UPS in the place of surge protector strips

[brian__pratt]

any rough estimate of the power requirements to hook my receiver, tv, etc into a computer UPS instead of the normal "Monster Strip" or similar? obviously i don't care about the backup time associated with the UPS, but i already have a UPS and would use that instead of buying another $80-$100+ for a home theatre power strip.
the UPS is probably too small (500VA / 315W), but just wanted to ask...can't hurt, right?

i have:
denon 2802
jvc 7-dvd changer
sony 40" xbr (delivered soon)
--->i would assume the 40" xbr beast would require much more power by itself, but i'm not an electrical genius...

 

[Chu Gai]

Denon 2802 Power Consumption: 5ATotal Power (VA)600

JVC 7 no idea on the power consumtion...probably relatively negligble...maybe 14 watts? Total Power (VA) 20

Sony 40" XBR (this is the KV-40XBR700 yes?) Power Consumption: 260 watts max Total Power (VA) 270

Overall Total about 900 VA...scale it down by multiplying by 0.7 (not everthing running at full throttle) 630 (VA)

Ummmmmm...nope!

Not all UPS's are created the same. Some generate a pure sine wave, some don't. You pay more for the ones that do. Computers and the like don't necessarily require sine wave output, although I'd hazard to say, your audio equipment does. Also, if you're not connecting everything, such as the cable from your satellite or cable company, then you can get a power surge come in via the cable. Let's say you do pick up on a surge protector...examine the warranty. Usually those wonderful warranties kick in after your homeowners insurance does. Examine your homeowners insurance and see just what's covered in the way of lightning/theft/fire. You need to make some personal decisions as to how you want your stuff covered...Fair Market Value...Full Replacement...ask what happens if your TV is fried and it turns out Sony doesn't make that model anymore...will they try to repair it...can you opt for an equivalent model...same price? you've got a lot of questions to ask and a lot of scenarios to run through to make sure that you're covered the way you want to be. If your present insurance doesn't give you what you want, get somebody else.

 

[brian__pratt]

great information! thanks. i figured the UPS was inadequate...but wanted to make sure. good points about the fine print of the coverage also. i'll definitely watch out for that.

 

[JerryW]

A quality UPS that outputs a pure sine wave is uncommon, but not impossible to find. APC's SmartUPS UPS' of 700VA and higher DO output a pure sine wave and are very highly regarded for their high quality output.
http://www.apc.com/resource/include/...CountryCode=WW
The APC SmartUPS 700NET is $308 at Buy.com
http://www.us.buy.com/retail/compute...2376&loc=15835

 

[Chu Gai]

I use an APC for my pc and i used to use a sine wave output one for an analytical instrument whose stability was dependent to some extent on a constant voltage. To ascertain whether it was effective, we'd run calibrations on it at night (autopilot) for a week before and after putting it in. Stability in the sense that the calibrations were tighter (better straight line) improved after its insertion by almost an order of magnitude. While pleased, I was more than a tad miffed that the equipment manufacturer hadn't designed a better intrument to take into accout the real world...