UPS advice wanted...

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richms

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#539762 1-Nov-2011 00:00

MackinNZ:
Niel: Any cheap UPS will do.

Until the batteries overheat and the unit "cooks" itself. Has happed to me 2 or 3 times with cheap units, mainly from Dynamix.

You too eh? How long did the rotting garbage/catcrap smell take to clear from your room after the battery had its meltdown? Any case discolouration or distortign from the heat?

I think I have had more interruptions from the dynamix one than it prevented. Often on trivial mains events it would click and click and the PC would reboot, yet unprotected PC's kept on going.

Richard rich.ms

Lykho

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#539770 1-Nov-2011 02:16

MackinNZ: ...mainly from Dynamix.

LOL, I had a hunch that anything being sold by Dick Smith should be avoided!

timmmay

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#539803 1-Nov-2011 09:14

Regs:
timmmay: I had an APC UPS for a couple of days, but because of an annoying high pitched noise it made I sent it back.

i've had dozens of them, and none of them have done that... you must have had a bad egg.

The manufacturer acknowledged that they all do it. Maybe this one was a bit worse than average, or maybe I just have better hearing than average.

MackinNZ

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#539829 1-Nov-2011 11:27

richms: You too eh? How long did the rotting garbage/catcrap smell take to clear from your room after the battery had its meltdown? Any case discolouration or distortign from the heat?

Fortunately (or unfortunately) the meltdowns occurred in customers offices not mine so I didn't have to put up with the lingering smell. One of them (a Dynamix 1000VA model) warped the outside of the case quite significantly and also discoloured.

Quite a hazard really, the customer called me to say the server was overheating, luckily it wasn't the server, but the UPS sitting beside it. The room felt like a 2 bar heater had been left on over the weekend.

Put me off cheap UPS's forever.

Ragnor

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#539907 1-Nov-2011 13:49

Are there any line interactive ups (rather than standby) that come in the power brick style of the Eaton 3S or APC Back-UPS ES?

Regs

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#540031 1-Nov-2011 19:59

MackinNZ:APC are good but can be pricey and I don't like the Powerchute software much.

My personal favorite at the moment is the Eaton 5110. They come in a range of VA ratings. A 700VA will cost about $250. They are good quality, have NZ outlets and good software.

with the APC you dont actually need to use the powerchute software as they integrate into windows as a "battery". one of the biggest reasons i like them.

i believe that the eaton units do that now too, so worth looking into

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Niel

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#540150 2-Nov-2011 02:09

This is what I've got and happy with for about 7 years:
http://powerquality.eaton.com/Products-services/Backup-Power-UPS/Ellipse-ASR.aspx?cx=101

I also have one of these about 8 or 9 years old:
http://powercom.ua/en/products/item/165/
(Ukrainian web site, info no longer on USA web site.)

Both are on mains 24/7. The first one I prefer, it is also British vs. Taiwan/USA. Batteries have been replaced once in both, it is about time I do it again. When I bought them they were cheap models. PB Technologies sell both brands in many models (but many not stocked in stores). They also sell Dynamix at half the price of Dick Smith - I don't buy at Dick Smith despite having a trade card.

Looking at what is available, I'd go with Eaton who does the whole range including on-line. Also don't like Belkin in general as a brand, too much bling like an iPad.

You can never have enough Volvos!

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