monitor blanks out when refrigerator kicks in

[vhelp]

Hi, On my new AOC 22" monitor (mentioned elsewhere on this forum) I noticed that whenever my old refrigerator kicks in (turns on or off) sometimes my monitor will turn off and back on (or blank out) for a split second. Oh, it only seems to happen when its connected to my dell inspiron laptop via HDMI.

There is nothing I can do with that refreg. Its old and I can't even get to the eletric part of it in the back. It is very wedged in-between the side wall and my oven. "If it ain't broke don't fix it!" is what my soop said to me.

I had a mini pc that I had to return because it stopped powering on two days later. And I was not even using it. The vendor said that sometimes the battery will get zapped by static and just has to be reset on the mini. But after trying that, it did not restore power to the unit. I had to return it for another one and it arrives today or tomorrow. I don't know if this refreg issue is the cause or not. I am only speculating because of the issue with my new monitor. But if it is the problem, then I want to protect both devices. And the apt is carpeted, if that matters, though i've never felt that static "pop" you get when you touch something. Thus..

What Can I buy to connect at the power supply or other end of the power cord for my monitor (and minipc) that might prevent it from blanking out like that ?

[poisondeathray]

You can get a UPS model with voltage regulation and surge protection

But it's better to fix the electrical setup if you can, it might be bad wiring - possibly too much load on 15A wire . Or try to connect to another circuit than the refrigerator or other applicances

[Keyser]

Do the lights also go off and on when your refrigerator or washing machines are working?
If this happens, you probably have some loose (not well fasten) wires in your electrical installation.

...possibly too much load on 15A wire .

Too much load doesn't cause the problem that was described; that would just open the circuit breakers.

[JVRaines]

Too much load doesn't cause the problem that was described; that would just open the circuit breakers.

Not necessarily. Inrush current to the refrigerator motor may not trip the breaker but still sucks down enough voltage to freak out the monitor. For example, my incandescent lights dim for a moment when my fridge starts up but the breakers never trip. The motor turn-off problem is probably due to a voltage spike. The solution to both problems, as poisondeathray observes, is a UPS.

[vhelp]

Great, i'm heading out now to pick up an UPS at Staples then. The one below is for $59 and is their cheapest version. I hope they have it in stock. I just received my minipc i7-6600U (Skylake) finally.

APC Back-UPS® ES 550VA 8-Outlet Power-Saving UPS (BE550G)

[Nelson37]

That would be the first step but problem could be related to poor building ground. Common issue. If APC unit does not solve problem, investigate building ground. Might be a very easy fix, might not.

[pandy]

Kick (start/inrush) current for motors is approx 10 - 20x higher than nominal, additionally it may be some malfunction for compressor - hard start may be even more difficult for motor.

Best idea is to separate such sub-circuit (with high current load) from rest of sub-circuits.

Described behavior may be outcome of:
- loose connector (increased impedance for current and as such voltage drop/sag) - checking connections is highly recommended also due risk of fire,
- too low diameter of wiring (renting thermal camera for day or two may easily expose such situation),
- too high load on sub-circuit (more than assumed for wiring design) - this may be also insufficient power grid capacity,
- incorrect wiring (parallel cable routing and as such tight coupling between different sub-circuits - this apply to power and signal cables - common issue is routing signal cable together with power cable - this is NOK).

Those problems may be partially solved by using good quality power-bar connected to different sub-circuit than fridge (side to this i highly recommend to use dedicated/localized electric circuit with predictable ground loop for equipment like audio/video/computer).

Side to this it may be some EMI/EMC issues on monitor side and this may be improved by placing ferrite beads https://www.amazon.com/Ferrite-Core-Cord-Noise-Suppressor/dp/B0002MQGEK (even few if necessary - amazon is quite expensive i would give a chance to beads recovered from junkyard) on power and signal cable (monitor).

[bendixG15]

The circuit is overloaded.

[larioso]

One way of going about it is to just turn off the fridge the hours you need to work on laptop.
4-6 hours is not problem.

As a last resort....

[SameSelf]

So with modern fridges that display the internal temperature, I can say from experience (power failures and the like) that unplugging your fridge for 4-6 hours will result in the temp increasing about 30 to 40 degrees depending on the ambient temp. The temp increases FAST! A fridge is not a YETI. Therefore, I do not recommend doing this at the risk of food spoilage or even worse, poisoning. Rather, plug the 'puter into a different circuit.

[larioso]

So with modern fridges that display the internal temperature, I can say from experience (power failures and the like) that unplugging your fridge for 4-6 hours will result in the temp increasing about 30 to 40 degrees depending on the ambient temp. The temp increases FAST! A fridge is not a YETI. Therefore, I do not recommend doing this at the risk of food spoilage or even worse, poisoning. Rather, plug the 'puter into a different circuit.

You know we have Celsius degrees here - and those are not the same.

20-22 degrees indoors is common.

I usually have 5 degrees Celsius in fridge, and it might increase to 8-9 or so if power lost 4-6 hours.
It will not spoil anything eatable in there.

Milk and such usually have recommended up to 8 degrees or so to be good after best before timestamp.

We have had a power failure some time each year almost, when a storm is here, so tested IRL.

[SameSelf]

You do know that both vhelp and I are in the US which still uses Fahrenheit, right? And don't get me started about the metric changeover. If you Europeans love your metric system so much, then why haven't you converted from the ancient Sumerian sexagesimal system for counting time?

Also, you are in Sweden. Why do you even need a fridge in that frigid country? Just dig a hole in your backyard.

[KarMa]

@vhelp
If the monitor and fridge are sharing the same breaker, this your problem. If your home gets 240 volts, and both the fridge and monitor are sharing either the same top or bottom half phase, this could be your problem.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Split-phase_electric_power

I'd also just get a new fridge, really old ones just burn through so much power.

Too much load doesn't cause the problem that was described; that would just open the circuit breakers.

There can be quite a bit of play with a standard breaker. A quick excessive load (starting of a compressor) probably won't trigger the breaker, even if it does go over the labeled breaker limit.

[pandy]

You do know that both vhelp and I are in the US which still uses Fahrenheit, right? And don't get me started about the metric changeover. If you Europeans love your metric system so much, then why haven't you converted from the ancient Sumerian sexagesimal system for counting time?

It is (sexagesimal system) consistent, same for metric system - internally consistent.

[vhelp]

If the monitor and fridge are sharing the same breaker, this your problem. If your home gets 240 volts, and both the fridge and monitor are sharing either the same top or bottom half phase, this could be your problem.

Yeah, I should have thought about that. But getting the UPS, I thought would be enough, but apparently not. Unfortunately, the unit was destroyed. Not sure if it was on account of the refrig or something else. I was busy reading emails and forums posts for maybe 20 minutes while the mini was resting doing nothing, when all the sudden, I noticed that the monitor went blank, and a quick glance to my left and the unit had completely powered down. No life left in it. The unit was as cold as my window, and I could not see any smoke or any bad smells from it. The ac adapter 12v/6A did not have any oder to it either. I tried unplugging for half an hour. Nothing. Won't power on. No lights in the unit, like the internal red light that you see when you plug in the adapter cord to it. Well, I'm bummed out over this, and I gotta get back to my reports--they are late and i'm being hammered about it (am at work). Anyway. Thanks.

[poisondeathray]

How did you connect the UPS ? What connections were in/out ? A 550VA/330W model is about sufficient for a low power PC and monitor only . APC has a good warranty and will even replace equipment if you had it set up properly

[vhelp]

they have three models, i got the middle one, 7-outlet on sale--this is the model:
APC Back-UPS BN650M1

650VA/360Watts
7 Total outlets - 5 on Battery BackUP, 2 Surge only and 1 USB charging port
Power your critical devices during outages. Attach your home networking equipment
(router and modem) and stay connected to the internet for over 4 hours after safely
shutting down your PC.

In the picture (from the link), I had the last three outlets (if you point upwards) in use: Acer Aspire Laptop, minipc, and AOC 22" monitor. The instructions say, to press the button and the green ready-light will come on, which it did. I don't know what else I could have done wrong, except breath too deeply perhaps. I don't know.

[larioso]

You do know that both vhelp and I are in the US which still uses Fahrenheit, right? And don't get me started about the metric changeover. If you Europeans love your metric system so much, then why haven't you converted from the ancient Sumerian sexagesimal system for counting time?

Also, you are in Sweden. Why do you even need a fridge in that frigid country? Just dig a hole in your backyard.

We need fridge, not for our food to freeze - you see.

It is north pole after all.....polar bears walking the streets....

We europeans we calls the shots on standards - meters, kilograms, liters, celsius...the lot.

[vhelp]

I'm gonna try a new 12v/6a adapter or 12v/5a. Maybe that is the problem. Maybe something in it blew out. I see no screws on the one I have. Maybe I can find a universal 12v/5a adapter at Staples and can pick one up else I'l have to find one online somewhere.

[SameSelf]

It is (sexagesimal system) consistent, same for metric system - internally consistent.

huh?

[SameSelf]

We need fridge, not for our food to freeze - you see.

It is north pole after all.....polar bears walking the streets....

We europeans we calls the shots on standards - meters, kilograms, liters, celsius...the lot.

lolol, so when you unplug your fridge the food starts to freeze! love it!

As for calling the shots, tell that to those who voted yes for brexit!

[redwudz]

KaMa, Disscussion of politics is a violation of our rules. Sameself, same warning.

Post moved to Closed Topics.

Moderator redwudz

[Nelson37]

Did you read the directions? It would appear the top two outlets are surge protection only, NOT battery backup. Also, brand new units are shipped with the battery disconnected, you have to manually attach one of the cables.

VERY good warranty on APC units, I have seen the checks.

[pandy]

It is (sexagesimal system) consistent, same for metric system - internally consistent.

huh?

AFAIK sexagesimal system is used by US and rest of world... seem to be sufficiently consistent.

If UPS then i think it should be true online to avoid sag problems...

[SameSelf]

I still have no idea what your point is. You do know that sexagesimal is not metric, right? Anyway, I have to be careful. I got a warning about being political because of my comments about ancient Sumerians. Who knew? But rather than feeling contrite, I felt a little singled out since I was just responding to larioso—plus, who is the mysterious KaMa? Perhaps it is the same poster who styles him/herself as KarMa with the Santa Claus avatar (oops, did I suddenly get religious???). But let's just agree to disagree, shall we? Most of the time the Mods are pretty lazy, oops, I meant laissez-faire. And I know that All Posters Are Equal But Some Posters Are More Equal Than Others.

Also, how am I posting this? I thought the thread was closed? Now, I really am off the reservation.

[pandy]

IBut let's just agree to disagree, shall we?

Have no problem with this - as a European i have problems with few different miles and gallons in Anglo world but not with accepting other people point of view.

Cheers!