[SOLVED] PSUs keep breaking... and other electronics too.

[Kutusov]

I'm in my 3rd PSU in less than 2 years. Two external HDDs also died. I previously had a mini-PC that also broke. In the same room, my 3rd TV just broke yesterday... everything is plugged to power surge strips too. It's always low power electronics that give up the ghost, I don't get a lot of defective light bulbs s etc. I'm in this flat for 2+ years and the bill is running very high.

Any idea what might be causing this? Power fluctuations? Electric spikes? A poltergeist?

 

[COLGeek]

This sounds like a possible power issue in the flat's electric outlets. I would suggest discussing with your landlord to have it checked out.

 

[Kutusov]

This sounds like a possible power issue in the flat's electric outlets. I would suggest discussing with your landlord to have it checked out.

I suspect he wont care or do very much, he just doesn't want anyone bothering him. I know that the previous tenants went 6 months without paying rent and he couldn't even be bothered with that.... what else would sort this issue? A PSU?

 

[COLGeek]

Could be a poor PSU, but seems to be more than that. Using a UPS might mitigate poor input power.

 

[jonnyguru]

.... what else would sort this issue? A PSU?

Poor quality PSUs are poor PSUs because they damage hardware indiscriminately.

What kind of PSUs are you using?

 

[bignastyid]

Sounds me like you need to get the landlord and an electrician involved. Poor quality PSUs could explain the PSUs failing but not the other electronics in the room.

 

[jonnyguru]

Sounds me like you need to get the landlord and an electrician involved. Poor quality PSUs could explain the PSUs failing but not the other electronics in the room.

I completely glazed over the fact that other electronics were dying. And I assumed the hard drives were only powered via the PC's USB.

everything is plugged to power surge strips too.

Surge strips only protect from surges. Not voltage drops, EMI or RFI. For that you need a line conditioner.

 

[Kutusov]

Sorry guys, meant an UPS above as a possible solution and as @COLGeek mentioned...

So there seems to be an agreement that wiring needs a check... just my luck, I know it will never happen with my landlord, I might as well pay for it out of my own pocket.

Well, thanks guys, at least now I'm zeroing on something!

 

[COLGeek]

An UPS or line conditioner as jonnyguru suggested would help. Either should protect your PC and its components from electrical inconsistencies.

 

[Kutusov]

I was looking into line conditioners now, I knew about them from audiophile forums and never really knew what they did, just that they were another "ohmylordynowitsoundsosmuchbetter" gadget that costed a tone of money. But I see regular ones are not that expensive.

 

[COLGeek]

I was looking into line conditioners now, I knew about them from audiophile forums and never really knew what they did, just that they were another "ohmylordynowitsoundsosmuchbetter" gadget that costed a tone of money. But I see regular ones are not that expensive.

What country are you located in? What is your budget?

How many devices will you attached to a "power" device?

 

[Kutusov]

I'm in Portugal and I would be plugging maybe around 6 devices. Problem is, the tv is plugged on the opposite side of the living room so I would be needing two line conditioners. I was thinking about €200 for both?

 

[jonnyguru]

Sorry guys, meant an UPS above as a possible solution and as @COLGeek mentioned...

Well... not just any UPS. Some are just as passive as any surge protector. What you want to get is a line interactive UPS. These have an AVR in them that will boost voltage drops and buck voltage spikes.

But if your power doesn't actually go out, then a UPS isn't what you need. You should get a line conditioner.

And if you get a line conditioner with AVR, that's even better.

Like this: https://www.tripplite.com/600w-120v...tion-avr-ac-surge-protection-6-outlets~LS606M

 

[Kutusov]

Like this: https://www.tripplite.com/600w-120v...tion-avr-ac-surge-protection-6-outlets~LS606M

Many thanks! I'll have to look for these carefully, I'm not getting a lot of options by googling it. Mostly Alibaba links...

 

[makkem]

Hi
Before you spend any money you really need to check your ground (Earth) perhaps with something like this https://www.gearbest.com/testers---detectors/pp_009218877263.html as most surge protection requires a good ground to work correctly.

 

[Kutusov]

Hi
Before you spend any money you really need to check your ground (Earth) perhaps with something like this as most surge protection requires a good ground to work correctly.

Many thanks Makkem!