AC and a UPS Backup Battery

[Carlos]

I am new to the AC (though I ask myself now how come I did not get this thing before).

Anyway, I run a small MJ pump out of a 1000va backup battery. Just in case power goes out, the MJ keeps chugging away for a few hours before total power loss. I lost all my fish once to a 4 hr power outtage so I use the backup battery now.

Anyway, ever since I plugged the AC (not directly to the battery but they both share the same circuit) my X10 modules sometimes work and sometimes dont. None of the modules are plugged to the battery (again, all that the battery supports is the small MJ). Anyway, when I unplug the battery, the modules work fine, but as soon as I plug the battery back, things dont work. Now, they dont turn on or off suddenly but what happens is that if they are on, they stay on and if they are off, they stay off regardless of what the AC has programmed.

Has anybody had this problem before? Can it be fixed with a filter?

Carlos

 

[kattner]

Yes, I have had the same issue and it can be fixed with a filter. You need to plug the battery backup UPS into the filter and then into your circuit. The UPS has noise suppression circuitry that acts like a huge black hole for X10 signals. It thinks the X10 signals are noise.

What I did was to plug the UPS into the filter. Then I plugged a plain power strip (without surge suppression etc.) into the same circuit. I plugged the computer interface and all the modules into the same powerstrip so they would be electrically close to one another. Worked great. I also switched to appliance modules from smarthome since they were built better and the local control feature can be disabled by sending the module certain commands instead of opening the module and cutting some wires.

You may consider (unless you already have a big investment in X10) just switching over to the DC8 plug module from Neptune. It works very well and you will never have to worry about X10 again.

 

[Carlos]

Sweet,

I just called x10pro and ordered the filter. Got them way cheaper than any aquarium online store.

Thanx for the tip.

Carlos

 

[RustySnail]

You also might use the UPS to keep your AC online in the event of a power outtage. You will lose the visibility of the outtage (if you have auto-notifications you might not want to do this); but doing this would serve two purposes:

It would keep the ACII electrically protected from voltage spikes (recommended by Neptune).

It would keep track of changes in pH/ORP during the outtage if the sensors are collecting data from the tank, not the sump. There might be a way to program it to report the power loss...

 

[clp]

To keep the power failure notification of the controller, use a AC adapter that is used as a 9V battery replacement. Plug the 9V clip to the AquaController's battery clip, and plug the AC adapter into the UPS. Leave the AquaController's main AC adapter plugged into a wall outlet.

Curt

 

[Joboo]

Great Idea Curt!

 

[reefmaint]

that is wierd.
i dunt use ac butg i use something else that uses x10 for control

i have an apc 1000 va or 11 or somthing and it seems to have nopromloms.. and these are on the same power strip O_O i mean power stip has the x10 stuff plugged in and it also has the ups pluged into it.

 

[clp]

The point of the battery backup or AC power backup on the controller is so that you can be informed of a power problem around your tank. If the controller, router, and/or dsl modem don't have any power you won't be getting any email notifications of power failure event.

Curt

 

[RustySnail]

Question regarding ALM:

OSC 15/225 ON/OFF THEN ALM ON

Will this send an alarm signal every 4 hours for tank status? Will this setting prevent any other alarms from being sent during it's off period?

Also regarding timed alerts:

If Power Fail Then ALM ON
If Time > 12:00 Then ALM ON
If Time > 12:15 Then ALM OFF

Will the OFF comand for noontime status override all previous ALM ON commands if time is >12:15 (will the Power Fail command be halted)?

 

[clp]

Make sure that the OSC statement comes first and then it will have the lowest priority; the alarm on conditions should follow it. As longs as the re-email delay has elapsed you will receive additional emails whenever an alarm condition is active.
No matter where time statements are in the program, they are executed first, so your other program will have the desired result.

Curt

 

[RustySnail]

Well; I'm having trouble with the OSC command. If I run the following:

OSC 012/248 ON/OFF Then ALM ON
If pH > 8.25 Then ALM ON
If pH < 8.00 Then ALM ON
etc...

Then if any of the tank param alarm conditions hit they won't reset to off at a later time (even if the pH falls into a normal range for example)

If I do the following:

If Time > 00:00 then ALM OFF
OSC 012/248 ON/OFF Then ALM ON
If pH > 8.25 Then ALM ON
If pH < 8.00 Then ALM ON
etc...

Then OSC does not work; but param alarms do work.

Any help appreciated!

 

[RustySnail]

I think I fixed it...

re-page delay was too short. I set it back to 60 mins; so if ALM is turned on by Temp, pH, ORP then it will page me hourly. At the 4 hour mark OSC will reset it to once per 4 hours by switching the ALM to off.

 

[RichK]

Carlos, I have an easy fix for ya...unplug it and send it to me. J/K. See you in D.C.