Power Failure Email

[HurricaneSystem]

Like clockwork, every night, I get the following email alert about a power failure.

Alarm Statement: If Power Apex Off 000 Then ON

May 20 2012 19:54:56
Temp pH
79.3 8.01
VarSpd1_I1 is OFF Manual
VarSpd2_I2 is OFF Manual
VarSpd3_I3 is OFF Manual
VarSpd4_I4 is OFF Manual
SndAlm_I6 is OFF Auto
SndWrn_I7 is OFF Auto
EmailAlm_I5 is ON Auto
Powerhead_1 is ON Auto
Kessil_LED_2 is OFF Manual
Sump_Pump_3 is ON Auto
HeaterTube_1 is OFF Auto
LBLUE_LED_5 is OFF Manual
Koralia_1_6 is ON Auto
MaxiJet_2_7 is OFF Manual
THO_1_8 is ON Auto
Power Failed: May 18 2012 19:44:07
Power Restored: None
Power OK: EB8_3 (2 Days 00:10 - 2.5 Amps)

The only problem, is that there is no power failure? I am standing right beside the system when it does this and there is never a hiccup, the display never goes down, etc. I have the full APEX if that helps any with one 8 plug power bar.

 

[RussM]

Change If Power Apex Off 000 Then ON to If Power Apex Off 001 Then ON.

Do you have an auxiliary 12v power supply connected? If not, turn off the Power Monitor option (Configuration->Misc setup) - I think you have enabled it.

Post your email outlet programming please.

Does it happen at the same time (within a minute or so), or just sometime each evening?

 

[HurricaneSystem]

Russ,

No I don't have a 12v power supply connected, I don't think, maybe give me an example or two? Here is my email outlet programming. It happens at the same time every night. I will get like 5 or 6 emails, then it stops.

Set OFF
If Temp > 81.8 Then ON
If Temp < 77.0 Then ON
If pH > 08.20 Then ON
If pH < 07.75 Then ON
If Power Apex Off 000 Then ON
If Power EB8_3 Off 000 Then ON

I did have power monitoring enabled in the MISC config.

 

[aquamanic]

I think Russ is right, it's that power monitoring option. Since there's no power there, it's going to alarm. Not sure why it only happens at night though. You can also remove the 'If Power Apex..." statement since without power monitoring, it's worthless.

 

[RussM]

I think Alan meant to delete the If Power EB8 line. It's worthless unless you have multiple power sources (12v and/or additional EnergyBars).

Leave the If Power Apex line, but change it to 001 instead of 000. This will trigger the alarm when power comes back after a power outage and any time the Apex reboots.

 

[aquamanic]

No, the If Power Apex is the 12v. Without a 12v wall wart and power monitoring enabled, it's worthless. You can still detect a power failure on the EB8 and send an email after power is restored. I know it's like closing the barn door after the horse is out but you would still know the horse escaped!

 

[RussM]

Alan, my experience differs.

Hurricane, the Power Monitor feature is only beneficial when there is a 12v adapter connected to the Apex and the EnergyBar is on a different circuit ot is plugged into a UPS. Otherwise, it should be left at the default setting of disabled.

 

[HurricaneSystem]

Thank you all for your help. Glad to know it was my mistake, long live the APEX!

 

[RussM]

Alan, my experience differs.

Al, this was a poor choice of words written too quickly on my iPhone. What I should have said was "My opinion differs based on testing I've done."

If Power Apex works for me as expected both with a 12v aux PS & Power Monitor on, and without 12v & PwrMon enabled. 'If Power EBx' does not work to detect a power failure on the EB when there is an alternate power source to keep the Apex running, as I've mentioned before - as has Todd. Both are suitable for detecting and alarming when the whole system loses power (including the base) or reboots, agreed.

It seems that the majority of Apex owners have a basic system - base, display, 1 EB8, no aux power. For those people, it seems to me to be more appropriate to use If Apex rather than If Power EBx because the in the event of a power loss or reboot, the key factor is that the Apex itself lost power, not the EnergyBar. Therefore, an alarm email (after restart) triggered by If Power Apex is more indicative of the real event than one triggered by If Power EBx. This is quite admittedly a case of splitting hairs, but that's the way I see it.

The one key mistake people with a basic system make is using If Power Apex (or if Power EBx) is using 000 in the statement instead of 001 or something higher. With a value of 000, the If Power statement will never actually become TRUE.

The other common error I see is enabling of Power Monitor when there is no 12v aux power source - I see this regularly with new Reeftronics members, as indicated by Power Restored always showing as "none".

 

[djkms]

So, according to this thread, if the power goes out in my house - as soon as its back up I will get a email/text alarm with this as my email outlet:

Set OFF
If Power Apex Off 001 Then ON
If Outlet SumpFloat = ON Then ON
If Outlet KalkIssue = ON Then ON
If Outlet PH-High = ON Then ON
If Temp > 82.0 Then ON
If Temp < 76.0 Then ON
If pH < 08.00 Then ON
If FeedD 030 Then OFF

I do not have a aux power hooked up and run 2 eb8's. I have power monitor disabled and I don't care if one or the other EB8 loses power, I want to know if the apex system as a whole loses power. Statement is correct then yeah?

 

[RussM]

So, according to this thread, if the power goes out in my house - as soon as its back up I will get a email/text alarm with this as my email outlet:

Set OFF
If Power Apex Off 001 Then ON
If Outlet SumpFloat = ON Then ON
If Outlet KalkIssue = ON Then ON
If Outlet PH-High = ON Then ON
If Temp > 82.0 Then ON
If Temp < 76.0 Then ON
If pH < 08.00 Then ON
If FeedD 030 Then OFF

I do not have a aux power hooked up and run 2 eb8's. I have power monitor disabled and I don't care if one or the other EB8 loses power, I want to know if the apex system as a whole loses power. Statement is correct then yeah?

Change the order a bit:

Set OFF
If Outlet SumpFloat = ON Then ON
If FeedD 030 Then OFF
If Outlet KalkIssue = ON Then ON
If Outlet PH-High = ON Then ON
If Temp > 82.0 Then ON
If Temp < 76.0 Then ON
If pH < 08.00 Then ON
If Power Apex Off 001 Then ON

Remember that the last true statement prevails. By putting the If Power statement after the If Temp and If pH statements, the If Power Statement will take precedence over the prior statements, and will therefore override an spurious alarms that may be caused by out of spec temp and ph value which can occur immediately after the Apex is started up.

I also moved the If Feed statement up; I'm assuming you have that statement in there to suppress alarms while feeding due to your return pump being off and the SumpFloat switch being activated. If my guess is correct, then use the order I listed.... it will still suppress an alarm triggered the SumpFloat, but will still allow other statements to trigger an alarm, i.e. high pH.