Does anyone here use a UPS?

Just curious really as i've just purchased another one after being without one for 18 months.

I love them, clean power, extended runtime in power cuts. I have a 6way extension bar in mine to keep things like my modem, router and 24 port switch powered.

Ive googled the site and used the site search but unfortunately all i get is result for UPS parcels/shipping lol

What size do you use?

I purchased a APC Smart-UPS 1000VA for only 20% of its retail price and it was brand new and sealed still

I have a older one. Replaced the batteries a year or so ago. I have a CyberPower 1250AVR and it works well. The only thing I do wish is that it had a fan or better cooling. It is almost sealed with only a very few air holes in the case. It gets rather warm to me. My CPU runs cooler than it does so I put on a fan next to it to help blow some air through the little holes.

Biggest thing, the rating they use is a bit misleading. My 1250 only puts out about 700 watts. It's more than enough to run my monitor and puter tho. It certainly lasts long enough to shut my puter down when the power fails.

The biggest reason I have one is that our lights blink a good bit. We live way out close to the end of the power lines so if anything happens between here and the substation, about 10 miles away, we get the blink code. If they do more than blink, they go out completely.

I would recommend one for any computer. If you can get one that helps regulate the voltage during brown outs or such, all the better. I run Linux here but no file system likes to have the power fail when the system is up and running.

If I were to do it again, I would likely get a APC this time around. I'm not saying they are better but the software works better in Linux.

As for what power range you need, take the power your puter power supply can put out and what the monitor pulls and add them up. Then add a little extra for good measure. That should be the minimum. Also keep in mind that the batteries will weaken over time. If it claims 10 minutes of battery time, assume half that. That would be on a good day too. Mine claims a hour or something but the old batteries would only give me about 20 minutes.

Not sure what else you want to know. Just ask.

Oh, I'm totally on the UPS bandwagon. Been running different ones over the years.
Currently sporting a 3U rack-mount APC UPS; 3kVA/2.25kW with 4x 105Ah deep cycle batteries.

Any-who, let us know if you need more info...or...whatever?

I must have bad luck or something. I have 3 of these things laying around with dead batteries. They only last a year or so, then quit. I suppose they need new batteries, as they won't turn on. They do serve as large power strips though. I'm really not looking to spend almost $100 on a battery to last another year when there are computers needing upgrading.

Heat is their biggest killer. My batteries lasted about 6 or 7 years and they still worked long enough for me to shut down. You might have a unit like mine that doesn't have enough vent holes. Mine is quite warm to the touch when I don't have a fan blowing on it. It cools off a lot when the fan is blowing on it. I have a little 80mm 120V fan that I use. Wish I could bore some better vent holes tho.

Dalek brings up a good point...heat isn't good for the batteries or the inverter. The one I'm using has dual high-CFM fans as well as plenty of holes for ventilation.

Yep, I've got an APC 1400VA, must be late 90's model, it runs my Opteron server and Smootwall, plus a gigabit switch, and WAP. I just replaced the battery in it, previous one lasted 5+ years.