UPS backup musings

[Scott D. Henning]

Hi Greg,

Yes money is always a consideration. You can sometimes get UPS units at 
thrift stores, I have two for my personal system I got there. People do 
not want to buy batteries. You can obtain power rtings from a web search 
for your products and getting the brochure or manual. This is ow I 
usually do that.. My system at home is physically in two rooms and one 
small UPS runs the router and switch and the larger one runs the 
desktop. A multimeter would be hard to use to figure current draw even 
for a sighted person and a device called a clamp on ammeter is used, but 
honestly just search it up.  Your guesses seem pretty close, but I don't 
have handle on the repurposed media box except that your figure is 
probably close enough. Perhaps someone else here knows. FYI, my smal UPS 
is about 350 and is one of those overgrown power strip like units...my 
larger one is a 650 in the usual long metal case.

Scott


On 6/13/2013 7:19 PM, Gregory Nowak wrote:
> Thanks to everyone for your replies. Ideally, I'd like something that
> can provide power for the maximum length of the longest outage so far,
> about 2 hours 40 minutes. I have to balance that with what I'm able
> to spend on one of these. So, I'm willing to be content with running
> things long enough for the system to shut down.
>
> I've only been investigating units which have widely spaced outlets
> for wall warts. I'm also ok with 5-6 outlets being battery powered,
> and the rest just having surge protection. I've been specifically
> avoiding units which say they have an lcd for easier configuration and
> status.
>
> I had to make some guesses on how much everything I have would
> draw. The system itself is from around 2006. It used to be one of
> those windows media center machines before I got it, and turned it
> into a server. I'm guessing it draws 140-150W. Everything else I want
> to run off battery is just wall warts. There are four of those, I'm
> guessing 10-15W each. All together, that would place things at about
> 180-190W. The unit I have in mind supports up to 450W. So, that should
> give me 15-20 minutes run time, which I'm ok with, since most of the
> outages are within that range. If they go for longer, they're likely
> to be the close to three hours kind.
>
> Is there some way to calculate ballpark wattage without having someone
> read labels on everything I want to plug in? No, I don't have access
> to a multi-meter, accessible or otherwise. Do the figures I gave above
> look reasonable? Thanks again for the replies so far.
>
> Greg
>
>
> On Thu, Jun 13, 2013 at 06:01:59PM -0500, Adam Myrow wrote:
>> I say that a UPS of some sort is worth it for short blackouts.  What
>> makes it hard is that they range all over the map in terms of price
>> and ease of use.  There are small ones that will power your system
>> for a few minutes, and big ones that can keep it running for over an
>> hour.
>>
>> Here are things I would consider when deciding on a UPS.  First,
>> what are you looking for in terms of run time?  How many outlets do
>> you want?  Do you want all of them to be battery-backed, or just
>> some of them?  Many of the smaller units only provide battery backup
>> to some of the outlets.  Do you have any large wall warts?  If so,
>> look for a UPS that has extra space between the outlets so the wall
>> warts don't cover adjacent outlets.
>>   Also, does the device have a display?  If so, check to see if it
>> requires sighted assistance to set up.  At a minimum, you want a UPS
>> which can get you through a short blackout, and will shut down the
>> system properly when the battery gets low.  While journaling
>> filesystems have made things better, it is still a good idea to shut
>> down the system properly especially if you are in the middle of
>> doing something when the power fails.
>>
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-- 
Scott D. Henning
Architectural Audio Design
PO Box 1372
Durango, Colorado 81302