Uninterruptible Power Systems

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Jim Miller

Jim Miller

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Friendly reminder...

Got UPS on your computer? If not, you might want to get one. Even if the power just blinks, a spike in voltage can fry costly computer parts, or force you to reboot in the middle of a project, losing data and corrupting running programs.

A UPS keeps your computer going on battery power for a while when the power goes out. Some can be programmed to give your computer an orderly shutdown after a certain amount of time on the battery back-up. Their surge suppression also shields your computer from possibly-disasterous surges.

One of my computers' UPS unit beeps a couple of times a day now, and the "Replace Battery" indicator light is on. This is a 900 AVR unit about three years old, so it's time.

I shopped around for a new one, and found several models in the $75-$100 range. Then I found out a new replacement battery costs about $39 at the local Battery Plus store, and they will properly dispose of the old battery.

This particular UPS is under our design counter and has two computers plugged into it, two monitors, a telephone, and our draft capture terminal. With all of that load, when the power goes out it would probably last about 15 minutes, but I've never left everything on long enough to find out for sure. On the rare occasions when we have a power outage, we shut down everything except a few lights as soon as possible.

Last year the power went out when I was in the middle of a frame design with a customer. We still had natural light through the front windows, so I shut down all but the FrameReady host computer I was using. We kept going until the sale was completed, and it was still running normally more than half an hour later.

IMHO, a UPS unit is a smart investment for anyone who owns a computer.
 
...and make sure that UPS system has a quality surge surpresses built in or add one in addition to it.

Of course a direct lightning hit will not be stopped by any surge surpressor so back up!
 
frend of mine installed a new epson9800 last week, worked for 1.5 days putting in new rip software(seem the factory stuff just isnt up to it), and and the attendent goodies that crop up in vendor installs----got finished with it, tested some of it(it 's a new toy, afterall), broke for something to eat, had a small/voiletn thunderstorm, had a lighting strike on the power lines!!!!
not to worry, it's on the UPS!!! (BUT the ups had a dead/old battery so it was like not having one????), so after getting a NEW battery, he spent another 2 days just climbing out of THAT hole--corrupted files, reinstall of software etc etc etc!!!!!!!!!(really makes me wonder if the ups would have prevented all that---no way to 'really' find out, more's the pity)

replace your batteries in JANUARY, just like you do in your smoke detectors..... you DO it then, right????
 
And don't forget about phone line protection as well. Two days ago (after a series of quite bad thunderstorms), one of our lines had stopped working. It turned out to be the phone line surge suppressor. It took the heat instead of the phone system.

Your phone line is probably connected to more things than you think. Even if you don't have expensive telephone equipment such as a PBX or VoiceMail system, you may be risking your fax/printer, credit card terminal, and (if you use dial-up or DSL) your entire computer/network.

Because most UPSs only have protection for one phone line, we use inexpensive plug-in modules from EFI that line up nicely on a power strip (they plug into a grounded electrical outlet to put the surge to ground).
 
My computer has a built in UPS system ...I'm on a Gateway Tablet which, like notebook computers, has a battery. I've had the power go out several times and the battery just kicks in.

:D

Of course I do have the charger plugged into an outlet through a surge suppression unit.
 
Don't laugh or poo-poo this, but tying 5 tight knots close together in phone lines will give you quite a bit of added protection. 5 knots in power cords also work for added protection. This not in-lieu of surge protection but in addition to it. Several years ago, I took a direct lightning strike and all the equipment that had knots in the cords survived and the equipment that did not have knots was fried. Surges travel so quickly that they cannot round the sharp turns formed by the knots.
 
Wow, Rick ,,,never heard this one before but your experience dictates that it sure can't hurt anything and may actually work. Thanks for the tip.
 
Yes you should use a UPS on you wizard. One hit while cutting a suede mat will make you agree.
 
If your premises or phone line take a hit from a lightening strike nothing is going to save anything attached to the mains or phone line from being fried.

UPS is purly to maintain equipment during a major power failure. Most modern systems if shut down by a power failure will resume from where they shut down.
 
Yep, my techies advised me to get a U.P.S. when I bought my Wizard. It is also important to make sure the people you buy it from know what type of machine you are running and that the U.P.S. you buy is up to the job.

Because C.M.C.s use power in short, heavy bursts they are pretty rough on the batteries and need a heavy duty U.P.S. Many of the cheaper and lighter ones are only good enough to handle fairly light usage like computers etc and a C.M.C. will burn them up.

A problem we encounter here in Perth is that the power supply is a bit irregular and sometimes, at peak load times, we only get 230volts instead of the full 240, sometimes for a couple of hours. Also, a heavy draw nearby, like a couple of freezers in the Deli next door switching on can reduce power briefly. No problem for most appliances but, apparently, the amplfiers in a C.M.C. don't take kindly to low voltage and could be damaged.

Another problem is "noise" in the power. Pure A.C. electricity should show on an oscilloscope as a clean "sine wave". Interference from spark-producing appliances produces fluctuations in the wave pattern which, again, can affect sensitive electronics.

Given the cost of a C.M.C. and the aggro of having it out of action for repairs a proper U.P.S. is a good investment.
 
Knotting cords causes a voltage drop. The idea works when a lightning surge is choked (inductance) causing the cord to fail when the high voltage runs into the coil.

There is some cautions. The voltage drop is always present and can vary. The more current drawn through a cord inductance will cause resistance to increase and voltage to drop. This drop in voltage can do as much damage as voltage spikes. Knotting can cause the cord to heat up and possibly catch fire under normal use. The cord would need to be derated but who knows by how much???? Finally if lightning does hit, and the coil absorbs the spike, the destruction of the cord may save your pc but could set your carpet on fire.

Modern surge suppression is probably a better choice. They can prevent spikes quite predictably. We all know about the strips but there are surge suppression receptacles and also suppressors that hook up at the panel that protect everything powered from that panel.
 
BILL WARD said:
replace your batteries in JANUARY
Click to expand...
Really? Do you replace your car battery every year?

Service life on a UPS battery is about 3-5 years depending on the size and type and how much use it gets. Just as in autos you can get a 36 month OEM battery or a 72 month "Die Hard."

Batteries are not environmentally friendly. Using more of them than you need to is not socially responsible. Batteries should be recycled, not disposed of.

On the order of swapping out a set of chopper blades, changing UPS batteries is a non-trivial task that can result in severe injury if done wrong. Many UPSes have enough amperage to liquefy an adjustable wrench dropped across the terminals. Shorted through a wedding band, it would likely remove the ring finger.

This doesn't mean the average person can't change the battery safely, but it might still be worth it to have a battery service do the job and get rid of the old one(s). It might also be worth getting a maintenance agreement to have the service firm check the batteries annually with real test equipment.
 
Knotting in the power cord does not add any resistance @ 60 hz power line frequency. Any voltage drop caused by the additional inductance is minimal and does not require any derating. If lightning strikes, the likelihood that your power cord will burn is about the same as your surge suppressor burning.

I did state that knots are not in-lieu of surge protection.

The theory of knots in the power cord and associated engineering was published in an IEEE article a few years ago, so it is not something that I made up nor passed along without a good likelihood that the theory was safe and sound.
 
You're right. I just made all that up out of thin air.

Carry on.
 
Made in good ole Rhode Island :)

flagsri.gif
 
Oh. Thanks. A. Bunch, guys... I knew nothing of this, and that ignorance has prevented the horror scenarios you have described have ever happened.

But, now you have told me. This means that before I can find the time to follow your good advice, there will be a lightning strike or power surge and all my stuff will be fricaseed and it will be ALL YOUR FAULT for bringing up the subject! (or so it has worked out before...)
 
Just keep in mind that you should never plug a laser printer into one of these, as they use too much power.

They're also designed to get you through a brief brownout or loss of power, but not for an extended period of time. Under optimal load, most of them are designed to last up to 8 minutes. (and will usually go longer) The goal is to give you enough time to shut down the equipment in an orderly and normal fashion, and to avoid it just going off suddenly. (this would likely corrupt your files)

When selecting one, add up the wattage requirements of the items you are plugging into it and then make sure you are buying one rated greater than that total. ie: A computer might require 350, a lcd monitor might require 60, a tube monitor might require 200, a credit card terminal might require 15 watts, etc. The greater the difference, generally the longer it will run. The model numbers don't necessarily represent the load capacity, so it takes some research of the specs. example: my APC 750XL at home can provide 600 watts - 750va and can run 16.6 minutes at full load.

It's good insurance! I have them on our pc's at the shop and at home.

Mike
 
Mike Labbe @ GTP said:
Just keep in mind that you should never plug a laser printer into one of these, as they use too much power.
Click to expand...

Not into the UPS part of it, but a lot of the newer units have "surge-only" protection now. Make sure that if your UPS has surge-only outlets that you don't use them for the computer or monitor!
 
Thats not a bad price, but the unit itself won't be strong enough for most computers. It'll do 330 watts for 2-8 minutes, which is suitable for a credit card machine but not a full sized pc w/monitor.

Here are a couple other deals:

OfficeMax has the APC Battery Backup 1200VA/780W UPS, BX1200, for a low, no-rebate $119.99 with free shipping. Tax in most states. ($160 shipped elsewhere)
(I have one of these and it has been sufficient)

The APC BX1500LCD ($199) and APC BX1300LCD ($139) are also good models. I have both and love em. They go on sale periodically, or you can use one of the $30 off $150 coupons the office stores seem to send monthly.
 
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