Bad power suplies, could it be power coming in to the building?

[atomicstomp]

Hi all I had four komputers go down with power supply issues I could hear it thru the speaker go off and on anyway they did not test out right. So the people in that building where these nodes are are now telling me that the batt. back ups were coming on a lot of the time? and the ps are dead? Could this be from surges if so, all komputers are surge protected do the protectors get worn out? About how many surges could they handle?

[ArcticFox]

What brand were the power supplies? Before blaming the buildings wiring job, grab yourself a good PS like Antec's TruePower or an Enermax dual-fan. If you can't afford one of those brands, get an Allied. Their very good and the one in my mom's PC has really good voltages for a $40 job.

[woodbutcher]

I doubt there is a problem with the service drop into the building.
You could call the Electrical company and ask them to check the lines up to the service drop, they are responsible for the power to that point.
I would think it more likely that the circuits themselves that run to the computers have issues, could be something as simple as a lose neutral in the Main Electrical panel.

WB

[dafanman]

atomicstomp,
There is a major difference in true surge protectors, and power strips that most people have.

I cant count the number of folks that have been sold a way to plug more stuff in, and have the red rocker switch on it and be told that it is a surge protector.

A good surge protector will have a joule rating in excess of 2500 joules and generally have a lifetime warranty for damaged equipment if it is connected correctly.

Low grade so called surge protectors will wear out, and even though the light still comes on, they provide no protection.

[bailey]

all of them use MOV's the expensive ones and the cheaper ones, there is no differance except for the joul rateing and how much they will handle for a given amount of time, they are only good for one major surge and then they are distroyed, no more protection

best thing to use is a power conditioner. along with it

[TOAD6147]

ArcticFox,
"...blaming the buildings wiring job..." may the smartest thing to do in the beginning and the cheapest in the long-run.
Replacing a power supply may be a good suggestion for a guy with one computer but he's talking about a business here with many computers. Suggesting the reason 4 or 5 power supplies went at the same time is because they may be low quality is a hasty analisys, IMO.
atomicstomp,
You first need to figure out what caused the power supplies to cook before you start throwing new expensive ones back in the same trouble spots. I would highly recommend that you either request the power company come and check the in-coming voltage and/or contact a reputable electrician that has experience with circuits that are dedicated to computer clusters. You may very well need an isolated feed circuit with a commercial-grade line conditioner for this area.
After-thoughts:

...anyway they did not test out right...they are dead...

How did you determine they are dead and didn't test right?

[atomicstomp]

Let me give you some more background this buildings power shares power with a ski chair lift which has not been run scince last winter but if the chair is started with with a full load the building will get a big fluction in power.

Yes they did not test right but the buliding is only getting 118 volts at the most and when I turn on a space heater it drops to around 114 volts? All wires are tight, and ps being cheap would be a good idea if it were onloy one but four with in two weeks makes me think other wise. I should know this but how many amps does a computer need or KBAs? Also whats the min volts from the surge protector before the back up kicks in? is it only 12?

Do I need 120volts no matter what? I am going to check the batch numbers on the power supply I know its a long shot but I am running out of ideas.

[Bovon]

Most power supplies die from heat more-so than voltage problems. Heat in the PSU enclosure will dry out the main filter capacitors.. this is true for all PSU's, not just the cheapies..but the difference is, the better brands use the better components, which will last longer in hot environments..but will eventually fail.

110 to 120/125 VAC is fine, and fluctuation within these voltages will be tolerated by the PSU, no problem.

The note that you get a 4 or 5 volt drop when space heaters is turned on says something about the wiring at the workplace. I would not think a drop of more than 2 volts after a few heaters are turned on...unless, it is a long run from the fuse/breaker box to the heaters..and other devices are attached to that circuit.

Ideally, the power company will have a home or business set up with at least 50% more ampere availability than is needed (future growth). Over time, homes and businesses accumulate more and more electrical devices, and at some point, their circuits are overloaded. If your business has been around for awhile, and has not been updated with new mains and circuits plus the power company upgrading the service (like going from 150 amp to a 200 amp service at home)..maybe its time to have the power company come evaluate what you have and make some recommendations.

Most voltage fluctuations come from 1) overloaded wiring of the circuits, or 2) not enough amperage of the supply from the power company, or 3) a defective wall socket where 'stuff' is plugged into...these do wear out, and cause problems...including heating (can cause fires etc.) and loss of electrical contact with resulting power fluctuations to the devices that outlet serves.

[Xtreeme]

Brown outs. Not surges. If batt backup was kicking in line volts dropped below 110v (or respective outlet volts in eruope or 220v here also) At 100v a 110 appliance will make excesive heat from being under powered. PSU's REALLY dont like brown outs nor does your cpu or mem. Sounds like the batt. units didnt kick in either fast enuff all those times or just gave up the ghost after excesive useage. They arent to be used as a brown out powerfilter (as in ALL thet ime-just now and again)-you'd need a much larger batt backup unit for that with more sensitive line monitor and quicker power kickin time.. $$$.

Meaning look at the power coming in and the main entry panel/distributation box for overloading or burnt/corroded connections. My bro. ha dbad wiring in his house. When I removed the main entry panel (cause I knew it was burning breakers till they exploded) every tang was black. :LOL. IT all came from the water heater being on half rated wireing. They used 2 wire 110v 14gauge wire! For a 220v heater. ROFLMAO. No safty ground-they used it for the RETURN-the bare wire. You know what I mean bovon a (hehe I know bovon from somwhere else)-thats terribly stupid useing 2 wire 15amp where 3 wire at 50-30amp is needed.. The wire was half melted. So look for that kinda stuff at box.

[TOAD6147]

Well, since you're in New Hampsire and share circuitry with a ski-lift I doubt that heat is your problem. LOL! But just out of curiosity, is this a seasonal business? Have these units been left unused for a long period of time? If so it could be a moisture problem as well. But after reviewing your susequent posts I still feel confident you need a professional electrician to evaluate your main electrical feed. BTW, as best I can remember, most all things that use house current are rated at 120vac +/- 10%. If that's still the case then you can have an acceptable voltage input fluctuating between 108vac to as high as 132vac. I just measured 124vac here in my office.
I just checked with an electrician friend and he said the local power companies try to keep volatage at about 125vac. He said 100vac is when you would start getting brown-outs.