Your UPS advise
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FWIW, I also recommend APC UPSs. One thing I would suggest, is that when you compare various models be sure to check efficiency as well as run time graphs. A large UPS may give a long run time when power fails, but will usually also have a significant efficiency penalty when on mains.
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@PierreFrench Pretty much any APC unit will serve you well BUT make sure it has an HID / USB interface so it can communicate status to and accept controls from the host device like a netgate firewall. Some low end UPS units lack this, so be careful.
Ted
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While APC is never going to be a "wrong" choice.. They do seem to be a bit more in cost compared to cyberpower..
So I just got that cp1500pfclcd model for 219, it has 12 outlets - (6 surge, 6 battery) while say the apc br1500ms2 only has 10 looks to be 276 both on amazon.
If wanted to could add network card to the cyberpower, they have a cloud monitoring card for like 80 bucks.. The local network card is higher. But it as option that don't see in the what looks to be comparable apc model.
Also the connection is just usb B to A cable on the cyber, while apc looks to have the rj45 connection so special cable.
50 bucks is 50 bucks ;)
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@johnpoz said in Your UPS advise:
While APC is never going to be a "wrong" choice.. They do seem to be a bit more in cost compared to cyberpower..
Personal preference I guess. I've had CyberPower and APC, as well as Tripp Lite. I prefer APC.
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@dennypage same.. Lots of APC at work, and Tripp Lite as well.. But is it really the APC, guess they kept the brand name - but everything at new gig is Schneider Electric.. Which didn't they buy APC like forever ago.. I know the upses at new gig all the web interfaces into the ups are SE branded.
Unless your buying some really off brand, you should be fine I know NUT supports pretty much everything.
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@johnpoz said in Your UPS advise:
@dennypage same.. Lots of APC at work, and Tripp Lite as well.. But is it really the APC, guess they kept the brand name - but everything at new gig is Schneider Electric.. Which didn't they buy APC like forever ago.. I know the upses at new gig all the web interfaces into the ups are SE branded.
17 years ago. To my knowledge, smaller stuff is still APC, larger stuff is SE (formerly MGE).
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@dennypage Man that is insane it was that long ago.. How time flies..
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@PierreFrench I am using a Smart APC UPS to backup my Pfsense and my Cisco wireless APs by backing up my Cisco POE+ switch. I think you can through my modem in there also.
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Thanks a lot for all your feedback/advises
So definitly on the brand choice I will say that :
"APC is the Way"
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At work, we use APC, Eaton, Powercom, Powerware and other brands. If I were to buy a UPS today, I would prefer the Eaton 5SC for the NUT.
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I currently use Eaton 5P UPS, have bad experiences with older APC Smart-UPS units cooking and bloating the battery so much that couldn't get it out for replacement.
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@mvikman said in Your UPS advise:
bad experiences with older APC Smart-UPS units cooking and bloating the battery
Sad to hear that - I am using for almost 20 years APC UPS'es and had never a blown up battery - for my defense I have to say I always used good quality batteries ...
just my 2 cents
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@fireodo I once had an Eaton UPS blow up the battery. I dropped Eaton from my list of devices to consider (big smile on my face). This will likely happen to any manufacturers product.
Ted
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@tedquade said in Your UPS advise:
This will likely happen to any manufacturers product.
I agree with you. Maybe I had a lot of luck until today!
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@fireodo said in Your UPS advise:
I agree with you. Maybe I had a lot of luck until today!
No, it's a known problem for the SMART series of APC. This is the so-called battery thermal runaway, mostly happening with old batteries that were not replaced in time. I have replaced many of those swollen and leaked batteries, and I have also replaced capacitors on the UPS board. Known issues, known solutions. Not bad at all, but you will need some skills. New items should work for 5+ years without issues.
Why I prefer Eaton now? Just because of their ABM technology and price. Extended battery life is important for me. As far as I know, APC uses trickle charge till nowadays — when the battery is full, so it rests/pulse charges. Depending on your room temperature (ex. over 30 Celsius UPS temperature), this may dry your liquid acid battery in 2-3 years, making it unusable very quickly. That's why you should always buy a UPS with sufficient power. More power means more time until the battery life ends, and you will also have more on-battery time.
Yes, I know that Eaton also has problems, including with their ABM technology. There are situations when, after a power outage, if the battery was in rest/storage mode, the remaining capacity might be incorrectly determined, and the battery runtime can be critically reduced. However, this only happened to us once, and the batteries were initially sold old along with the UPS. Not everyone is aware that lead-acid batteries need to be charged every six months… at least.
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FWIW, I have moved to Lithium for my main UPS. Really good units, offering 8-10 years of battery life rather than 3-5.
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@dennypage
The main reason I refused to switch to lithium is that it burns in a way that firefighters still have trouble extinguishing it. Not to mention what to do at home if it catches fire... -
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@w0w I have used Smart APC for over 20 years at my home with no issues other than replacing batteries.
I turned off my rack since I retired and I dropped down to a small Smart APC I use in a closet now that backs up my Cisco POE+ switch and all 3 Cisco wireless APs. This includes my Pfsense PC and my modem. -
@coxhaus
That's what I said. The batteries must be replaced in time, and everything gets worse when the temperature rises. This doesn't always happen. I'm not going to assert anything or provide any statistics, but it's not a rare occurrence if you don't perform maintenance or scheduled replacement. If you replace the batteries on time and use high-quality or original batteries, the chances of this happening are practically zero.