[Aroy]

Originally Posted by SchumiFan

............
The stabilizer doesn't go 'green' by itself and even if we bypass it, it reverts to getting ready state (yellow) by itself. Doesn't get to green no matter how long we leave it on.

The AC does the customary open of the flaps when we bypass the stabilizer to get it going but then the stabilizer trips back to yellow in the middle of the process.

........

Disconnect the stabilizer and connect the AC directly to power plug. If the AC works perfectly, then the problem is with stabilizer. Change the stabilizer.

If the AC misbehaves even without the stabilizer, then the problem is in AC and stabilizer.

The only thing that comes to my minds if both are bad, is that the faulty stabilizer some how passed on high voltage to the AC and both have gone kaput.

This is one of the reasons why I avoid stabilizers. The only AC in my house that has a stabilizer is a 6 year old Daikin, whose mother board packed up this season. All the other AC - 12 year old Hitachi split, 8 year old Hitachi window and of course two LG Inverters are without stabilizers and perform perfectly.

[diyguy]

Originally Posted by Aroy

This is one of the reasons why I avoid stabilizers.

Aroy, my Mitsubishi Heavy Industries ac explicitly states in the invoice that for warranty a stabilizer is needed to be used. I think the mid and high range stabilizers do their job while the low cost ones between 900-1500 Rs or so are only cut off.

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by diyguy

Aroy, my Mitsubishi Heavy Industries ac explicitly states in the invoice that for warranty a stabilizer is needed to be used. I think the mid and high range stabilizers do their job while the low cost ones between 900-1500 Rs or so are only cut off.

That is exactly what Daikin told me, so I had to get a stabilizer for it, and now it is kaput.

Older AC never required stabilizers for their mother boards. Only for rectifying very low or very high voltage.

Newer Inverter AC also are now designed with 160V-270V input tolerance so stabilizer is not required.

In today's scenario I will never reccomend buying an AC which requires a stabilizer

[Prowler]

Originally Posted by abhi7013

Running at 28 degrees in dry mode feels like 25 in cool mode. As moisture is sucked out and humidity decreases, the air gets cooler.

I tried this and the compressor was running the whole time. I then switched back to cool mode and the compressor shut off (at the same 28 degrees). It did get pretty cold though. Now if the compressor kept running in dry mode, how does that make it more efficient?

Can anyone please comment on their experiences using the dry mode and if it really does save electricity?

The oft repeated old wives's tale of using an AC in dry mode saves power needs a bit of clarification. It all depends on the ambient condition - your ambient temperature and relative humidity. If your AC is running in dry regions, the dry mode will not save any amount of power over the normal cool mode. Actual temperature at which you feel comfortable depends on a lot of things: - humidity, air circulation, ambient temperature and even your body metabolic rate.

If you live in coastal region with RH of greater than 70, then you can set it to dry mode. It will suck out the moisture and you will feel relatively comfortable even when the temperature is set at 26 Degree C.

Want to save electricity ? Switch to inverter AC and set it to 26 degree C. Use a small tower fan at your level to induce air circulation. But don't use a ceiling fan which will force the relatively hot air to circulate besides circulating dust into the ac's inlet.

Originally Posted by SchumiFan

The stabilizer doesn't go 'green' by itself and even if we bypass it, it reverts to getting ready state (yellow) by itself. Doesn't get to green no matter how long we leave it on.

The AC does the customary open of the flaps when we bypass the stabilizer to get it going but then the stabilizer trips back to yellow in the middle of the process.

Hope your technician would have identified the issue to the stabilizer as rightly pointed out by Thad and Aroy Sirs.

Many companies insist that we use a stabilizer as a condition to avail warranty. I had to replace 3 stabilizers in about 2 years in one instance. Luckily I had connected a MOV before the AC and the AC didn't even sweat ( we did the sweating of course).

[SchumiFan]

Originally Posted by Prowler

Hope your technician would have identified the issue to the stabilizer as rightly pointed out by Thad and Aroy Sirs.

Many companies insist that we use a stabilizer as a condition to avail warranty. I had to replace 3 stabilizers in about 2 years in one instance. Luckily I had connected a MOV before the AC and the AC didn't even sweat ( we did the sweating of course).

Originally Posted by Aroy

Disconnect the stabilizer and connect the AC directly to power plug. If the AC works perfectly, then the problem is with stabilizer. Change the stabilizer.

If the AC misbehaves even without the stabilizer, then the problem is in AC and stabilizer.

The only thing that comes to my minds if both are bad, is that the faulty stabilizer some how passed on high voltage to the AC and both have gone kaput.

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Swap out stabilisers. My hunch is that the problem will move with the stabilizer.

The technician came last evening. He switched on the power. The AC was working normally. He checked the ODU as well and found nothing wrong.

We connected the AC to the power directly and it was working normally. So we decided to replace the stabilizer. It was 12 years old and guess it has become cranky. It was replaced this morning.

Fitted a new stabilizer (V-Guard VND400 plus) with voltage info displayed in the front. It shows 240-250 some times. The tech guy says it's fine though. Interestingly there's no bypass switch in this device. It seems to have been built in, to have a delay in case of quick power restoration.

Hoping all will be fine now. Chennai is unlivable even now with its warm climate at night. When will winter come?

Thanks to Thad sir, Aroy sir and Prowler for your inputs. I was calm about the issue only after reading your posts.

[deemash]

Originally Posted by Prowler

Yes. But there are other companies like Schneider too. Whilst at it make sure that you have a proper earth/ground. These devices need a low impedance/resistance ground for proper operation.

Located this thread little late

Sunday night there was heavy thunder and lightning near my area. Immediately power went off. Everything was running on UPS.

After 10 minutes a lightning came and I could see high voltage spike running thru my wire. Tubelight turned on for seconds and later everything stopped working.

MCB switches were OFF. Next day morning I see some plug point switches were thrown out and burnt.
I called electrician, he comes and switches on OFF MCB switches. I checked TV, Home theatre, fridge, washing machine, ac..etc. TV and home theatre are gone as they had UPS connection to it. Stabilizer could not help here as it did not have time to handle the surge. Some lights are not working now and few fans stopped working

It is a costly affair I guess. Builder says it is not because of lightning but because of UPS. UPS sent high voltage he is claiming.

In the dark I saw high voltage burning wires. Electrician temporarily repaired few and he left. He is coming today for further repairs. I am literally scared. Hope the wiring does not create much of a ruckus down the line. How do we handle these kind of surges? any idea or any prior experience anyone faced like this? Kindly suggest. Thanks.

[rdst_1]

Originally Posted by deemash

How do we handle these kind of surges? any idea or any prior experience anyone faced like this? Kindly suggest. Thanks.

For any surge protection device to work, firstly you need to ensure you have a working earth connection.
You can get a primary Whole House Surge Protector which gets installed at mains and follow it with secondary SPDs at individual plug points. These are basically MOVs which bear the brunt of such high currents and also transfer them out of the house through the earth connection.
Do read up a bit on SPDs aka Surge Protection Devices.
At the tertiary level you can install basic surge protection strips.
Also,do check if there is a lightning protection system installed for your building.

[Prowler]

Originally Posted by deemash

Located this thread little late

How do we handle these kind of surges? any idea or any prior experience anyone faced like this? Kindly suggest. Thanks.

You will find the kind of SPD , I had listed here in this thread. It is a one time expense and fit the 3 phase SPD right near the mains entry point - after the utility (EB) meter. This will arrest the lightening surges and sink them through the earth. The one I suggested can sink (ie send the surge current harmlessly to the ground) about 900 A.
And use a spike buster for everything electronics. Or buy a dozen 20 A MOV and ask your electrician to rig them in parallel to the sockets serving these electronics.

Make sure that your MCB are properly rated. For lighting use a 6A/10A MCB while for ACs use 12A/16A MCBs. I suggest the lower values to protect your wires.

I have had plenty of burnt devices until I fitted the SPD/MOV. Our office computers lost their NIC everytime there was a thunder. The surges came through the internet/phone cables. These are difficult to suppress. We wired up a box containing 120 V Zener diodes through fuses for every wire that came from outside. Anyway to cut a long story short, we heave a sigh of relief everytime we see a lightening while in the past we will be filled with dread.

[deemash]

Originally Posted by Prowler

I have had plenty of burnt devices until I fitted the SPD/MOV. Our office computers lost their NIC everytime there was a thunder.

Originally Posted by rdst_1

For any surge protection device to work, firstly you need to ensure you have a working earth connection.
You can get a primary Whole House Surge Protector which gets installed at mains and follow it with secondary SPDs at individual plug points.

Thanks sir. Is it possible for you to attach a picture of the SPD connected after the EB meter and the individual ones in parallel to the source serving the electronics?

[deemash]

Originally Posted by deemash

Located this thread little late

Sunday night there was heavy thunder and lightning near my area. Immediately power went off. Everything was running on UPS.

After 10 minutes a lightning came and I could see high voltage spike running thru my wire. Tubelight turned on for seconds and later everything stopped working.

MCB switches were OFF. Next day morning I see some plug point switches were thrown out and burnt.

Electrician says the surge came in via the DTH. Not sure to believe him or not. He showed me some burnt wire or cable that runs down from Dish to the TV.

The attached image is the board that I saw in my home. After EB on the left there is a wire running to earth.

[Prowler]

Originally Posted by deemash

Thanks sir. Is it possible for you to attach a picture of the SPD connected after the EB meter and the individual ones in parallel to the source serving the electronics?

I have attached a typical 3 phase SPD which can be fitted in your mains after the utility meter and fuse carriers.

As you can see it is for a 3 phase supply and it is a heavy duty unit. There are many manufacturers as I mentioned earlier.
I also have a circuit diagram of how a Metal Oxide Varistor (MOV) has to be connected. Please note that the circuit diagram tool I used didn't have the proper symbol for a MOV and hence I used a capacitor symbol here.

[suzuki san]

Originally Posted by Prowler

I have attached a typical 3 phase SPD which can be fitted in your mains after the utility meter and fuse carriers.

As you can see it is for a 3 phase supply and it is a heavy duty unit. There are many manufacturers as I mentioned earlier.
I also have a circuit diagram of how a Metal Oxide Varistor (MOV) has to be connected. Please note that the circuit diagram tool I used didn't have the proper symbol for a MOV and hence I used a capacitor symbol here.

Hi Prowler,

I have a 3 phase selector switching system fitted after my electric meter. Where would the SPD have to be fitted? Between the phase selector and the meter or after the phase selector? What would be the price of these SPD's?

Regards,
SS

[Prowler]

Originally Posted by suzuki san

Hi Prowler,

I have a 3 phase selector switching system fitted after my electric meter. Where would the SPD have to be fitted? Between the phase selector and the meter or after the phase selector? What would be the price of these SPD's?
SS

Suzuki San, fit the SPD between the phase selector and the meter. The price of the SPD varies between the manufacturers and the models. The ones I showed cost a bit less than 2k. Schneider may cost more. Buy 3 phase/1 Neutral for normal 3 phase domestic supply. Anything around 20 kA surge current rating would suffice.

[sagarpadaki]

Originally Posted by Prowler

Suzuki San, fit the SPD between the phase selector and the meter. The price of the SPD varies between the manufacturers and the models. The ones I showed cost a bit less than 2k. Schneider may cost more. Buy 3 phase/1 Neutral for normal 3 phase domestic supply. Anything around 20 kA surge current rating would suffice.

Need your help Prowler. In my home the power supply is like the below sequence

Electric Pole -> Changeover -> Bus Bar -> 2 lines to 2 meters ->Fuse after each meter-> MCB for each meter-> RCCB for each meter ->Supply to individual house.

Can you please guide where should i get the voltage surge protector fixed so that it protects the entire home?

[rdst_1]

In your case the whole house surge protector should be placed between the fuse and the MCB. You can also place it between the meter and the fuse as well. Ideally, to save money it should have been after the busbar, but I don't think the electricity supply company will allow you to install any device before the meters. I don't know why our policies still dictate the use of fuses when we are using MCBs which is just a modern fuse and was designed to replace a fuse.