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Please help me get my computer to stay on during load shedding.

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porky

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Hi guys

Please can someone help me I'm about to sell my computer.

I have invested in two ups / inverter chargers.

One is a tedelex 2000 VA with brand new batteries. 2 x 100ah agm gel batteries.

The other is a chadah power inverter / ups 1450 VA. Brand new batteries same as above.

My issue is when the power goes off and my gpu is under full load my pc reboots.

If the cpu is under full load it's fine.

My power supply on my computer is an antec 1000w platinum psu.


The ups runs my computer fine off the ups. But if the power goes off it reboots. So if the power is off already and I run my computer on the ups no problems. But if the power is on and it goes off it reboots.

The ups shows my computer is using about 30 percent load with only the gpu being stress tested so I don't think it's a capacity problem.


Any ideas how I can keep my computer on when load shedding hits? I have a generator I just need to keep it on for a few minutes but my ups don't seem to help!

Thank you
 
Sounds like you having a dip when the power goes off. Your ups is maybe not Handel king the switchover tl battery as smooth as the pc requires.

Would say try a small ups from someone plugged into your inverter to just test this and see. One of those cheep ups would also do the trick I believe.
 
Yeah, the switchover is the obvious issue here, some UPSses switch over more seamlessly than others, especially under load. I would test with another brand or model UPS hooked up before trying anything else.
Also, can you perhaps give us more detail of exactly how these are running and how things are plugged in?
 
I have tried two different inverters.

Same behavior.

I tried connecting the computer power supply plug direct to the ups so no adapters in between. Same behavior.

If I reduce power limit on my gpu to 50 percent it works fine. If I either increase my power limit of stress my cpu and turn the plug off it reboots. So the higher the load the higher the chances are that when the power goes off it will reboot.
The load is only the computer load. If I add more load to the ups and I keep my computer at a load that the ups keeps it running then additional load on the ups if fine. It is only load from the actual computer that increases the chances of the switchover rebooting the pc.

I'm thinking maybe my computers power supply hold up time is not enough? I have an antec hcp platinum 1000w. It's hold up time is apparent 13ms. The minimum required apparently is 16ms.

I'm thinking I should get a new power supply. If I get a bigger power supply the hold up time would increase. My pc is drawing max 900 watts from a 1000watt power supply. If I got say a 1300w with newer larger capacitors hold up time can be 30ms.

Wonder if I could just increase the size of the caps currently installed in my psu.


I'm gonna keep on doing research.


FYI :


www.techpowerup.com

Antec Signature Titanium 1000 W Review - Return of the Legend

The flagship in Antec's Signature line achieves very high performance while running very quietly at the same time. How does it compare to competing high-end offerings from Corsair and Seasonic of similar capacity? Is the Antec Signature Titanium 1000 W worth its $280 price tag?
www.techpowerup.com www.techpowerup.com
 
Last edited:
Good heavens what are you running in your PC to pull 900 watts? I have no come across any gaming rig yet to pull that much.

Secondly, if you had to pull 900 watts as you say you are and you only have a 1200W inverter, there is no way you can only have 30% consumption of load on the inverter, more like 75%. At that amount of load on that type of inverter, I also suspect the so called "seamless switchover" is not so seamless as they state and you are experiencing a power dip in your inverter system under full load when power goes off.

Many inverters are not always VA= same Watts.....meaning, in your case you have a 2000VA/1200W inverter and not 2000VA/2000W inverter. HUGE difference and quality of supply. I would suggest, test your PC on a bigger inverter to rule out the possibility being your inverter.
 
Hi,

Just for reference. I have a fractal 860w psu and with the pc in the signature I draw between 450w and 480w from the socket while gaming. (This includes my monitor and speakers.) The pc is directly connected to my Ecoflow River Pro and it seamlessly switches between power and battery, even while play BF2042 online I don't even notice the power going out. At these loads I can get +-1-2 hours gaming out of it and 4 hours browsing/streaming.

From reading above, it sounds to me like your inverter is not switching fast enough (both of them). It's a difficult thing to fix as you don't want to go and buy stuff and it is not the issue. But it looks like you will either need to get a better inverter or a good small UPS to help with the switch over.

Edit: The rated switch over for the River pro is 30ms. PSU holdup time is 17.6ms @ full load.
 
Last edited:
A few things:

1. There are different UPS switchover types. True Online, Line Interactive and Offline. True Online is the only one that has near-zero switchover delay.
2. 1 VA = 1 Watt in a DC circuit. P(W) = S(VA) × PF in an UPS circuit. You need to refer to the manual to find out what the power factor is for your UPS/Inverters if you want to know what the maximum wattage ratings are for those devices.
3. You can run your backup power solution at full load for only a small period of time. Always scale your backup solution to be operated at 30% load.
4. 900W is NOT 30% of a 2000VA Tedelex inverter, which I believe has a PF of 0.6, so 1200W - It is 75% load.

2x 100aH batteries in series will deliver 100A for 1 hour before being depleted. At 900W, you're drawing 37.5A from the 24V battery bank just for the rig. The Power Factor of 0.6 makes the total draw 62.5A for the solution, so your 100A battery bank will deliver you a lovely 1.6 Hours before those batteries are completely discharged - Also something you don't want to do because lead acid batteries get destroyed when they are fully discharged frequently.

Therefore, if your rig really does actually draw 900W, and if your inverter solution is indeed not a true-online product, your UPS/Inverter setup is completely and utterly useless for your use case.
 
Hi guys.

Thanks for the reply.

If I turn my power off and stress test my pc the load is showing at 80 percent on the ups. The 900 watts would be a peak load. Real use scenario probably 700 watts max.

I used furmark and prime 95 to stress.

5950x overclock to 5ghz
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About 25 peripherals.
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I don't believe the ups is the issue as it runs my load fine. It's more the switch over that is the issue.


My power supply for my computer has a very low hold up time of 13 ms. Apparently you want minimum of 16 ms.

I'm going to get a new power supply that has a hold up time of atleast 25 ms.

My ups switch over time is rated at 20 ms.


I hear you saying that I must try a larger inverter. I did. The one inverter is rated at 1200w the other is 1440w. Same behavior from both.

The VA does not make sense as the 1200w inverter has a VA rating of 1450. This doesent add up as 1450 is only 900w. But if that were true no ways it could run my pc then.


So I think I'm going to get a new power supply with larger capacitors that will increase my hold up time.

Under light load it switches fast enough to keep the pc on while under full load it reboots. I am guessing under full load the capacitors in the power supply go flat faster resulting in a lower hold up time.

My intention is to simply keep the computer on when load shedding hits. Run time is not relevant for me at this point. I have a generator to take over.

Let me know what you guys think...

I could always return my inverter and replace with something that will give me something always online as suggested. Any inverters that are always online I can connect to my batteries?

Also interesting to note that out of my tests, one in ten times the computer does not reboot it stays on. So 10 percent of the time it works just fine oddly enough.

Cheers!
 
Last edited:
Perhaps just get a qualified electrician to fit you a proper inverter unit with decent gel(Or even Lithium Ion batteries)? Seems like you can afford it with a system like that. I mean it's R10k+ but then at least you know you are sorted with something that won't damage your system.

But yeah swapping out for another PSU with a longer hold time I guess will help.
 
I got brand new gel agm batteries from takealot.

I have tried two different inverters.

They both support the load but switching the load is the issue...

I'm pretty sure it's switching time which should be solved by having a better hold up time psu.

I'll update this once the new psu is in. I pray the same thing doesent happen....

I have consulted with my electrician and he can't explain why it's rebooting
 
Since there is already a thread about UPS's maybe someone can advise me or help me as well. :)

I want to know what is the best way to protect your PC for load shedding.

I do not want a big UPS or invertor to stay on during load shedding so that I can game but more protection for when the power comes back on.

I currently only have surge protection plugs for my PC but is there a better or safer way to keep my PC save for any power surges?

I cant images the power going off and coming on even if the PC is off but still connected to the plugs is any good. (I believe the best way is to disconnect the plugs each time but then again I might loose my back before loosing my PC )

I was thinking of getting a UPS as an additional protection (To regolate the power as it comes on again???) but not 100% sure if that will work or what is the best.

Hope some of you Carbies can advise me on what to get or what would be best.

Noob out...
 
Ups should protect you from everything. I may be wrong but I don't think lightning could even get your pc on a ups? It would kill the ups most likely. I'm open to correction

Your surge protector will protect you from a surge. Probably when power comes back on or when your aircon turns off. That's about it. Ups actually protects you from everything. As I understand it.
 
The real issue here I believe is more on those inverters they don't swich as fast as even some of those cheap upss.

But hey psu will help but think those Antec are pretty good as I have one and those caps help but mine never uses those as it's on a online ups.

The best and think only real way to go if you want to be protected from most if not all power related issues. It's always sending the correct voltage to connected devices no. Matter what ESKOM does on their side.

Remember the better ups's can always take external batteries to extend its working time.
 
porky said:
If I turn my power off and stress test my pc the load is showing at 80 percent on the ups. The 900 watts would be a peak load. Real use scenario probably 700 watts max.

You should always buy an inverter at least double the maximum load you want to run, meaning that should have 50% max or less load on the inverter on a daily basis if you run sensitive equipment like PC's. Normal appliances are different.
I always say never squeeze all the lemon juice at once, you never know when that Tequila guy will come around again.
Click to expand...

porky said:
I don't believe the ups is the issue as it runs my load fine. It's more the switch over that is the issue.

Honestly, I feel you have a too small of an inverter for your power consumption.
And when I said test with a bigger inverter, I meant at least 1800W min. and not just 200W more than what you currently have.
Click to expand...

porky said:
My power supply for my computer has a very low hold up time of 13 ms. Apparently you want minimum of 16 ms.

Most modern day PSU's will have anything between 8ms - 20ms, you won't find a 25ms hold up time PSU.
ALL of Corsair PSU's is rated 16ms at 80% load, and this is why I went with a 1200W PSU back when I built my PC even when people told me it's over rated. The purpose was because the less load on the PSU the higher hold up time you get when needed. If this makes sense.
Click to expand...

porky said:
My ups switch over time is rated at 20 ms.

20ms is normal, Most if not all inverters has a 20ms for appliances (this is a single fixed holding time for entry level inverters up to about 2000W if I recall correctly) bigger inverters will have an additional 10ms UPS switch over combined with the 20ms for normal appliances.
Click to expand...

porky said:
The VA does not make sense as the 1200w inverter has a VA rating of 1450. This doesent add up as 1450 is only 900w. But if that were true no ways it could run my pc then.

Some manufactures build their inverters differently and they use a different variation for their VA compared to the Watts. If you want to be safe, always make sure your Watts is equal to your VA....as in 2000VA/2000Watts....this is best to ensure quality supply and efficiency of the inverter.
Click to expand...

porky said:
So I think I'm going to get a new power supply with larger capacitors that will increase my hold up time.

Honestly, for that consumption you have, I would recommend a minimum of 1200W psu to keep the load on the PSU as low as possible to ensure a longer holding time on the PSU components that can align with the correct min. Watts inverter.
Click to expand...

porky said:
Under light load it switches fast enough to keep the pc on while under full load it reboots. I am guessing under full load the capacitors in the power supply go flat faster resulting in a lower hold up time.

You kinda have it correct yes, your load on your PSU is too high hence the holding time is much shorter and this will result in your system to dip and not have a seamless switch over.
Click to expand...

porky said:
I could always return my inverter and replace with something that will give me something always online as suggested. Any inverters that are always online I can connect to my batteries?

If you only need a inverter for all of the above mentioned that you run, I would suggest a min. of 1800W to keep your peak load at 50% max of the inverter capacity. This together with at least a 1200W PSU for your PC should sort out your holding time and give a seamless switchover.
Click to expand...

These comments are based on my own experience and knowledge over time. I hope this can help you, if people disagree, everyone to their own.
 
BLUE-ANGEL said:
These comments are based on my own experience and knowledge over time. I hope this can help you, if people disagree, everyone to their own.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the in-depth reply!
Just a note , I dont intend to use more than 30% load on the inverter. I wont be gaming while using the inverter. I dont want to kill the batteries. Its just to keep the PC on until the Gen kicks in. When I decided on the size of the unit I felt 1200W is fine. And from the UPS its showing my PC is not pulling more than 80 under stress test conditions.
For actual use ill be using the UPS to browse the web and charge my phone.

So ye , Ill get a bigger PSU to get the largest Capacitors I can find.

This one has a hold up time of 26 ms! Mine is rated @ 13ms. Im sure this would work very well : Seasonic Prime TX-1600 Power Supply Review
 
porky said:
Thanks for the in-depth reply!
Just a note , I dont intend to use more than 30% load on the inverter. I wont be gaming while using the inverter. I dont want to kill the batteries. Its just to keep the PC on until the Gen kicks in. When I decided on the size of the unit I felt 1200W is fine. And from the UPS its showing my PC is not pulling more than 80 under stress test conditions.
For actual use ill be using the UPS to browse the web and charge my phone.

So ye , Ill get a bigger PSU to get the largest Capacitors I can find.

This one has a hold up time of 26 ms! Mine is rated @ 13ms. Im sure this would work very well : Seasonic Prime TX-1600 Power Supply Review
Click to expand...
Just make sure that it's 26ms at least at about 80% load.

I probably get 25ms on my PSU, because my total load is only 400watts and I have a 1200W PSU. With the Corsair rating of 16ms at 80% load, I still have plenty left in the tank to spare since I only use 33% max load.

Good luck bud, hope you can sort that problem out.
 
I landed up getting a bigger inverter because I couldn't get a better psu.

With the upgraded inverter it works fine does not trip.

These chadha power inverters are rubbish.
 
goldfritter said:
Which one did you get?
Click to expand...
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porky said:
I have tried two different inverters.

Same behavior.

I tried connecting the computer power supply plug direct to the ups so no adapters in between. Same behavior.

If I reduce power limit on my gpu to 50 percent it works fine. If I either increase my power limit of stress my cpu and turn the plug off it reboots. So the higher the load the higher the chances are that when the power goes off it will reboot.
The load is only the computer load. If I add more load to the ups and I keep my computer at a load that the ups keeps it running then additional load on the ups if fine. It is only load from the actual computer that increases the chances of the switchover rebooting the pc.

I'm thinking maybe my computers power supply hold up time is not enough? I have an antec hcp platinum 1000w. It's hold up time is apparent 13ms. The minimum required apparently is 16ms.

I'm thinking I should get a new power supply. If I get a bigger power supply the hold up time would increase. My pc is drawing max 900 watts from a 1000watt power supply. If I got say a 1300w with newer larger capacitors hold up time can be 30ms.

Wonder if I could just increase the size of the caps currently installed in my psu.


I'm gonna keep on doing research.


FYI :


www.techpowerup.com

Antec Signature Titanium 1000 W Review - Return of the Legend

The flagship in Antec's Signature line achieves very high performance while running very quietly at the same time. How does it compare to competing high-end offerings from Corsair and Seasonic of similar capacity? Is the Antec Signature Titanium 1000 W worth its $280 price tag?
www.techpowerup.com www.techpowerup.com
Click to expand...

see your problem is solved, but just curious if you actually read the article you linked because you kept mentioning your PSU's "apparent" 13ms, yet in that article it shows 21ms?
 
Off-The-Chart said:
see your problem is solved, but just curious if you actually read the article you linked because you kept mentioning your PSU's "apparent" 13ms, yet in that article it shows 21ms?
Click to expand...
Yes my psu is apparently 13ms hold up time.

The article shows 21 ms. The user manual says 10ms for the new inverter. The old inverter said it was 20-40ms.

I believe upgrading either the psu or inverter probably would have worked. Although the older inverter had a transfer time of potentially more that 25ms which would have been a stretch at best for a psu with a longer hold up time


Edit - that article was for the new power supply I Was looking at. But the inverter person got back to me first so I went and upgraded the inverter first.

If that never worked would have got the psu next.
 
Im trying to set my system up so I look after the batteries.
I want my computer to go to sleep incase im not here during a power failure.
When I set my PC to go to sleep after X minutes , it fails to go to sleep.

Any ideas how to fix this? I have disabled the option to allow the mouse to wake the computer up from sleep , This was suggested on google.

Thanks for any help!
 
That is weird, not sure how your PC does not go into hibernate after you set it to go to sleep after X amount.
I have my PC on the Balance mode and I have set my PC to go to sleep after 15min and it works for me. "Shuts down" and once I press power it comes alive and all my programs are still open just like a laptop does.
 
BLUE-ANGEL said:
That is weird, not sure how your PC does not go into hibernate after you set it to go to sleep after X amount.
I have my PC on the Balance mode and I have set my PC to go to sleep after 15min and it works for me. "Shuts down" and once I press power it comes alive and all my programs are still open just like a laptop does.
Click to expand...
Think he might want the pc to go to sleep once it's running on backup power.

I would do this with a GSM commander.
Plugged into the inverter power and monitor the ESKOM power. If ESKOM is off for x amount then send signal to pc to shutdown or sleep. And once ESKOM is back for x time send signal to power up or resume.
 
I'm trying to get my computer to go to sleep after x amount of time either backup or normal ac power I just want it to go to sleep automatically.

On the note of controlling it via the pc that is something else in struggling with. I have it connected via USB cable. I have downloaded all the softwares and none seem to be working the fields are all blank.

I'll try out the software you suggested let's see if that works.
 
If just x amount of time no matter on AC or backup than windows should be able to do this by default without any extra software.
 
Yes im saying im trying to do that however it does not take affect. I have set it for 1 minute , 5 minutes and it does not go to sleep.
 
solz said:
If just x amount of time no matter on AC or backup than windows should be able to do this by default without any extra software.
Click to expand...
porky said:
When I set my PC to go to sleep after X minutes , it fails to go to sleep.
Click to expand...

@porky I have seen this happen. Usually a BIOS update fixes this issue, otherwise BIOS update + Windows reinstall.
 
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