I just moved to a new flat and I brought my monitor with me. My problem is that whenever the fridge starts, my monitor turns off. This is not only annoying, but I'm concerned that it could cause long-term damage to my monitor. How can I fix this? I'm thinking some kind of energy regulator, but I'm not sure.
asked Mar 16, 2015 at 21:16
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I have this with my TV and my boiler! Whenever my boiler starts my TV goes into standby and then back on again.– CLockeWorkMar 17, 2015 at 12:11
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Possible duplicate of: diy.stackexchange.com/questions/12015/…– SurpriseDogSep 8, 2019 at 15:27
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7 Answers
Figure out what outlets are on what circuits. Plug them into different circuits, using an extension cord if needed.
You could also use a UPS (uninterruptible power supply) device to protect the monitor from being shut off.
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1A UPS will only help if you're dealing with voltage drop. Other possible causes (eg. electronic noise) will pass right through one.– MarkMar 17, 2015 at 6:54
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9@Mark That's not necessarily true. Good UPS units will also scrub noise from power lines.– J...Mar 17, 2015 at 11:17
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4If your refrigerator is sucking enough power at startup to drag your monitor and/or computer offline it may be a sign that the refrigerator is on its last legs. You might want to call in a repair-dude to have a look at it. Mar 17, 2015 at 11:57
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It's also a good idea to put your internet (modem + router) on the UPS as well. That way when the power flickers, it won't take the 2-5 minutes for your WiFi to get reconnected to the internet. I did it a few years ago and I get a small surge of joy every time the lights flicker but the stream I'm watching keeps going strong.– bvoyelrSep 24, 2019 at 13:23
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Put your computer/monitor onto a battery backup. That way, when there is a big (but short) drain on the power, the computer/monitor will be fine.
I do this, and find that it is also very convenient during power flickers/blackouts, where I'd otherwise have to stop using the desktop computer.
A battery backup doesn't last forever, but it should definitely keep your monitor from cutting out during power drains.
answered Mar 16, 2015 at 21:23
A cheaper thing to try is a couple of clamp on ferrites on the power cables. They can be obtained from your local electronics store or online. I would start with a couple on both the monitor and refrigerator.
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Is this guaranteed to fix it? How does it work? Why would one try this?– AndrewMay 18, 2020 at 15:28
There is a big capacitor inside the fridge, when the compressor kicks the voltage will drop down or spike up. What happening here is when the voltage drop down the booster circuit inside the monitor will detect that and try to organize the voltage again.
Call someone to check your fridge capacitor, it seems the capacitor take so much voltage, maybe it's old one, maybe the compressor not working properly, for that there is stress on the capacitor
If it's okay then your monitor booster circuit not working probably, or bad design. Surge protection devices will not help you in this situation, It's only help when the voltage spikes up.
- You can use UPS but I guess it's expensive solution.
- Or you can use 1F cap and diode inside your TV after the power supply circuit :)
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Can't one just plug the fridge into a magical device that will stop it from destroying the rest of the world?– AndrewMay 18, 2020 at 15:31
As other people have noted, using a UPS is a great idea.
However, it sounds like your monitor may be particularly sensitive to power fluctuation. I would recommend, as a test, when you get your UPS home, plug your monitor in to it, and then plug the UPS into itself. This will make the UPS think that it has good power from the wall. It will eventually turn off the inverter, going to 'wall' power, just as the 'wall' power (coming from the unit itself) disappears. If your monitor still goes out before the UPS turns the inverter back on, I'd look for an active battery backup. Something that runs an inverter all the time and has a separate circuit for charging the battery when AC is present.
Oh yeah, I'd probably plug my computer into the solution as well (unless it is a laptop.) ;-)
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plug the UPS into itselfwth? that's a nice suggestion to blow it up.– FedericoMar 17, 2015 at 8:14 -
1Plug the UPS into itself? meta.stackexchange.com/questions/231739/… :)– nicaelMar 17, 2015 at 10:17
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The monitor is not necessarily sensitive - a fridge has a large motor and should be on its own circuit. Whenever electric motors start they consume a large amount of current - much more than their steady-state consumption at operating speed. Motor coils are inductors, which means that they are largely short-circuits when not moving. It's only once the motor starts turning that it begins generating resistance to electric current (and the power consumption drops to nominal). The large inrush when starting can be enough to sag the voltage on the line if the circuit is overloaded.– J...Mar 17, 2015 at 11:16
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@J... - Exactly. And, if the monitor is sensitive to that sag, there will be issues. Mar 17, 2015 at 15:31
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@MrWonderful If the circuit is not overloaded there should be no sag - if there is a sag it's not the monitor's fault that the line level is dropping and it is therefore incorrect to say that the monitor is "sensitive" to it. If the circuit is no longer supplying the correct voltage then there should be no reasonable expectation that the monitor should function correctly. The fault lies with the excessive load on the circuit.– J...Mar 17, 2015 at 15:33
This sounds remarkably like a problem that a housemate and I had some years back. Everytime the fridge kicked in, other pieces of electrical equipment in the room would stutter and sometimes die.
We tried most of the suggestions I have seen in the other answers (surge protection/UPS) to no avail.
After a bit of thought and investigation we discovered that the problem was the motor putting out a surge of EM and was insufficiently shielded (it was a very old fridge)
The solution for us was to open up the fridge and line the inner cover around the motor with tin foil to act as a makeshift Faraday cage. After that, no more problems.
tl; dr; Wrap it in tinfoil
There's actually a tool designed to solve this problem. Search for a: "Hard start capacitor" - The problem is that your fridge compressor motor draws too much current thus depriving other devices on the same circuit. The solution is to wire up a capacitor in parallel to your fridges compressor. This will provide extra current directly to the compressor when it needs it so it doesn't overload the circuits in your house.
Additional details here: https://diy.stackexchange.com/questions/12015/how-can-i-stop-my-lights-dimming-when-my-air-conditioning-turns-on
answered Sep 8, 2019 at 15:27
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That's nice and all, but is there a solution that doesn't involve trying to figure out what component and wires go where, like the equivalent of this for a wall outlet?– AndrewMay 18, 2020 at 15:32