APC still the go to for UPS?

[Fordiesel69]

Was going to make a panic purchase today as my server UPS failed. It is emmiting a terrible squeal from the alarm sounder.

Is this good?
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/apc-ba...-600w-8-outlets-black/6536324.p?skuId=6536324

 

[OVERKILL]

I've had mixed luck with the Back-UPS series, the Smart-UPS are better units, but you'll pay for that fact.

BTW, often that sound is either an overload event or you need to replace the battery. The problem is that sometimes the battery is almost the price of a new UPS, lol.

 

[JohnnyG]

I don't think so. Most still use lead acid (SLA) batteries, that only seem to last MAYBE 3 years. The better set up today is from the jungle store. I just bought one that has LiFePo4 batteries that are "supposed" to be good for 10 years.
I just purchased the Golden Mate 1000 va /800 W version for about $269. This unit should power my Fiber Optic modem for 24 hrs in the event of a power outage.

So far it's been perfect, though we haven't had an outage. It has a great display which stays off until you press a button, and is completely silent during use. The unit consumes 12 -13 W when powering the modem (same as when plugged in to the wall), with brief excusions @ 30W when doing a short charge.

There are more powerful versions if you want longer backup time.

 

[bdcardinal]

APC is my go-to.

 

[tburke]

I tend to prefer Vertiv (formerly Liebert) or Eaton. Better bang for your buck, and typically more reliable.

https://www.amazon.com/Liebert-line-Interactive-Technology-Replacement-PSA5-1500MT120/dp/B07BYD6RLN/

 

[OVERKILL]

I don't think so. Most still use lead acid (SLA) batteries, that only seem to last MAYBE 3 years. The better set up today is from the jungle store. I just bought one that has LiFePo4 batteries that are "supposed" to be good for 10 years.
I just purchased the Golden Mate 1000 va /800 W version for about $269. This unit should power my Fiber Optic modem for 24 hrs in the event of a power outage.

So far it's been perfect, though we haven't had an outage. It has a great display which stays off until you press a button, and is completely silent during use. The unit consumes 12 -13 W when powering the modem (same as when plugged in to the wall), with brief excusions @ 30W when doing a short charge.

There are more powerful versions if you want longer backup time.

I've never had any APC UPS with the battery lasting only 3 years. Usually it's 8 or 9 years. They also sell Lithium versions now too. I've owned hundreds of UPS's, currently manage about 50, most of them are APC, others are Tripp-Lite and Eaton (who now owns Tripp-Lite). I've also owned CyberPower, but I've had them fail randomly, so I no longer buy those.

Now, that said, almost all the APC units I am responsible for are Smart-UPS series. I have one Back-UPS Pro, with the aux expansion battery, here at my house for my twitter bot and plex server.

APC had some QC issues with their web-connected Lithium rack mount 500VA models during the 'VID, I bought 4x and all of them had to be replaced under warranty. Their replacements have been fine.

I'd be cautious buying power protection equipment from brands that aren't mainstream if you are concerned about the safety of the equipment behind it. I had a Smart-UPS 3000 eat a lightning strike years back, smoked the UPS, but all the equipment behind it was fine. Other devices behind power bar "surge suppressors" did not survive. And of course one must be doubly cautious with Chinese LiPo batteries in anything, given the record of fires.

 

[dubber09]

How much power does the server take? 600W UPS may not be a good idea due to low power rating. Back-UPS are lower end consumer grade units but may work well with lower power requirements equipment.
I use CyberPower UPS at home for PC, good unit and good value. It replaced APC UPS when APC battery took a dive.

 

[Cujet]

Costco often has the best price on UPS's. They even offer a 'true sine wave' unit for about $200. Although that seems not to be necessary for anything I power. TV's, Computers, DirecTV box, Stereo Receiver and Security System.

 

[Fordiesel69]

idel is 18w, full load would be 120W during encoding and maybe 45-80w transcoding.

 

[andrew_j]

I am using a APC Back-UPS since 2011. One battery replacement about 3 years ago. Unit works great.

 

[Rand]

I paid up for a rackmount APC for my networking rack in basement.
I have a APC backups xs 1300 upstairs at my gaming pc and it is currently 13 years old and on second battery purchased October 27, 2019
works fine .. although not as important since I moved all the network gear to basement a few months back.

I'd be tempted by the 99$ sams club cyberpower for less critical installations.
has AVR etc

I would still prefer APC, but open to well reviewed models from brand name I have heard of such as Eaton/tripp-lite etc.

Lithium based batteries can be a plus or a minus IMO.

 

[Pew]

I've got two apc smart ups 1300 at home for my computer (one for the tower, one for router/nas/monitors) as well as two more at work for smaller slightly less critical stuff. The servers and networking stuff at the main office are on an APC 3000 with two extra battery units who's battery is still good in the 9 years I've been there. Ordered a Eaton/Tripp lite last year for our remote office as well. A tripplite that two clients have for maybe 15+ years has only needed a battery change each.

 

[blain450]

I've used CyberPower 1350 & 1500 UPS for over a decade now.
Yes, I've had to replace batteries here and there. But I've never had any equipment damaged from power issues.
Right now I have three 1500 that I use to keep power clean on an LCD TV, Roku, modem, router, monitor and a couple of PC's.
The three spots are in different rooms, or I'd consider running a large LifePo4 power station.

 

[John105]

The one showing is not a pure sine wave so imho you don't want it. This is what we used at work and we have hundreds upon hundreds (5-6), out of the likely 80 I did myself, only 1 was DOA

https://www.apc.com/us/en/product/S...-outlets-smartconnect-port+smartslot-avr-lcd/

Comparable to what OP had posted I'd get this

https://a.co/d/ehwYwun

But I think I'd go up to this

https://a.co/d/0xa34kG

I've never tested it but I recall reading if the UPS is not pure sinewave many devices like a laptop won't even work at all when plugged in. And I'm not sure about the inexpensive UPS devices, but on a enterprise grade, the outlets are always on backup so there's no switching, they are only bypassed when replacing the batteries....

 

[OVERKILL]

The one showing is not a pure sine wave so imho you don't want it. This is what we used at work and we have hundreds upon hundreds (5-6), out of the likely 80 I did myself, only 1 was DOA

https://www.apc.com/us/en/product/S...-outlets-smartconnect-port+smartslot-avr-lcd/

Comparable to what OP had posted I'd get this

https://a.co/d/ehwYwun

But I think I'd go up to this

https://a.co/d/0xa34kG

I've never tested it but I recall reading if the UPS is not pure sinewave many devices like a laptop won't even work at all when plugged in. And I'm not sure about the inexpensive UPS devices, but on a enterprise grade, the outlets are always on backup so there's no switching, they are only bypassed when replacing the batteries....

On an Enterprise UPS the outlets aren't always on "backup", they are always run through the transformer, which will make adjustments to voltage as necessary, either boosting or trimming it as needed, depending on the quality of the input power. The transformer is coupled to some large capacitors which buffer the momentary blip in input power as it transitions from utility to battery (and back). This is on the feed side of the transformer, so the protected equipment is never exposed to the "blip".

Since the batteries are not part of the loop unless you lose utility power (aside from being monitored and charged as needed), you are still running on the transformer when you replace the batteries.

Some of the APC Smart-UPS units have a "green" mode that bypasses the transformer when utility power is sufficiently "clean", as it uses energy to run the transformer all the time. Of course this can be disabled if desired.

 

[John105]

On an Enterprise UPS the outlets aren't always on "backup", they are always run through the transformer, which will make adjustments to voltage as necessary, either boosting or trimming it as needed, depending on the quality of the input power. The transformer is coupled to some large capacitors which buffer the momentary blip in input power as it transitions from utility to battery (and back). This is on the feed side of the transformer, so the protected equipment is never exposed to the "blip".

Since the batteries are not part of the loop unless you lose utility power (aside from being monitored and charged as needed), you are still running on the transformer when you replace the batteries.

Some of the APC Smart-UPS units have a "green" mode that bypasses the transformer when utility power is sufficiently "clean", as it uses energy to run the transformer all the time. Of course this can be disabled if desired.

That’s not my understanding. Being always in a backup mode even when power is available, ensures there’s no switching delay if power were in fact lost. I don’t know that this is true with consumer grade, and suspect it’s not.

What purpose would bypass serve, on an enterprise UPS? It would already be the case in your scenario.

 

[OVERKILL]

That’s not my understanding. Being always in a backup mode even when power is available, ensures there’s no switching delay if power were in fact lost. I don’t know that this is true with consumer grade, and suspect it’s not.

With consumer-grade stuff there's typically (but not always) a bypass of the transformer straight to utility, which then gets switched to transformer upon loss of utility. With Enterprise, unless you are running in "Green" mode, the power is always running through the transformer, with corrections (trim/boost) made as necessary. This is not "backup" mode, it's AVR (Automatic Voltage Regulation), and typical for any of the APC Smart-UPS (and higher) series UPS's.

The "delay" with consumer gear is the UPS switching from bypass to transformer. With a Smart-UPS, assuming you aren't using "Eco" mode, the power is already going through the transformer, the switching happens on the feed side, buffered by large capacitors, so there's basically nothing experienced by the equipment.

You can fine-tune these settings on the Smart-UPS series UPS's, like where you want AVR to step-in, with upper and lower bounds, and you can also change the sensitivity of what triggers a transition to battery on the feed side.

What purpose would bypass serve, on an enterprise UPS? It would already be the case in your scenario.

Anything for the green Gods, right? LOL! The "Green" or "Eco" mode bypassing the transformer reduces electricity consumption. Most equipment is not super sensitive to input voltage, like a computer for example, since their power supply is already heavily buffered with large capacitors, so they have no problem riding through the switch from utility to transformer. If you have sensitive equipment that cannot tolerate this, you simply disable that function. By default, IIRC, it's off.

 

[OVERKILL]

From here:
https://www.apc.com/us/en/faqs/FAQ000264322/

 

[factorytuned2012]

We install these in the RTU cabs at my job. Just to keep the radio for scada alive until the generators come online.

 

[Sumboodie]

There are a few models that allow feeding power from an external battery. Like a deep cell or even.a group 31 or 4D truck/equipment battery (or several)