Electricity query

Ted_Hutchinson

Our substation is being replaces so for a few days the village has had a disrupted supply. We have temporary generators spread around the village keeping us going. Owing to this work the electricity has been on/off/on/off several times during each day and clocks have had to be reset.

I am now a bit concerned that all the clocks (microwave, cooker, radio) that need resetting are now running fast. So although I set them correctly a couple of hours later they are 5-10 minutes fast.

If the temporary power supply is causing the clocks to run fast I wonder if it will have any effect on my PC, the freezers etc? Does anyone know if I should worry?

If it made this site load faster I'd be pleased but it seems to have been very slow recently.

grumpyoldgit_2

Ask the provider what Voltage and Amp rate they are supplying - sounds like it is more than the usual you draw from the national grid.
Generators can also fluctuate in power with visible "phasing" on light circuits i.e you can see the light pulsing slightly - that is normal providing the supply does not peak and dip too much.
Raise your concerns so they are on record (just in case)
As to your PC I routinely use a laptop on generated systems when Iwork in Africa - they vary from excellent to absolute c**p and so far I have had no problems - I think you will find they are pretty resilient and can cope with slightly higher and lower voltages providing the supply is reasonably constant - unexpected spikes and too much variation in supply could cause damage though.
Do the suppliers forewarn you when power will be switched off and on? as that is when the risk of a spike in supply is greatest - it would be sensible to turn off PCs DVDs TVs etc if you can at such times to minimise risk.
Also I suggest that you try and use some sort of "clean" supply filter or UPS (Uninterrupted Power Supply) for the PC such as can be found in any of the computer suppliers - they can be expensive BUT how much is your computer and its data worth?
Good Luck - hope it is over soon
GoG

thesealeyboy

Ted_Hutchinson wrote:

Our substation is being replaces so for a few days the village has had a disrupted supply. We have temporary generators spread around the village keeping us going. Owing to this work the electricity has been on/off/on/off several times during each day and clocks have had to be reset.

I am now a bit concerned that all the clocks (microwave, cooker, radio) that need resetting are now running fast. So although I set them correctly a couple of hours later they are 5-10 minutes fast.

If the temporary power supply is causing the clocks to run fast I wonder if it will have any effect on my PC, the freezers etc? Does anyone know if I should worry?

If it made this site load faster I'd be pleased but it seems to have been very slow recently.

Depending on the appliance the clock may be govered by the frequency of the mains supply, ie mains is normally 230-240 V AV at 50Hz - which in case you dont know - means that the supply is an alternating current which alternates its direction of travel 50 times a second. SOme appliances may use this alternation to control clocks etc, so if a generator you are powered by is chucking out a higher cycle rate, or - even worse - a variable one, then that may be the cause of the problems. Certainly I would nip down to your nearest electrical supplier or supermarket and buy some filters as advised, it could be sods law that a slight spike could take out the power supply on your PC which in turn could damage other things internally...

Grumpyoldgit - you prob wont see any problems using a laptop because your power supply is designed to run off voltages as low as 115V and up to (prob) 250V, therefore any fluctation will be absorbed by the PSU.

grumpyoldgit_2

Good Point - of course it is different from a desktop!
We also run PCs and have had very little problem but then we do use UPSs
Cheers