Powerfail recovery on ACJr

[JJohn]

I have setup my ACJr and so far it is working great.

One Question: Is there any way to have the controller not turn my Metal Halide lights on right after a short power failure. I would like to use a Max Change like statement to delay recovery for ten minutes. The most common power failure here is just a second or two. I don't want the controller trying to turn the lights on while they are still hot.

Thanks,
John

[Aquaduck]

Yep. Here is your answer: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=904691

[rdmpe]

I have an old RK that has been controlling my lights. I just hooked up my new AC Jr this morning but don't have anything plugged into the DC8 yet, the RK is still doing it. I want to switch them over, but this power failure issue has come up for me too. My power just blinked off for half a second and so the halide delay timer on the RK was activated. That got me looking into how to deal with this on the AC Jr...

I can't seem to get this code to work. Here is what I send to the AC Jr:

If Time > 12:00 Then MH1 ON
If Time > 19:00 Then MH1 OFF
If Power Fail Then MH1 OFF
Max Change 002 M Then MH1 ON

And when I reload the program from the AC Jr into Aquanotes, it comes up as

If Time > 12:00 Then MH1 ON
If Time > 19:00 Then MH1 OFF
If ??? Then MH1 OFF
Max Change 002 M Then MH1 ON

Notice the ???, I assume that is telling me that the AC Jr does not recognize the Power Fail syntax? Any other suggestions?

[rdmpe]

Hmmmmm
After a search it seems that there is some debate as to whether or not this "cool before restarting halides" is really even necessary at all. It is definitely something that is mentioned a lot here on RC.

I have BlueWave magnetic ballasts running 250W DE's. I just pulled the plug on one and then plugged it in about 5 seconds later. It did not immediately try to fire the bulb back up. It did fire back up on it's own though after it had cooled off. So maybe I don't have to worry about this feature.

I guess the AC Jr doesn't support the Power Fail syntax
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=672510&highlight=powerfail

[JJohn]

As far as I can tell the ACJr does not have the ability to detect power failures. The Power fail command seems to be only for higher-end units. I did not know that when I bought the Jr. Oh well, everything else about this unit I really like. I am a happy customer. I just wonder if someone has figured out a work-around for the Jr to handle power failures.

John

PS. Yes, my e-ballast does automatically delay restart after power failures so this feature is not absolutely needed but, I thought it would be a good thing.

[Lutefisk]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7977639#post7977639 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rdmpe
[B]Hmmmmm
After a search it seems that there is some debate as to whether or not this "cool before restarting halides" is really even necessary at all. It is definitely something that is mentioned a lot here on RC.

My Giesemann will restart nicely after a power failure but my two Icecap electronic MH do not. I've got some code in my AC III program for power failure but I haven't tried it. Living in Central Florida its a matter of when not if the power will go out.

Paul

[clp]

The Power Failure command is in the process of being added to the Jr. The AC3 and 3 Pro already have this feature. I'm not aware of any ballasts that don't automatically restart following a power failure. Lutefisk, I think you Icecap ballasts have a problem, as the MH icecap ballasts I have automatically restart after they cool down.

Curt

[Lutefisk]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7982049#post7982049 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by clp
The Power Failure command is in the process of being added to the Jr. The AC3 and 3 Pro already have this feature. I'm not aware of any ballasts that don't automatically restart following a power failure. Lutefisk, I think you Icecap ballasts have a problem, as the MH icecap ballasts I have automatically restart after they cool down.

Curt

I wonder if it might be because of being some of the first manufactured. If I come home after a power failure I need to turn off their power strip for a couple minutes and then back on to get them to restart. I'm glad to hear that yours are working. When I read recent sales literature Icecap says that they shoud restart after a power failure.

Curt, what is the wattage of your Icecap ballasts that restart. Mine are the 250's firing AB 10,000K DE bulbs.

Paul

[Creetin]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7982049#post7982049 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by clp
The Power Failure command is in the process of being added to the Jr. The AC3 and 3 Pro already have this feature. I'm not aware of any ballasts that don't automatically restart following a power failure. Lutefisk, I think you Icecap ballasts have a problem, as the MH icecap ballasts I have automatically restart after they cool down.

Curt
Sooo will this be on new models only or a fix with the programming?

[corndogg]

Another solution is to get a cheap $40 battery back up so every time there is a short power outage the ACjr just keeps going. They have them at best buy and other electronics stores for about as cheap as $30 even.

[rdmpe]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7988235#post7988235 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by corndogg
Another solution is to get a cheap $40 battery back up so every time there is a short power outage the ACjr just keeps going. They have them at best buy and other electronics stores for about as cheap as $30 even.
Power to the ACJr is not the issue. The issue is whether or not your metal halide ballasts will restart correctly after the power outage. The ACJr will just pick up right where it left off and start feeding power to the ballasts as soon as the power is back on.

My Blue Wave magnetic ballasts don't try to restart until they've coold down a while anyway, so it turns out to be a moot point for me and probably a lot of other people who's ballasts do the same. But have to keep up with the competition...

[clp]

It will be available as a firmware update for the ACJr, AC3, and AC3Pro. All firmware updates are free of charge.