mains conditioner

[02GF74]

Have these been discussed?

Cheap and simple are a couple of capacitors for spikes so what is inside the £2k + ones you can buy, snake oil inside?

 

[Speedskater]

'mains conditioner/power conditioner' is an undefined term. So each marketing department is free to make it mean whatever they like.
Some are filled with real engineered pieces & parts (whether your system needs them or not) while others are filled with magic.

 

[AndrewT]

as a first step use a filtered IEC socket.
This includes the mains input socket that fits the standard IEC mains plug.
It includes an interference filter.
These are usually cheap. They are readily available in 1A, or 3A, or 6A versions.

Optionally you can buy a version that has a fuse compartment.
Some have both a fuse and an ON/OFF switch. These tend to be bulky and expensive.

If after using this you find you still have mains borne interference, then you have to look for the source of the interference and solve the problem at the source.

All new mains powered equipment must be tested for radiated EMI. If your local welder or farmer is emitting excessive EMI he can be stopped.

There was a short discussion a few months ago on an exceptional mains conditioner that was very expensive and unusually actually did the job it was designed to do. I think they said it was now obsolete.

 

[DF96]

Mains conditioners aimed at industrial markets are likely to do more as you pay more.

Mains conditioners aimed at the audio enthusiast market are likely to do less as you pay more.

 

[Ken Newton]

Have these been discussed?

Cheap and simple are a couple of capacitors for spikes so what is inside the £2k + ones you can buy, snake oil inside?

Conditioner products appear to run a wide range of potential functionality. Among the possible power mains problems that might be addressed are common-mode noise (ground loop type noise), normal-mode noise, D.C. offset, harmonics (distortion), voltage fluctuation and transient over-voltage spikes that might damage connected equipment.

So, while there are real power mains problems that bear addressing, few conditioner products appear effective at mitigating all of them. The ones that do typically are quite costly. A box containing only some capacitors, while not pure snake oil, depending on how they are utilized, is insufficient for mitigating the majority of potential mains issues.