Found my printer problem

[ClickHere2Surf.com]

After disconnecting my large dual window fan without turning it off first I think it blew up my new printer I got 6 days before, Im not sure that was the cause but I dont see how else it would have just died like that.

Also, Im using those OLD 1 to 3 power splitters before my powerbar witch gets rid of the ground prong so that may have helped blow up the printer by the surge caused by disconnecting my fan.

UPDATE:
OK now Im REAlly pissed, I was just re-wiring things so everything would be grounded, meaning Id take off the 3 to 1 bar that removes ground, to do that I had to plug the air conditioner in the powerbar (which was still in the bar that removed ground), as soon as I plugged the air conditioner in the power bar it made a huge spark and the printer I just exchanged cause it blew up blew up AGAIN!

Needless to say I just threw that peice of junk ground removing crap in the trash even if it means I wont be able tp plug everything in until I get a new surge protector (tomorrow).

Can anyone confirm that this is happening because of the missing ground? Would all this have been prevented if the powerbar was grounded? I dont want it to happen again. and the store better replace my close to $500 printer again.

With a proper surge protector with 8 outlets, connected directly to the wall (with no 50 year old groundless mini powerbar), would it have prevented my printer blowing up twice? I want to make sure this never happens again, and thank god only the printer blew, cause I had a few thousands worth connected to that powerbar.

Thanks

[geeksRus]

not meaning to sound sarcastic here, but have you ever thot of adding another outlet in the room? and plugging an air conditioner into the same strip as your computer equipment may have been a bit much.

[ClickHere2Surf.com]

I know plugging the AC to the same outlet isnt the best idea, but would it be safe to have almost 30 devices in the other outlet so the AC has its own? I dont think so, and Ill be moving out in a few years so Im not sure its worth having a 2nd outlet installed.

[Platypus]

With a proper surge protector with 8 outlets, connected directly to the wall (with no 50 year old groundless mini powerbar), would it have prevented my printer blowing up twice?

Yes, it probably would have.

Having appliances with sizeable motors, air conditioner, fan, on the same circuit as computer equipment is Not a Good Idea. If it can't be avoided, a surge/spike protector is well worth having.

As for how many appliances per outlet, the total power drain is what matters, rather than the number of connections. An A/C pulls a lot of current, so if you tally up the VA ratings of the other appliances, together they may consume less than the A/C, or not too much more.

[ClickHere2Surf.com]

I know its the amperage that matters, and most of the plugs are the adapter for the cable modem, wireless receiver, camera charger, and other similar things that dont use much.

The AC uses up to 10.8 amps when its in heating mode on high, or 9 amps while a/c'ing, so that doesnt leave much for other components.

BTW I tried to find how much my receiver and subwoofer uses because theyre the only other high current thing on the same outlet as the AC, butit was only listed in VA, how do I convert that to amps?

Thanks

[DonJ]

...only listed in VA, how do I convert that to amps?

The V stands for Volts while the A stands for Amps.

So, lets say you start with something that is rated at 600 VA.

And, lets say you are running on 120 volts.

So, divide 600 by 120 and that equals 5 Amps.

[ClickHere2Surf.com]

Thanks, how to you convert amps to watts considering 120 volts?

I jus looked at cheap UPS's and they only support 200 watts, isnt the monitor alone around 400 watts?

Because my mom got one for her work and connected the monitor too which im pretty sure that alone uses over twice what the UPS supports, she didnt plug the serial/usb cable that tells the PC to shut down, that is if a $30 UPS even has that, if not then whats the point if it cant shut down automatically and you cant plug a monitor to do it yourself?

Thanks

[Platypus]

Deriving Wattage is the reverse of the current calculation above, multiply the voltage and the current.

So your AC at 9A cooling is 9x120= 1080VA (often just called Watts, which may not be completely accurate, but usually doesn't matter).

Most monitors would be about 80 to 120 VA, LCD's about 40 to 50.

You need to know whether the UPS is rated for its maximum output, or if it is quoting a Watt/Hour figure. A pure W/Hr calculation would be based on 1 hour of operation at the quoted VA rating, so a 200 W/Hr unit could supply 200VA for 1 hour, 400VA for half an hour etc, up to its actual maximum VA capacity. (You'll actually get less than half the time with double the power draw, as the losses will increase with current.)

Often UPS are specified with a VA rating and a backup time, eg a small cheap unit claims 200VA for 5 minutes. This is like what you mention, if it doesn't have automatic shutdown, it will only protect against a brief power outage, or allow you time to save and shutdown if you are actually at the computer when it happens.

For occasional home protection, a 5 minute reserve with automatic shutdown may be all that is needed.

[ClickHere2Surf.com]

Is it true that cheap UPS's can blow up/destroy a digital projector (I think because it has a switching power supply)? Would it blow up any device with a switching power supply?

If a cheap UPS could allow my projector to safely go through its shutdown/cooldown process I might get one, but obviously not if it will blow it up.

Thanks

[Platypus]

I haven't had to investigate any issues with using a projector with a UPS, so I can't really say. I don't imagine it is due to having a switching power supply, the UPS is designed to run a computer, which has a switching PSU.

I suppose there could be a problem if the UPS would not allow the projection lamp to strike properly, but I don't know of this myself.

We repair projectors at work, so if no other members know a definite answer, I'll see if I can find anything out.

[ClickHere2Surf.com]

I think it has something to do with UPS not making a sine wave but a square wave or qasi-sine wave.

[Platypus]

Quite likely. I'll see if there's any info about it through work.

[ClickHere2Surf.com]

Thanks

[NooNoo]

Why would you put the projector through the UPS?

[freddy]

Why would you put the projector through the UPS?

to let the bulb cool down , with the fan running.