Probably still not officially allowed to be used with the ONTs tho

I reviewed a DC UPS for an ONT and modem over a year ago. The Sentry Lite can power two devices, so ONT and modem/router off a single power supply, and has models with internal or external batteries. I was sent the internal battery model to review a couple of weeks ago, Mauricio is going to do the review when he has time. I've been running the sentry with an 8AH battery for a year with no issues, and I have a 33AH battery sitting beside it for longer term power in case of a major event.

Cool, I'd need two though, one for ONT, one for Router (in different locations).

Nice idea though.

Any idea what these go for? Not having luck googling a NZ reseller

As per Tim's reply above, not sure about "finally" as Constant Vigil Sentry UPS has been in the market for months already.

RRP is $149.

You should be able to get it cheaper than that though.

PB Tech will be able to get them, as will a few others. If you know someone with a CDL account, they'l be able to get them.

freitasm:

As per Tim's reply above, not sure about "finally" as Constant Vigil Sentry UPS has been in the market for months already.

MadEngineer:

freitasm:

 

As per Tim's reply above, not sure about "finally" as Constant Vigil Sentry UPS has been in the market for months already.

 

are they supplied with the 8 pin connector used by the ONT?

Yes, it comes with all the correct cables to power ONT and router. Everything you need is in the box, if you select the battery option or the model with the built in battery. Suggest you read the review.

A good reminder about this product (the NZ one, I mean); I remember reading the review at the time and thought it sounded a solid investment, especially given it powers both ONT and router.  We've got an inverter generator (never yet used!) for when the power's out, but it's not worth the hassle if it's just for a few hours - the five hours run time of the Constant Vigil sounds perfectly adequate.

But looking at their site I see no mention of the internal battery model - just two variants of the external battery model (as you reviewed), providing for either common or dual voltage. Regarding this internal battery version: do you know what the capacity of the internal battery is, when this is to be released, and what the price will be?

I'm assuming it'll need to be somewhat bigger to take the battery, so in some situations having the battery separate may be more flexible.

BTW, what does a 33AH battery cost, and how do you charge it?

The internal battery model isn't publicly released yet. I got a review sample just because I reviewed the last model. It looks fully finished and production ready to me. What I've been told is it has an internal lithium battery, 20W output limit instead of 40W, and a runtime of a bit over 4 hours - though I don't know if that's with ONT and router or just ONT. It was fairly compact but heavy, don't remember size but comparable to an ONT - just more square. No idea about price sorry, but I could ask, they're pretty responsive. It's the kind of thing that I could imagine most people using, compact and few wires, as opposed to the original which is fairly ugly with wires all over. I don't mind as I have mine in a cupboard.

I got a crazy deal on some lightly used 33AH batteries from @jeffnz, but retail is $200 or so for a 12V 33AH battery. I just connect the 33AH battery to the Sentry Lite to charge it, which I've been told is absolutely fine, just slow. I only charge it every 3 - 6 months, I just leave it connected for a few days. You can get a NiMH / car battery charger for $100 for a good quality one. I mean to get around to getting a solar setup at some point, but that's maybe $150 - $200 and is low priority.

Thanks for the prompt reply. Would really appreciate a heads-up on the expected RRP and confirmation of the running time when running both ONT and router, and also perhaps the dimensions of the box (edit: if you happen to be following up anything else with the company!).

This would be enough information to determine whether it's worth waiting for the new product to be released, or just go with the current model. The mess of wires doesn't bother me too much, but I'm assuming the new unit's slim enough to be able to hang off the wall like the ONT? (or when you say "square", are you saying it's a cube?!). Thanks again.

I've sent on the questions, once I get a reply I'll let you know.

The new model could likely be hung on the wall, but it's a heavy dense rectangle, but not sure if I would. I only looked at it once before I gave it to Mauricio though.

If you have space I'd go with the original model, for flexibility. You can use multiple batteries, so you can keep a big battery handy but disconnected for disaster scenarios. The new one is more a consumer product which will get you through blackouts / brownouts. I figure a 33AH battery will last around 20 hours, which if you only turn it on when required could last many days or maybe even weeks during a disaster. With the smaller 4h battery it could be exhausted before you even make it home to switch it off.

Great - appreciate you passing the questions on!

Good point re flexibility of the current product; that one can easily transfer in a spare battery (even if this may mean stealing the one from the house alarm!) is a huge advantage. Now just to convince my wife of the need - perhaps if I can tell her she'll be able to continue to play Covet through our next power cut?! (Having had our power go out for 1/2 a day the other week may well be just the impetus she needs...)

Information from Constant Vigil who make the Sentry Lite. The new version with the built in battery:

• Lasts 4-5 hours with the ONT and a router - note that the models were not specified
• Price is likely to be just under $200 inc GST, though this is subject to change. They hope to reduce the price if they get sufficient volume
• They should be available in around six weeks

NB: price updated.

Thanks for following up with those questions, Tim.

That battery life's not as bad as I'd thought it may be, but that it is not swappable makes it somewhat inflexible compared to the current option. Apart from the neatness of a single box, I don't think it's got many meaningful advantages over the current model, so will probably go with the latter.