UPS Chat

[davej99]

Thanks for that. I'm a great believer in the value of UPS too, and have all my equipment protected by one, even the Sky box.

Any recent UPS recommendations for domestic NW. Issue is voltge stability and dropout. Thx

[Rik]

What's your budget, Dave, and how much equipment would you want to connect?

[pdu]

Also, don't forget that when looking to power a PC for example, the size of your PSU isn't your guide, it's the power draw of your connected equipment which is often a lot lower than you might expect.  I use an APC Backups-RS BR1500I (1500VA spec) for my kit, which is 865W according to apcaccess (tool which gives me readouts on my UPS).  For example, this is it's current load:
STATUS   : ONLINE
LINEV    : 236.0 Volts
LOADPCT  :  42.0 Percent Load Capacity
BCHARGE  : 100.0 Percent
TIMELEFT :  74.5 Minutes (I have an extra battery connected otherwise it'd be less time than this).

Thats powering:
Desktop: i7 920/3xDDR sticks/2x7200rpm sata disks/optical drive/gtx295 video card.
Server: amd x2 5000+, 2xddr2 sticks, 5x7200rpm sata disks, 4x5400rpm sata disks, raid card, wireless nic, wired nic, usb nic.
Monitor: 22" lcd
Comms: 1x netgear router, 1x o2 freebie router, 1x 8 port gbit switch, 1x zoom voip ata, 1x cordless phone base station.

Every single bit of kit listed above is switched on at the moment and it's still only actually running at 42% capacity.  Admittedly if i force the server to thrash it's disks and run something like a 3d benchmark tool on th desktop then the UPS load does climb (to about 90% if i remember correctly), but it still goes to show how little power you often actually need.

[davej99]

What's your budget, Dave, and how much equipment would you want to connect?

Thanks for tips.

Rik, my problem is voltage dropout and flicker that can hang, de-sync, or reboot router as well as stress PSUs. UPS needs to be inline to be any use I guess. Need to keep NAS, its BU drive and switch running. Laptops only, but would be good to protect PSUs from large excursions and spikes. I guess 500w maximum, may be less. Runtime not critical. Needs to be inline. Thoughs would be welcome. Maybe we should move UPS chat.  Dave

[Simon]

Mooved.   

[Niall]

Ha, a cow smiley! I am pleased

[Rik]

Thanks for tips.

Rik, my problem is voltage dropout and flicker that can hang, de-sync, or reboot router as well as stress PSUs. UPS needs to be inline to be any use I guess. Need to keep NAS, its BU drive and switch running. Laptops only, but would be good to protect PSUs from large excursions and spikes. I guess 500w maximum, may be less. Runtime not critical. Needs to be inline. Thoughs would be welcome.

Well, it's not cheap, but the APC SmartUPS range would be my suggested starting point, as it has over and under voltage protection, good run time, a hot swappable battery, and a very good reputation. I'd suggest you go for something around 1250-1500VA, but then I'm good at spending other people's money. I have one of each myself, for each desktop machine, plus a couple more of their small units, one for the router and one for the Sky box. I've used several other brands, but none have been as reliable or efficient.

[davej99]

Well, it's not cheap, but the APC SmartUPS range would be my suggested starting point,  ....

Thx Rik. Pricey, I see what you mean. But so is trashing my hit. Using several seems a good idea. Which models are you using?

[Rik]

The brute is:

http://www.misco.co.uk/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=100783&Sku=42022

The less brute is:

http://www.misco.co.uk/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=163430&CatId=1417

and the router is on:

http://www.misco.co.uk/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=398817&CatId=1416

[davej99]

Thx Rik. That is very helpful. Just read my posts. Sorry about my lisdexic typing!

[Rik]

Thanks, my fingers do it lla eht emit.

[talos]

UPS? I thought that was a parcel delivery company

[Rik]

It is, though mine were delivered by CityLink, Bob.

Uninterruptible power supply, Bob, a device which 'conditions' the mains, preventing under and over-voltages, and which generates power from a battery in the event of a cut.

[talos]

Uninterruptible?   That sounds like a challenge

[Rik]

It is an exaggeration, as the battery has a finite life, according to rating and load - I have about 40 minutes capacity on mine - but it does give you plenty of time to make an orderly shutdown and not lose any data or corrupt a disk drive.

[Gary]

I use a smart UPS 1500 as well, another good thing about it is its a true sinewave output, most modern and high range PSU's are PFC units, some do not like stepped approximation sinewave, at all and will not stay on when the UPS kicks in, or it causes issue at boot. My iMac has a PFC power supply and its much happier using the APC Smart UPS.

[pdu]

Just a tip for those who need it.  Many a UPS has kettle lead outputs only on the back, these are obviously fine for connecting to monitors and base units which take kettle leads as well, but for connecting smaller devices like routers/switches with little AC adapter plugs, there is nowhere to plug them in.  APC offers a single kettle to BS socket adapter for about £20, but a much cheaper method involves nipping to your local DIY shed and picking up a really cheap socket expander strip, check the back before you buy to make sure you can open it up with a screwdriver, also, non surge protect models are better for this usage.  Then hit your local independant computer shop for a kettle lead, one end must be male to connect to the UPS, the other end can be anything as we'll be cutting it off (independant shops will likely sell you one for about 50p).  Hack the useless end off the kettle lead, open the socket adapter and remove it's powecord, then strip the wires on the hacked off end of your kettle lead and wire it into the socket expander, reassemble the unit and plug it into the UPS.  Voila, you now have a 4 or 6 socket adapter powered from your UPS for about £5

[Rik]

Exactly what I do on every UPS.

[Rik]

Well, my various UPS saved my bacon today - we had the power trip out for a few seconds and everything just continued to work. I do like UPS.

[pdu]

Me too :p power is fairly stable here, but seems to trip out about every 3 months (I know, odd right?) because my home server never quite got to reach 100 days uptime, always above 80 days, and 97 was my previous record.  Now: 16:59:04 up 120 days,  3:03 - and just to prove the funky timing on power cuts here, the last time the UPS had to transfer to battery was: XONBATT  : Tue Mar 30 15:30:32 BST 2010.  As usual, i'd have hit 96 days before the power tripped.  It was the pain of rebuilding an array after one last year that I finally bit the bullet and got myself this unit.

[Rik]

They do give tremendous peace of mind, not to mention, in my opinion, improving the longevity of hardware.