UPS power backup surge protector recommendations please

[nbstl68]

Hi, I did find a short post here from 2014 from this topic but thought maybe some people could share their more up to date choices and reasoning.

I'm looking for a good UPS that will not only provide a power backup, but maybe more important, protect my equipment from power outages, spikes and brown outs...where the power fades & comes back or where the power cuts off\on\off repeatedly and abruptly several times in a short period, which is what I'll typically experience on frequent occasion in the peak heat of the summer.

I'm thinking I'd need at least 4 or 5 power backup plugs for the computer ( which will run BI), probably a 24 port POE switch that would have 8-12+ cameras and 1 IP phone using POE, don't care about the monitor of course. and I guess for the internet modem.
I'm assuming with POE to 8-12+ cameras backup power would not last very long even on expensive models.
I'm more concerned about electronic equipment protection and of course don't want to spend a fortune.

Also, is it OK to use something like this 4 from one extension on a UPS to battery back more devices or is that a no-no?

Cables To Go 29803 18IN 16 AWG 1-to-4 Power Cord Splitter
[h=1][/h]Thanks

 

[nayr]

Depends on the loads, but 8-12 cameras dont take as much power as you think they do.. I am at like 80 watts for 8 cameras (several PTZ's) and 2 High powered IR illuminators.. just these could run on a mid range UPS for a very reasonable amount of time.. Most cameras are in the 4-5W range each, so 12x cameras @ 5w each is a mere 60w

The BI-PC could easily take more than that if you dont design it to be power efficient also..

Using splitters/power strips on a UPS is fine as long as you dont overload it.. and they usually complain if you try.

 

[fenderman]

https://www.amazon.com/CyberPower-CP1500PFCLCD-Sinewave-Compatible-Mini-Tower/dp/B00429N19W/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1472181951&sr=8-2&keywords=ups+power+cyberpower
These units support power supplies with active power correction...the optiplex you have might need it...check the power supply...
I run many of these without issue for my office pc's...dont go crazy with it...Almost all my blue iris machines run on a tripplite surge protector...no ups..

 

[Iama]

I'm with Nayr, pretty much any $100 UPS will do. Your PC will use more power than all your cameras/switches/modem/router. e.g. your basic video card may use up to 150 watts alone. (Which may be another good reason to just use the onboard video..) However... you really only need to be sure of 3 things: How much wattage total will you be pulling, and to ensure your UPS provides "Line Conditioning" (APC calls this "AVR or Automatic Voltage Regulation). And, of course, a battery backup. figure out the first two, then decide how long you want your stuff to be able to run on battery.
Also.. a larger UPS will have less strain on it, and will probably last longer (depending on lightening strikes) than one that is "just barely enough to handle" what you put on it.
And.. I haven't found any decent UPS's with line conditioning and battery backups for less than around $90. So be prepared.
I help support a company that runs several thousand PC's around the country, each is plugged into a UPS. We have found, for the most part, that the APC units are best. I have had to replace many (MANY) CyberPower units - therefore, unlike fenderman, I personally cannot (will not) recommend them. (no offence fenderman...).
However, I HAVE had a couple of the "Tripplite" UPS's (about $110-$120 from Costco) and found them to be very good also.
Living in Arizona, where we have extremely "dirty" power (LOTS of fluctuations, etc) I have placed everything in the house (that I care about) on a UPS.
I am currently running my main PC (Core-i7, 16GB RAM, 3x24" LED monitors (used to run 6 CRTs), 5.1 surround sound, and another PC (that changes every now and then) and haven't had any problems with my 1500 VA APC UPS.
So.. short answer, IMHO, a 1,000 VA will do everything you need it to, and can be added to later.
(Note: I also found out the hard way, that I didn't have to keep buying a NEW UPS every time the old one died. Just new batteries.
Here is a Calculator put out by APC to help you determine what you need:
http://www.apc.com/template/country_selection.cfm?ref_url=/tools/ups_selector/index.cfm?

Final note: Do not, ever, (as Taylor Swift would say, "Like NEVER"), ever, place your Laser Printer on one of these. They start up with 1200 watts of power and will KILL your UPS!

 

[nbstl68]

Awesome info from all as usual, thanks!!

 

[Brad_C]

You'd be shocked at the amount of people and businesses that toss a UPS at the end of its battery life. I've picked up a number of APC SmartUPS for almost nothing based on the fact their batteries are dead. A new set of OEM batteries (most APC units use CSB batteries) from the right place is cheap, and you get a business quality UPS with batteries that last for cheap. Additionally the APC units have fairly good surge suppression built in unlike some of the commodity cheapies.

The only brands I've had experience with that I'd recommend are APC, MGE, Liebert and Eaton. I have some nice double conversion MGE and Liebert units here, but they are too noisy for home use.

I have plenty of experience with other brands too, but nothing good to say. Like cameras, you get what you pay for.

 

[nbstl68]

You'd be shocked at the amount of people and businesses that toss a UPS at the end of its battery life. I've picked up a number of APC SmartUPS for almost nothing based on the fact their batteries are dead. A new set of OEM batteries (most APC units use CSB batteries) from the right place is cheap, and you get a business quality UPS with batteries that last for cheap. Additionally the APC units have fairly good surge suppression built in unlike some of the commodity cheapies.

The only brands I've had experience with that I'd recommend are APC, MGE, Liebert and Eaton. I have some nice double conversion MGE and Liebert units here, but they are too noisy for home use.

I have plenty of experience with other brands too, but nothing good to say. Like cameras, you get what you pay for.

Soo, where does one find or buy these tossed business UPS units?

 

[Brad_C]

In the US? Beats me. In Australia I just ask around at small it contractors, look in the paper and on Gumtree. Picked up 7 recently for about $150 off the classifieds and 3 of those had web/snmp cards in them.

im doing some work in a building at the moment where the tenant moved out and left their now out of date ups(s) behind (and a pair of 40KW CRACs, but those are another story altogether). 5 Liebert 3kva on line units, 2 10kva and one 3 phase 80kva. I tried to convince the wife we needed to put the 80 Kva between the street supply and the house, but she just looked at me funny. you just need to ask around a bit.

 

[fenderman]

Soo, where does one find or buy these tossed business UPS units?

FYI, as mention earlier the dell 5040 which I believe you have has an active power correcting psu..you need a UPS that supports it
http://i.dell.com/sites/doccontent/shared-content/data-sheets/en/Documents/ecemea-optiplex-5040-technical-spec-sheet.pdf
Also, those old ups's might be fine with respect to backup power but may not function properly for surge suppression depending on how many minor hits they have taken...

 

[smiticans]

. We have found, for the most part, that the APC units are best. I have had to replace many (MANY) CyberPower units - therefore, unlike fenderman, I personally cannot (will not) recommend them. (no offence fenderman...).

I've had the exact opposite experience. I have four Cyberpower UPS's (three Active PFC and one regular) for a few years and so far I haven't had a single issue with them. I use to use APC for my UPS's, however, I stopped buying them after I had multiple failures (I still have one that's going pretty strong). I was getting sick of having to RMA the units back to APC for replacement. They were the older models (Back-UPS XS 1000). Eventually, I decided to try out the newer units with the LCD screen on it. I ordered the new unit from Newegg and when it arrived it was defective. After that I started purchasing Cyberpower UPS's and I haven't looked back since.

 

[rnatalli]

Another vote for Cyberpower. I have always had good luck with their units.

 

[Brad_C]

Also, those old ups's might be fine with respect to backup power but may not function properly for surge suppression depending on how many minor hits they have taken...

True that. I replace the MOV's every time I do a battery as a matter of course. Having said that I've not encountered any that were a problem.

MOV's fail short over time. A catastrophic strike can blow them open, but it also blows anything connected to them in the same way. Your typical surge strip has a thermal fuse in series with the MOV so as it reaches end of life it pops the fuse which takes it out of circuit and causes the little red "protected" light to go out. I've not seen a quality UPS that has that configuration. If they are hit so badly the MOV's start to fail they fail short and pop the input breaker. The crux is if you have a quality UPS and it's not popping breakers, the protection is still effective.

 

[Q™]

http://www.costco.com/APC-1500VA-Power-Saving-Back-UPS-with-10-Outlets.product.100123307.html

 

[Brad_C]

http://www.costco.com/APC-1500VA-Power-Saving-Back-UPS-with-10-Outlets.product.100123307.html

Dont take my endorsement of APC as a recommendation for the Back-UPS series. They are a consumer grade product and don't have half of the protection or design quality of the business grade units.

 

[Q™]

Dont take my endorsement of APC as a recommendation for the Back-UPS series. They are a consumer grade product and don't have half of the protection or design quality of the business grade units.

Agreed. But for my POS HP Envy i7-3770 dedicated BI server at the office it's more than sufficient...and it comes with a lifetime return policy which is difficult to beat IMO.

 

[nbstl68]

FYI, as mention earlier the dell 5040 which I believe you have has an active power correcting psu..you need a UPS that supports it
http://i.dell.com/sites/doccontent/shared-content/data-sheets/en/Documents/ecemea-optiplex-5040-technical-spec-sheet.pdf
Also, those old ups's might be fine with respect to backup power but may not function properly for surge suppression depending on how many minor hits they have taken...

Actually I just bought a refurb HP Envy 750-247C, but good point on the surge suppression, which is what I'm primarily concerned about.

 

[fenderman]

Actually I just bought a refurb HP Envy 750-247C, but good point on the surge suppression, which is what I'm primarily concerned about.

Side note, if that systems runs windows 10 home you need to do some research on how to defer automatic updates (not even sure if its possible if not running on wifi/metered connection)...with pro you can defer all non security updates.

 

[nbstl68]

Side note, if that systems runs windows 10 home you need to do some research on how to defer automatic updates (not even sure if its possible if not running on wifi/metered connection)...with pro you can defer all non security updates.

Was wondering about that too..it is Win 10 Home..MS site says forced updates cannot be delayed for home version which is rediculous IMO.

Couple, addtl related questions.
Some of these Cyberpower units offer "True sine wave feature....read it but not quite getting it...Is this something important I should have or is it more of a gimmick?

Some models I have seen offer a phone line pass-through..I have phone line DSL...so would I want that for surge protection or could the pass-through affect the DSL quality?
I know the odds are slim, but my home was hit by lightning before and everything connected to any wire or cable, including all the phones and modem were fried.

 

[nayr]

The true sine wave stuff is only important for analouge devices like home stereo equipment with linear power supplies, for just computer/surveillance gear its not going to do much since they use switching power supplies.

surge protector wont do much in a direct strike, and if you want protection on your phone line its best to do it at the phone box outside.. long time ago when I worked for residental ISP those cheap phone line surge protectors caused more problems than they prevented.

 

[Brad_C]

The true sine wave stuff is only important for analouge devices like home stereo equipment with linear power supplies, for just computer/surveillance gear its not going to do much since they use switching power supplies.

Actually, quite a few active PFC circuits have difficultly with stepped or "modified" sine wave outputs. It's one of those things you won't know about until it bites you. Most home equipment with linear transformer supplies are perfectly fine with non-sine outputs, they just buzz or hum a bit more when on battery.