|
|
Post by donh50 on May 7, 2019 13:12:27 GMT -5
After adding up my wattage requirements and adding a generous safety factor, I figure that I could draw up to 275 watts. The 1,000 VA backups should give me over 13 minutes of battery run time (calculated by APC). So I think I'll opt for the 1000VA, APC Back-UPS Pro (BR1000MS) ($148.99 on Amazon) for my job. This is less than I'd planned to spend, but seems more than adequate, so the extra $50 in my budget can be applied to something else. Thanks for the feedback. Boom Sounds like a plan. I can't tell, are those your backup generators in your avatar?  |
|
|
|
Post by geeqner on May 7, 2019 13:56:19 GMT -5
Back-UPS Pro seem to be a decent unit, and a definite "step-UP" from the plane-Jane Back-UPS series
(MUCH better Battery status monitoring and it appears to be better surge protection / filtering.)
I have one at about 1500VA backing-up my home PC
Need a smaller / separate one for my Fiber Gear / Router / NAS that is in the basement.
(Lower LOAD, but extra run-time on that stuff might be nice in the event of an outage...)
|
|
|
|
Post by Boomzilla on May 7, 2019 17:14:05 GMT -5
Well... The difference between the 1000-VA and the 1350-VA models is $11. But the 1500-VA model is about $80 more...
|
|
|
|
Post by MusicHead on May 8, 2019 5:07:11 GMT -5
I have two UPS units, a 450VA APC for our main computer and a 750VA Cyberpower I added when we got VoIP, to keep running modem, router and VoIP box.
However, several years back we got a natural gas stand-by generator. Now if there is an outage, I just need 10 seconds assistance from the UPS units and then I get 10kW of sine power for as long as I want 😁.
Not Boom case, I know, just wanted to share a different perspective for those living in areas with frequent and long outages.
|
|
|
|
Post by Boomzilla on May 8, 2019 5:40:05 GMT -5
Hi MusicHead - I got a standby also, but having a new gas meter & piping run would cost me about 3x the price of the generator. So I run it on gasoline, buying about 100 gallons at the beginning of hurricane season, and then burning the gas in my cars if I didn't need it in mid-November to early-December. I get away with this by using "Sta-Bil" gas treatment in each gas can. Cans are stored in a plastic shed in the back yard (away from the house). When the power goes out, I've got to go outside in the rain, open the generator cover, open the petcock, choke the generator, start it with its electric start. Then I have to hook the output jumper to my manual transfer switch and then switch the house to the generator. I get about 24 hours of power from each 15 gallons of gas It's a PITA, but not so much as being without power! |
|
|
|
Post by westom on May 8, 2019 9:31:21 GMT -5
Because the power conditioning of BOTH boxes would be functional at all times, and in the event of a real surge (lightning strike, etc.), the older box (1) would sacrifice its MOV and hopefully protect the newer box (2) from surge damage. Protectors never work by sacrificing for so many reasons. Daisy chaining also does nothing to increases protection and can cause some UPS to constantly remain in battery mode - not accept power from the other UPS. MOV manufacturers are quite blunt about this in datasheets. An MOV must never fail catastrophically as the naive so often wildly speculate. Catastrophic failure is unacceptable. MOVs must be properly sized to only degrade. Properly designed MOV based protectors remain functional for decades after many direct lightning strikes. Any protection that does not protect from typical surges (ie direct lightning strike, linemen error, etc) is ineffective. Most all AC anomalies are made irrelevant by what already exists in each appliance. Potentially destructive transients are rare - maybe one every seven years. How many dishwashers, GFCIs, refrigerators, LED & CFL bulbs, and smoke detectors have been damaged and replaced in the past seven years? Anything inside that would 'block' or 'absorb' a surge is a scam. Nothing does that. 'Whole house' protection for hardware is so effective (and does not fail). It is defined by an answer to this question. Where do hundreds of thousands of joules harmlessly dissipate. Read specification numbers for a UPS. That protection is typically much less than tiny joules in a power strip protector. How good is UPS protection? Only valid answer cites those specification numbers in the category called Surge Protection. Effective protection is about what happens to hundreds of thousands of joules. So many facts and numbers say that sacrificial protection is a scam. How does a part that takes milliseconds or seconds to fail somehow 'block' or 'absorb' a transient that does damage in microseconds? How does a 2 cm protector part 'block' what three miles of sky cannot? Always temper every conclusion with spec numbers. UPS is temporary power so that unsaved data can be saved and to avert pesky reboots. It does nothing to protect hardware. Blackouts and brownouts do not damage electronics. Different solutions are required for each different anomaly. And is always defined by specification numbers. |
|
|
|
Post by geeqner on May 8, 2019 12:23:35 GMT -5
...I got a standby also, but having a new gas meter & piping run would cost me about 3x the price of the generator. So I run it on gasoline, buying about 100 gallons at the beginning of hurricane season, and then burning the gas in my cars if I didn't need it in mid-November to early-December. I get away with this by using "Sta-Bil" gas treatment in each gas can. Cans are stored in a plastic shed in the back yard (away from the house). When the power goes out, I've got to go outside in the rain, open the generator cover, open the petcock, choke the generator, start it with its electric start. Then I have to hook the output jumper to my manual transfer switch and then switch the house to the generator. I get about 24 hours of power from each 15 gallons of gas It's a PITA, but not so much as being without power! Does your Genset have something that monitors the condition of the Starter Battery and tells you about it in your house? Regardless - next time it is due to be replaced, you might want to think about replacing it with a Nickel-Ferrite Battery, instead of the "regular" Lead-Acid type. I used to work for an EE Consulting firm that dealt with a fair amount of "Mission-Critical" applications, and we had a rep speak to us from Packard Battery. Nickel-Ferrite was/is a technology usually used for storage batteries in Diesel-Electric Submarines, and it has several advantages over typical Lead-Acid: - Long Service Life - typically, more than 10 years (Less deterioration of capacity over time)
- Hold Charge longer without continuous trickle charging (good for extended outages)
- Less affected by Temperature (more "Cold Cranking Amps", which is more important for those of use Up Nort'..)
Naturally, the COST more - but the benefits and longer life may average-out the cost per year and provide an added margin of RELIABILITY
Just a suggestion / might be worth looking-into
|
|
|
|
Post by donh50 on May 8, 2019 17:35:48 GMT -5
We got a Generac whole-house unit (22 kW). It starts and switches (transfers) automagically, has a mobile cell link, and all sorts of monitoring. Install was more than the generator itself but we are in an area where we lose power not infrequently (maybe 1-2 times a month) for short periods and several times in the past few years have lost power during a snowstorm for from 6 hours to a week. We have some pipes that freeze since we finished our basement (karma for my new media room, I guess) if our recirculating pump is not kept going, and we lose water (well) when we lose power, and just get cold. The generator has been a big help and offers peace of mind, especially when we've been out of town when power was lost (e.g. Christmas vacation when the power went out for a couple of days in a wicked cold snap).
|
|
|
|
Post by MusicHead on May 9, 2019 10:54:20 GMT -5
Hi MusicHead - I got a standby also, but having a new gas meter & piping run would cost me about 3x the price of the generator. So I run it on gasoline, buying about 100 gallons at the beginning of hurricane season, and then burning the gas in my cars if I didn't need it in mid-November to early-December. I get away with this by using "Sta-Bil" gas treatment in each gas can. Cans are stored in a plastic shed in the back yard (away from the house). When the power goes out, I've got to go outside in the rain, open the generator cover, open the petcock, choke the generator, start it with its electric start. Then I have to hook the output jumper to my manual transfer switch and then switch the house to the generator. I get about 24 hours of power from each 15 gallons of gas It's a PITA, but not so much as being without power! How about running it on propane? I am sure you know you can get an in-ground tank or one of those submarine shaped above ground tanks. Still too expensive? After having tasted the convenience of a gas run stand-by generator I could never go back to a gasoline one that I have to start manually and refuel periodically. |
|
|
|
Post by MusicHead on May 9, 2019 10:57:40 GMT -5
We got a Generac whole-house unit (22 kW). It starts and switches (transfers) automagically, has a mobile cell link, and all sorts of monitoring. Install was more than the generator itself but we are in an area where we lose power not infrequently (maybe 1-2 times a month) for short periods and several times in the past few years have lost power during a snowstorm for from 6 hours to a week. We have some pipes that freeze since we finished our basement (karma for my new media room, I guess) if our recirculating pump is not kept going, and we lose water (well) when we lose power, and just get cold. The generator has been a big help and offers peace of mind, especially when we've been out of town when power was lost (e.g. Christmas vacation when the power went out for a couple of days in a wicked cold snap). Once our 10kW Generac is due for replacement (we have had it for almost 10 years now), we are going for a 20-22kW whole house with a 200 amps transfer switch. The longest we have been on generator power has been almost six days, following an unexpected early October snow storm several years ago. |
|
|
|
Post by geeqner on May 9, 2019 11:24:53 GMT -5
Generac and Kohler made in our "Neck of the Woods"
But we're pretty lucky
We only have one or two unscheduled outages (storms etc.) per year and most of the time, those are under an hour
(Problem IS - WHEN they happen, it is usually "raining the heebe-jeebies" and our sump pump does not run - so, I should probably think about
1. Re-Grading and water-proofing part of the basement walls, so that pump will run LESS
2. Think about one of those battery back-up supplemental pumps for sump pump)
|
|
