Electrical issues ?
Electrical issues ?
Hello, my name is Chris, I'm from the French part of Canada but I moved to the Philippines. Please forgive me if my English isn't perfect from the UK side.
I live in my second apartment, both of which didn't have a ground. But this one has a cable going from the back of the UPS (grounding hole) to a metal beam inside my place. They told me the beams are all connected and technically go 1.5 meters into the ground, even though they're wrapped in concrete. So, I definitely have ground connection. I also use a GFCI outlet and a 350-watt UPS system. My PSU is 550 watts.
My monitor is a Chiworld 27-inch LCD, and recently I had to remove a stick of RAM because the screen was blank even though the computer was on. I'm using an 8GB Fury Hyper X DDR3. The monitor has an ANCU power supply.
Sometimes my monitor goes blank until I unplug the HDMI plug from the motherboard and plug it back in. I tried using Windows Key + Ctrl + Shift + B to reset the video drivers (sorry, I use Windows 11), but even then, the screen flickers green for a moment. After about 10-15 minutes, the problem comes back.
So far, I've had no choice but to connect my UPS power into a DC to AC inverter that's linked to two batteries connected in parallel. These batteries are charged by a smart charger from China, and it shows on its screen that it's pumping around 130 watts. Any suggestions? Did I miss something? And please don't tell me to hire a certified electrician – the moment anyone sees my skin color, the price goes up tenfold. Coming from a social country, I try to keep my spending low so I have funds for emergencies.
Please help.
I wanted to clarify another point, I own a high-power MSI gaming laptop from my home country. Will the same electrical issues arise? It’s an MSI GF65 thinUE that requires 130 or 180 watts to start up—of course I’ll keep using the UPS. The biggest problem is the power cable’s middle section, which is the largest I’ve ever seen, almost as big as a VHS tape.
it's worth noting that the two ups batteries are linked using alligator clips. I accidentally touched one of them and felt a slight buzz, but right now I don't notice anything.
In my view, you definitely need a bigger UPS. The one you currently have is only suitable for your modem and camera receiver. I suggest choosing something larger than your existing power supply, even if the system shows it's using it.
This morning I was unable to start the system because it displays "cannot find operating system." It appears to be using only my main SSD, not a larger UPS. I verified the power draw with a wattmeter and it never exceeded 200 watts, so a 350-watt inverter or AVR should work fine. Will my MSI experience the same issue if I bring it here?
I have a sneaking suspicion you may have a 350VA UPS, which isn't the same thing as a 350W UPS. As such, your 350VA UPS is probably rated at less than 300W and hence may not be sufficient to power a desktop computer and large monitor simultaneously. Although you say the continuous power draw is only 200W, you also have to consider increased power consumption, which typically occurs during the first few minutes as the computer boots up. There may also be instantanous peak power demands which might "swamp" a low output UPS.
Add to that the fact that it probably isn't a "True Sine Wave" UPS, but more likely a cheaper "Stepped Approximation to a Sine Wave" (also known as a "Modified Sine Wave") UPS or worse still, a nasty "Square Wave" UPS and you're just adding to your problems.
ATX computer power supplies prefer a nice clean AC mains waveform (true sine) and may not function reliably when fed with a stepped approximation to a sine wave. Some people insist you must always use a pure sine wave UPS with computer powers supplies (with good reason), but pure sine wave UPS are more expensive than approximation/modified sine wave UPS.
The image below shows a 120V 60Hz mains supply, but if your mains is 240V 50Hz, like mine, just double the voltage scale in your head and substitute 50Hz for 60Hz. The red line shows the output from a stepped approximation UPS. The blue curve shows an ideal pure sine wave, more suitable for an ATX PSU.
Next there's the battery capacity. Many low output UPS come with a very small internal battery, typically rated at 12V DC 5A or 7A. This battery is sufficient to keep the UPS running for a only a few minutes at full rated power, which might give you enough time to close all applications and shut down Windows.
Typical run times for a cheaper UPS running at full power are 2 to 3 minutes. At half power you might get 5 to 10 minutes. At quarter power or less, 20 to 25 minutes.
If your UPS battery is several years old, its capacity will be reduced and you might have less than 1 minute of offline power available, before the battery is exhausted.
At the very least, I'd dump your 350VA? UPS and buy a 600VA or higher unit. It will be more suitable for running a small desktop computer system and provide longer run times. For a more powerful computer or adding a laptop to the equation, consider a 900 or 1000VA UPS.
I'm a bit confused as to why you're charging one inverter (in the UPS) from a second inverter (connected to 2 batteries) and then charging this combination from a third device (Chinese smart charger). I'm sure it provides a working solution, but it's hardly the most efficient way of doing things. You'll be losing power (wasted heat) at each stage.
What you're describing is a specific type of (usually very expensive) "Always Online" UPS. In this situation, mains power enters the online UPS and charges the internal batteries. At the same time, power from the same batteries is fed to a DC-to-AC sine wave inverter and used to power your computer system.
The inverter in an always online UPS (as its name implies) runs all the time, so there is no brief switch over time when the mains fails, as happens with cheaper offline UPS, where the inverter only starts when the mains fails. The "For bypass" line in the diagram below allows you to switch over manually to (unprotected) mains and continue powering your system, when you take the UPS offline for servicing, e.g. to replace the batteries.
You may not have a very stable mains supply where you live. Modern ATX PSUs are designed to run on any mains voltage in the range 100V to 240V AC, 50 or 60Hz. It shouldn't matter if the mains is 105V, 155V, 195V, 235V, etc. What's more important is the supply should be "clean" (no spikes or glitches) as opposed to "dirty" with lots of noise and surges created by heavy duty machinery nearby.
If your mains occasionally drops well below 100V (85V or below) or rises above well above 240V (255V and above), you should run your computer from a UPS all the time. I've measured mains voltages as low as 55V AC and as high as 330V AC in hotel rooms when on vacation. When a hotel generator started up at 300V, all the lights in the room exploded. Good thing my laptop PSU wasn't plugged in.
To sum up, there are four types of UPS to consider:
1). Square wave - avoid like the Plague, they may permanently damage your equipment
2). Stepped approximation (modified sine) - may work but could cause problems
3). True sine wave offline - much better choice, but more expensive than stepped
4). True sine always online - best choice, but pricey