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Re: UPS experience?



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I've gone through a number of UPS's (fortunately a few years back the
electricity board dug a bit hole round the corner and spent a day or 2
fiddling and the power is much more stable now).

The battery life issue has been the limiting factor with all the UPS's
I've used. To be fair though, I've seen the same issue commercially with
UPS's.

I used to work for a large public organisation (that use red vans) and
we were in a position to install some UPS's across our sites, the
solution we chose was to use some APC kit, these were mostly 3KVA and
5KVA units with lots of batteries (an hour or 2's runtime). The control
software allowed us to schedule routine full discharge cycle tests and
we could view the data via SNMP so we could see the remaining battery
life, so it might be worth looking at some of the more expensive APC
units. The control module also had temperature monitoring so we were
able to see ambient computer room temperatures and also had a few
contact switch connectors to hook into door sensors and so on which
might have an HA use, but we never used these.

I have had small APC units at home though and generally not got much
more than a few years before the system failed the battery.

I've got a big brute Liebert in the garage which will run the MythTV
backend and the file server for about half an hour and a cheapo unit
under the desk for my main work PC. I generally haven't got any less
length of service from the under desk cheapo units that I used to get
from the more expensive APC or Belkin units so generally tend to replace
with whatever's on offer when the battery goes dead.


On 28/07/14 13:52, 'Dave McLaughlin' dave@xxxxxxx
[ukha_d] wrote:
>
>
> Off topic but these are critical to a good HA system :)
>
> The electrical supply here is not ideal and we can get power off at
> any time and so far this year has been off about 10 times so far with
> 3 hours being the longest but generally anything from 15+ mins.
>
> I've got a UPS on each computer but I am not seeing good battery life
> from a number of them. I used a few locally made units at first (price
> looked great) but they lasted just over 1 year and the cost to replace
> or service was almost as much as the machine itself so I junked them.
>
> I then switched to an Eaton NV2000 for my main PC.
>
> They are connected with USB and the software is setup to start a
> shutdown after 5 mins of operation on battery. This allows them to be
> left unattended.
>
> The issue is that battery life on the NV2000 causes the UPS to just
> die within about 10 seconds of the power being interrupted. The
> software shows the battery to be GOOD and it seems to pass the small
> test that it does every so often without any warnings.
>
> I also have an NV1000 on the HA PC and that seems to be fine after the
> same length of time in use.
>
> They don't ever run on battery to the point that the batteries are
> depleted. Could this be an issue?
>
> My question is in regards to what others have had with their own UPS
> experience? Do you also see battery issues?
>
> I expected this higher quality unit (and far more expensive) to have
> lasted a lot more than 1 year.
>
> Dave?
>
> ---
>
> Very funny Scotty, now beam down my clothes?
>
> ---
>
>
>
>


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<div class="moz-cite-prefix">I've gone through a number of
UPS's
(fortunately a few years back the electricity board dug a bit hole
round the corner and spent a day or 2 fiddling and the power is
much more stable now).<br>
<br>
The battery life issue has been the limiting factor with all the
UPS's I've used. To be fair though, I've seen the same issue
commercially with UPS's.<br>
<br>
I used to work for a large public organisation (that use red vans)
and we were in a position to install some UPS's across our sites,
the solution we chose was to use some APC kit, these were mostly
3KVA and 5KVA units with lots of batteries (an hour or 2's
runtime). The control software allowed us to schedule routine full
discharge cycle tests and we could view the data via SNMP so we
could see the remaining battery life, so it might be worth looking
at some of the more expensive APC units. The control module also
had temperature monitoring so we were able to see ambient computer
room temperatures and also had a few contact switch connectors to
hook into door sensors and so on which might have an HA use, but
we never used these.<br>
<br>
I have had small APC units at home though and generally not got
much more than a few years before the system failed the battery.<br>
<br>
I've got a big brute Liebert in the garage which will run the
MythTV backend and the file server for about half an hour and a
cheapo unit under the desk for my main work PC. I generally
haven't got any less length of service from the under desk cheapo
units that I used to get from the more expensive APC or Belkin
units so generally tend to replace with whatever's on offer when
the battery goes dead.<br>
<br>
<br>
On 28/07/14 13:52, 'Dave McLaughlin' <a
class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:dave@xxxxxxx";>dave@xxxxxxx</a>
[ukha_d] wrote:<br>
</div>
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<div class="WordSection1">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:&quot;Verdana&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Off
topic but these are critical to a good HA system
:)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:&quot;Verdana&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:&quot;Verdana&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:&quot;Verdana&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">The
electrical supply here is not ideal and we can get power off
at any time and so far this year has been off about 10 times
so far with 3 hours being the longest but generally anything
from 15+ mins.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:&quot;Verdana&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:&quot;Verdana&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">I've
got a UPS on each computer but I am not seeing good battery
life from a number of them. I used a few locally made units
at first (price looked great) but they lasted just over 1
year and the cost to replace or service was almost as much
as the machine itself so I junked
them.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:&quot;Verdana&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:&quot;Verdana&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">I
then switched to an Eaton NV2000 for my main
PC.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:&quot;Verdana&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:&quot;Verdana&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">They
are connected with USB and the software is setup to start a
shutdown after 5 mins of operation on battery. This allows
them to be left unattended.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:&quot;Verdana&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:&quot;Verdana&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">The
issue is that battery life on the NV2000 causes the UPS to
just die within about 10 seconds of the power being
interrupted. The software shows the battery to be GOOD and
it seems to pass the small test that it does every so often
without any warnings.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:&quot;Verdana&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:&quot;Verdana&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">I
also have an NV1000 on the HA PC and that seems to be fine
after the same length of time in
use.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:&quot;Verdana&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:&quot;Verdana&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">They
don't ever run on battery to the point that the batteries
are depleted. Could this be an
issue?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:&quot;Verdana&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:&quot;Verdana&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:&quot;Verdana&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:&quot;Verdana&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">My
question is in regards to what others have had with their
own UPS experience? Do you also see battery
issues?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:&quot;Verdana&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:&quot;Verdana&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">I
expected this higher quality unit (and far more expensive)
to have lasted a lot more than 1
year.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:&quot;Verdana&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:&quot;Verdana&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Dave?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="mso-fareast-language:EN-GB"
lang="EN-US">---<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="mso-fareast-language:EN-GB"
lang="EN-US">Very funny Scotty, now beam down my
clothes?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="mso-fareast-language:EN-GB"
lang="EN-US">---<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p
class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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  • References:
    • UPS experience?
      • From: 'Dave McLaughlin' dave@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [ukha_d]
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