Lights flicker using Aurber DSPR1 or other Burst fire controller

[Yummyrum]

I think this is still the controller you are using .

It is here . Sorry only on phone so shite pic editing .
Hope that makes sense.

Or the red and black wires on the dryer plug if you can take the cover off the plug to test .

If you are not comfortable doing it I understand .

[Salt Must Flow]

I get 236.3V at 100% power.

I get 241.4V at 0% power.

I was doing it totally wrong before.

[Yummyrum]

I get 236.3V at 100% power.

I get 241.4V at 0% power.

I was doing it totally wrong before.

Thank so much for that SMF . Am I to assume that is driving a single 5.5kw element ?

[Salt Must Flow]

I get 236.3V at 100% power.

I get 241.4V at 0% power.

I was doing it totally wrong before.

Thank so much for that SMF . Am I to assume that is driving a single 5.5kw element ?

Yes, one 5.5kw element.

[shadylane]

Bilgriss
Alas no batteries . We considered it but there was no gov subsidy and we would have also needed to upgrade solar panels by about 50% and inverter the same …… become a budget blow out with an impossible payback so , sadly no batteries .

However , I agree with your reasoning about original install sizing and I think that is exactly what the issue is .

Back when this subdivision was made , I bet they never thought everyone would need Air-cons and other big power suckers so they laid the street cables with undersized cables . …. Well it was probably acceptable back then .

So while it still works and the voltage drop is within Australian standards , it is basically inadequate to deal with modern demands .

I think your right.
If you were running a simple phase controller the lights would also dim.
But the burst fire causes the lights to flicker.

[Tammuz]

Did you contact Auber customer service to see if they might have a fix?

[rull_bull]

Same problem with my DSPR1 (2018) controller here in Sweden (230v)
Leds flickers.

Newer managed to fix it, same problem in 2 different houses.
So I use my ssvr instead with no problem.

[SW_Shiner]

Don't know if this is relevant or not but i haven't seen it asked. Are your dimmable LED lights on a circuit with an LED dimmer switch, or are they just LED bulbs on an existing incandescent circuit? LED bulbs, particularly dimmable, are prone to flickering on a leading edge dimmer. Might not be that noticeable, or happening during normal day to day activities. But could be amplified by a voltage drop caused by element turning on, causing the line to temporarily drop below the min needed to keep bulb on.

[Yummyrum]

Did you contact Auber customer service to see if they might have a fix?

No , but in all honesty , I doubt there is a solution other than upgrading the cable to my shed at lease . And seeing as that is buried in conduit 900mm underground and runs under a concrete slab and a Perminant garden , it’s not going to happen .

Same problem with my DSPR1 (2018) controller here in Sweden (230v)
Leds flickers.

Newer managed to fix it, same problem in 2 different houses.
So I use my ssvr instead with no problem.

Thanks for that rull_bull . I figured surely I was not the only one out there .

Don't know if this is relevant or not but i haven't seen it asked. Are your dimmable LED lights on a circuit with an LED dimmer switch, or are they just LED bulbs on an existing incandescent circuit? LED bulbs, particularly dimmable, are prone to flickering on a leading edge dimmer. Might not be that noticeable, or happening during normal day to day activities. But could be amplified by a voltage drop caused by element turning on, causing the line to temporarily drop below the min needed to keep bulb on.

No dimmers fitted to any of them . Some are the round flat flush things and the rest are Edison screw replacement lamps for existing light fittings .

But yes , to be dimmable , they have to react to the change in voltage and that is exactly what they are doing . The most noticable settings are 75% and 25% where there is 3 cycles at one brightness followed by one cycle at a brightness ( due to the voltage drop that happens when the element pulls current )

[Yummyrum]

I get 236.3V at 100% power.

I get 241.4V at 0% power.

I was doing it totally wrong before.

Thank so much for that SMF . Am I to assume that is driving a single 5.5kw element ?

Thanks again SMF , so your drop is 5.1 volts .

I conducted a test yesterday . Here are the results with both the Solar system on and off .
As you can see I am having a significant drop compared to you in my shed , but at the house , it is similar to yours .

.

[shadylane]

No pole trannys here Shady . Our suburb is about 25year old so all underground cable and these 500kw transformers for the whole neighbourhood .
They just replaced this one on Monday . I was hoping it would help but no.

IMG_1891.jpeg

Think about the electric company worker.
There were complaints about lights flickering and he figured it was a bad connection or a faulty transformer.
He replaced the transformer and it didn't help but the suddenly the problem went away and now he's scratching his head.

[Yummyrum]

Hee hee , Jezz I hope I didn’t cause them that much trouble Shady
I apploud the attempt to fix

Just remembered I took a pic of the CRO a while back . This is at 75% power .You can see the drop in voltage every 3 out of 4 cycles .This was taken in the shed basically at the input to the controller .

The bright part of the trace is just a shutter speed thing .
Also of interest is the ripple coming from the Solar inverter .its the little steps on the wave mostly noticeable on the falling edge of the sinewave .

[NormandieStill]

Another data point!
0%: 230v
100%: 216v
4.5kW element.

I do get a tiny amount of flicker on one or two lights, but it seems very dependant on the bulbs used. My LED strips don't flicker (normal... they're running through a separate and beefy switch mode transformer and on their own PWM dimmer circuits.). One of the GU10 LEDs in the bathroom flickers, but not the other. The flickering one is newer and probably a completely different model from the non-flickering one. I can maybe detect a little flicker in the dining room, but I'm looking hard for it so I can't be sure. The real test will be when I start distilling with it and she who controls the budget notices... or not.

I'd post the photo of my completed setup, but it's not housed and currently breaks health and safety regs so hard that OSHA will come and hunt me down, even though I'm an entire continent outside their jurisdiction!

[Yummyrum]

Wow thanks for that Normandie .
that would make your drop be 14v .Very similar to mine .

Now if I calculate the % drop .

SMF 2.1%
YR (solar off) 5.8%
YR ( solar on) 5.3%
NS 6.0%

so yes , you have a high % drop similar to mine Normandie. I would also concur with your thoughts on the various LED lights and their response to and reason for flickering in time with the controller pulses .

An interesting observation is that you , me and rull_bull are all on 230v with a Live and Neutral , but I can't see that being related .
SMF uses the US Bi-phase system ,but even if he uses 120 V for his light circuit , it would still share one of the Live phases and be proportionally the same . I think that the % drop being up around 5 is what is causing the problems .

[shadylane]

My drunken thoughts.
The voltage drop every 3 out of 4 cycles dims the lights.
But what makes the flicker obvious is the 1 cycle with little or no load when the voltage spikes up and the light gets brighter.
Maybe the voltage fluctuations becomes obvious because it's happening at a slower speed.
This makes me wonder, is 50hz more prone to flicker than 60hz ?

[Yummyrum]

You raise a good point about the 50/60Hz thing Shady .

On 50Hz @ 50% power, the flicker rate is 25Hz .
On 60Hz @ 50% power , the flicker rate is 30Hz

Persistence of vision can vary from person to person from as long as 10Hz to about 25Hz but some people can still see flickering above that .
So yeah , 50% power on a 60Hz system would be most likely undetectable .

However @ 75% power , that is a flicker rate of 12.5 Hz and 15Hz respectively , which most people would detect as a flicker .

[Tammuz]

Tammuz wrote: ↑
Did you contact Auber customer service to see if they might have a fix?
No , but in all honesty , I doubt there is a solution other than upgrading the cable to my shed at lease . And seeing as that is buried in conduit 900mm underground and runs under a concrete slab and a Perminant garden , it’s not going to happen .


You might want to check the conduit size. If a good electrician installed that you might have enough room to pull a larger cable through. I made some long pulls using the right social lubrication I made some pulls through some like 4 or 5 90°so you can do it.

[Yummyrum]

Tammuz wrote: ↑
Did you contact Auber customer service to see if they might have a fix?
No , but in all honesty , I doubt there is a solution other than upgrading the cable to my shed at lease . And seeing as that is buried in conduit 900mm underground and runs under a concrete slab and a Perminant garden , it’s not going to happen .


You might want to check the conduit size. If a good electrician installed that you might have enough room to pull a larger cable through. I made some long pulls using the right social lubrication I made some pulls through some like 4 or 5 90°so you can do it.

Thanks Tammuz
Yeah , I may look at it again .
I think it is 25mm conduit ….. which is pretty tight for the cable that is in it IMO . Not sure if they used sweeped 90° or sharp 90° …… nor if it was a good electrician .
Was a TV antenna installer for quite a few years so know the pros and cons of attempting such a job . Replacing cable runs to out buildings etc . And Coax was a doddle compared to TPS

I guess if I can squirt enough lube down there and blow air through it , and get some movement , I might consider it . If it won’t budge , well it stays there .