UPS with AVR recommendations?

Hans Manhave · June 19, 2012, 12:34:59 PM

An APC unit bit the dust. Not the battery, the electronics. A new one is $165 at Sam's Club. I have not been extremely pleased with APC models, but they appear better than some others. However, they may all have been brave soldiers and died for the turf they protected.

Anyone have any recommendations for a unit that provides protection for a dual screen Optiplex? Voltage regulation (AVR) is a must. Battery backup of some capacity also. We live in the dark area of the country where the sun shines, but the power doesn't last all day. I was aiming for a $100 limit per unit.

Bob · June 19, 2012, 12:42:49 PM

Since you live in an area like Pakistan where power is unreliable.

I recommend kinetic energy model like this.

American made too! Can't go wrong..

Billy Welsh · June 19, 2012, 12:45:59 PM

I like APC's trade-in program. Free shipping to recycle the old unit, and their prices are not that out of line considering you don't have to find a way to properly dispose of/recycle the lead batteries.

It is not prominent on their site, but if you search for trade-in or trade-up you can find it.

Jeff Zylstra · June 19, 2012, 12:49:57 PM

Quote from: Dutch Dude on June 19, 2012, 12:34:59 PM
An APC unit bit the dust. Not the battery, the electronics. A new one is $165 at Sam's Club. I have not been extremely pleased with APC models, but they appear better than some others. However, they may all have been brave soldiers and died for the turf they protected.

Anyone have any recommendations for a unit that provides protection for a dual screen Optiplex? Voltage regulation (AVR) is a must. Battery backup of some capacity also. We live in the dark area of the country where the sun shines, but the power doesn't last all day. I was aiming for a $100 limit per unit.

You are correct in considering these to be "sacrificial" units. There is absolutely no way to stand up to lightning strikes or even power surges on a long term basis. The better ones offer quicker response and can handle more and more intense surges, but they all dies at some point.

I like a dual layer approach. I have a surge suppressor on the main electrical panel, which only clamps voltage at something like 600 volts or so. I want to say it was $300 or so. Then I use the APC units inside for a finer voltage regulation. I think I allow a 6-8 volt swing either way on the APC units. That sounds like a lot, but most units don't allow much finer regulation than that, otherwise they would be kicking in all of the time as the air conditioner turns on, or other power drains occur. A well designed power distribution panel is very helpful in this regard. In other words, put high drain electrical appliances on their own circuits so they don't affect other appliances on the same circuits.

There are websites that rank these things, but I sometimes think that they split hairs a bit.

Hans Manhave · June 19, 2012, 01:02:41 PM

I am considering this from the Dell site: http://goo.gl/RlHii

Gene Foraker · June 19, 2012, 01:40:49 PM

I think APC seems to own the marlet. I like the Smart UPS line. The batteries seem to only last me 3 years, though. Usually Amazon has replacements about 1/2 the cost as from APC.

Marie (Zionkowski) Gozikowski · June 19, 2012, 01:45:42 PM

We have a mix of Cyberpower and APC units... both seem to last about the same. We have bad electric/wiring here, so I usually have to replace one or two a year. Tried Tripp Lite for a while... was not happy with those at all.

You can get a CyberPower CP1350AVRLCD on Amazon for $130, and an 850AVRLCD for $106

Jeff Zylstra · June 19, 2012, 02:03:15 PM

Quote from: Gene Foraker on June 19, 2012, 01:40:49 PM
I think APC seems to own the marlet. I like the Smart UPS line. The batteries seem to only last me 3 years, though. Usually Amazon has replacements about 1/2 the cost as from APC.

If you need batteries in a hurry, Batteries Plus usually stocks most if not all of the UPS batteries, and they seem to be pretty reasonable. But you may or may not have a Batteries Plus around, depending on what size town you live in.

Jim Jensen · June 19, 2012, 02:04:43 PM

I bought my last couple at the office supply store - OfficeMax, I think. BestBuy carries some from APC as well.

Hans Manhave · June 19, 2012, 03:38:59 PM

For replacement batteries I go to the Interstate Battery retail outlet. They appear to have everything. A replacement battery was $40, the unit in question is a XS1300 which took 2 batteries. Then we learned that the unit itself had gone bad, not the batteries. Will keep the new batteries because they can be used as single units in other models too.

CP800AVR units have been ordered.

Has anyone heard of anyone ever filing on the $150K or $200K coverage of these kind of units? Even when there is a real $100K+ claim, the insurance adjuster doesn't mention anything about filing it elsewhere. Is that just window dressing or secondary coverage?

Bloody Jack Kidd · June 19, 2012, 09:10:05 PM

If you are running a UPS with AVR, turn the sensitivity down - most PC power supplies can handle some voltage changes without damage. All that trim and boost work is likely what is killing your UPSes.

Jeff Zylstra · June 20, 2012, 10:26:49 AM

Quote from: Bloody Jack Kidd on June 19, 2012, 09:10:05 PM
If you are running a UPS with AVR, turn the sensitivity down - most PC power supplies can handle some voltage changes without damage. All that trim and boost work is likely what is killing your UPSes.

BJK has hit the nail on the head. If you have a generator or plan on getting one, you will need to adjust these settings to be less sensitive. Otherwise, the UPS will "protect" the attached computer by not accepting the power of the generator and the UPS will stay on battery power forever.

Most of the APC units have this adjustment, and you can adjust the settings by connecting the UPS (using the provided customized USB cable) to a computer that has the free "power chute" software installed. I'm not familiar with other units, but I would assume that they have a very similar arrangement as well. If you see a USB or serial connection on the UPS, there's a good chance that your UPS has adjustments like this. You can also monitor the condition/charge state of the batteries through this software.

Hans Manhave · June 20, 2012, 11:52:51 AM

That brings up the monitoring issue. Does it require expensive units to have this centrally monitored? I don't want to make the end user responsible for monitoring. With "expensive" I mean that one has to pay an additonal $49 - $100 or more per station to get this accomplished. I find the voltage drop over an 8 hour work day to be significant (20% or better). A generator has been cost prohibitive. In case of extended outage we all have personal generators that we have brought in. A whole external wiring harness was set up which remains in storage normally. On a positive note, we do have a propane barbecue in the office patio lunch area that we can use to cook! There are sufficient squirrels, coons and possums to keep us from starving if things were bad.

Jeff Zylstra · June 20, 2012, 12:10:45 PM

Quote from: Dutch Dude on June 20, 2012, 11:52:51 AM
That brings up the monitoring issue. Does it require expensive units to have this centrally monitored? I don't want to make the end user responsible for monitoring. With "expensive" I mean that one has to pay an additonal $49 - $100 or more per station to get this accomplished. I find the voltage drop over an 8 hour work day to be significant (20% or better). A generator has been cost prohibitive. In case of extended outage we all have personal generators that we have brought in. A whole external wiring harness was set up which remains in storage normally. On a positive note, we do have a propane barbecue in the office patio lunch area that we can use to cook! There are sufficient squirrels, coons and possums to keep us from starving if things were bad.

Over 20%? That seems a little high to me. Your power provider can put what looks like an EKG or oscilloscope on your power to monitor voltage fluctuations. It prints out on paper like an EKG, and measures intensity (voltage in this case) fluctuations over a period of time. A certain amount is acceptable, but if it is too great, your public service commission will get after the power company and make them do something to rectify the issues. Our office is a ways off from the road and we were having these fluctuations when we moved in. They put the monitoring device on our line and determined that there was too much voltage drop because of the distance from the transformer on the pole, and our meter. They ended up putting a transformer right outside our back door, which solved the problem. If they refuse or give you a hard time, then call your public service commission. Utility companies hate dealing with these folks, so they're usually cooperative. HTH.

Alice Mooney · June 20, 2012, 12:38:10 PM

I've always used APC UPSes, but now a bit nervous about it. Last month, the two yr old one I had, the battery practically exploded in the case. The alarm was constant but not very loud. If I was not home it could have started a fire b/c when I opened up the case, the plastic around the battery was starting to melt.
I did not get to the unit right away when the alarm started because I was in the shower and didn't hear it. So it could have been sounding for up to 20 minutes.
Was very scary.