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LINE CONDITIONERS


michael2595

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Bringing new laptops  on my next trip from the states to San Antonio T.  Will also have external monitors  and printers etc.

I had line conditioners in my home in the states. Any suggestions or help would be appreciated. I am looking at purchasing this model.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0000512LA/_encoding=UTF8?coliid=I3MDOOAUFAYVE5&colid=3JLP09AJJRFFS

Any suggestions for refrigerator and washer dryer that have electronics?

Thank you kindly in advance.

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Just be reminded that many/most Mexican houses don’t have a true ground circuit. Make sure that your 3-prong wall plug is actually connected to a ‘real’ ground. Otherwise no surge protector is going to be affective. Past that, Trip Lite is a respected name..... in my business I purched them over AMC.  For refrigerators just remember that they will draw a good bit of current when the compressor starts up (many times a day) so match that with a regulator. 

IMO, it would be hard to compare this product with something  bought locally without knowing the real specifications of the local unit. On the other hand, local units may be designed from the git-go knowing that Mexican power is not as clean and that ‘normal’ operating voltages are higher.

 

 

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8 hours ago, El Saltos said:

You sure don't need 10 amps for what you listed.  Get a 2000 Voltage Regulator/Surge protector at Steren for about $1000 Pesos.  It will do the job.

Thank you ... Is this what you mean..... http://www.steren.com.mx/regulador-de-voltaje-de-2000-watts-con-indicador-de-voltaje.html  cant find one that says voltage regulator /surge protector.

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That would do for most electronics and I like the fact that it has a FUSE that can be replaced. You would need a different kind for heavy appliances like a fridge.

In 21 years, I've never lost a piece of equipment to a surge because I am over cautious. First, I make sure the outlet is really grounded. It was the first thing I did when I bought this little house and it's not a huge deal or expensive to run the ground wires since nearly all wiring is in conduits in the cement walls. Then I plug in a voltage regulator similar to the one you linked to... then I plug in a surge protector into the voltage regulator and plug all my stuff into the surge protector. So far, so good, knock on wood. 

 

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23 hours ago, El Saltos said:

You sure don't need 10 amps for what you listed.  Get a 2000 Voltage Regulator/Surge protector at Steren for about $1000 Pesos.  It will do the job.


The Tripp-Lite is a very good choice for the printers & monitors.   Fortunately, all modern laptop power supplies are Switched Mode Power Supplies (SMPS) designed to run on voltages varying between 105V - 240V, also with built in good surge suppression.   Still, there's no harm in a belt-&-suspenders approach though, giving extra protection & $$ guarantee for the laptop power supplies.

The $1000 peso Mexican & Chinese surge suppressors do   not   have Tripplite's  very good 1200 mJ of surge suppression,  a level that's important to protect printers, etc. 

The $1,000 peso Mexican & Chinese units can work fine.   for a while,   for refrigerators & clothers dryers, especially if they say they are designed for things with motors (fridges etc). 

 Unfortunately, a friend bought 4 of these   $1,000 peso (cheap) units   for his house  ... fridge & freezer and washer & dryer  and  Mosquito Magnet,.   ...   Within 2 years,   2 of them failed  badly  taking in 124V   but bumping it up to constant 145 V,   ruining his Mosquito Magnet  ... and ruining his dryer's control circuits.   If you choose some cheap protectors, it can be good to use a voltmeter to check  their voltage outputs  every month  to avoid them ruining valuable circuit boards.

There are times when      Lo barato cuesta caro.

'The cheap thing ... costs us a lot.'

 

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14 hours ago, michael2595 said:

Thank you ... Is this what you mean..... http://www.steren.com.mx/regulador-de-voltaje-de-2000-watts-con-indicador-de-voltaje.html  cant find one that says voltage regulator /surge protector.


This Steren model one is  not  designed for fridges, washers or dryers.  Notice that it specifies "electronics" devices  ...  not "electrical" devices.

You want one designed for the surges & pulses & noise & demands of electrical motors for your fridge, washer & dryer.   Look for the words  "motores"  ...  "liñea blanca" ... or  "electrodomésticas"    in the manufacturer's design specifications.

Here is an example of a cheaper Mexican-made Koblenz brand specifically for the special needs of electric motor devices ...   but notice that these are an example of the cheap-ones that sometimes fail over time, putting out way to high of voltages  ... models that later sometimes ruin your appliances.

Again ... Lo barato cuesta caro.

https://www.walmart.com.mx/Computadoras/Accesorios-para-Computadoras/Reguladores-y-no-Breaks/Regulador-koblenzpara-linea-blanca-2500-va-mod-ri-2502_00009905301572?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIuJyq9bLI1wIVEdNkCh3oKAYcEAQYASABEgL0uvD_BwE

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Michael,

Some folks here many years have never had problems, others here a short time have.  I lost a desktop computer some years ago while living in Rancho Oro, west Ajijic. Four hard drives dead and circuit boards fried.  And while common belief says a laptop is protested by it's power supply, laptops can also suffer damage under the right (wrong) set of circumstances.

Down here, areas differ greatly in the quality of electricity, and during the rainy season, problems tend to be worse.  One area, not far from Chapala, a home owner I knew never got more than 100volts to his location.  (he now has the device I list below and gets a decent voltage range)

Several years ago in west Ajijic, and during the rainy season, I saw at my home a low of 60volts and a high of 160 (which lasted about 3 minutes).  I took a video of the voltage meter reading, because of thinking I'd wake up from this dream and think I was crazy.

You've received advice regarding the small, add-on types of protection you asked about, I'll suggest you consider a whole house option...

ISO Solo Basic is a Mexican company http://www.isbmex.com/, which, I was told by one of their technicians, was formerly a USA company's division here.  They build, sell and service many types and sizes of the Uninterrupted Power Supplies (UPS) and the smaller conditioners and surge protectors, but it seems their main business is industrial grade products. 

Look up the "Corrector 4000", or even the model 8000.  While these were build for homes and small businesses and designed to be hard wired, they are also used by many folks who have RVs - motor homes and travel trailers.  The 4000 has a capacity matching a 30 amp service, and the 8000 for 50 amp service.

These "correctors" as they are called, have a voltage input range of (i think) 92 to 147 volts, and produce an voltage output range of 102 to 132.  The units have (some) spike protection and a over/under voltage shut down.

ISO also produces what they call a voltage "regulator", in the same category as the corrector, which has a more narrow input range, but a steady, flat, output, and costing quite a lot more than the "correctors". 

I have seen these correctors used for whole house/business protection and seen them on many, many RV's. 

And if you want just a little more protection and a remote display showing real time voltage, amps used, put inline, after the corrector, a EMS-HW30C or 50C, which will serve as something like an electrical "condom" with real time electricity monitoring of various aspects of your voltage, and shutting the power down if anything undesired is happening, such low voltage, high voltage, bad ground, reversed neutral...

The EMS comes from Progressive Industries in the USA (progressiveindustries.net) and has a lifetime warranty.  I've had my EMS's surge protector board replaced once and a different time, the main circuit board replaced, both of which took the "hit" and turned off my power, saving the household from losing any equipment.

The EMS can be found on Amazon and other places, the ISO products are sold locally and from large commercial electric supplies in Guadalajara (check at DESA).

I've met folks here who've had their entire house rewired (larger wires, "real" grounds added), one guy who paid an electric company service man to run new wires from his house, three blocks down the street to a decent junction point.  Other's who watch their lights going dim and bright again and again during a storm, or who run around turning things off till the fireworks stop.  Choose your poison.

Of course, you might just come down, pick you house, and see how things are in that specific location.  My experiences motivated me to seek out and purchase quality protection. 

Good luck.

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5 hours ago, jrm30655 said:

A small UPS in line helps a lot also for electronic equipment.  They will switch to battery on low or high voltage and they tend to clean up a lot of the spikes etc that exist down here.


Before relying on a small UPS to give surge suppression,  find out it's surge suppression capacity - specifications.   Most UPS units have only minimal surge protection (suppression) of just 300 mJ => equal to a cheap $5 dollar power strip.   ... Decent surge protection starts at 600 mJ  => twice the small protection that most UPS's offer.
Notice that the surge protection of the Original Post is 1,200 mJ.

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7 hours ago, AlongTheWay said:

Michael,

Some folks here many years have never had problems, others here a short time have.  I lost a desktop computer some years ago while living in Rancho Oro, west Ajijic. Four hard drives dead and circuit boards fried.  And while common belief says a laptop is protested by it's power supply, laptops can also suffer damage under the right (wrong) set of circumstances.

Down here, areas differ greatly in the quality of electricity, and during the rainy season, problems tend to be worse.  One area, not far from Chapala, a home owner I knew never got more than 100volts to his location.  (he now has the device I list below and gets a decent voltage range)

Several years ago in west Ajijic, and during the rainy season, I saw at my home a low of 60volts and a high of 160 (which lasted about 3 minutes).  I took a video of the voltage meter reading, because of thinking I'd wake up from this dream and think I was crazy.

You've received advice regarding the small, add-on types of protection you asked about, I'll suggest you consider a whole house option...

ISO Solo Basic is a Mexican company http://www.isbmex.com/, which, I was told by one of their technicians, was formerly a USA company's division here.  They build, sell and service many types and sizes of the Uninterrupted Power Supplies (UPS) and the smaller conditioners and surge protectors, but it seems their main business is industrial grade products. 

Look up the "Corrector 4000", or even the model 8000.  While these were build for homes and small businesses and designed to be hard wired, they are also used by many folks who have RVs - motor homes and travel trailers.  The 4000 has a capacity matching a 30 amp service, and the 8000 for 50 amp service.

These "correctors" as they are called, have a voltage input range of (i think) 92 to 147 volts, and produce an voltage output range of 102 to 132.  The units have (some) spike protection and a over/under voltage shut down.

ISO also produces what they call a voltage "regulator", in the same category as the corrector, which has a more narrow input range, but a steady, flat, output, and costing quite a lot more than the "correctors". 

I have seen these correctors used for whole house/business protection and seen them on many, many RV's. 

And if you want just a little more protection and a remote display showing real time voltage, amps used, put inline, after the corrector, a EMS-HW30C or 50C, which will serve as something like an electrical "condom" with real time electricity monitoring of various aspects of your voltage, and shutting the power down if anything undesired is happening, such low voltage, high voltage, bad ground, reversed neutral...

The EMS comes from Progressive Industries in the USA (progressiveindustries.net) and has a lifetime warranty.  I've had my EMS's surge protector board replaced once and a different time, the main circuit board replaced, both of which took the "hit" and turned off my power, saving the household from losing any equipment.

The EMS can be found on Amazon and other places, the ISO products are sold locally and from large commercial electric supplies in Guadalajara (check at DESA).

I've met folks here who've had their entire house rewired (larger wires, "real" grounds added), one guy who paid an electric company service man to run new wires from his house, three blocks down the street to a decent junction point.  Other's who watch their lights going dim and bright again and again during a storm, or who run around turning things off till the fireworks stop.  Choose your poison.

Of course, you might just come down, pick you house, and see how things are in that specific location.  My experiences motivated me to seek out and purchase quality protection. 

Good luck.

I sent you a PM.

 

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