Electrical gurus...

So, I have this pasteurizer, a pretty expensive one IMO, with a digital control board. When we first got it I thought I could use it int he milk room of the barn like I did our Safeway pastueurizer for 20 plus years. Lost the control board within 3 days of purchase. I figured that since we're at the tail end of the power line and since the barn is at the tail end of our individual line, that the power signal probably wasn't real "clean". I'd heard of this issue with other devices. So I tried using it in the basement and it worked there for a few months. Now we lost the power board again. That's a $70.00 bill plus shipping. Figuring that we already have a flickering power supply as it is and that the dryer, water heater, washer, etc are on the same basic circuits, and that the microwave, ovens, well pumps, compressors and all the other household/shop/farm stuff is also contributing to "flickering" we get on a daily basis, is there any reasonable way to get a cleaner power signal for this thing? Even a dedicated line from the breaker box is still going to have the "flicker" caused by the other homes and farms on our little tail end charlie power line. Should I just accept that this is life and go back to an analog type unit instead of this $500.00 plus stainless steel European made beauty?

I think you have a systemic problem there at your place. The utility sends about 7000 volts to your place which is reduced to 120 volts at your place so I doubt if the problem is being at the end of the line. I think you need to get a electrician there onsite to determine where the short is.

"is there any reasonable way to get a cleaner power signal?" Not at a cost you can afford.
Since you say others have the same problem,have you made a group effort to get elect co-op to fix it? "Flickering"can and will shorten life of air conditioner,freezer,fridge,compressor,well pump and other things.

They have a meter with a ticker tape that records whatever the power is doing. All the spikes and drops will be readable on the paper.

THe utility should provide clean power. Your location is relevant because they need to size their lines and transformers to make it solid. You can purchase a UPS (Uninteruptable Porer Supply) for 200ish dollars that can make clean power. Jim

No power system is going to deliver perfect continuous voltage under every condition. Unless your voltage is dropping or spiking by 10-15%, you should still be in the operating range.

Have you looked over the basic connections? Like inside the breaker panels for evidence of hot connections, corroded buss bars, water leaking into the panel? There can also be problems with the incoming lines or the meter base. Your provider is usually responsible up to the meter. If you have a volt meter, try checking each leg to neutral, should be within a few volts of the same. Try checking the neutral to ground, should be near zero.

But, are you having problems with any other electrical appliances? Just about everything now has some kind of solid state circuitry, and for the most part, is pretty bulletproof.

Have you contacted the manufacturer or looked for online reviews or problems? Could be they turned out some lemons, had a batch of bad boards. If others are having the same problem it is the pasteurizer, not your wiring. I believe you said it is European made, are you operating it on the proper voltage? Possibly board has jumpers or dip switches, just a thought.

Circuit boards don't like surges. Try using
surgery suppressor.

We pasteurized, bottled and delivered back
in the 50-60's

If I recall 145 degrees for 30 minutes is
all it takes.

You might be able to pasterize on stove or
use crock pot if it gets milk to 145.

Google and find what temperature and time
it takes. If I recall there was a higher
temp and shorter time. Needed a faster
way to cool milk before bottling.

I think Id start with a Surge Suppressor and see how it does. However, while that can protect against spikes and surges it wont help with flickering or low voltages or brownouts. Its bad if you're on the same power line as a nearby industry where welders and huge chillers and compressors operate. UPS and other systems for small sensitive electronic loads may be an option if your power is extremely dirty.

John T

you dont state the voltage and current draw.. but a really good ground and a surge protector.. first..

second... a power conditioner... has surge protectors,, and a ferro resonant circuit that will help modify surges and dips. This will really smooth out the power..

next up would a UPS with a power conditioner built into and inline all the time.

Putting the device on a separate circuit.. making sure the on site feeds and boxes are not overloaded.. checking grounds and bad connections.. bad motor hard starting etc... you need to find out why the power/ground is acting up.

There's NO reason for a unit that may/likely be used in a rural setting to be that delicate. A lightning strike nearby is one thing, or some "one of a kind" major power failure/surge is one thing, but rolling over and playing DEAD over some minor voltage fluctuations shows you've been sold a poorly engineered piece of crap not suited for it's intended use/location.

Shutting down and requiring a reset is ONE thing but dying and costing megabucks from less than a major powerline event is inexcusable, IMHO. Must be something better on the market?

Personally, I'd look into modifying the machine to handle the unstable power. Just because you paid top dollar for it does not mean it isn't cheap. It may be a "European made beauty" but you can bet your shirt that circuit board is made in China. If you can, get schematics from your supplier, and specs. In particular (I was going to say specifically) what power does the board itself need to operate? If it's just a single 5V 2A supply it could be as simple as modifying a cell 'phone charger to run it, and after the horror stories about 'phones catching on fire, their QC is up there. Seems unlikely it'll be that simple, but doesn't hurt to check.

Thanks for the info guys. It's a "Milky" brand 110v unit. I'm more than a bit concerned on quality at this point because the retailer, Hamby Dairy Supply, carries the circuit boards and displays them prominently in the section related to this unit. We're using it to pasteurize the milk to kill off the caprine arthritis when raising the kids. Mind you, one of us wanted another Safeguard and one of us decided she'd get the Milky, so I'm trying to keep her happy.

I've seen the UPS units but wasn't sure they'd handle 1800 watts, which is what I think this thing draws, might be less. I did have this run through a surge protector in both places. We've had this basic problem for 20 plus years, the electicty supplier doesn't seem too concerned.

How is the board dying? Completely black out
or does temp guage go wacky?

No warning signs. Just nothing on the display, no power to heating unit, nuthin'.

A surge suppressor does not cleanup dirty power. The UPS you mentioned is the answer. Prices have dropped considerably. Caution on the fine print regarding ratings. There is feed through capacity , backup capacity , watts capacity and bolt amps capacity .

Be careful.. There are lots of ups's that dont filter power in the standby mode... More than you think...

And surge protectors are mov's (Metal Oxide Varistors )and have a relatively short life in high use...

And most ups's dont protect well from brownouts.

Only a ups that has ACTIVE power conditioning or a power conditioner work when power is up. And again, the surge protection from MOV's which is the cheapest and most common, has a vary short life cycle.

Even better a switching power supply in front of the product will protect it, if it can handle the amperage of your unit as it totally rebuilds the power... ie a power conditioner that runs all the time..

Here is a 20 amp-120 volt power conditioner...

https://www.tripplite.com/2400w-120v-power-conditioner-automatic-voltage-regulation-avr-ac-surge-protection-6-outlets~LC2400/

Less amperage will be cheaper...

But remember that surge protection life is limited in most all devices by severity and number of spikes... the equipment can take. The mov's do wear out. So surge protection needs to be replace every couple of years..

Thanks Bill and B+D. Gives me options to consider!

We had a parts washer at work that would not recycle and would blow an internal fuse. When we checked the outlet we had 103 volts at the plug. Found an outlet with
120volts trouble free ever sense. I had a compressor that would trip the breaker all the time. Took it back to Sears they found nothing wrong . They replaced the unit I still
had a problem. Went back at checked the connections at the panel found loose wire at the breaker trouble free ever sense . I have a surge suppressor for my home
entertainment that shows volt input would always read low volts 103-110 never had any problems with it. I did a heavy up and the read out is 118-122 all day long.