I Have a question for..............

by chachasmum 8 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  chachasmum

  System admins and moderators

  I have just moved into a new apartment. There is something wrong with the electrcity it surges all the time. I intend to have an electrcian come in to take a look. My question is this, if it takes awhile to fix say longer than 3 months, will i lose my user name if i have not been able to post here. I spent alot of money on my computer and do not want to risk ruining it.

  I have a surge protecter but do not trust it completely. It may be a while before i can get back on the forum. I had read in a thread that if one did not post say in a 3 month period one would lose their name. Maybe i read it wrong and can not find the thread. If someone could answer my question i would really appreciate it.
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  Lady Lee

  Naa aonce you have posted you're here for the duration. A quick scan of the member list at the top will show you that

  So don't woory we don't bar the doors
• 

  mustang

  If you use a good Surge Protectors, you will be surprised. I'm an Electrical Engineer currently working in the Power Supply/Power Distribution industry.

  We had a flood in our office areas and power was partially out to the cubes. I used one of our companies Surge Protectors as an extension cord to "steal power" out of the next cube. All was going well, when the screen went black and I heard a sizzing sound. I looked down to see smoke coming out of the SP; I yanked the cord out. When I looked up, I saw a white mushroom cloud coming out of the cube that I had tapped into.

  Another Engineer walking by said that "it must have gone to 208"; I grabbed my meter and sure enough: the 120 VAC was 208 VAC. The cube interwall wiring had "lost a neutral". The normal L-N (Line to Neutral) had changed to L-L (Line to Line) when a corroded connector burned out.

  Now, that is a drastic case, but the MOV's (Metal Oxide Varistors) in the SP WILL "hold the line down" and burn open. If I hadn't been there to yank the cord, my machine might have suffered the same nuclear meltdown as the next guys machine. But, if the SP held with a steady 90 volt increase, it will work fine for your 30 volt surges and "narrow duty-cycle" spikes.

  You could add a UPS: they are more expensive, but provide the same protection.

  Mustang
• 

  chachasmum

  Thanks Lady Lee and mustang.

  Sounds very technical, what is a ups and where can you get them?
• 

  chachasmum

  oh man!!! I must have the mange
• 

  Eric

  Chachasmum,

  UPS = Uninterruptable Power Supply. I'm no techie, but I couldn't bear to let you hang.

  They're basically a power conditioner (deluxe surge protector) with some big rechargable batteries to give you time to shut things down properly in case of a brown-out or black-out.

  Good ones in my area go for about a hundred fifty dollars and you can pick them up anywhere that sells computers and computer accessories.

  Eric
• 

  rocketman

  If you fail to post within three months the elders may well call on you.....and if you go 6 months, you'll be consdiered inactive.
• 

  mustang

  ...back online from a weekend of gardening. Yep, Eric is right. Your local 'Puter Center will have a whole shelf full of them. Add one if (and as) budget permits.

  Mustang
• 

  chachasmum

  THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU