[vcf-midatlantic] UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supplies) was: How's Everyone Doing

[Henry S. Courbis]

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

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On Fri, Apr 24, 2020 at 11:19 AM RETRO Innovations via vcf-midatlantic <
vcf-midatlantic at 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
>
>