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

Herb Johnson hjohnson at retrotechnology.info
Fri Apr 24 23:53:38 EDT 2020


I'm surprised by all the interest in UPS's. I have generations of them, 
myself, in the few to several hundred watt range. Every digital device 
in my home has a small UPS on it, always has. Just makes sense. When I 
get a power hit, the birdies sing from each one.

The older household buy-at-Staples ones work fairly well, when batteries 
are replaced every handful of years. They appear at thrift stores for 
several dollars; the salvage value of the gells is about a few dollars. 
Avoid the very smallest units, only buy units that take standard sized 
cells. Funny, some units WILL take standard sized cells, if you chop out 
the ribs molded into them, that hold SMALLER batteries - so they can 
sell them cheaper. That's my kind of 'creative destruction'.

I have some old 1990's APC rack-mounters that I haven't populated in 
several years, 3000 watt. And some other floor models in the few 
thousand watt range, which need those larger 17VA batteries, not the 
several VA 12V common sized gell-cell units.

I just scrapped two giant UPS's, 3-phase units, that took four car 
battery sized lead-acid cells. They also went back to the 1990's. Wiser 
heads told me "those are too old and inefficient for today's use". The 
steel went on the curb and disappeared. Anyone need 60 Hertz 
ferro-resonant chokes and transformers? Hey, I can use them for exercise 
equipment - if I don't mind losing a toe if I drop one! ;)

If interest persists to when we get together again, I'll bring some 
around for purchase. Batteries not included.

Regards, Herb "Amps" Johnson

PS: does this still count for "how's everyone doing"? Do we all run on 
batteries now, or what? ;)

-- 
Herbert R. Johnson, New Jersey in the USA
http://www.retrotechnology.com OR .net
preserve, recover, restore 1970's computing
email: hjohnson AT retrotechnology DOT com
or try later herbjohnson AT retrotechnology DOT info


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