UPS on a Bill Changer

[2Biz]

I have a Hamilton Controller/Mars Bill Changer that will trip the circuit breaker on the Controller about 3-4 times a month. I believe it happens when the power goes off and back on quickly or there is a "Relay" in a substation supplying electricity to the wash. Sometimes it happens after an electrical storm. A flicker in the power will trip the breaker and the changer will be out of service till I get there to reset it.

Do any of you have this problem? If so how do you keep it from happening? I have a 4300 joules surge suppressor in line, but was wondering if a UPS would be better since the controller does not see the power interuption. The UPS would last quite a long time if there was a power outage since the standby current used is very minimal...This is one of those annoying things that I'd like to fix but haven't come up with the FIX yet...

 

[MEP001]

You could also upgrade the controller to a C2000, but a UPS should solve the problem for about $35.

 

[mjwalsh]

I have a Hamilton Controller/Mars Bill Changer that will trip the circuit breaker on the Controller about 3-4 times a month. I believe it happens when the power goes off and back on quickly or there is a "Relay" in a substation supplying electricity to the wash. Sometimes it happens after an electrical storm. A flicker in the power will trip the breaker and the changer will be out of service till I get there to reset it.

Do any of you have this problem? If so how do you keep it from happening? I have a 4300 joules surge suppressor in line, but was wondering if a UPS would be better since the controller does not see the power interuption. The UPS would last quite a long time if there was a power outage since the standby current used is very minimal...This is one of those annoying things that I'd like to fix but haven't come up with the FIX yet...

2Biz,

You just gave me an idea that should seriously be considered considering that our 2 Standard ChangeMakers each have a fairly sophisticated power supply that can develop problems that in turn causes little unexplained quirks.

We have an APC UPS for our PLC- Ethernet Touchscreen dogwash which we believe has eliminated potential power issues. We always have had a UPS backup for our internet kiosk in our laundromat

Our 17 month old successful ATM is not the identical machine or brand that you have ... but electronically there must be some similarities. I just want to share with you what the specific professional local installer insisted upon ... not only a UPS but one that met their specifications. They went on to say that any UPSs under $50 were not good enough & ... a surge suppressor only ... was also not good enough.

mike

 

[2Biz]

Thanks for the input!

Did your installer give you minimum specs? I know some of the low end UPS's have a built in battery that can't be replaced. I wouldn't consider one of those. But it seems that the surge suppression capacity is a lot lower on a UPS than what can be bought with a stand alone Surge Suppressor. Maybe its because most UPS's have an Automatic Voltage Regulator (AVR) that stabilizes input voltage? I would think this would be a good thing for the control board since it doesn't have its own power supply that regulates voltage. I'm going to give it a try unless somebody can convince me otherwise...Thanks again for the input...

 

[MEP001]

I know some of the low end UPS's have a built in battery that can't be replaced. I wouldn't consider one of those.

The cheap ones do have replaceable batteries. It's the same lead-acid battery used in an alarm system.

Maybe its because most UPS's have an Automatic Voltage Regulator (AVR) that stabilizes input voltage?

Only high-end UPS's have voltage regulation. If one doesn't specifically state so, all it does is pass through the line voltage unless it drops below a certain level.

 

[2Biz]

I stand corrected on the battery. Thanks...

I went ahead and ordered one with AVR since this is what I'm looking for to help with the issue I'm having...Its middle of the road...Although I've spent a lot more to fix less! Our changer is pretty critical to the operation of the wash and I need to get this fixed!

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3260287&Sku=C910-1308

 

[mjwalsh]

I stand corrected on the battery. Thanks...

I went ahead and ordered one with AVR since this is what I'm looking for to help with the issue I'm having...Its middle of the road...Although I've spent a lot more to fix less! Our changer is pretty critical to the operation of the wash and I need to get this fixed!

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3260287&Sku=C910-1308

2Biz,

I used a very similar older version of CyberPower on our laundry internet kiosk for many years & had very good results. In fact, since its 2 12v lead acid batteries finally went bad, I am ordering 2 new HR9-12replacement batteries for $45.44 with shipping from Amazon. It is a 1250 AVR. Unless you need it to shut down a computer properly during an outage ... I don't believe the Windows xp or 7 software is needed.

mike

 

[JustClean]

And it couldn't be the circuit breaker itself? I had that before on two different machines...

 

[kyokonitori88]

UPS will help to limit or control the flow of the electricity going to your device.

 

[2Biz]

And it couldn't be the circuit breaker itself? I had that before on two different machines...

Could be I guess If it did it everyday or more often than what it does I might suspect the controller or breaker...If this fixes it, it will be a cheap and easy fix...If not I'll have a good UPS to put on a new controller.

 

[JustClean]

Could be I guess If it did it everyday or more often than what it does I might suspect the controller or breaker...If this fixes it, it will be a cheap and easy fix...If not I'll have a good UPS to put on a new controller.

My R/O system circuit breaker did that to me about once a month and another one in my brush machine every 2 month. Replaced both and never looked back. I'd give it a try first. Maybe you could still sell the unused UPS if it works out...

 

[Randy]

All you really need is a Single outlet Surge Protector on your Bill Changer, they have them at Lowes for about $8. Every Bill changer should be on a Surge Protector to protect the electronics.

 

[2Biz]

I currently have a 4330 joules suppressor inline and the breaker on the controller still trips. The UPS I ordered was delivered yesterday, so will plug it in tonight. I'll report back in a month or so to let you know if it solves the issue...

BTW Randy...Can the circuit breaker be replaced on the controller if the UPS doesn't do the trick? Or would it be cheaper to replace the controller with a newer one?

 

[2Biz]

OK..So I put the UPS inline and it DID NOT work....It was fine untill I unplugged the UPS to test the Battery Backup. The controller and bill changer started to buzz very loudly. The coin counter also advanced about $35.00 on its own...It did not like running on backup...

Any clues as to why this happened? I put the surge suppressor back inline until I get this figured out...Randy and I talked last night and he thought this one would be good to post on the forum. He didn't know why it happened unless there is some sort of polarity issue in the wiring. I'll check that out tonight...

 

[2Biz]

Ok..>So I'm getting pretty good at answering my own questions, so I'll post for everybody's benifit. Just got off the phone with CyberPower, and the technician told me I needed a Pure Sine Wave Output UPS instead of the AVR model I bought. Its a little more expensive, but worth a try. The P/N for the CyberPower Pure Sign Wave Model is CP1000PFCLCD..

He said the giveaway was the buzziing noise which was coming from the tiny electric motors in the validator and hopper.

 

[2Biz]

Got the new "Pure Sine Wave" UPS and plugged it in to my changer. Worked perfectly. Even when unplugged and on battery backup. Now for the test of time!

 

[2Biz]

Its been 2 months now that I've had the Pure Sine Wave UPS connected to my changer to see if it would help with the tripping circuit breaker issue. So I thought I'd post a follow up. Since I installed the UPS, the breaker on the controller hasn't tripped, not even once....If the Pure Sine Wave UPS wasn't so expensive, I think I'd install more of them. Although they do make extension cords!