Pure Sine Wave

I ran my Dell Dimension 4600 off of a BeIkin F6C800-UNV UPS which received power from my Troy Built gas powered generator. To the best of my knowledge the generator does not have a voltage regulator and does not produce a pure sine wave. The tech at Belkin states that their UPS simply would not run if plugged into a generator with no regulator. I did, it did and everything seems OK. What’s your insightful opinion, sir, on the harm a non-pure source of electricity would have on a PC and second could the combination above have produced a pure sine wave? Thanks, Mike

 

i'm no expert in electricity, but my guess is that your belkin may expire early if you plug it in for a prolonged period of time, requiring you to return it to belkin for a new one which they won't want.

 

It would have the same effect as a crappy mains supply... that is to say, it would do as Strogg says.

The UPS will have a regulator on the output though, so wouldnt cause any damage to the PC, but as the regulator on the UPS would be working harder than normal compensating, it would cause it to heat up and probably die earlier than it would normally.

Most generators have voltage regulators, at least ones for use on a residential supply, such as the ones you get for caravans, but they don't usually give the same sort of quality as a sub-station would.

 

you have two choices:

keep running like you are and replace the UPS every once in a while

or install an external voltage regulator on the generator. it can be tricky, but there are many available and i'm sure you could find help with it.

 

The generator most likely regulates voltage by adjusting it's throttle according to load. It strives to maintain a constant speed. If a sudden electrical load appears, the motor will hiccup momentarily and then stabilize. The hiccup is what will kill your UPS, eventually.
If the load on the generator is more or less constant, the UPS should provide enough regulation to protect the computer.

 

External voltage regulator? Where is such an animal?