It's the rainy season (again)

...and the electric supply's unreliable...

[giggle]

Hi

It the rainy season here in Thailand and the electric supply in our area is very unreliable.

Myself and two colleagues use computers in my house to work from (they use GoToMyPC from other parts of Bangkok to access PC's in my house where the central database server is).

When there is a heavy rain storm the electric can cut off for hours, usually at a time when we're busy - Murphys Law.

I was considering buying a generator to power the 4 PC's and was wondering if anyone out there has used a generator to power PC's before and if the supply from the generator is steady enough to power PC's?

Thanks

Mick

[Woz]

To be honest, I have no ida, but my first thought would be to put an UPS (Uninteruptable Power Supply) in the power feed to keep things running until the generator kicks in and perhaps also act as a buffer between the generator and PCs.

Just a thought.

Onya
Woz

[giggle]

Hiya Woz

We have a couple of UPS devices but they only keep things alive for about 30 minutes. This is enough sometimes but when the rains come the electricity can be off for a couple of hours (or more).

Mick

[grandpa]

I've known people to run their television, air conditioner, coffee pot and lights pretty reliably with a generator. Some basic math with tell you how much power you need for those computers, then search for a generator to handle the load requirement.

[giggle]

Thanks Grandpa.

I was wondering if the supply from the generator would be stable enough for computers? (If that's the correct way to phrase it).

As for the mathematics - I wouldn't know where to start.

Mick

[grandpa]

You might safely assume that each PC will require 400 watts to operate, so your total running requirement would be 1600 watts. A generator in the range of 2500 to 5000 watts should be adequate for that load.

You're in a good range to be able to select from either a generator or an inverter system. The inverter is good, but relies on a system of batteries. And that requires a battery charging system. I have an inverter in my RV that runs on 3 marine batteries. It's good for one pot of coffee! On the other hand, I could listen to the radio for hours. It's rated at 2500 watts, and it's nice. But something like that would take a trailor load of batteries to run what you want. That makes a generator your better option.

Two sources that might help explain it better that I can..

Generator Backup Sizing [nooutage.com]

How Emergency Power Systems Work [home.howstuffworks.com]

[giggle]

That's great Grandpa. I'll take a trip to a store tomorrow and price some in that power range.

As I type the rain has started again - enormous flashes of lightening and deafening thunder, I love it. Power's still on thankfully.

My 2 and 3 year old girls are sitting in my office here while the commotion continues...

[Reflect]

I use a generator for the same reasons, power oputages due to rain. I went down to the local hardwaer store. Each generator I looked at had a chart in it with different appliances. They listed the average running amount and also the cold crank/startup usage. No problems on workstations at all.

Just compare and know what you want to power in advance.

Take care,

Brian