Wow UPS of death

[madcow235]

My dad brought home this oldschool ups, from the 486 years, but its got quite the stats, It can supply power for 600watts for 20minutes so i think it will cover my rig. it weighs more then my entire computer and i believe if it was dropped on a car the engine would explode. The thing weighs a good 50lbs atleast and its 1400Va.

I will give you a sneak peak of the monster
http://www.madcow235.shackspace.com/UPS.jpg

These go for like $500 but the dorky IT said it didn't match the servers and he gave it to my dad, just like the old laser printer. Dorky IT's get me lots of free things so therefore i want to be a dorky IT when i grow up.

[Agent_Mull]

:eek:

[madcow235]

Now to try and find some software for this beast

[Steve978]

Don't forget your monitor, if you plug that into the UPS too that'll gobble ALOT of power.

[madcow235]

I dont really care if either of my monitors get fried since they both have lifetime warranties and are plugged into a surge supressor. This baby is for my pump and my Comp. Thats like 500watts which would be about 20minutes.

[Mr.Radar]

BUT how are you going to shut down your comp if the power fails with no monitor?

[eab]

Shutting down is not the problem.... SAVING your work is.....

[Dc5e]

hey! i've got one of those, mine's the 1000 model though. I've managed to hook mine up through the serial port. Mine includes a serial port in the back of the UPS, yours probably should to. I have a cable that goes with it and i've made my own. If you need the wiring to make your own, just contact me.

That thing is so dang heavy.... if you slide it around, the rubber legs which are attached by adhesive practically come off.

[kct2]

Originally posted by madcow235
I dont really care if either of my monitors get fried since they both have lifetime warranties and are plugged into a surge supressor. This baby is for my pump and my Comp. Thats like 500watts which would be about 20minutes.

Be careful running a pump off a UPS. The input to a pump needs to be a true sin wave, most UPS's (not all) output a stepped approximation of a sin wave. This is perfect for computers, but terrible for motors and pumps. That unit looks like the Smart-UPS 620, so it does not have true sin output. I would test your pump with the UPS on battery (on, but not plugged into the wall) and see what happens, it may not move much water.

APC has a knowledge base article about it here (http://nam-en.apc.com/cgi-bin/nam_en.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_sid=Nz89me1h&p_lva=&p_faqid=1356&p_created=1010390400&p_sp=cF9zcmNoPTEmcF9ncmlkc29ydD0mcF9yb3dfY250PTIxJ nBfc2VhcmNoX3RleHQ9c2luIHdhdmUmcF9zZWFyY2hfdHlwZT0 zJnBfcHJvZF9sdmwxPX5hbnl_JnBfcHJvZF9sdmwyPX5hbnl_J nBfcGFnZT0x&p_li=).

APC software is available here (http://www.apc.com/tools/download/) which can shutdown the computer when the battery is dying.

[Dc5e]

my mom accidentily plugged the vaccum cleaner in my UPC and the load went to full. Other than that, everything else was working.

[madcow235]

Mine came with a serial port. The pump doesnt need to move lots of water it just needs to let the comp shutdown.

[kct2]

Mine came with a serial port. The pump doesnt need to move lots of water it just needs to let the comp shutdown.

You are running over a 1000mhz overclock, you are going to want water moving. Depending on the software it could take some time for the shutdown to start. Most likely the software is designed to shutdown the computer before the battery dies, not instantly (that would somewhat defeat the purpose of having the UPS), though I'm not sure what options the Smart-UPS software has. You wouldn't want to smoke that great 1700+ though.

[madcow235]

True true now i've got quite the predicament. THe things recharging tonight so tommorow i will test it with my pump.

[Dc5e]

I just shut down my computers when the power goes out so i don't eat up the battery. This way there will be power left over to power lights and stuff. I just save as much battery power as possible during a outage. Its kinda pointless to have the computer on for like 15-20min and eat up all the battery. You can't do a whole lot in that time.

[OSUmaxx]

If you're watercooled, you pretty much have to have your pump plugged into the UPS. There really isn't another option.

[johnny5c]

My Trip-Lite 1200va UPS runs my Eheim 1048 just fine (had to check after reading this thread).

[madcow235]

Well the battery might actually be dead, although i think i instantly drained it by testing the battery life with 2 monitors a comp and a pump :D. I also cant boot the computer while its on battery mode.

[Silversinksam]

Originally posted by madcow235
Well the battery might actually be dead, although i think i instantly drained it by testing the battery life with 2 monitors a comp and a pump :D. I also cant boot the computer while its on battery mode.


Here, if you need battries for that Beast check out this thread, this seller on Ebay sells many (Check for your model #)

He's a heluva nice guy and he ships fast and the shipping is cheap considering the weight of the batteries(If you need two batteries the shipping on the 2nd unit is 50% less)

(I have bought many from this guy)


http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=245059&highlight=Ships


I run two APC 500's, one for my computer and monitor and one for my eheim 1250. I have tested them both with battery power only, (I do not use the software shut down feature) and the PC by far runs out of power before the APC for the pump runs out of juice.

My main concern isn't outright power failure, but Power Spikes and split second power losses. In FL. we have a fair amount of Lightning and power spikes and I wouldnt dream of not using a UPS. (Once lost a cable modems due to lightning, when I stopped renting the cable modem and bought my own, I now plug it into the UPS, and havent had a problem in years)

[madcow235]

I love you SSS :)

[madcow235]

Aw :( The battery is $66 unshipped with $33 shipping. I guess thats what i get for a 25lb battery

[Silversinksam]

Originally posted by madcow235
Aw :( The battery is $66 unshipped with $33 shipping. I guess thats what i get for a 25lb battery

The ones I buy from him are $9.25 + $7.25 shipping (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=16184&item=2764208048) I'm pretty sure even that price of $66+ $33 shipping is still reasonable, you have to remember that your APC needs 4 seperate batteries, shop around, and look at Batteries Plus, I am pretty sure you wont find the batteries cheaper. :(



Even of you pay $100 for batteries, your still coming out ahead as those are large APS models are several hundred dollars when new, and after you throw some batteries in it, it will be like new. Also the batteries that Ebat seller sells have a 1 year warranty.

In fact theres a large APC in the classifieds for sale now, and its a 1,000 VA, adms selling it for 1.1 +shipping, and that's a good deal, as its about $486+shipping new (He originally listed it for $400 Plus shipping

[madcow235]

True but its so hard to pay money for something I got for free. I think the batteries drained but i will search around. And yeah those prices are way better then direct which is $150 with $50 shipping.

[Silversinksam]

Originally posted by madcow235
True but its so hard to pay money for something I got for free. I think the batteries drained but i will search around. And yeah those prices are way better then direct which is $150 with $50 shipping.


I extensively shopped around for APC Batteries and the links I posted where the rock bottom prices I could find. The fact that he ships fast and is a good seller is a bonus. Hope you get yours up and running soon.

PS the IT guy that gave that to your dad probably didn't want to replace the battery, I bet if he knew he could have bought a replacement for $99 he would have kept it ;)

[madcow235]

It didnt match the new Eservers they got so he got rid of it.

[Loud]

Even paying $100 for new batteries, you got a STEAL of a deal, my friend. Take it and RUN! :D

[madcow235]

You cant run with this thing in your hands its to heavy

[Cyrix_2k]

Umm, stupid question. Why couldn't you just modify it for use with a cheap Car battery? I can buy refurb car battery's for like $15 and they're 12v too.

[greenman100]

Originally posted by Cyrix_2k
Umm, stupid question. Why couldn't you just modify it for use with a cheap Car battery? I can buy refurb car battery's for like $15 and they're 12v too.


You can. I added a connector and cable so I an use the UPS as an inverter if I want to. Just go buy a car battery wherever you want. You'll also triple your run time.

The reasons those other batteries cost more are:
1) They are gel-cell batteries, and can be run upside down
2) Supply and demand. Competition for car batteries drives prices down.

[Mr.Radar]

You can find gel-cell batteries at RV retailers. Alot of RVers use these kind of rechargable batteries to power their RVs. Just ask around at places like www.escapees.com (their discussion forums) (http://escapees.infopop.cc/6/ubb.x) and I'm sure you could find some good deals.

[madcow235]

http://www.madcow235.shackspace.com/Broken.jpg
NOOOOOOOOO

[Andy71600]

i dont see what you are getting at with that pic... i know im missing something obvious, but what is it?

[madcow235]

its hard to see but the battery is cracked down the entire corner