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I want a WiFi router, those supplied with 12V x 1~1.5A AC-DC wall adapter, to remain ON for a short time (maybe one second or a little more) after the AC mains gets its energy interrupted, when AC goes down.

One idea is to place 10x electrolytic caps of 10.000uF x 16V on the 12V output out the adapter (supply input of WiFi router), a nominal 100.000uF capacitance.

Is there a way to "have an idea" of the number of seconds the routers can remain ON after the AC goes down? And also for Wifi routers with integrated modem.

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    \$\begingroup\$ Yes, but it 100% depends on exactly two factors: 1. how much power the router needs at that point 2. how low an input voltage it can still work with. The rest is "capacitor discharge curve", and easy to google. \$\endgroup\$ Commented May 2, 2020 at 10:07
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    \$\begingroup\$ If the router actually takes 1A, 0.1F will droop 1V in 0.1 seconds (Q = I * t = C * V) \$\endgroup\$
    – user16324
    Commented May 2, 2020 at 10:31
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    \$\begingroup\$ When you say "100.000" do you mean "one hundred, very precisely" or do you mean "one hundred thousand"? \$\endgroup\$
    – The Photon
    Commented May 2, 2020 at 14:09
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    \$\begingroup\$ Chances are you will destroy the power supply when it turns on doing this. Your better with a battery backup etc . \$\endgroup\$
    – MadHatter
    Commented May 2, 2020 at 14:53
  • \$\begingroup\$ I mean 100000uF, 100KuF. \$\endgroup\$
    – abomin3v3l
    Commented May 2, 2020 at 18:44

1 Answer 1

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Is there a way to "have an idea" of the number of seconds the routers can remain ON after the AC goes down?

You want to hold the 12 volt DC on for a period of time using a capacitor so, the first limitation of this idea is that the voltage will instantly start to droop once the power is removed. But that isn't necessarily a show-stopper if the router can survive all the way down to 10 volts. It will be taking a roughly constant current as the capacitor is supplying the rapidly drooping voltage and this might be (say) 1 amp (just for numerical convenience).

The formula: -

$$I = C\dfrac{dv}{dt}$$

So, dv will be the change in voltage (say 2 volts) and dt will be the time allowed for it to droop (say 2 seconds). Hence: -

$$1\text{ amp} = C\dfrac{2\text{ volts}}{2\text{ seconds}}$$

Or, rearranging, C = 1 farad.

That's quite large (supercap sort of size) so pick carefully. If your current is only 100 mA then a 0.1 farad capacitor would hold up a drooping supply of 12 volts for 2 seconds. If only 1 second is required then 50,000 uF would do the job.

But, it all comes down to how low a voltage can you tolerate on your router before it gives up the ghost?

One idea is to place 10x electrolytic caps of 10.000uF x 16V on the 12V output out the adapter (supply input of WiFi router), a nominal 100.000uF capacitance.

Very unlikely to be anywhere near enough. You are probably about a thousand times too small.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ I suspect that "100.000" is European; in the US it would be "100,000". So about right, not a thousand times too small. \$\endgroup\$ Commented May 2, 2020 at 11:53

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