I've also seen a couple of UPSs that had two or three levels of switching so they'd tolerate more or less input drop before they switched.

What model of UPS do you have?

Ed

I have a Cyber Power CPS1000E which boosts low voltage but it seems to be doing that a lot and has now suffered damage as it no longer switches to battery power when the power goes out.

I prefer having it fixed and adding another layer of protection (stabilizer).

Back to my main question though would a low cost Chinese one do the trick or do I need an Auto Stac (Japanese) model?

[tooki]

James, how could you have over 3700 posts without noticing that if you hover your mouse over the flag it tells you the name of the country?

Because it doesn't do that for me.

Ok I just tried in Chrome and it does in fact work, nifty. My ad blocker or script blocker must break that feature in my main browser.

What browser? I know that Chrome, Safari, and Firefox all show it. (I don't have a PC to test IE/Edge with.)

The hover text does not use scripting, it's just the title attribute of the image tag. Must be one heck of a script blocker if it's managing to break basic HTML rendering! :p

[tooki]

Depending on the country the OP is in (I don't recognize the flag) it may not be a bad connection in or around his home. There are some places where the electrical grid is nowhere near as robust as it is in more developed nations.

James, how could you have over 3700 posts without noticing that if you hover your mouse over the flag it tells you the name of the country?  Lebanon, in this case.  I can't remember if I was told this, read it somewhere, or just stumbled over it.  Probably stumbled.  I do that a lot.

No, I don't recognize the flag either. 

Dimitri, have you considered selling the UPS you've got and getting one that's better suited to your situation?  A high-end UPS is always running from the batteries so it wouldn't care.  A middle-level UPS can use the batteries to boost a low voltage without actually switching to pure batteries.  A low-end UPS just switches to batteries if the input voltage is too low.  I've also seen a couple of UPSs that had two or three levels of switching so they'd tolerate more or less input drop before they switched.

What model of UPS do you have?

Ed

I have a Cyber Power CPS1000E which boosts low voltage but it seems to be doing that a lot and has now suffered damage as it no longer switches to battery power when the power goes out.

I prefer having it fixed and adding another layer of protection (stabilizer).

Back to my main question though would a low cost Chinese one do the trick or do I need an Auto Stac (Japanese) model?

So the UPS is already damaged and needs to be replaced anyway. So just do what blueskull said and get a true online double-conversion UPS. That's the correct solution, it's designed specifically for your type of situation!

[Audioguru]

I am using Microsoft Edge and have Ad Blocker and I see the country's name.

[wraper]

Why not use on-line UPS instead of patching faulty crap solution?

[james_s]

What browser? I know that Chrome, Safari, and Firefox all show it. (I don't have a PC to test IE/Edge with.)

The hover text does not use scripting, it's just the title attribute of the image tag. Must be one heck of a script blocker if it's managing to break basic HTML rendering! :p

This is Pale Moon, and oddly it's working in it today, it wasn't when I tried last night. It does take a couple seconds to appear though so maybe I wasn't patient enough previously.

[drussell]

Why not use on-line UPS instead of patching faulty crap solution?

Often because it can be very difficult to get better equipment at a reasonable price in some countries.

[drussell]

Also there seems to be a large price difference between the Chinese models (40-60$) and the Japanese ones (150-400$).

Not sure which one suits my needs maybe someone can help me with that.

There are many types on the market and they will also be of varying build quality.

Do you have any specific links to the specific products you're considering buying?

[drummerdimitri]

Why not use on-line UPS instead of patching faulty crap solution?

Because it's a 330$ UPS and works great. I just need to regulate the voltage going to it when the mains electricity goes out and the generator comes (mixed cost).

[drummerdimitri]

Also there seems to be a large price difference between the Chinese models (40-60$) and the Japanese ones (150-400$).

Not sure which one suits my needs maybe someone can help me with that.

There are many types on the market and they will also be of varying build quality.

Do you have any specific links to the specific products you're considering buying?

Here's the website I am considering buying from : http://www.ekt2.com/products?cat_id=039f1565-3f3b-414d-a0c0-654234ed7488

They have lots of models to chose from but for my needs 1500-2000VA should be more than enough.

[edpalmer42]

Also there seems to be a large price difference between the Chinese models (40-60$) and the Japanese ones (150-400$).

Not sure which one suits my needs maybe someone can help me with that.

There are many types on the market and they will also be of varying build quality.

Do you have any specific links to the specific products you're considering buying?

Here's the website I am considering buying from : http://www.ekt2.com/products?cat_id=039f1565-3f3b-414d-a0c0-654234ed7488

They have lots of models to chose from but for my needs 1500-2000VA should be more than enough.

I've never seen anything like these at the consumer level.  I have seen larger industrial versions.  I remember seeing two that were rated at 110V @ 100A.  I remember thinking that I could use those to regulate a whole house!

The ones that mention servo or servo-motor are probably variable, motor-driven transformers.  Imagine sitting there watching a voltmeter.  If the voltage rises, you turn a big knob to lower the voltage.  If the voltage drops, turn the knob the other way to raise the voltage.  The change in voltage will be very smooth.  Maybe we should automate the process with a circuit board that does this for us.  Nothing wrong with that technique except it's a bit slow.  The motor can only turn so fast.  These units tend to be large and heavy for a relatively low power level because it includes a variable transformer (often called a variac) and perhaps a fixed transformer.

The smaller units like the Delta branded ones replace the motor with solid-state switches that switch taps on a transformer.  The output voltage will jump up or down by a number of volts as the taps switch.  Faster response, but a much more complex and expensive circuit.

But without more data, pictures, etc. I don't really see any difference between the Chinese units (i.e. Johsun) and the almost identical looking Japanese units (i.e. Flysky or Stac).  These all are servo-type units.  I noticed that there's almost no information on many of these units.  Personally, I'd drift towards units that had more data - just because I like to know what I'm buying.

Ed

[nctnico]

Why not use on-line UPS instead of patching faulty crap solution?

Because it's a 330$ UPS and works great. I just need to regulate the voltage going to it when the mains electricity goes out and the generator comes (mixed cost).

You should check whether your UPS is an online one or not. I guess it is not and adding a voltage stabiliser is a waste of money if you can buy a UPS which is an online model. An online UPS convert AC to DC and then back to (stabilised) AC and usually is way more expensive but also much better.

[tooki]

Why not use on-line UPS instead of patching faulty crap solution?

Because it's a 330$ UPS and works great. I just need to regulate the voltage going to it when the mains electricity goes out and the generator comes (mixed cost).

You should check whether your UPS is an online one or not. I guess it is not and adding a voltage stabiliser is a waste of money if you can buy a UPS which is an online model. An online UPS convert AC to DC and then back to (stabilised) AC and usually is way more expensive but also much better.

We know it isn’t, because the UPS already damaged itself from going into brownout protection so often. You’re the third or fourth person to suggest replacing the broken UPS with an online one, but it’s falling on deaf ears.

[Electro Detective]

Get a 2kva ferro resonant transformer for your application, plug a UPS into that and your problems disappear

The bad news:

Do not use the ferro with a generator 

If the ferro noise drives you nuts, put it somewhere far enough away and run with extension cords


Check your wiring, 170 to 230 volts means some some of neutral and ground crap may be going on, loose connections,
clueless DIY wiring, suss electricity provider, a random combo of these, whatever...

and that's a major reason to use an old school ferro, a decent sine wave producing one,
because it doesn't care what crap goes in, it gets hot, buzzes, hums and b!tches away to supply a respectable 220 to 240 volts depending on load and input,
and takes out a lot of line garbage as a bonus 


Get a good sine wave ferro like a Sola or similar good rep brands. 
I have one for those occassions I need constant voltage, so one thing less to think about on a tricky job


The true full on-line UPS is a great way to go, assuming you get a model that can cope with such input abuse
and not shut down with an   'ERR'    or   'Sorry-dude-budget-models-not-designed-for-this...   ' diagnostic message


Servo motor variable trasnsformer may not be able to keep up with fast or abrupt voltage changes, and may put chunks of 290 volts or more into your system if the incoming voltage dives from 230 to 170 and back to 230


These units are only good for long term voltage dips and rises, and perhaps generator use.


Relay tap changing transformers are a coin toss and may just do what your UPS is doing now



or find out which neighbor is running a fan heater, vacuum cleaner, kettle, electric grill, and hair dryer all at once 

and if they don't slow up...threaten to do the same and cause the power to drop to 66 volts   

[drummerdimitri]

Guys how can I tell if I need a relay or servo type voltage stabilizer?

I don't have sudden jumps in voltages but when the generator power comes on, it goes from 220 to 170 immediately and stay that way until mains power is restored.

[edpalmer42]

Guys how can I tell if I need a relay or servo type voltage stabilizer?

I don't have sudden jumps in voltages but when the generator power comes on, it goes from 220 to 170 immediately and stay that way until mains power is restored.

I don't think it matters.  The servo units will correct the voltage smoothly in less than a second.  The tap-switching units will correct the voltage in maybe 0.1 sec. with a step change.  The servo units have a variable transformer with a carbon brush.  If your voltage changes occur multiple times per day, you might have to change the brush some years from now.  Since there's no clear winner here, I'd lean towards the servo units.  Look for one that has some kind of online review or teardown so you have at least a clue about how good it is.

By the way, I looked on ebay for "automatic voltage stabilizer" or "automatic voltage regulator" and found lots there, once you weed out the automotive stuff.  Shipping could be a killer.

Ed

[technix]

Just to hop in, your best chance is a double conversion UPS.

Actually, given the current designs of those double conversion UPS like the Tesla Powerwall, you can throw in some roof-mounted solar panels too. This way whatever comes after that UPS can run on locally generated (aka free) electricity. Depend on your use pattern and local climate, it can lower or even eliminate your electricity bill. If your local grid allows, you can even sell the excess solar electricity after your own use and charging the batteries back to the grid for some odd change of cash.

[Electro Detective]

If you go for a used servo job, you better pray the carbon brushes are in good shape, usually not or condition unknown   

If you get a new one from China, they are usually poor quality, with a flimsy light tracking arm that eventually skips or jumps, creates hot spots,
and they come with a tiny carbon brush    cut to size with blunt scissors or loose handled rusty axe at OneHungLo Co.

Perhaps better off with a tap changing transformer of the correct size, 2 or 3KVA should do the job   

Why is the generator diving to 170v anyway?    

I'd get that sorted asap before it soon drops to 0v