OK, this is nothing to do with gardening really but we have here at the
nursery a thermal transfer printer for plant labels, and very good it is
to - except if there is a power failure. A normal inkjet (along with the
computer) when a power cut happens, stay off when power is restored,
this thermal transfer printer tries to come back on, jams and burns one
of the spool motors out and costs us about £100 to sort out. Now on the
third event this year alone so getting a bit fed up, I know the obvious
answer is to simply shut it down each time after use, but sadly I often
forget - so is there any gizzmo that can be introduced between the
plug and the printer that would if the power is interrupted stay off
until I switch it back on? and if so what an earth is it called!!?
--
Charlie Pridham
Gardening in Cornwall
www.roselandhouse.co.uk

On 11/07/2018 06:58, Chris Hogg wrote:
On Tue, 10 Jul 2018 23:02:08 +0100, Charlie Pridham
wrote:

OK, this is nothing to do with gardening really but we have here at the
nursery a thermal transfer printer for plant labels, and very good it is
to - except if there is a power failure. A normal inkjet (along with the
computer) when a power cut happens, stay off when power is restored,
this thermal transfer printer tries to come back on, jams and burns one
of the spool motors out and costs us about £100 to sort out. Now on the
third event this year alone so getting a bit fed up, I know the obvious
answer is to simply shut it down each time after use, but sadly I often
forget - so is there any gizzmo that can be introduced between the
plug and the printer that would if the power is interrupted stay off
until I switch it back on? and if so what an earth is it called!!?


It sounds to me like you want either an uninterruptible power supply
(UPS), to keep it going while the mains is off (they're battery-based
and much used for computers etc; lots here
https://tinyurl.com/ycecy8x4 , choose your wattage and price), or you
want a non-latching relay in the circuit. RS do them that I assume fit
in your fuse box in the appropriate circuit like any other MCB
https://tinyurl.com/y8cr6dc5. More here but most would require making
up some circuitry in a little box https://tinyurl.com/y9o3szt4

But IANA electrician, and someone who knows what they're talking about
will probably be along soon!

Probably the easiest 'ready-made' solution is one of those control boxes
like you see on the side of workshop equipment - has a red button and a
green button.

To start the thing running, you press the green button, to stop you
press the red one. The clever bit is that, even after the green button
has been pressed, a power outage / restore won't cause the equipment to
re-start _until_ the green button has been pressed again...

If you take a look in eBay - search for 'no volt release switch' -
there's a range of options - from a fiver up to 20 quid...
Just wire it in the mains lead supplying the thermal printer, put it in
a little box if you're feeling fancy..

On Tue, 10 Jul 2018 23:02:08 +0100, Charlie Pridham wrote:

OK, this is nothing to do with gardening really but we have here at the
nursery a thermal transfer printer for plant labels, and very good it is
to - except if there is a power failure. A normal inkjet (along with the
computer) when a power cut happens, stay off when power is restored,
this thermal transfer printer tries to come back on, jams and burns one
of the spool motors out and costs us about £100 to sort out. Now on the
third event this year alone so getting a bit fed up, I know the obvious
answer is to simply shut it down each time after use, but sadly I often
forget - so is there any gizzmo that can be introduced between the
plug and the printer that would if the power is interrupted stay off
until I switch it back on? and if so what an earth is it called!!?

One of these, as an idea;

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_nkw=222794511438

Just make sure it's non-latching.

--
Regards - Rodney Pont
The from address exists but is mostly dumped,
please send any emails to the address below
e-mail rpont (at) gmail (dot) com

On 10/07/18 23:02, Charlie Pridham wrote:
OK, this is nothing to do with gardening really but we have here at the
nursery a thermal transfer printer for plant labels, and very good it is
to - except if there is a power failure. A normal inkjet (along with the
computer) when a power cut happens, stay off when power is restored,
this thermal transfer printer tries to come back on, jams and burns one
of the spool motors out and costs us about £100 to sort out. Now on the
third event this year alone so getting a bit fed up, I know the obvious
answer is to simply shut it down each time after use, but sadly I often
forget - so is there any gizzmo that can be introduced between the
plug and the printer that would if the power is interrupted stay off
until I switch it back on? and if so what an earth is it called!!?

I believe that what you require is a "latching relay". You could make
one yourself - it depends on how good your wiring skills are. You need
something like this:
https://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/SR501.html
Plus its base and a 230v rated push button.

One of the relay contacts is wired in series with your printer. The
other is wired in series with its own coil, with the push-button in
parallel to the relay contacts. When connected to the power, nothing
happens until you push the button, when the relay activates. When the
button is released, the relay stays powered. When the power fails, the
relay turns off, but won't be energised again until the button is pushed.

Other than that, you could ask in uk.d-i-y, as someone there might know
if one is available off-the-shelf, perhaps with a 3-pin plug/socket
built-in.

--

Jeff

Charlie Pridham wrote:

is there any gizzmo that can be introduced between the
plug and the printer that would if the power is interrupted stay off
until I switch it back on? and if so what an earth is it called!!?

An NVR switch, usually used on workshop power tools

e.g https://www.axminster.co.uk/kedu-nvr-switch-230v-1ph-e-stop-200093

On 11/07/2018 09:02, Andy Burns wrote:
Charlie Pridham wrote:

is there any gizzmo that can be introduced between the plug and the
printer that would if the power is interrupted stay off until I switch
it back on? and if so what an earth is it called!!?

An NVR switch, usually used on workshop power tools

e.g https://www.axminster.co.uk/kedu-nvr-switch-230v-1ph-e-stop-200093

That is probably the best way to do it in a garden centre setting.

--
Regards,
Martin Brown

Martin Brown wrote:

Andy Burns wrote:

https://www.axminster.co.uk/kedu-nvr-switch-230v-1ph-e-stop-200093

That is probably the best way to do it in a garden centre setting.

There's a smaller/cheaper one (still overkill for a printer) that might
be better suited

https://www.axminster.co.uk/axminster-nvr-switch-c-w-box-230v-1ph-340181

In article ,
Charlie Pridham wrote:
OK, this is nothing to do with gardening really but we have here at the
nursery a thermal transfer printer for plant labels, and very good it is
to - except if there is a power failure. A normal inkjet (along with the
computer) when a power cut happens, stay off when power is restored,
this thermal transfer printer tries to come back on, jams and burns one
of the spool motors out and costs us about £100 to sort out. Now on the
third event this year alone so getting a bit fed up, I know the obvious
answer is to simply shut it down each time after use, but sadly I often
forget - so is there any gizzmo that can be introduced between the
plug and the printer that would if the power is interrupted stay off
until I switch it back on? and if so what an earth is it called!!?

My RCD external sockets do precisely that, at least most of the time.
What's more, that's part of its specification :-)

https://www.mkelectric.com/en-gb/Pro...s/default.aspx


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

In article , Nick Maclaren wrote:
forget - so is there any gizzmo that can be introduced between the
plug and the printer that would if the power is interrupted stay off
until I switch it back on? and if so what an earth is it called!!?

My RCD external sockets do precisely that, at least most of the time.
What's more, that's part of its specification :-)

https://www.mkelectric.com/en-gb/Pro...s/default.aspx

I forgot to say the obvious - make sure you get the active version, as
some Web sites don't clarify which they are selling. It also comes in
a double version, which I have. I had a cheaper equivalent once, but
it died - but all reports, this one is pretty durable.

As it says, the feature is also useful for garden machinery.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

On 11/07/2018 08:37, Chris Hogg wrote:
On Wed, 11 Jul 2018 08:21:38 +0100, Jeff Layman
wrote:


I believe that what you require is a "latching relay".

Latching or non-latching? I thought the latter, i.e. didn't stay
latched on when the power failed, but ICBW and probably am!

Should really be 'latching while power remains applied', if we're being
pedantic.

The act of pressing a momentary push-button causes the relay to pull in,
and an extra set of contacts on the relay are wired across the
push-button (so the effect is the same as if the push-button was kept
depressed - so long as there is power on the relay.

If/when the power feeding the relay is interrupted, then the relay drops
out, and won't pull in again until the push-button is manually depressed.

https://www.eleinmec.com/figures/024_03.gif for the schematic, or for
chapter & verse.

On Wed, 11 Jul 2018 14:31:30 +0100, Chris Hogg wrote:


Thanks. I am a wiser man!

You should be screaming a long rant of colorful invective at the
manuracturer who allowed software in that printer to fail a very
fundimental test: "what happens if the power is dropped
unexpectedly; how to I reset everything to normal/idle.?"
That motor failure ought to be covered under warranty.
The protective circuit others suggested ought to do the trick, since
the manufacturer probably had the software written in a far away land,
and bug fixes will have to wait for the next generation of "new,
improved" printer.
So, the thermal printed label is permant under sunlight? For my own,
very amateur, garden tag I'm suprised at how few "permanent" markers
really are!

Cheers!

---
This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
https://www.avast.com/antivirus

On 11/07/2018 07:59, Adrian Brentnall wrote:
On 11/07/2018 06:58, Chris Hogg wrote:
On Tue, 10 Jul 2018 23:02:08 +0100, Charlie Pridham
wrote:

OK, this is nothing to do with gardening really but we have here at the
nursery a thermal transfer printer for plant labels, and very good it is
to - except if there is a power failure. A normal inkjet (along with the
computer) when a power cut happens, stay off when power is restored,
this thermal transfer printer tries to come back on, jams and burns one
of the spool motors out and costs us about £100 to sort out. Now on the
third event this year alone so getting a bit fed up, I know the obvious
answer is to simply shut it down each time after use, but sadly I often
forgetÂ* -Â* so is there any gizzmo that can be introduced between the
plug and the printer that would if the power is interrupted stay off
until I switch it back on? and if so what an earth is it called!!?


It sounds to me like you want either an uninterruptible power supply
(UPS), to keep it going while the mains is off (they're battery-based
and much used for computers etc; lots here
https://tinyurl.com/ycecy8x4 , choose your wattage and price), or you
want a non-latching relay in the circuit. RS do them that I assume fit
in your fuse box in the appropriate circuit like any other MCB
https://tinyurl.com/y8cr6dc5. More here but most would require making
up some circuitry in a little box https://tinyurl.com/y9o3szt4

But IANA electrician, and someone who knows what they're talking about
will probably be along soon!

Probably the easiest 'ready-made' solution is one of those control boxes
like you see on the side of workshop equipment - has a red button and a
green button.

To start the thing running, you press the green button, to stop you
press the red one. The clever bit is that, even after the green button
has been pressed, a power outage / restore won't cause the equipment to
re-start _until_ the green button has been pressed again...

If you take a look in eBay - search for 'no volt release switch' -
there's a range of options - from a fiver up to 20 quid...
Just wire it in the mains lead supplying the thermal printer, put it in
a little box if you're feeling fancy..


That sounds Ideal, Thanks to all who have responded

--
Charlie Pridham
Gardening in Cornwall
www.roselandhouse.co.uk

On 11/07/2018 15:11, R. Daneel Olivaw wrote:
On Wed, 11 Jul 2018 14:31:30 +0100, Chris Hogg wrote:


Thanks. I am a wiser man!

You should be screaming a long rant of colorful invective at the
manuracturer who allowed software in that printer to fail a very
fundimental test: "what happens if the power is dropped
unexpectedly; how to I reset everything to normal/idle.?"
That motor failure ought to be covered under warranty.
The protective circuit others suggested ought to do the trick, since
the manufacturer probably had the software written in a far away land,
and bug fixes will have to wait for the next generation of "new,
improved" printer.
So, the thermal printed label is permant under sunlight? For my own,
very amateur, garden tag I'm suprised at how few "permanent" markers
really are!

Cheers!

---
This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
https://www.avast.com/antivirus


Yes its normally the plastic that biodegrades after about 5 years the
printing is non fade permanent (I suspect more robust labels would last
longer)

And yes its the third time this year its burnt out and its a very bad
design flaw and the only bit of kit that does it

--
Charlie Pridham
Gardening in Cornwall
www.roselandhouse.co.uk

On 11/07/2018 09:20, Martin Brown wrote:
On 11/07/2018 09:02, Andy Burns wrote:
Charlie Pridham wrote:

is there any gizzmo that can be introduced between the plug and the
printer that would if the power is interrupted stay off until I
switch it back on? and if so what an earth is it called!!?

An NVR switch, usually used on workshop power tools

e.g https://www.axminster.co.uk/kedu-nvr-switch-230v-1ph-e-stop-200093

That is probably the best way to do it in a garden centre setting.


Its in the house, but several of the suggestions look ideal, I just
didn't know what they were called!

--
Charlie Pridham
Gardening in Cornwall
www.roselandhouse.co.uk