Strange Problem

[kerching]

Ah Screwits.......actually Screwit was the manufacturer. The connectors came in 2 sizes. NORMAL. And MIDGET. We couldn't call them that nowadays

Slowly returning to UK..s crewfix were doing some kits a while back, made by Ideal.

They are fairly common on Golf Courses as the Rain Bird irrigation system uses a very similar item filled with gel to weatherproof them, similar to the Ideal version

 

[Marvo]

If by transom you mean the flat surface that the door seal meets when it closes then it's normal for this to get hot. Often the discharge pipe from the compressor is run around the entire length of this surface before it goes into the condenser, this is done to stop the door seal from freezing closed and being damaged when the door is opened. Depending on the ambient temperature, the evaporating temperature inside the cabinet and the type of refrigerant you could see a discharge temp of 60 degrees C or in some cases even higher which is way above comfortable touch temperatures.    

 

[Constant Electrics]

Hi Guys, problem solved. New, new fridge. You got to love the Asian culture! She bought a new fridge 275 US  bucks. The transom between fridge and freezer was getting far too hot. Fan was broken from new. Shop wouldn't replace it the next day because, get this, they said it was second hand! I really do hope Asia goes down quick. I don't want them running my life!! Anyhow she got the shops old fridge ( only 1 month sure sure.. ) dents in it too but it works fine. Interesting about those waterproof screwits. I am doing a lot of beach work and have been using self amalg. (3M) I hate Chinese plastic connector strips! They nearly always strip out here!

Oh by the way another low voltage prob : I got a 7 pm reading of 180v! at another beach bar ) . Should I advise a 3kw stabilisation transformer as mentioned before  Marvo? 

Thanks again for all your help

John

 

[Constant Electrics]

Oh yes, almost forgot to mention that I still haven't got a scooby about why the old fridge was acting so weird. Marvo I think it could be a broken klixon? what do you think?

Cheers

John

 

[Marvo]

I doubt it was the klixon causing the weird noise, more likely the start relay (if there was one). I'm at a loss to explain it TBH.

If your line voltage is down to 180v then you're on a hiding to nowhere, it's way too low and will probably cause high run currents assuming the compressor even starts. You could install an auto transformer but they're big and expensive. A ferro resonant UPS is also a good voltage stabilizer but also not cheap. You could run the fridge via an inverter but whichever way you go it will need to be sized so it can handle the start current. There's no real quick cheap fix to low voltage. 

 

[Constant Electrics]

Hi Marvo, thanks for your response. The customer (different one to the fridge prob) bought a 3kw fero resonant for 65 USD. I'm trying to decide if I should wire his 20 amp connection to it, or just the points circuits. It is Vietnamese so I don't think the winding's wire is of high quality. Normally I would try to under stress a component to make it last longer if its been cheaply made- say draw only 1kw through a 3kw AVR.

However: I was reading about them, and I think if I understood correctly that, you should choose the AVR for peak consumption but that they are very inefficient when they're not at peak loading. I read that 60 per cent was not uncommon .  Sounds very expensive. Also the main reason the customer wants 230v is that his new mixer and decks aren't getting enough voltage and also his amp is suffering on the bass ( distortion). I think that his slew rate for the bass will suffer. Do you have any personal knowledge of a fero resonant on a 200w or greater music amp? 

by the way where in SA are you based? I've spent a couple of years in sub Saharan Africa but alas not SA as of yet. Mainly Kenya and Zanzibar.

cheers

john

 

[Marvo]

I'm based mainly in Cape Town but we have clients in many sub-Saharan African countries.

65US$ is a damn good price for a 3KVA ferro UPS, we'd pay locally at least the equivalent of 500$ for a similar sized unit. I assume you didn't get batteries as well for that price. Ferro UPS's are just about indestructible, the only one I've ever seen back in our workshop for repairs was an 8 KVA unit that had an unfortunate fall from a fork lift truck. Hence I wouldn't over-spec or derate this type of unit, if it says 3KVA on the box I'd run it at the full 3KVA load. I know a little about ferro UPS's but unfortunately nothing about sound equipment as such so I can comment on the amplifier etc.