UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supplies) was: How's Everyone Doing
I decided to make a new thread since there is a lot of interest in this topic, etc. @Dave Mcguire. Thanks for the tip on where to buy replacement batteries. As far as I know APC is the most recommended brand. I see others are using Panasonic. I'm curious to know which brands everyone recommends or discourages? On Fri, Apr 24, 2020 at 1:02 PM Mike Loewen via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
On Fri, 24 Apr 2020, Ethan O'Toole via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
I used to work for a large music streaming provider and we had thousands and thousand of servers. The data center would put out a notice that they're going to do UPS maintenance or Switchgear maintenance... and usually that night we would have maybe up to 20 servers have issues. Hard hang or maybe a reboot. Meanwhile everything looked okay.
At one point, I had a production server in the data center, an IBM RS6000 with redundant power supplies (2). The techs were moving systems to a different power bus and unplugged one of the supplies: my system promptly shut down. It turned out that my system required THREE power supplies before redundancy was in effect. Oops.
Mike Loewen mloewen@cpumagic.scol.pa.us Old Technology http://q7.neurotica.com/Oldtech/
-- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President & Board Member, VCF East Showrunner Vintage Computer Federation http://www.vcfed.org/ jeffrey@vcfed.org -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President & Board Member, VCF East Showrunner Vintage Computer Federation http://www.vcfed.org/ jeffrey@vcfed.org
On 4/24/2020 12:10 PM, Jeffrey Brace via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
I decided to make a new thread since there is a lot of interest in this topic, etc.
@Dave Mcguire. Thanks for the tip on where to buy replacement batteries.
As far as I know APC is the most recommended brand. I see others are using Panasonic. I'm curious to know which brands everyone recommends or discourages?
I echo kudos to @Dave Mcquire. I have a APC SU1400NET and SU2200NET here that are in need of batteries, but I'd put off buying them because I thought it might be best to just buy a new unit. refurbups has nice prices and it looks like a cool deal on a APC SUA750 ($99) that is hard to beat (CyberPower 750 UPS does not run for as long and is 73 at the cheapest I could find) Finishing an order now. I'm not a UPS guru by any means, but these Smart UPS units I have have been tanks. Moved 3 times, I replaced the batteries once (easy to do), and are easy to disassemble for cleaning/repair. They are built like a tank, too, so I guess that figures (they have a slot for Ethernet control and such, and I see cards are $15.00 or so on eBay). Jim
For all my PC needs, including retro, I have in order from the outlet: Panamax P360 6-Outlet Floor Strip - An advanced 'power strip' with self test and disable capabilities. If an MOV has become unreliable it won't turn on and display the error. These last about a year or a little more, then I rebuild them usually. Tripp Lite LC1800 Line Stabilizer Conditioner & Surge Protector. Does what it says. I have yet to rebuild this unit after a bit of use. Reguardless I'd replace MOVs every 5 years just to be safe, and then eval what else might be in there needing updating. APC 1500 SmartUPS. Again, it gets the rebuild every 5 years. I also modded it with two deep cycle car batteries to give me more run time. And those tend to last longer then the APC batteries. Ultimately your requirements may need less that what I have listed. However I run one moderns ATX PC, two retro PCs sometimes, and some network equipment and only tax the UPS about 75% fully loaded (4 of the 5 LEDs lit) - which seems reasonable to me. I would never push any equipment over that for any extended period of time. The main idea being I can shut down the retro equipment in case the power goes out for an extended period of time, but I'm mainly covered for the small blip in power which is much more common in my office complex. And if there is a major power outage I can gracefully shut down my work PC at any time. I've have this kind of setup since 2000 or a little before. In that time I have lost countless power strips. I have never lost the Tripp Lite or APC, nor suffered any PC loss or had power related issue. The first step however is to ensure the outlet is wired correctly. Past Power Strips didn't seem to care. Better ones did. And I found all kinds of issues over the years from office to office. Don't trust an outlet till you personally test it. I get several emails a year from customers about how their Apple II with a new PSU isn't working correctly. So far a vast majority of them are outlet and power issues. New PSUs require the outlet is wired correctly in order to work correctly. Older PSUs not so much. Anyway, hope that helps. Invest in some equipment. You won't regret it in the long run. I have spent more per year in coffee than I do in power conditioning and protection. My PCs and network equipment are worth at least that to me. And it's one more thing I can cross off the list when checking for an issue working on something. Henry S. Courbis Office Toll Free: (800) REACTIVE (732-2848) Office/Mobile Direct: (856) 779-1900 www.ReActiveMicro.com <http://www.ReactiveMicro.com> - Sales, Support, and News, Our Headquarters on the Internet ReActiveMicro.com/wiki - Support, Software, Manuals, and History. Create your own page today! Facebook.com/reactivemicrousa - Our Social Media Outlet and Support On Fri, Apr 24, 2020 at 11:19 AM RETRO Innovations via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
On 4/24/2020 12:10 PM, Jeffrey Brace via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
I decided to make a new thread since there is a lot of interest in this topic, etc.
@Dave Mcguire. Thanks for the tip on where to buy replacement batteries.
As far as I know APC is the most recommended brand. I see others are using Panasonic. I'm curious to know which brands everyone recommends or discourages?
I echo kudos to @Dave Mcquire. I have a APC SU1400NET and SU2200NET here that are in need of batteries, but I'd put off buying them because I thought it might be best to just buy a new unit. refurbups has nice prices and it looks like a cool deal on a APC SUA750 ($99) that is hard to beat (CyberPower 750 UPS does not run for as long and is 73 at the cheapest I could find)
Finishing an order now.
I'm not a UPS guru by any means, but these Smart UPS units I have have been tanks. Moved 3 times, I replaced the batteries once (easy to do), and are easy to disassemble for cleaning/repair. They are built like a tank, too, so I guess that figures (they have a slot for Ethernet control and such, and I see cards are $15.00 or so on eBay).
Jim
So I finally got around to buying the batteries for my two "old" UPS. They cost $12 and $18, with $12 shipping. I got it from refurbups.com I finally got around to ordering them to protect my new custom built PC that I built (with Connor and Ian's help). I want to protect the new (expensive) parts. On Fri, Apr 24, 2020 at 2:20 PM RETRO Innovations via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
On 4/24/2020 12:10 PM, Jeffrey Brace via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
I decided to make a new thread since there is a lot of interest in this topic, etc.
@Dave Mcguire. Thanks for the tip on where to buy replacement batteries.
As far as I know APC is the most recommended brand. I see others are using Panasonic. I'm curious to know which brands everyone recommends or discourages?
I echo kudos to @Dave Mcquire. I have a APC SU1400NET and SU2200NET here that are in need of batteries, but I'd put off buying them because I thought it might be best to just buy a new unit. refurbups has nice prices and it looks like a cool deal on a APC SUA750 ($99) that is hard to beat (CyberPower 750 UPS does not run for as long and is 73 at the cheapest I could find)
Finishing an order now.
I'm not a UPS guru by any means, but these Smart UPS units I have have been tanks. Moved 3 times, I replaced the batteries once (easy to do), and are easy to disassemble for cleaning/repair. They are built like a tank, too, so I guess that figures (they have a slot for Ethernet control and such, and I see cards are $15.00 or so on eBay).
Jim
-- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President & Board Member Vintage Computer Festival East Show-runner Vintage Computer Federation is a 501c3 charity http://www.vcfed.org/ jeffrey@vcfed.org cell: 732-759-1783
Jim & Jeff, There's spare APC Ethernet cards in the CDL if you need them. Martin On 11/29/2020 6:46 PM, Jeffrey Brace via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
So I finally got around to buying the batteries for my two "old" UPS. They cost $12 and $18, with $12 shipping. I got it from refurbups.com
I finally got around to ordering them to protect my new custom built PC that I built (with Connor and Ian's help). I want to protect the new (expensive) parts.
On Fri, Apr 24, 2020 at 2:20 PM RETRO Innovations via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
On 4/24/2020 12:10 PM, Jeffrey Brace via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
I decided to make a new thread since there is a lot of interest in this topic, etc.
@Dave Mcguire. Thanks for the tip on where to buy replacement batteries.
As far as I know APC is the most recommended brand. I see others are using Panasonic. I'm curious to know which brands everyone recommends or discourages? I echo kudos to @Dave Mcquire. I have a APC SU1400NET and SU2200NET here that are in need of batteries, but I'd put off buying them because I thought it might be best to just buy a new unit. refurbups has nice prices and it looks like a cool deal on a APC SUA750 ($99) that is hard to beat (CyberPower 750 UPS does not run for as long and is 73 at the cheapest I could find)
Finishing an order now.
I'm not a UPS guru by any means, but these Smart UPS units I have have been tanks. Moved 3 times, I replaced the batteries once (easy to do), and are easy to disassemble for cleaning/repair. They are built like a tank, too, so I guess that figures (they have a slot for Ethernet control and such, and I see cards are $15.00 or so on eBay).
Jim
On 11/29/2020 5:46 PM, Jeffrey Brace wrote:
So I finally got around to buying the batteries for my two "old" UPS. They cost $12 and $18, with $12 shipping. I got it from refurbups.com <http://refurbups.com>
Cool. As noted below, I picked up batteriers for my 1400 and 2200 units, which are running perfectly now. The 1400 had a loud fan a few months after, but those are easy to grab as well, so the tanks keep on running! I did pick up a SUA750 from them at the time, and it's running great as well. Jim
participants (4)
-
Henry S. Courbis -
Jeffrey Brace -
Martin Flynn -
RETRO Innovations