[audioholic]

Originally Posted by Gannu_1

Would the main board of a washing machine give up due to 250 V supply voltage as opposed to 220-240 V? Our Bosch front loader's board gave up couple of weeks back with the circuit breaker tripping and the technician said this had happened due to the 250 V supply on the 15 A socket. He had tested it using a DMM and confirmed it in front of us. He has advised us to use a voltage stabiliser.

Ideally the board would have been designed and tested for a greater range of operating conditions and not just 250V. I guess in your case the fluctuation was more than that and the voltage could have risen to greater levels thus causing this issue.

It so happened in our building once that two phase wires, ie the P1 and P2 wires came in contact with each other thus giving a 415V voltage which fried the entire apartments electrical circuits. Ceiling fans blew apart and most of the electronic equipment was burnt. The only house which did not suffer ANY damage was ours, because I had put a couple of Belkin Surge protectors. The surge protectors were burnt black but they protected everything else by tripping the circuit breakers on time. Belkin gave me a set of new surge protectors and the story ended with no economic losses.

Though others did have a stabiliser attached to the TV, AC and fridge, these werent fast enough to protect such an occurrence.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by Gannu_1

Are any of you guys using a voltage stabiliser for your washing machine due to the voltage fluctuations? We were using one only for the AC. Looks like I will need one for the LCD TV and the fridge as well.

I have stabilisers for: Fridges, Microwave, Washing machine, and TV.

It dates back to a time when we had regular huge drops, and it was about the only way we could get these things to work without waiting for voltage to raise again. Probably we don't need them so much now.

Except for fridges, obviously, we turn off at the socket when device not in use. The stabiliser is getting hot always, and it must be wasting power to do that.

Originally Posted by audioholic

The only house which did not suffer ANY damage was ours, because I had put a couple of Belkin Surge protectors. The surge protectors were burnt black but they protected everything else by tripping the circuit breakers on time. Belkin gave me a set of new surge protectors and the story ended with no economic losses.

Though others did have a stabiliser attached to the TV, AC and fridge, these werent fast enough to protect such an occurrence.

I think that stabilsers take time to react. They themselves can cause damage by boosting a sudden spike.

What can we put on the distribution board? I recall that the computer server room at my job had some sort of anti-spike device that was supposed to protect even against lightening!

[audioholic]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

IWhat can we put on the distribution board? I recall that the computer server room at my job had some sort of anti-spike device that was supposed to protect even against lightening!

You will need a good ELCB and a branded spike buster. This combination works as told in the manual - The surge protectors have solid state devices which react very quickly to any surges and shorts the live to the ground thus cutting the output to any device connected. This short circuit causes the ELCB to trip immediately. So, in this case, the ELCB trips quicker compared to tripping when an appliance burns out.

Hence the surge protector acts like a fast trip device and in turn sacrifices itself before other appliances burns out. Have personally experienced this.

[TheTeacher]

Whirlpool's (and Carrier's) quality has gone down, from what I hear. For refrigerators, I think Samsung or LG will be a good bet.

Our Whirlpool clothes washer is 9 years old and long in the tooth. We have a local authorized repair guy who comes out promptly whenever required, and I inquired with him about Whirlpool now - replacing our machine. His advice: they don't make them like they used to; buy another brand.

Given the pathetic state of power supply, it might make sense to have a whole house stabilizer for those living in independent houses.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by audioholic

You will need a good ELCB and a branded spike buster. This combination works as told in the manual - The surge protectors have solid state devices which react very quickly to any surges and shorts the live to the ground thus cutting the output to any device connected. This short circuit causes the ELCB to trip immediately. So, in this case, the ELCB trips quicker compared to tripping when an appliance burns out.

Hence the surge protector acts like a fast trip device and in turn sacrifices itself before other appliances burns out. Have personally experienced this.

ELCBs are amazingly sensitive, which is how they save lives!

Thanks for the suggestion. "Spike buster" is what I need.

[audioholic]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

ELCBs are amazingly sensitive, which is how they save lives!

Thanks for the suggestion. "Spike buster" is what I need.

Go for Belkin. I dont work directly or indirectly for them but I will swear by the product for its quality and the experience I've had with them. Everytime it burns, you get a replacement free of cost without any questions being asked. I have two Gold and Two Normal ones and both do their job well.

[Prowler]

Originally Posted by audioholic

It so happened in our building once that two phase wires, ie the P1 and P2 wires came in contact with each other thus giving a 415V voltage which fried the entire apartments electrical circuits. Ceiling fans blew apart and most of the electronic equipment was burnt.

Though others did have a stabiliser attached to the TV, AC and fridge, these werent fast enough to protect such an occurrence.

Actually in a 3 phase circuit, if 2 phase wires come into contact with each other - it is a disaster - they will pass the full current limited only by the line impedance. Simply put they will be shorted. What 'normally' happens is the neutral gets cut and as a result, the terminal voltage as seen by your connected machines will rise and may reach 400 V depending upon what is connected in each phase.

Best way to avoid over voltage for any reason is to use Surge suppressors or use Metal Oxide Varistors (MOV) of 270V ( giving a slight margin for the occasional rise of our poorly regulated supply to rise to 250V) across all your mcbs. (Just make sure that they are conservatively rated). MOVs will short across the circuit when their operating voltage is exceeded and they can pass significant amount of current thus ensuring that the mcb or fuse trips before any damage occurs.

You can use such MOV (75V) across your telephone line also to protect the modems from surges.

[Gannu_1]

Originally Posted by audioholic

I had put a couple of Belkin Surge protectors. The surge protectors were burnt black but they protected everything else by tripping the circuit breakers on time.

audiholic, are these the single socket surge protectors? I see that Belkin has one suitable for home appliances (link) but I can't find one on retail anywhere.

The Amazon dealer is yet to ship the stabiliser I had ordered a few days back. Might as well cancel it if I can find this one suitable for the purpose.

[diyguy]

I have purchased Belkin from Flipkart and recently Huntley from paytm. Ordered one today too at a great price of 350 or so for a six slot Huntley spike

I use the Belkin 15A spike for my dishwasher and washing machine and had a spare that I setup yesterday for my other washing machine.
Attachment 1416393

I have 3-4 spare at home at all times!

[audioholic]

Originally Posted by Gannu_1

audiholic, are these the single socket surge protectors? I see that Belkin has one suitable for home appliances (link) but I can't find one on retail anywhere.

I have two Advanced 6 socket and three essential 4 socket protectors with me. I am not using any 15A protectors for any appliances.

[atnyia]

Please provide me reference if this is already discussed.

We have a Whirlpool 360 Washing Machine.

Today morning I have got a call from Whirlpool Customer Care offering extended warranty for 2 years which will start after standard warranty of two years expires. Again, this warranty does not cover any consumable part (rubber part etc) but will include some free maintenance services.

Should I be buying this? Why/Why not? The cost is 2900. She said usually it is offered for 5500 (no one would buy extended warranty for 20% of the appliance price ).

[gautamkhadse]

Originally Posted by atnyia

Please provide me reference if this is already discussed.

We have a Whirlpool 360 Washing Machine.

Today morning I have got a call from Whirlpool Customer Care offering extended warranty for 2 years which will start after standard warranty of two years expires. Again, this warranty does not cover any consumable part (rubber part etc) but will include some free maintenance services.

Should I be buying this? Why/Why not? The cost is 2900. She said usually it is offered for 5500 (no one would buy extended warranty for 20% of the appliance price ).

I have been buying extended warranty every 2 years . Probably next year will be the last beyond which they will not offer me any more extended warranty . Its peace of mind . I have seen multiple failures with the PCB panel , the soft button panel which operates the whole machine . I have had motor failures . IN total 6 such instances and this extended warranty has helped . Because I didnt have to pay for any of those parts , which generally cost a lot . And the 360 is a beautiful machine get a extended warranty and keep it for long .

[adhiraj]

Can anyone please provide me good service centers for OTG in South Bangalore ? 2 heating rods (below ones) are not working :( Morphy Richards Bangalore number is out of service. Anyways as its out of warranty, any good service center would do.


Thanks
Adhiraj

[TheTeacher]

Originally Posted by audioholic

Go for Belkin. I dont work directly or indirectly for them but I will swear by the product for its quality and the experience I've had with them. Everytime it burns, you get a replacement free of cost without any questions being asked. I have two Gold and Two Normal ones and both do their job well.

Can you please provide a link to the products you speak of - Gold / Normal? Are they 15A? My searches show the standard Belkin extension strips, which are all 5A and have marginal spike arresting properties.

[Prodigy07]

Hello,

I'm planning to get a surge protector for my LED TV.

Can someone check and tell me if the below Belkin Surge Protector would be good enough for a 40" LED Television?

http://www.flipkart.com/belkin-4-soc...RDYZYGRJAVK9H8