Low electric power, early morning problem

[devonwoody]

Now in my eighties and wake early these days and usually switch on our TV at anytime after 5 am and other utilities go on at this time.

Our television keeps switching off is this because the local area cannot cope with demand or could it be something to do with my property wiring, after 7am I do not experience any problems.

Any advice appreciated.

 

[HappyHacker]

Could be the your TV does not like early mornings

You really need a meter to test your voltage but as you are asking I assume you do not have one.

Your TV having been off all night may have a fault that upsets it until it has been warmed up electrically for a while.

Measure exactly a litre or better still 2 litres, if your kettle will take it, of water into an empty kettle and time the time it takes to boil both early in the morning and later in the day. If it takes much longer in the morning then you have low voltage in the morning and you need to be talking to your electricity supplier and possibly getting an electrician in to measure it. If the times are the same then it is more likely to be the TV.

Normally the problem of low voltage tends to occur about 6pm and Christmas day in residential areas or at any time when heavy industry is involved.

 

[devonwoody]

Thanks for your comment.

I think I will have to get an electrician in, I have experienced two more power offs at TV this morning once turning a room light switch off and at the same time when operating a PC operation.

 

[user22161]

A simple multi-meter will tell you if the supply is fluctuating. Many years ago we had a similar problem. Contacted the Electricity Board as it was then and they installed a paper graph voltage recorder for IIRC a month. Not long after, the pavement was dug up further down the road and the supply to ours and neighbour's houses for a couple of hundred yards either side, was uprated.

 

[lurker]

I am no expert,but......

Assuming your telly is a fairly recent flat screen model it's very unlikely the voltage as they are intended to run 220/240 so the whole local distribution system would drop out if the juice got that low.

 

[flying haggis]

are you on an economy 7 tariff as that could have a bearing(dont know what as yet!!)

 

[sunnybob]

Thanks for your comment.

I think I will have to get an electrician in, I have experienced two more power offs at TV this morning once turning a room light switch off and at the same time when operating a PC operation.

Define "power off".
Does the picture just go, or do you actually have to press a button to restart it?
Presumably you dont have to go to the main unit and reset a breaker?
When you turn the kettle on, do the lights dim or flicker?

If its confined purely to the TV, check the wiring connections in the 13 amp plug, and make sure the lead is firmly in the rear of the TV.
If theres no problem with the plug or lead, use an extension lead and plug it into a different socket.

 

[devonwoody]

power off meant the television stops working and goes back to standby and needs the standby switched back on and it works again and might run ok until next episode occurs again.

In addition more information, we have a night light operating off same socket(a 2gang socket) and that does not switch off or flicker when things are not working above.

 

[RogerS]

Could you try feeding your TV from an extension lead plugged in elsewhere, dw, as a check to start eliminating things? As others have said, if it's a relatively modern TV then low voltage shouldn't affect it.

 

[samhay]

Any chance your TV has a power saving measure that turns it off after some period of time?

 

[RogerS]

Any chance your TV has a power saving measure that turns it off after some period of time?

That's a good point and reading the OP I got the impression that if dw turned the TV on for the first time that day after 7am then it was OK.

dw...can you confirm please ? Are you saying that if you try and turn the TV on at 5am it takes a while to come on. But if you don't turn it on until 7am say then it comes up immediately ?

 

[Eric The Viking]

At 5AM in the winter, my toast burns. It doesn't happen later in the morning.

I think this is because the grid is boosted to anticipate breakfast demand, and the voltage settles back to normal after a while (and the kettles go on).

So what John is experiencing is the opposite of what I would expect. This makes me wonder if something else entirely is going on, although I can't imagine quite what. And it is also true that most TV power supplies are universal voltage, like laptops, etc. They will work anywhere between 250 and 100 volts usually (usually says 110V-240V on the label to give margin).

The suggestion of timing a kettle full of water is a good idea. It will tell you if there is any drop in mains voltage, but make sure you fill it to the same level each time.

I think something else is going on though.

John, does your TV have an internal clock of some sort, and could that still be on summer time? My only Freeview recorder is part of an old telly, and the clock is separate from the programme guide etc. So whilst it shows the right time on screen (it gets that off-air, apparently), it will record 1hr early at this time of year if not corrected. I thus missed the crucial bit of qualifying for the Austin F1 grand prix. Thankfully I realized in time to see the Grand Prix itself... oops!

 

[D_W]

Not sure if it's an option there, but here in the states, the RECs (rural electric cooperatives) used to have issues with blipping power and low voltage after a blip. Most of the folks living on them put electronics on an APC/UPS (battery backup that also moderates power if it drops off below a certain level).

Cost for each connection point for electronic devices is about $100-$150.

We've found at work that they tend to last about 6 years almost to a T. Not sure if that's intentional or the design just has a physical limitation that causes them to crap out (usually the battery in the device, and the battery is a huge % of the cost of a new one).

Relatives of mine lived with the blipping (they also had a furniture store) until their furniture stores systems were computerized and their kids grew up and started using computers for school work. A bunch of lost work, and they had APC/UPS devices shortly after that.

I have replaced mine at work three times now in 13 years (first one was left by the prior employee and near death). Power has gone off once in those 13 years, but city center with buried lines is far different than residential.

Point of this being if the TV turning off really irritates you, put the TV on a UPS/APC and all you'll hear is a click is the device flips back and forth between mains and battery, but your TV will remain on.

 

[Dibs-h]

power off meant the television stops working and goes back to standby and needs the standby switched back on and it works again and might run ok until next episode occurs again.

In addition more information, we have a night light operating off same socket(a 2gang socket) and that does not switch off or flicker when things are not working above.

I suspect it's the TV that's got issues. Perhaps from "cold" (as it gets from being on standby) you experience the issues and once it's been running for a while - less or no issues.

Maybe tomorrow - you could leave it off till later in the morning and then try it - if the problem is with the TV - should behave the same.

 

[Sheffield Tony]

Yes, TV fault or something triggering the IR remote receiver ? Many TVs of modern sort can cope with a wide input range. Transients might be an issue (does anything else correlate with the problem - heating coming on, ...) but you won't diagnose that with a cheap meter.

 

[devonwoody]

Many thanks to all and for the laughs.

I think the problem is now solved, last night I did as Roger suggested and got an extension lead out of the old workshop (4 gang 10metre lead) and bypassed the existing extension I have had for over 20 years, and this morning on the workshop lead, no problems.
Resetting up a new extension is now the next job, most probably call in the Mr. Sparks, I did my knee joint working on the problem this week, I'm worn out.

Thanks again to all and the forum.

 

[RogerS]

Many thanks to all and for the laughs.

I think the problem is now solved, last night I did as Roger suggested and got an extension lead out of the old workshop (4 gang 10metre lead) and bypassed the existing extension I have had for over 20 years, and this morning on the workshop lead, no problems.
Resetting up a new extension is now the next job, most probably call in the Mr. Sparks, I did my knee joint working on the problem this week, I'm worn out.

Thanks again to all and the forum.

Glad you're sorted, dw.

HTH

 

[devonwoody]

I'M back its not working again.

1. it now does not work with the old workshop extension lead, TV goes back to stand bye.

2. used extension lead past bedroom door into a hallway 13 amp ringmain supply, (same ring BTW) eventually fails again.

3. I think I detect the 5watt night light fades in and out slightly that works of the extension. Might be imagination, staring at the light to see if thats true if you know what I mean.

4. Switched off central heating in case getting a surge on power when timer operates? No luck.

5. dont fancy switching fridge and freezers.

6 Put the spare TV back to conservatory (that keeps switching off) and that has been running 1 hour so far no problem. (On different ring main supply.)

So have I got a supply problem?

 

[RogerS]

Check your TV settings. There will be one for going into standby.

 

[Trainee neophyte]

Everyone loves an intermittent fault!

1. Have we confirmed it is the power supply at fault, and not the television? Does the television behave when plugged in elsewhere? Have you tried not turning the television off overnight? (Mute the sound, so you can sleep, obviously). It could be a dry joint or some other fault on the TV which only manifests when it is cold.

2. Do you have a dairy farm near you? The neighbour's milking parlour power consumption plays havoc with my mother's power supply - might be the same thing, especially as it is early am. Could also be the local iron foundry or other factory process (just because you have Devon in your screen name, I have an image of green fields and pastural idyl, but you could live in Swilly for all I know).

3. I have an LG flat screen TV of quite elderly provenance, which started randomly turning itself off. A quick YouTube search for the fault suggested dust was a problem: I whipped the back off, and blew most of the Sahara out of the thing with compressed air, and it has worked perfectly ever since. Not suggesting this is your problem per se, but it might be a particular known fault for your model, that other people have found a solution for.

I don't know if any of the above is of help, but fingers crossed. Oh, and if you get an electrician in, he may immediately want to replace your consumer unit, not because there is anything wrong with it, but because it is a big ticket item.