We live in an area where there are winter storm caused power outages and brownouts. Sometimes our lights flicker or dim prior to loosing power for a week or more. I'm wondering what to look for in a UPS that will offer protection and allow me to run computers off a generator.
Posted by Checkers (Member # 63) on :
Hiya Rick,
You may want to look for a UPS that also provides noise filtering/conditioning.
...and they ran great during a recent loss of power. The ~30 minutes of back up power gave me plenty of time to get the generator running and the extension cords run. And the computers ran without a glitch during the 6 hour blackout.
Unfortunately, they have been discontinued and I can't say anything pro or con about the replacement. However, you can still find some of the discontinued model online. I bought my most recent one about 6 months ago for about $150 delivered. But prices have gone up significantly since then.
Although they're designed for computers, I also use a few BE750G that I use for electronics protection - TV, modem, switches, etc - again with no problems when I ran them on the generator. They don't offer noise filtering though. However, they are on clearance at Officemax for $69 - saving you $30.
Finally, I can not personally speak of the quality of their products, at my part time job, I've been shipping a lot of Cyberpower UPS units lately to the local computer shops.
Havin' fun,
Checkers
Posted by Joey Madden (Member # 1192) on :
I had a sine wave set up at my off grid home in SoCal running from a generator as well as its B setup using a turbine, computer worked just fine
Posted by Curtis hammond (Member # 2170) on :
Any good name brand UPs will work. I used one to operate my computer while on a generator during katrina for over a month. I still use that computer to this day, No ill effects at all.
The way a good one operates is that it feeds its power between the power supply and the the battery. That means clean power either way. Also a good computer power supply will filter and regulate the power was well.
Get one that costs about more than $80-$100 bux and has about 500va. Why? because as it ages the battery will get weaker and only supply a few minutes of power. You want enuf time to get the job done. A small 300 va ups will work fine at first then later it will only run about 3 mins. That is not enuf time.
And, a good UPS will have changeable batteries. In fact I still have the APC OFFICE 500VA UPS I used during katrina. I just changed the battery last year for about $30 bux.. It is instant. The computer server never knows if the power blinks for any reason. Get one that has at least 3 (but 6 is better) regulated plugs plugs to operate the monitor, computer and the cable/dsl modem.
Amazon has APC and tripp lite. Do not get a surge suppressor. They will not work.
Posted by Rick Sacks (Member # 379) on :
So, one that I just bought on ebay is CyberPower CP825AVRLCD Intelligent LCD 825VA Compact UPS. Will this save my files and shut down my computer if the power goes out and I'm not at the shop?
Posted by Checkers (Member # 63) on :
Hiya Rick, The power supply sounds very good. But I know nothing of their software. The way my APC software works is, after a certain amount of time running on batteries, it gives you a warning that it will be shutting down the computer. And, once the countdown ends, it just closes whatever programs are open and turns off the computer. If you were working on a design and you did not save it before the shutdown, those changes could be lost. However, if the program you were working in has an auto-save feature, the last auto-save should be available when you are able to restart the computer and reopen the program/file. Don't take my word for it though. Try it out on some dummy files and see what happens.
Havin' fun,
Checkers
Posted by Curtis hammond (Member # 2170) on :
Many programs now have a recovery system in the event of a major power loss.
Posted by Dave Grundy (Member # 103) on :
I agree with Curtis and Brian...We have 2 APC UPS units in Canada and 1 Tripplite UPS here in Mexico.
Best way to protect electronics!
Surge protectors are fine for saving lightbulbs but UPS is the way to go for costly stuff.
(Thanks for the reminder Curtis...I should replace the APC units next summer..the batteries don't last forever)
