New gadget-A voltage Protector

elko2



Joined: 24/07/2007
Posts: 4400

Message Posted:
20/03/2010 16:36

I am in the process of importing the necessarry parts and have these gadgets home made for the local market. I bet it will be the first of its type in the world. After my recent experience with Kibtek http://www.cyprus44.com/forums/32236.asp I built three such protectors, one for me, one for my son and one for my daughter. Now I intend to market a similar gadget.

The idea is very simple. When the voltage in the house or workplace goes below say 180 volts or above 258 volts it will trip the earth fault breaker (RCCB) and cut off the supply of electricity.



I located the necessarry Programmable Digital Voltmeter at a reasonable price but I want them to make the normal supply voltage 240 volts instead of 220 volts so as to make it more durable. If all goes well it will be on the shelves after about a month.

ismet

cyprusjoker


Joined: 29/08/2009
Posts: 1107

Message Posted:
20/03/2010 17:00

Good luck Elko, you bright spark..

JohhnyLee


Joined: 25/04/2009
Posts: 2495

Message Posted:
20/03/2010 17:15

Nice one Elko, any idea on price yet please, Oh and could you help me please, what would cause a load sensetive 3.5 KVA petrol genny, to drop voltage after about 2 to 3 hours,



It as worked perfectly for 6 months, it hasnt had a lot of use and , and it as never had more than 2.5 KVA loading,



It drops suddenly to about 80 volts. It is itermittent, and if I switch it off or over to 110 volts for a few seconds, it will go back up to approx 230 volts.



The engine is running perfectly, so I think it is on the electrical side, Thank You.

rigsby


Joined: 21/09/2007
Posts: 912

Message Posted:
20/03/2010 17:25

Well done Elko,Good luck with this.

elko2



Joined: 24/07/2007
Posts: 4400

Message Posted:
20/03/2010 17:33

msg. 3

I think your generator has a voltage regulator and the carbon brushes got dirty. Open the round cover on the generator side and look for a small gadget connected with wires. It usually looks like a crescent fixed inside the cover. Two of the wires go to the carbon brushes which touch two bronze rings on the rotating shaft. usually only a screw holds these carbon brushes and the plastic housing together. Just take it off and sandpaper the bronze rings on the rotating shaft. I hope that does the trick. If your genny uses a capacitor instead of a regulator for volgtage regulation, simply change that one.

ismet

PS: thanks everybody for the encouragement.

Lilli



Joined: 21/07/2008
Posts: 13081

Message Posted:
20/03/2010 17:43

very well done elko, you are so clever x

JohhnyLee


Joined: 25/04/2009
Posts: 2495

Message Posted:
20/03/2010 18:17

Thank you Elko, I think it is a capicitor, Had a quick look yesterday and couldn,t find brushes,



Thank you and good luck with your latest venture.

Groucho



Joined: 26/04/2008
Posts: 7993

Message Posted:
21/03/2010 07:58

I would recommend the use of a UPS in conjunction. For all computers and hard disk based DVD players, Satellite systems etc. the sudden removal of power to hard drives is not good if the read/write head is not parked.

henrik



Joined: 01/10/2009
Posts: 314

Message Posted:
21/03/2010 14:22

Hi Elko, so when the Voltage is above or under the programmed limit - you simply trip the main fuse. But this means that you are sitting in the dark, correct?

I know of a very nice inverter, also used by US military in field applications and also by many hospitals and embassies (mostly in africa) where reliable voltage income is a must. Within this inverter you can programme the voltage limits and as soon as the voltage bounces out of these limits this inverter cuts in in milliseconds, protecing all your sensitve equipment and supplying you continious with electricity without a powercut inbetween. My parents have such an installation in Lapta as the KıbTek grid voltage is between 160V and 290V... The inverters are regulating the voltage the whole day since threee years whitout problems and same accumulators...

Inverters can be seen here: http://www.outbackpower.com/products/sinewave_inverter/

Best regards,

Henrik

hp Energy Consulting & Trade - Berlin, Germany

flightholiday


Joined: 19/07/2007
Posts: 3217

Message Posted:
21/03/2010 16:02

Henrik,



Have you looked at Ismet's web site?



http://www.elkocyprus.com he sells pro. quality equipment locally there.

henrik



Joined: 01/10/2009
Posts: 314

Message Posted:
21/03/2010 16:09

yes, I did and the question was about powerfailure when the trip the fuse.

I will not go into the discussion about "pro quality equipment" as I can say where they are produced only at looking at the pictures. But no problem with that as long as they work and do their job. But I dont think that these units will ever bee seen in modern hospitals or similar.

Outback is sold in TRNC - you can look into distributors or google "outback powersystems cyprus".

Best regards,

Henrik

hp Energy Consulting & Trade - Berlin, Germany

elko2



Joined: 24/07/2007
Posts: 4400

Message Posted:
21/03/2010 19:11

Henrik,

1. The legal mains voltage in TRNC is 240 volts plus or minus 6%, hence the maximum voltage should not exceed 255 volts, so give it a couple of volts from me and I programme the maximum at 258 volts. It should never exceed this value unless there is a fault like a broken neutral. the aim of this gadget is to save your equipment from excessive volts in case of a fault. When the neutral breaks in fact the voltage can go over 350 volts and hence it will damage everything in the house wholesale.



2. If your father sees 290 volts regularly, it is totally unacceptable and should go and see Kibtek and ask them to check the terminal voltage at the substation.



3. Those who use 220 volt equipment run the risk of damage even at 255 volts which is normal. In that case they should use a regulator with a cut off in case something goes wrong. Now all new ELKO regulators have this cut off facility. Through years we gained hard experience in the field and now all our regulators have this facility. Indeed I have some in stock without this facility and I am not selling those. I am planning to incorporate this facility in the future before I sell them.



4. It is better to stay in the dark until the fault is cleared but of course those who can afford a backup power supply will be in a better position than those who cannot afford it. I expect this new gadget to sell at about 100 TL in the shops but its too early yet to put a definite price on it yet.

ismet

ismet

kelly25


Joined: 29/05/2008
Posts: 365

Message Posted:
21/03/2010 19:14

Silent Power in Girne have been selling good quality Voltage Regulators for about 3 years now. They go from as low as 500W to 3kW for home use and up to 40kW for office use etc.

I know I used to work there, but we've had our regulators for about 2 years now and they've been great. Blew the fuse when we had a spike, but saved my computer! They also sell car battery powered backup systems for use during power cuts. I've been to a fair few installations and dealt with customers while i was there and never had a problem with any of them.

I don't know if they are the same as yours Elko, i was just trying to be helpful.

flightholiday


Joined: 19/07/2007
Posts: 3217

Message Posted:
21/03/2010 19:30

I think that Ismet has been in this business for some 30 years and being a Cypriot knows a lot about the local position.



His company Elko has a little more local experience than many of the newer ones which may also be why he keeps with tried and trusted technology.

Tootie


Joined: 28/08/2008
Posts: 2037

Message Posted:
21/03/2010 19:49

I know who I trust, and who I will be spending my money with in a months time.

Ps, I dont have a US Military budget or do I run a Hospital in Africa. Do you?



http://www.elkocyprus.com/

racoonchic



Joined: 17/11/2008
Posts: 3223

Message Posted:
21/03/2010 20:37

looks like its a flux cappacitor

Groucho



Joined: 26/04/2008
Posts: 7993

Message Posted:
21/03/2010 20:42

back to the top? (future) ;¬)

elko2



Joined: 24/07/2007
Posts: 4400

Message Posted:
22/03/2010 08:37

I have just ordered the parts but there will be a delay of 15 days because of the modifications that I requested. So they should be on the shelves about first half of May.

ismet

henrik



Joined: 01/10/2009
Posts: 314

Message Posted:
22/03/2010 19:12

@kelly25: silentpower in girne? I think they are finished since a year. Backup systems with car batteries? = maybe the reason why they are finished... ??? car batteries are just not designed to operate in backup systems.. this is a trick to keep the price down.

@Elko2: Lapta voltage - in hat area they live is a great problem.. KıbTek is not able to repair it. my parents dont want any hassle with kıbtek and as they face many powercuts, they decided to install a fully automaic backup system.. since then all is ok.. even 12hrs and more powercuts are no problem..

@tootie: No ! but I like to know that I have installed a great quality product with a great reputation. As long as I dont buy as much as the US military - it is affordable for me.

AlsancakJack



Joined: 14/08/2008
Posts: 5762

Message Posted:
22/03/2010 21:57

Ismet

I presume this is a stand alone device that would plug into an existing 13 amp socket and would trip the existing RCCB in the consumer unit. If this is correct then I know of a fair few older properties that do not have RCCB's fitted just MCB's for the main supply. The other thing is that RCCB's are notoriously fickle devices that need to be tested on a regular basis (hence the test button). Do these units have to pass any certification requirements by Kib-Tek?

AJ

elko2



Joined: 24/07/2007
Posts: 4400

Message Posted:
22/03/2010 23:39

msg. 20

AJ,

1. I would say that houses without an RCCB must be well below 1 %. In any case I intend to have instructions in English and Turkish and point out that this device will provide some protection only if the installation is protected by an RCCB. The older versions trip at 500 ma but the new ones trip at 300 ma. I intend to pass about 700 ma when the volts go outside the set limits. so i will have a fair amount of safety factor built in. In any case this device will afford extra safety and it will not be a replacement for anything else.

2. The device will continuously display the current voltage quite accurately (+-0.5% +-1 digit). this will make ordinary people more aware about the fluctuations in the mains voltage and this I hope will increase the sale of voltage regulators.

3.Import of electrical devices is subject to approval from the Chamber of Electrical Engineers and I intend to put it through the same proceedure.

4. I have lots of ideas for improvement if I can get it mass produced in China e.g. a test button and a monostable arrangement for a single trip signal.

ismet

kibsolar


Joined: 14/09/2008
Posts: 552

Message Posted:
23/03/2010 08:26

Hello, just came to this threat...Elko is in this business for decades and he knows exactly for what kind of equipment a customer wants to pay for... and how much...

Elko s regulators (and also the new protectors) are a "minimum must have" for every house in N.Cyprus. Groucho, msg 8, is also right. for sensible equipment as hard disks and beamers, a UPS is also a must have!

We, kibsolar, offer batteries, inverters and inverter/charger, of good quality ... which can be assembled to different sizes of UPS systems (in conjunction with other energy sources as eg solar energy)

eg Silent power sold very cheap regulators and inverters from TR (eg: very high stand by power!!!), he sold solar systems with a very bad performance and on top connected them wrong. he was hopeless advice resistant (that was my experience, kelly25 ) and his shop is closed since a year.

So, at least you should consider to spent "some money" for your safety and for your equipment...