Paper Cutter Next Door Causing UPS to switch to battery a lot

[Anonymous user]

Okay, I have a PC repair shop with everything on battery backups. Next door
is a printer company that recently installed a paper cutter. Just before I
hear it slam down to cut a ream of paper, my UPS's (APC BE750BB) click and switch over to
battery for about 1/2 second. I am very uncomfortable about this since the
power company says they have nothing to do with this. I think the part of
the problem is this but don't know the technical cure: the power pole drops
the feed line into a huge breaker box on the back wall. This box has a hug
ON/OFF lever. From there, about six businesses branch off from that huge
box. The printer company occupies two office spaces; funny thing is that
they say they have no problems like mine. There business office section is
on the east side and my office is on the west side of the paper cutter
office space.

I keep stating to everyone that if all was right, the circuits would be
isolated and nothing they do with the printer equipment, even improperly,
should be affecting my 111VAC office circuits.

Two electricians say this cannot happen a point finger at power company.
Sheesh!!

Any helpful insights are welcome.

Note: I finally got a third electrician out to visit. He says we are getting single-phase power to the building through three big cables. He looked at the paper cutter and said a "three-phase converter" was installed. That's what is generating surges and cutouts. I now have an ACScout monitoring alos. If the paper cutter goes back to single-phase motor would that work? Does that sound right on the power feed? Three large cables providing single-phase power?

[Anonymous user]

jnovikoff wrote:
Okay, I have a PC repair shop with everything on battery backups. Next door
is a printer company that recently installed a paper cutter. Just before I
hear it slam down to cut a ream of paper, my UPS's (APC BE750BB) click and switch over to
battery for about 1/2 second. I am very uncomfortable about this since the
power company says they have nothing to do with this. I think the part of
the problem is this but don't know the technical cure: the power pole drops
the feed line into a huge breaker box on the back wall. This box has a hug
ON/OFF lever. From there, about six businesses branch off from that huge
box. The printer company occupies two office spaces; funny thing is that
they say they have no problems like mine. There business office section is
on the east side and my office is on the west side of the paper cutter
office space.

I keep stating to everyone that if all was right, the circuits would be
isolated and nothing they do with the printer equipment, even improperly,
should be affecting my 111VAC office circuits.

Two electricians say this cannot happen a point finger at power company.
Sheesh!!

Any helpful insights are welcome.

Note: I finally got a third electrician out to visit. He says we are getting single-phase power to the building through three big cables. He looked at the paper cutter and said a "three-phase converter" was installed. That's what is generating surges and cutouts. I now have an ACScout monitoring alos. If the paper cutter goes back to single-phase motor would that work? Does that sound right on the power feed? Three large cables providing single-phase power?

You are likely sharing a transformer with the adjacent building.

It might help to complain with different wording. Say that you have light flickering and computer equipment in sync with the sound of manufacturing equipment used by a tenant next door. Ask them to setup power quality monitoring at service entry to show them the problem is in fact at the service entry.

To correct this, the utility can see if his motor is in excess of permissible motor size and in this case, they can tell them to disconnect or make them foot the bill of installing a new transformer to serve them.

If that's not the case, you'll need to convince the utility to install a separate transformer.

[Anonymous user · Accepted solution]

Problem was solved after I threatened to sue.