[ale] UPS

[Ron Frazier (ALE)]

Hi Sean,

About a year ago, I bought an APC Smart UPS based on recommendations of people here.  It has a display to show its status and can boost sagging voltage or trim excessive voltage to a certain extent.  I really like it.  Keep in mind that the kVA rating is usually about double the wattage rating that the unit can handle.  Also, keep in mind that if you run the load at 100% while on battery power, you'll probably only get 5-10 minutes of run time.  If you want long run time, you need a unit with about 5X - 10X capacity of the load you're running.  Also, with such short run time, if you get a smaller unit, you have to set the PC to shut down at about 50% to 70% of remaining battery charge, to allow sufficient time to shut the PC down.  If you shut down when the UPS reaches 10%, which is typical for laptops, the PC may have less than a minute to execute the shutdown.  Finally, it's a good idea to test the batteries periodically, as the charge meter is not always right.  I hope to write a post about that when I get time, maybe.

Sincerely,

Ron


Jim Kinney <jim.kinney at gmail.com> wrote:

>APC is a solid brand. No need to change due to a single unit failure.
>Overload likely caused by battery shorting failure during a charge
>cycle.
>Dead batteries can kill a UPS.
>
>On Mon, Feb 4, 2013 at 3:46 PM, Sean Kilpatrick <kilpatms at gmail.com>
>wrote:
>
>> **
>>
>> I was away this past weekend. When we got back Sunday afternoon the
>UPS
>> that protects my box was buzzing. Although the computer and monitor
>were
>> both turned off, the idiot light was blinking to indicate an
>overload!
>>
>> Testing indicated that the innards were fried, so replacing the
>nearly
>> dead batteries wasn't going to help. (The unit was at least six years
>old.)
>> This is somewhat odd, as no other electronics (all buffered by
>lightweight
>> surge protectors) seem to be damaged: router, switches/hubs, printer,
>> stereo, TVs, etc.
>>
>> So I could use some advice: get another uninterrupted power supply
>from
>> APC or try a different brand?
>>
>> Sean
>>
>>
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>>


--

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Ron Frazier
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linuxdude AT techstarship.com