UPS Suggestions Please (1 Viewer)

[Oswald Pascual]

Looking for a rack mountable UPS that 1 unit high 6 outlets.

Currently running a Cyberpower PR750LCDRM1U.
I do like that I can control the shut down schedule thru the Mac Mini Media server but the battery on this has not been stellar and the unit has totally shut down on me for no reason at all. It is of course just out of warranty. Will be running the mac media server, a couple of external drives, a router and a monitor.

Thanks

 

[DaveF]

Wirecutter did a UPS roundup and review. Unfortunately, they didn’t look at rack-mounted devices. But this might give you some ideas or help you find a good brand.

The Best Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS)

We tested leading UPS models and found that the CyberPower CP900AVR is the best option to keep essential gear running for up to four hours during a blackout.

www.nytimes.com

 

[BobO'Link]

Looking for a rack mountable UPS that 1 unit high 6 outlets.

Currently running a Cyberpower PR750LCDRM1U.
I do like that I can control the shut down schedule thru the Mac Mini Media server but the battery on this has not been stellar and the unit has totally shut down on me for no reason at all. It is of course just out of warranty. Will be running the mac media server, a couple of external drives, a router and a monitor.

Thanks

I work in IT - we use APC and Tripp Lite rack mounted UPS and have had very few, if any, issues with either brand.

Tripp Lite makes at least one to your specs that comes in several capacities - all with 6 outlets:
See on Amazon

 

[kalm_traveler]

Depending on how many VA you need... I've had good success with APC's more beefy UPS's. Been using this one on my main PC for a few years and it's been fantastic:
See on Amazon

They make it in a rack mount version that's a 2200RMC but that one is 2U. I'm not aware of any high-ish capacity versions that are only 1U unfortunately.

If you can fit a 2U, I would definitely consider one of these. Where I live we occasionally have power outages for anywhere from a few seconds to a few hours and this 2200VA unit can run my pointlessly-overkill HEDT rig + ultrawide monitor + speaker DAC/amp + 8 port gigabit switch for ~ 3 hours if not playing games.

 

[John Dirk]

I've come to look at consumer level UPS solutions as high end surge protectors and nothing more. I have a few Cyberpower CP1000's and have used APC units in the past. All perform fine for awhile but the batteries fail all too soon and their proprietary replacements never make sense from a value perspective. If you have serious downtime needs I would consider a generator.

Sorry. I know this isn't all that helpful. Just weighing in.

 

[kalm_traveler]

I've come to look at consumer level UPS solutions as high end surge protectors and nothing more. I have a few Cyberpower CP1000's and have used APC units in the past. All perform fine for awhile but the batteries fail all too soon and their proprietary replacements never make sense from a value perspective. If you have serious downtime needs I would consider a generator.

Sorry. I know this isn't all that helpful. Just weighing in.

agreed - the consumer-level APC units I've had in the past all have the battery die pretty much right on the warranty expiration. Oddly, these more industrial-aimed units have lasted much longer.

When the batteries do finally bite the dust I'll probably go the DIY route of modding them to use large sealed marine batteries which are much cheaper and larger capacity than their proprietary overpriced batteries.

 

[JohnRice]

That's interesting, because I have several UPS units, and they all use standard batteries that can be found cheap. In the case of the bigger 1500VA APC ones, they appear to have a non-standard battery, but it's actually just two standard batteries with connector device to hold them together. I just cut the seal to remove them. Not a seal on the battery, but basically heavy tape that holds the battery to a piece of plastic that keeps the batteries together. Remove the connecting wires, attach the new batteries, which just slide into place, use some heavy shipping tape to hold them there, replace the wires and you're good to go. You just connect it back to the unit and slide it into place. Between work and home I have six units and I've replaced batteries on all of them multiple times. About $15 each for 9 amp batteries, so $15 for the small, single units and $30 for the big 1500VA ones. I generally get 5-7 years each time.

 

[kalm_traveler]

That's interesting, because I have several UPS units, and they all use standard batteries that can be found cheap. In the case of the bigger 1500VA APC ones, they appear to have a non-standard battery, but it's actually just two standard batteries with connector device to hold them together. I just cut the seal to remove them. Not a seal on the battery, but basically heavy tape that holds the battery to a piece of plastic that keeps the batteries together. Remove the connecting wires, attach the new batteries, which just slide into place, use some heavy shipping tape to hold them there, replace the wires and you're good to go. You just connect it back to the unit and slide it into place. Between work and home I have six units and I've replaced batteries on all of them multiple times. About $15 each for 9 amp batteries, so $15 for the small, single units and $30 for the big 1500VA ones. I generally get 5-7 years each time.

Things could have changed - the last time I looked into replacing an APC UPS's battery was coming up on 10 years ago. There are still many guides online about how to connect different batteries to save money.

That all being said, if I can hook up a giant marine battery and get 10 hours of full-tilt PC use instead of 3, worth it to me since the whole thing is tucked back away where I can't see it anyway. I have a much smaller unit in my data closet powering only the fiber internet interface, switch, router, wifi AP but even that one keeps those running for nearly 3 hours. If I get a large capacity battery on that one I bet I could get a full day of operation.

 

[JohnRice]

Here's an example. Both of my APC 1500VA units use the same battery configuration, even though the units themselves were purchased 10 years apart.

This is the battery...

You can see that's it really just two standard 1290 batteries attached together. So I cut the tape holding the batteries to the connector and remove the electrical connectors, noting how they're attached. Then I put two new 1290 batteries on it, attach it with strong shipping tape and replace the connectors. The most recent 1290 batteries I bought late last year were $40 for the pair.

 

[kalm_traveler]

Here's an example. Both of my APC 1500VA units use the same battery configuration, even though the units themselves were purchased 10 years apart.

This is the battery...

View attachment 112371

You can see that's it really just two standard 1290 batteries attached together. So I cut the tape holding the batteries to the connector and remove the electrical connectors, noting how they're attached. Then I put two new 1290 batteries on it, attach it with strong shipping tape and replace the connectors. The most recent 1290 batteries I bought late last year were $40 for the pair.

Yeah that's much more affordable.

This is the replacement battery for my big boy 2200 VA UPS:

Looks like official replacements are about $350, off brand are about $300. I'm not sure what the more budget-friendly way to replace them would be but I'm sure a big deep-cell marine battery will be much less, and give me far more battery running time.

 

[JohnRice]

Yeah that's much more affordable.

This is the replacement battery for my big boy 2200 VA UPS:
View attachment 112383

Looks like official replacements are about $350, off brand are about $300. I'm not sure what the more budget-friendly way to replace them would be but I'm sure a big deep-cell marine battery will be much less, and give me far more battery running time.

I'm guessing that's a sine wave UPS.

 

[kalm_traveler]

I'm guessing that's a sine wave UPS.

Ah yes you're right, it's a SMT2200C. The thing is a beast but hasn't failed me yet.

 

[DaveF]

Our consumer UPS’s are lasting 5+ years. One failed recently and I replaced it with another low cost consumer option. The other one is a year or two younger and is still going fine.

We lose power infrequently and for short durations. My goal for the UPS is to provide enough power to prevent data loss from unplanned shutdown and for the computer to shut itself off within a couple minutes if power is lost.

I don’t have a UPS anywhere except the home office. In the home theater, I don’t need to prevent a crash on the receiver and amps, and I’m willing to gamble on the HTPC since it’s basically a read-only device. (I do have a power conditioner / surge protector for the hardware.)