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Using a voltage regulator

Background: I live in Mexico. We suffer from a highly fluctuating voltage system. I have put voltage regulators on all sensitive electronic equipment (refrigerator, microwave, washer, dryer, computers, modems, routers, etc.) but use an S 15 APC surge protector on the stereo system.

Question: Since the APC a surge protector but NOT a voltage regulator would it be wise to put a voltage regulator between the wall outlet and the APC? Currently I have to set the high end of the APC to 135 volts to prevent it from constantly sounding the alarm and going to battery back-up.

We also suffer from brownouts which can be just as deadly to equipment.
puerto
puerto OP
372 posts
 
Mceljo: Yes, that is what I have but in order to regulate the voltage you set low and high voltage parameters. When the voltage crosses those parameters the alarm sounds, the power is shut off and the battery back-up activates. So by definition the S-15 is really a surge protector. My other regulators on the computers, etc. actually do reduce the high voltage to an acceptable level before passing in on to my equipment. This is different than the APC which simply shuts itself off when the voltage is higher than what you set it for. . Thanks for joining in.
mceljo
983 posts
 
Gotcha - My APC H15 has voltage regulation but doesn't switch to battery power so it much function differently than the S15. Mine simply turns on a warning light to let me know if it boosting or trimming.

If you don't need the battery backup you could try an H15 or even double down?
rrog
1,958 posts
 
The old Tice Power Block has voltage regulation.
mceljo
983 posts
 
Puerto - What specifically are you concerned about for your equipment? The APC S15 is, in a sense, performing a voltage regulation function because it isn't allowing voltages outside of a certain range to reach your equipment. It almost sounds like you're looking for something that will avoid "sounding the alarm" more than you're in need of better protection.

I'm almost thinking that a power regenerator might be what you're looking for, but not sure how they would perform under the power conditions you describe.
puerto OP
372 posts
 
I guess what I am looking for is the ability to energize my equipment at a reasonable voltage level without having the APC constantly reverting to battery back-up. It wouldn't take long to run out of battery if the monos, et al were in full swing. As it is, the system is operating on about 130-135 volts most of the time. I think that is too high. I don't mind the alarm per se, glad to have it but prefer that the voltage remain steady throughout at 110V. That is what has prompted my question about the feasibility of installing a voltage regulator between the wall outlet and the APC. I'm just not knowledgeable enough to know if that would be a harmful set-up in any way.
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