Power conditioner issues...

[StevieD_FenderP2009]

Hi there

I'm thinking of (well, not thinking of, going to) buy a power conditioner for my rack set up but the one I want is only available at the moment in america so I was wondering if it would be alright if I was to take the american plug socket off of it and replace it with an english plug. Would this be safe or would it damage the unit?

Cheers

[icastle]

Unless it has a 120/220VAC switch on it, the chances are that it'll fry as soon as you plug it in.

[flyfisher]

It depends on the specs of the unit itself. Do you have a user manual or make & model number to track one down?

Broadly, if the unit has an IEC socket and a 'kettle lead' then it's probably designed for worldwide use, with a suitable mains lead.

But if it has a fixed mains cable with a US mains plug then it's probably designed just for US mains voltages and simply swapping mains plugs could release the magic smoke.

Note the use of 'probably'. It's just not possible to be definite without further information.

[Mr. Foxen]

Also might not be a very useful item, UK mains is much cleaner and better regulated than US power. Maybe a bit useful for if you run off a generator, but if a generator is going wrong, you probably need more beef than a power conditioner to sort things.

[chris_b]

Some power conditioners are just glorified plug boards. I believe the "bells and whistles" units would definitely be voltage specific.

[BOD2]

Every post I've ever seen on this topic (and not just here on Basschat) usually states that "power conditioning" is not really necessary in the UK.

By all means get a surge protected distribution unit, if that would be useful, but the fancy power conditioning units are probably a waste of money here in the UK.

[StevieD_FenderP2009]

Hmm, everyone seems to be against the idea of getting one and I'm starting to agree with one.

I'm not going to lie, one of the selling points to me for buying a power conditioner/distributor is that they have the 2 big lights that come out of the front and they have the digital display which means SO MANY MORE LIGHTS (my rig is just going to be covered in unnecessary lights). Another one of the good things (this one applies to the Samson PB-10 Pro) it has a USB slot on the back which is perfect for charging my iPhone off of too haha

I mean, I'm even buying a set of Xigmatek fans for cooling down my rig. I could of saved a coule of quid on fans that don't light up but these do... so I am getting them.

[chriswilliams666]

Dude, Have you looked at getting a Furman? I run the Pl-Plus E. Bought it from Thomann, bung a Euro (Bulgin?) to UK adapter and you're ready to rock. It's an expensive multi-plug but it gives you the piece of mind everything is good should the innevitable happen...


[quote name='StevieD_FenderP2009' post='1322672' date='Aug 1 2011, 12:21 AM']Hmm, everyone seems to be against the idea of getting one and I'm starting to agree with one.

I'm not going to lie, one of the selling points to me for buying a power conditioner/distributor is that they have the 2 big lights that come out of the front and they have the digital display which means SO MANY MORE LIGHTS (my rig is just going to be covered in unnecessary lights). Another one of the good things (this one applies to the Samson PB-10 Pro) it has a USB slot on the back which is perfect for charging my iPhone off of too haha

I mean, I'm even buying a set of Xigmatek fans for cooling down my rig. I could of saved a coule of quid on fans that don't light up but these do... so I am getting them.[/quote]

[StevieD_FenderP2009]

Yeah I did look in to the Furman PL Plus E but it was quite a bit more expensive than the Samson PB Pro so i'm going to go for the Samson if I do get one. It's got 10 outputs, a standard UK plug and a USB socket on there as well as the digital voltage display and the 2 pull out light bars.
The samson is like, £120 on thomann too

[flyfisher]

Use the money saved on an unnecessary power conditoner to buy some flashing christmas lights.