Need Power Outage Recorder - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: calzap
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 28, 2023, 08:22:42 pm
content: I need a power outage recorder than can monitor mains (120 VAC in this case) and record any power outages over a period of at least a month. Would not have to be any more accurate on time than 1 minute. So, it would have to have a clock/calendar and make a downloadable record of date and time when power becomes present and when it goes away. Total event recording capacity of about 100 would suffice. I don’t expect more than 10 outages per month. Should just start rolling over if event memory becomes full. Download of data could be by any wired or wireless means. Would require an internal battery for clock/calendar, means for setting it, and numerical display. Should also have memory clear switch and status LEDs. Should be compact and plug into a wall outlet.Could build it using Arduino but would prefer an off-the-shelf device. Any suggestions?Mike in California

author: jwet
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 28, 2023, 08:39:14 pm
content: A little out of the box thinking but I have these little WiFi Nest cameras that somehow detect motion and last for 6 months or so on an internal battery. They notice anything including power fails etc. and send me messages, put an event in a log and send a ping to my phone if setup this way, I can even get a film clip of the events. I can tell when the UPS man comes to my front door. Might be a nice way to do it.Back in the day, dong reliabiliity demo tests, I would setup my old VHS camcorder running in slow or stop action and record things. We would often have a watch or clock in the corner of the shot to get time stamps. I never trusted the time in the camera.

author: Peabody
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 28, 2023, 10:27:16 pm
content: I don't know of a commercial product like that, but if you Google for 'power outage logger arduino' you'll find a number of projects that may be useful.But if I were doing this, I would look at a 3.3V 8MHz Arduino Pro Mini with LED removed, powered by an 18650 battery backed up by a TP4056 USB charger, and the DS3231 RTC module known as the ZS-042, which also has a 4KB EEPROM on it. I don't think I would bother with a display. The input voltage to the TP4056 from a wall wart could be divided down to 3.3V, and used to trigger an interrupt on the sleeping Pro Mini - falling edge to record an outage, and rising edge to record power restoration. On each interrupt, the Pro Mini would read the current time from the RTC, and save an entry to the EEPROM. Then it would go back to sleep. Actually, a much smaller battery than the 18650 would probably do fine. The processor will sleep at something less than a microamp, and the RTC will have its own coin cell. it will probably all last for years.Then to read out the data, your code would just read the contents of the EEPROM and export it to serial output, and any terminal program listening would save the data to a file.One thing you would have to figure out is how to handle an outage that isn't clean, but has flutter. Maybe a transition isn't counted unless it lasts at least one minute.

author: DimitriP
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 28, 2023, 10:40:02 pm
content: For DIY,https://www.elektormagazine.com/labs/mains-outage-alertAs for a commercial device, it's all in the keywords (Power Failure Detector with Text Message and Email Alerts )https://www.amazon.com/Power-Failure-Detector-Message-Alerts/dp/B089QQNKJL/ref=asc_df_B089QQNKJL/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=459533584708&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=5449231120907483297&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9031168&hvtargid=pla-1007881375357&psc=1

author: calzap
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 29, 2023, 04:54:48 am
content: Thanks for your response. I’m familiar with the monitor sold on Amazon. It requires a continuous WiFi connection to the net to work … not feasible in my case. Also depends on a web service which may not last long. There are devices, off-the-shelf and the DIY described on elektormagazine.com, that will report power outages via the cell phone network. This would work, but I’m not sure I want to pay monthly for that … but I might. I’m actually more interested in a historical log rather than being notified immediately when the power goes out.Mike in California

author: Muttley Snickers
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 29, 2023, 06:15:05 am
content: Quote from: calzap on May 28, 2023, 08:22:42 pmIf you don't already have one at your premises, hunt around for a used security alarm panel and codepad. Most can be configured to log and report AC Fail in a variety of ways including sms messages and time-stamped logging. Some can be programmed tohold offfor a duration before reporting so if AC hasn't restored after say an hour then the alarm will report.

author: Fungus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 29, 2023, 06:42:43 am
content: Many oscilloscopes have a power-on counter built into them. Just leave one plugged in and it will count the outages,

author: jwet
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 29, 2023, 06:47:24 pm
content: With the constraint of no WiFi- consider a small data logger like the Hobo series. Rig up something to detect power- a night light and a photocell?, etc. They're very reliable with good software and are often on ebay pretty cheap.

author: calzap
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 29, 2023, 07:49:56 pm
content: Quote from: jwet on May 29, 2023, 06:47:24 pmThat's a good idea. I have a Hobo somewhere. Have to find it and see what kind of inputs it has ... I think it was designed to record temperature but may have on/off inputs too. Simplest way to input power outages would be with a relay.Mike

author: floobydust
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 29, 2023, 08:04:39 pm
content: I would also think about what constitutes an "outage". You can lose AC for a few cycles due to a utility switching breakers or bumping a tap changer to maintain system voltage, or wind on power lines shorting phases. There can also be sags say down to 90V for many cycles. Some equipment doesn't even flinch but other equipment will reboot.So I would also be detecting and recording these events.I have a mains-powered smoke alarm that chirps with every short duration power loss, nothing else in my home reacts but it. One day it kept chirping due to a heavy snow storm and wet snow arcing across power line insulators. So it did tell me that something was going on with the grid yet there was no "outage".I would build something using an ESP8266 or ESP32 with battery backup because you need power to put in the log entry that power was lost, or power came up.Use NTP to set the time, with no WiFi it will drift but it's bearable for the outage duration. The logs can get stored in SD card, SPI FRAM, anything non-volatile. etc.

author: calzap
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 29, 2023, 11:09:39 pm
content: I have a ranch in California’s central valley near Sacramento and have about 25 years experience with it. Snow and ice are not factors. Wind causes most power outages although a few times a car or fire took out a power pole in the area. Brown-outs generally are followed in 1-2 minutes by a black-out. There is a back-up generator that must be manually started and can run one well. The well and surface pump controllers have circuitry that protects the motors from high or low voltage and indicate when voltage is out of spec. This circuitry has saved the motors a few times. Power company acts with disbelief when I call and tell them the voltage is wrong. They send out a lineman to verify. In every case, someone set the high voltage on the primary lines wrong at the substation.I’m really not interested in recording minor glitches in voltage that are less than a few seconds. If the monitor is too sensitive chronologically, I’ll use a transformer if it requires AC input or use a relay if it requires DC or on/off input. Coil in transformer or relay should take care of short fluctuations. If necessary, a capacitor can be used as well.Mike

author: BeBuLamar
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2023, 12:10:38 am
content: I would use a PLC and have it logs onto a micro SD card. I would need a charger and a 24V battery to power it during the outage. That's how I would do it because I would have all the parts available already.

author: tautech
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2023, 12:37:27 am
content: Quote from: calzap on May 29, 2023, 11:09:39 pmreallyAbout time they had some serious litigation against the Powerco to have them sharpen up their act !If their ineptitude results in fried private infrastructure there should be nowhere for them to hide.Unbelievable you need put up with such BS.

author: calzap
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2023, 06:56:10 am
content: Quote from: tautech on May 30, 2023, 12:37:27 amMy power company is the infamous Pacific Gas and Electric. It’s a privately held, but government regulated utility. Occasionally having the voltage 10% out of spec is the least of their sins. A few years ago, their poorly maintained gas main blew-up part of the city of San Bruno. Their poorly maintained high voltage lines and right of way have been responsible for more than one devastating wildfire including the one that wiped out the ironically named city of Paradise. The company plead guilty to 84 counts of manslaughter for that fire. The corporation has been charged with manslaughter for a 2020 fire that killed 4 people. No, a corporation can’t be put in prison, but it can be fined. Their solution to the wildfire problem is to cut power to sections of the state when winds are high.They’ve been fined or sued for billions. Guess who pays for most of that … the executives, the stockholders, their assets, the government? They got out of some of the judgements by declaring bankruptcy. But they can hardly be liquidated because folks need power. No, it’s we customers who pay. Our rate is almost twice the national average. They do have new management, so maybe there will be improvements. Done with rant.Mike

author: tautech
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2023, 07:28:51 am
content: Quote from: calzap on May 30, 2023, 06:56:10 amNot at all well it seems.

author: Psi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2023, 07:37:51 am
content: Maybe you could find an old chart recorder for cheap on ebay.One of those old things with a motor that's synced to mains freq and which draws lines on a large roll of paper.Then you'd have a physicals record of it. Just need to get it into the right mode where power on/off will show something on the paper.Or, even an arduino connected to old dotmatrix tractor feed printer if you can find one. Or cheap china label printer with RS232 input and fitted with continuous paper roll.In smallest font it can do print the current time every minute.Get it to print 3 empty lines at startup, so its obvious when power was cut and the last time stamp tells you the time.It would need some way to get/keep the time, perhaps GPS receiver with battery backup for hot starts.

author: 2N3055
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2023, 07:56:20 am
content: If you want to argue with utility company, best bet would be something like Fluke VR1710 Voltage Quality Recorder..It costs arm and a leg though.. Maybe look around for a used one...But it has magical properties of Yellow..... No electrician will argue with you when you point at it and say "Fluke said it was...."

author: asis
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2023, 09:29:49 am
content: Hi,Some things just lie under your feet.For example, UPS APC with NMC (LAN).The presence of the NMC is mandatory, it allows you to manage it via the WEB and view a rather deep event log.And, it is possible to connect critical equipment directly to the UPS.If the budget allows, you can buy any Fluke199 series on EBAY - it has an event recorder for several days.In combination with FlukeView, it is very convenient to make detailed reports.You can use alternative SW.https://sigrok.org/wiki/Fluke_ScopeMeter_199B

author: jwet
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2023, 02:28:29 pm
content: If you want to detect all the anomalies that the power line can dish out you can rent a Dranetz line disturbance analyzer. I've done this in extreme cases for long term monitoring. In the day, the output was a cash register tape but I'm sure they're all digital by now. They could detects sags, skips, droops and a bunch of other power line maladies.

author: CatalinaWOW
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2023, 02:29:53 am
content: Dranetz and BMI were two makers of such equipment. I have accumulated one of each in auction lot buys. I haven't looked too deeply into them, though the BMI seems to work. I'll turn loose of one or both for not much, plus shipping. Or since I am relatively close in Southern Oregon you could just come and pick one up. PM me if interested.

author: floobydust
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2023, 03:42:36 am
content: I've rented Dranetz for proving that a site has dirty power. Some mains surges are too much for equipment and a customer blames the equipment and I have to step in and say "no, you've got a power problem, here's the 700V spike record". They have a reputation which isn't argued with.I wonder if OP's homemade recorder would be taken seriously by the ripoff utility company. They will discount anything anyway they can, if it requires work or money be spent to fix a problem.

author: calzap
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2023, 10:09:54 pm
content: I think I’ve found the solution. See the link and pic below. For US$105, it will record 32k events. For US$20 more, can get version that records 1M events. Available from Lascar, Amazon, Digikey and others. Will need to use it with a relay as it can’t take line voltage inputs. Will put it in a box with relay, fuse and current voltage display. Will consider replacing its battery with a small psu and rechargeable battery.Thanks for all the responses.Mikehttps://www.lascarelectronics.com/easylog-el-usb-5

author: BeBuLamar
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 01, 2023, 02:05:00 am
content: You need a power source better than the battery it uses. I don't think the battery will last a month.

author: Old-E
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 17, 2023, 09:41:45 pm
content: Thank you Calzap and others!I too live in California and have been wanting the ability to record power outages. Need to review more about it, but looks like what is needed. We have (guessing) 50 outages per year! Sometimes as many as 3 in one day. We are with Trinity P. U. D. not with P. G. & E. It's actually a pretty good company except for the frequent power outages, usually caused by blowing/falling tree debris during a weather event. Part of the problem is the Forest Service not allowing them to clear cut a wide enough strip under the power lines.Even though I have a whole house manual power transfer switch, got tired of pulling the generator out to restore power. So added batteries with a 3 KW inverter. That system is much easier to bring on line and the batteries are good for a day, when most outages are only 2-4 hours. Then the batteries are charged when Trinity power is restored. Anything more than a day calls for the generator, which is now seldom used. Maybe solar panels in the future.

author: mwb1100
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 18, 2023, 12:49:13 am
content: Quote from: calzap on May 31, 2023, 10:09:54 pmYou could just wire it to a wall wart.(I didn't realize this thread was from 3 months ago, but the forum won't let me delete this post. Something about a session error...)