UPS recommendations and experience?

Cameron007 · Post by **Cameron007** » 11 Mar 2004, 21:52

After a 10 hour power cut on sunday and another shorter one today. I am quickly realising how much use a UPS could be.

Problem is I have no idea what brands are good and what brands are cr@p. the place I buy from stocks the following :

APC
Power-Com
Cellguard Off-Line

Are any of thease any good?
How much long could I use my P.C. with a 600VA UPS?

Psych0_Cr1tt3r · Post by **Psych0_Cr1tt3r** » 11 Mar 2004, 22:01

How much long could I use my P.C. with a 600VA UPS

Depends on the condition of the battery. The problem with UPS' that I have is that the battery doesnt last long in terms of lifetime. 1Month old units seem to just stop charging. It could just be the brand.

I would also like to know wich brands are of high quality.

Post by **Thrall** » 11 Mar 2004, 22:20

I'm having similar problems, so I've ordered a 600Va UPS from Frontier Electronics - a brand called OEM. Here's what their site says:

Your UPS is designed to keep your PC supplied with power for about 15 minutes, enough to give you time to exit all programmes and close it down safely.

However, if you frequently leave your computer on while you are away, it would be wise to acquire auto-shut cables and software at a small additional cost. With this installed, your computer will know when the power goes off and will complete the shut-down procedure on its own, without any input from you.

In case you need back-up power for more than one computer and are unsure what size UPS to acquire, apply this simple formula: divide the UPS capacity in VAs with 350 for each system with 14" monitor. Thus, a 1000VA UPS will provide back-up for: 1000 divided by 350 = two to three computers with 14" monitors. (There is no allowance for printers, scanners and other "extras" in this formula!)

Since monitors devour power, every extra inch of monitor size will significantly increase your UPS capacity needs!

I should get it this weekend - I'll let you know how it goes...

Screeper · Post by **Screeper** » 14 Mar 2004, 11:06

What Thrall says is spot on.

I'm running a Blazer UPS with my pc, it is the 600va version.

It will give me about +- 12 min of power after a powercut

However, after upgrading to a 19" monitor my ups gives me an "overload" signal evertime my pc goes to full load ie. monitor, cd-writer, cd rom all spinning etc.
It seems i boot up ok and it will idle quite happily (obviously running just under the threshold) then if i pop a game in the drive and it starts to spin up then BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP UPS overloads and gives me about 30 sec of power and then shuts down.
In theory the UPS should be able to run my pc with no prob but it seems it can't. Whether its to do with a poor quality battery or whether my pc now requires a UPS bigger than a 600Va i'm not really sure.

It is exceedingly annoying in any case. I've had to plug my monitor directly into the wall so when my power goes off so does my monitor but the pc stays running.
Of course i can't see the bloody display to safely shut down, lol, so its kinda defeated the object of a ups but at least i'm still covered with spikes etc..

So in hindsight anyone thinking about a UPS must make sure that the capabilites of the UPS exceeds your pc requirements by some margin just to be on the safe side (especially if you're thinking of upgrading in the near future)

These are my pc specs:
400w PSU
A-Open 52x CD
BTC 52x32x52 Writer
Seagate 60gig @7200
Ati Raedon 9700Pro
SB Live 5.1 Digital
HP Deskjet 930C
HP Scanjet 3530C
Rectron 19" monitor

AlphA · Post by **AlphA** » 15 Mar 2005, 14:36

Thrall - I'm also strongly considering getting that OEM UPS from Frontier. But I'm looking at the 1000Va model as I have two PC's at home.

Did you get it? How is it ? (If you did)

Thanks

Thrall wrote:I'm having similar problems, so I've ordered a 600Va UPS from Frontier Electronics - a brand called OEM. Here's what their site says:

Your UPS is designed to keep your PC supplied with power for about 15 minutes, enough to give you time to exit all programmes and close it down safely.

However, if you frequently leave your computer on while you are away, it would be wise to acquire auto-shut cables and software at a small additional cost. With this installed, your computer will know when the power goes off and will complete the shut-down procedure on its own, without any input from you.

In case you need back-up power for more than one computer and are unsure what size UPS to acquire, apply this simple formula: divide the UPS capacity in VAs with 350 for each system with 14" monitor. Thus, a 1000VA UPS will provide back-up for: 1000 divided by 350 = two to three computers with 14" monitors. (There is no allowance for printers, scanners and other "extras" in this formula!)

Since monitors devour power, every extra inch of monitor size will significantly increase your UPS capacity needs!

I should get it this weekend - I'll let you know how it goes...

Bio-Hazard · Post by **Bio-Hazard** » 15 Mar 2005, 15:59

One of our specialties are UPS's. We sell alot of APC and haven't had any problems. What you're looking for is a line-interactive UPS: It has sensors that dedtermine the minumum and maximum input currents. Where as the "non" line-interactive is set at a point between say 210V - 240V. So when the power goes below 210 it switches over. This will kill the batteries and need to be replaced more often.

So in short I would go for a APC 800VA line-interactive. You looking at about R400 to R500 max.
This should keep you PC and monitor up for about 15-20 minutes. Only connect your box and monitor. No printers etc. A 600 VA should keep it up for about 10-15 Minutes.

dammod · Post by **dammod** » 15 Mar 2005, 16:08

Psych0_Cr1tt3r wrote:
How much long could I use my P.C. with a 600VA UPS
Depends on the condition of the battery. The problem with UPS' that I have is that the battery doesnt last long in terms of lifetime. 1Month old units seem to just stop charging. It could just be the brand.

I would also like to know wich brands are of high quality.

Well, I have had a UPS on my Pentium 3 and its so far lasted 5 years!!!!!!!

Post by **Scarlet_Spider** » 15 Mar 2005, 16:09

all i know is that you should stay far far far away from cell guard

tim · Post by **tim** » 15 Mar 2005, 17:28

I recently inquired about a UPS due to spikes etc and was told by 3 dealers that a UPS will only catch about 50% of spikes. A protection plug is cheaper and catches 75%. Is this the reason for using a UPS or is it to give time to shut down once the power bombs.
All very confusing. I want to protect my PC, if power goes out... so be it.

Post by **Scarlet_Spider** » 15 Mar 2005, 17:33

nope, it means they make more profit on a protection plug than a ups...

whipme · Post by **whipme** » 15 Mar 2005, 17:52

Get the APC, it's an awesome unit. i have a 500VA and it kept my machine
live for many years. it also saves your PSU! cleans the line.

@Bio-hazard:
how on earth do you get an APC 800 for less than R500?
i can't even get a 500 for under R500 here in PTA!

AlphA · Post by **AlphA** » 15 Mar 2005, 18:59

Thanks for all the advice guys. I ended up going to Frontier Electronics after work and picking up a 1000VA Leums (?) UPS for R480 + Vat. Check it out at http://www.upsleums.com/en/english.htm. Dont know how good it is, but will let you know...They sell it as an "OEM" UPS...but its actually branded.

Need to charge it for 8 hours before I use it though...

Also, this d@mn thing did'nt come with the cables to connect it to my PC's....but it came with the cable to hook the UPS up to the wall socket, which I have PLENTY of! Go figure!

AlphA · Post by **AlphA** » 16 Mar 2005, 10:35

Ok, it seems like getting those cables is proving more difficult than I thought! Seems like everybody I call does'nt have them!

Does anybody know where I can a couple of those cables? They're the same as the single cables which plug your Monitor into your PC. One end is male, the other end is female.

Why does Frontier Electonics sell the d@mn UPS if they dont have the power cables for it. And why do they ship the UPS with a cable to plug it into the wall socket, when you obviously have one of those cables if you already have a PC!?!?!?1

Sheesh!

Post by **Synkronos** » 16 Mar 2005, 10:58

tim wrote:I recently inquired about a UPS due to spikes etc and was told by 3 dealers that a UPS will only catch about 50% of spikes. A protection plug is cheaper and catches 75%

A good quality UPS includes everything that a protection plug does _and more_. The dude is either outirght lying to you, or stocks really awful equipment. Either way, go somewhere else

Bio-Hazard · Post by **Bio-Hazard** » 16 Mar 2005, 11:15

tim wrote:I recently inquired about a UPS due to spikes etc and was told by 3 dealers that a UPS will only catch about 50% of spikes. A protection plug is cheaper and catches 75%. Is this the reason for using a UPS or is it to give time to shut down once the power bombs.
All very confusing. I want to protect my PC, if power goes out... so be it.

I have never found a UPS with sufficent protection. It's job is to run your equipment on battery after a power outage so that you can safely turn it off. To be properly protected you need a UPS and a Surge protector. After a blackout unplug everything until it's back on 'cos alot of the time the damage comes from when the power comes back on. It spikes quite high for a couple milliseconds and then smooths out. That's how electricity works.

Oh, those surge protectors from your standard grocery and hardware stores suck. They work on a MOV system. Once it's been hit by lightning or a high spike, you won't know about it, 'cos it's still lets power go through to your PC. So to be sure you're safe you gotta replace it after every storm. Unless you get the ones with the LEDS. It shows 3 LEDS, for live, neautral and earth. I don't trust those anyway. It might show if it's blown but it works on the same system anyway.

Post by **Synkronos** » 16 Mar 2005, 11:32

*shrug* I'd trust Bio-Haz over me on this one, since he seems to do it for a living =P

AlphA · Post by **AlphA** » 16 Mar 2005, 12:40

How about those Surge protectors that Telkom supply with their ISDN network terminator? I've got on which feeds power to a UPS, and another one which powers the network terminator itself.

Should I get some other surge protectors or are those Telkom ones good enough:?

Bio-Hazard wrote:
tim wrote:I recently inquired about a UPS due to spikes etc and was told by 3 dealers that a UPS will only catch about 50% of spikes. A protection plug is cheaper and catches 75%. Is this the reason for using a UPS or is it to give time to shut down once the power bombs.
All very confusing. I want to protect my PC, if power goes out... so be it.
I have never found a UPS with sufficent protection. It's job is to run your equipment on battery after a power outage so that you can safely turn it off. To be properly protected you need a UPS and a Surge protector. After a blackout unplug everything until it's back on 'cos alot of the time the damage comes from when the power comes back on. It spikes quite high for a couple milliseconds and then smooths out. That's how electricity works.

Oh, those surge protectors from your standard grocery and hardware stores suck. They work on a MOV system. Once it's been hit by lightning or a high spike, you won't know about it, 'cos it's still lets power go through to your PC. So to be sure you're safe you gotta replace it after every storm. Unless you get the ones with the LEDS. It shows 3 LEDS, for live, neautral and earth. I don't trust those anyway. It might show if it's blown but it works on the same system anyway.

Bio-Hazard · Post by **Bio-Hazard** » 16 Mar 2005, 13:30

Never seen those but telkom??? I don't like there lines you think I would trust there protection?

No, can't help you there, see if you can find info on them on the net for me and I'll check it out for you.

AlphA · Post by **AlphA** » 16 Mar 2005, 13:40

Well, the Telkom ones are little square units. They have a green LED on them (just singalling IN USE). There's a phone line input and output as well. They gave me one when I got ISDN, but the guy who installed my line gave me another one for my PC.

I dont know if I could trust Telkom products.

Anybody here with ISDN???? You probably have the same surge protector...

Bio-Hazard · Post by **Bio-Hazard** » 16 Mar 2005, 14:08

Ok, no they sound like the same kind you get with standard modems. Sure, it might protect you once and then it's buggard. And they aren't strong so you'll be lucky if it does protect you in the first place. Depending on how near and sever the Lightning / Spike is.

AlphA · Post by **AlphA** » 16 Mar 2005, 19:19

I just had a look at them...they say "Made by Keeg International" on them. I dont think its those standard ones which come with 56K modems.

AlphA · Post by **AlphA** » 16 Mar 2005, 19:22

ok, just found a link...

Check out http://www.keeginternational.com/itnet.htm

Look for the one above part number :
part:Ki-LPMTL1-Uni

Thats it!

AlphA · Post by **AlphA** » 16 Mar 2005, 19:28

I just read on www.keeginternational.com that UPS's dont protect against power surges.... True? Mine claims to do that! Should I use a surge protector where my UPS plugs in?

Post by **Cameron_Losco** » 17 Mar 2005, 11:04

AlphA wrote:I just read on www.keeginternational.com that UPS's dont protect against power surges.... True? Mine claims to do that! Should I use a surge protector where my UPS plugs in?

That all depends on the UPS but most of them do have surge protection built in.

AlphA · Post by **AlphA** » 17 Mar 2005, 11:17

Thanks Cameron - Mine claims to have surge protection built in. But, like I said, its an El Cheapo, so I can't be too sure...