- Thread starter beeza
- Start date
Why electronic items do not last in this country
Ok, I just had a bad luck. My old old desktop monitor was on the verge of kicking the bucket but I kept it alive by occasional slap to the side of the case. Today it finally said goodbye to me. I think I was glad it died because i am done with tube monitors. bye bye tube screen monitor and hello flat screen.
I think most of the people who are having fried electronic equipment issues live near the ocean. The people who live in santiago (inland) are not having the same range of problems as the coastal folks. I do use a power surge protector and I must say, it has helped me more than a few times. The desktop power supplies are mostly Chinese made and are very bad quality. They are the first ones to go in case of power spikes or low voltage cases. I have lots of electronic toys and i don't remember having any issues except for the monitor that got burnt today. I have abused this monitor since 1997 so I don't feel like I took a loss.
AZB
I think most of the people who are having fried electronic equipment issues live near the ocean. The people who live in santiago (inland) are not having the same range of problems as the coastal folks. I do use a power surge protector and I must say, it has helped me more than a few times. The desktop power supplies are mostly Chinese made and are very bad quality. They are the first ones to go in case of power spikes or low voltage cases. I have lots of electronic toys and i don't remember having any issues except for the monitor that got burnt today. I have abused this monitor since 1997 so I don't feel like I took a loss.
AZB
I have at last count the following:
3 tv's
1 xbox 360
1 microwave
1 fridge
3 fans
1 toaster
1 laptop
1 desktop computer
2 radios
2 printers
The only thing to go out in our 4 years here was the fridge compressor switch.
I highly suspect your inverter. I have a good local brand. On top of that I have various surge protectors for the computer, equip and the big tv.
Also, if your voltage fluctuates a lot you made need to see if you can get 220 installed to the house and run it through a voltage regulator back down to 110. I have this setup as well.
3 tv's
1 xbox 360
1 microwave
1 fridge
3 fans
1 toaster
1 laptop
1 desktop computer
2 radios
2 printers
The only thing to go out in our 4 years here was the fridge compressor switch.
I highly suspect your inverter. I have a good local brand. On top of that I have various surge protectors for the computer, equip and the big tv.
Also, if your voltage fluctuates a lot you made need to see if you can get 220 installed to the house and run it through a voltage regulator back down to 110. I have this setup as well.
There you go, people in santiago (non-coastal residents) are having the least number of problems vs the coastal folks. I think the salt in the air and the inferior electric wiring structure maybe to blame in the coastal cities.
AZB
You may have a point there, but it might also be worth considering where the electricity comes from.
Where does Santiago's electricity come from? Is it a new plant?
I've seen the power station that is on the autopista just outside la Vega and it looks very modern and high tech. I'm guessing it is gas turbine powered.
I've heard (although I've never seen it) that the one from POP is on old diesel plant that's at least twenty years old.
Hi Beeza,
Very interestng piece of work. I had been told that the low energy bulbs fail because of the capacitors.
Seeing as you are handy with a soldering iron perhaps you might consider fitting MOV s right at the power input to the equipment.
They are availalble online for less than a dollar each - here is some info
Raychem Metal Oxide Varistors - Tyco Electronics
metal oxide varistors, transient voltage suppressors
These can be selected for voltage and current capacity to protect the equipment.
I would not use these alone but as the final stage of surge and spike protection directly at the equipment.
I have installed 3 stages of spike protection here on the North Coast and find we get very few failures now. The first is at the transfer panel at service entry, the second in the invertor itself and a third in the load center after the invertor. Individual equipments also may have UPS with spike protection or a power strip with some spike protection.
It seems to work !!!
If you want more infomation pm me
OLLY
Very interestng piece of work. I had been told that the low energy bulbs fail because of the capacitors.
Seeing as you are handy with a soldering iron perhaps you might consider fitting MOV s right at the power input to the equipment.
They are availalble online for less than a dollar each - here is some info
Raychem Metal Oxide Varistors - Tyco Electronics
metal oxide varistors, transient voltage suppressors
These can be selected for voltage and current capacity to protect the equipment.
I would not use these alone but as the final stage of surge and spike protection directly at the equipment.
I have installed 3 stages of spike protection here on the North Coast and find we get very few failures now. The first is at the transfer panel at service entry, the second in the invertor itself and a third in the load center after the invertor. Individual equipments also may have UPS with spike protection or a power strip with some spike protection.
It seems to work !!!
If you want more infomation pm me
OLLY
I wonder if devices like this are available in the DR:
You plug it into any outlet and it will indicate whether the ground is working and/or whether the neutral and hot are switched. They are about $10 in the US.
You plug it into any outlet and it will indicate whether the ground is working and/or whether the neutral and hot are switched. They are about $10 in the US.
Chip, I wonder what the power loss is in using a voltage regulator? I assume its well worth it.
Has anybody mentioned that lots of the electronics sold in the DR are Chinese crap knockoffs that could not legally be sold in a USA flea market. No doubt the govt gets kickbacks for allowing it in the country. There is no consumer protection, its like the wild west in many ways.
Ha, I was going through the thread to see if anyone had mentioned that and no, until your post.
I owned the wave house on the beach (next to El Rocon). The grounding was not good and pretty much every electrical item I bought in the 4 years I lived there was either fried by power surges or eaten by the salt air.
However, A Hewlett Packard PC (x2 as a friend bought one at the same time) turned out to have a serial number that on the HP website was announced as withdrawn from sale because it did not pass final inspection. These goods end up in countries like this one precisely for that reason; poor or non-existent consumer protection. We bought those from Cecomsa in Santiago.
I NEVER buy any computer equipment in the DR and even all the electrical items we bought for Swell, we imported.
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The Governments control and over taxation (stealing) of everything that comes onto the island costs the people an incredible amount of anguish. If all these monies went to education an infrastructure Dominicans standard of living would improve 1000%.
Back to the topic: Assume everything you buy here is defective (from kool-aid to computers) and you will not be disappointed. If you can get things sent in barrels or in suitcases (over Christmas) do so.
I have sent a used Maytag refrigerator medium sized, costs $275 to send, rather than buy crap in the DR.
Anything I can fit in a barrel I send, although if they spot check the barrel, I am screwed.
Back to the topic: Assume everything you buy here is defective (from kool-aid to computers) and you will not be disappointed. If you can get things sent in barrels or in suitcases (over Christmas) do so.
I have sent a used Maytag refrigerator medium sized, costs $275 to send, rather than buy crap in the DR.
Anything I can fit in a barrel I send, although if they spot check the barrel, I am screwed.
I assume the voltage reducer has an electrical cost to use. I have a big heavy voltage reducer that I used to use before they upgraded the street wiring. I had to use 220 through the reducer just to get usable 110. I am wondering if I should hook it up again as added protection.
I actually added one back in 2006 because of the inferior power. Much of the problem was due to the 14 and 12 guage wiring serving my house and 3 others. Also one night I measure the voltage less than 90 volts. The fridge compressor wouldn't even cut on. As soon as I found this out I put in the voltage regulator. It had the added benefit of giving me twice the amperage available as well. I think I did this within two months of moving in although I think the low voltage at night issue happened only for a few days. At any rate I think I'm lucky I did this so soon as apparently low and fluctuating voltage can damage equipment.
FYI, our light bill runs around RD1900.
Thats what we had, 12 and 14 ga wires serving the whole block and spliced 100 times! Now we have 8 ga right from the new high power pole which runs 8 or thicker, but I wonder if its still better to run 220 into a reducer as I assume the voltage can still fluctuate even with thick wires?
1900 pesos is reasonable for a large house w/o AC, considering the crazy rates. I guess your meter is very close to your house or the locals would have tapped in
Thats what we had, 12 and 14 ga wires serving the whole block and spliced 100 times! Now we have 8 ga right from the new high power pole which runs 8 or thicker, but I wonder if its still better to run 220 into a reducer as I assume the voltage can still fluctuate even with thick wires?
1900 pesos is reasonable for a large house w/o AC, considering the crazy rates. I guess your meter is very close to your house or the locals would have tapped in
Yes it's right on the front wall.
OK the surge protection circuitry and voltage regulators sound like the way to go. Now if the house is not grounded how hard is it to get the house grounded and at what cost? Hay Luperon I am with U on the idea of U get what U pay for, It is worth having some stuff shipped in. What are U talking about with the barrels I did not get this part.
For about $100 shipping and $35 for cost of the 55 gallon barrel itself you can ship food and used clothing to the DR in that barrel duty free from NY. Sometimes I forget the rules and some other electronics or electrical kitchen items slip in there.
There is the risk your barrel will be spot checked and I might have to pay crazy taxes or lose the "contraband." It has never happened yet in about 15 barrels. The last one had a Yamaha generator, a 13 tube tv, a sony cd player, three instant hot water heaters, 150 pantene shampoos and still had room for lots of food and clothing. At the same time I sent 6 large plastic storage containers (boxed) for $40 shipping each. They are better quality than I could buy in the DR and was well worth the $40 door to door delivery.
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