Semi OT - Any recomendations for a battery backup

Charlie Judge

I need to get a battery backup for my new computer which has a Corsair CSM Series CS850M PSU. Checking the specifications for Corsair CS850) it looks like it has "Active Power Factor Correction (PFC) with PF value of 0.99." So I suspect I may have to spend a bit extra and get battery backup unit with a pure sine wave output.

I want at least a an 800 watt (1350VA) unit or maybe a 900 watt (1500VA) unit Are there any recommendations as to what would be the best battery backup with "Pure Sine Output" and meet those output power requirements?

Kendall Sears

First thing to do is to borrow a draw meter from your Electric Company (many loan them for free).  Then plug your computer + monitor (+ critical external storage) into the meter, using a power strip if necessary.  Then run your computer WITH THE MAX LOAD you are likely to run at.  From this you can actually determine the real minimum size that you'll need.  It is actually the Ah (amp hour) rating you want to be looking for based on what your machine pulls.  It doesn't matter how many Watts or VA the units advertise if the number of Ah is very small.

As far as brand, I almost always purchase TrippLite server units, but they cost some pretty big bucks.  Keep in mind that the batteries in the units don't last forever and will die even if not "hit" often.  These are normally rated for 3 year minimum Life and 5 year Maximum.  Most of the consumer units use 12V batteries in the 9Ah 34W range.  For instance, this APC 1500 SmartUPS I'm looking at uses two (2) EF1234W batteries to power it.  There are some units that use 24V RBC17 type batteries.  So you should expect to replace the unit in about 3-5 years.  BE WARNED: many consumer UPS systems actually damage systems attached to their battery sides when the unit fails.

Kendall

hacsart

• No argument on Tripp Lite stuff, really good equipment, used them at work.. I have had good luck st home with an APC unit,. I use one  in conjunction with their Power Chute software that will hibernate the PC automatically after a predetermined time fit get an outage.. Having the PC stay up during an outage isn't that critical for me, but keeping the network gear up is more so..

Daz Jack Tomalin

There are bargains to be had if you pick up an old unit on ebay or the like, and just buy a new set of batteries. Personally I've always stuck with APC as a brand, I think their website has a 'Which UPS do I need?' picker to help choose.

bad4u

Here's an interesting read:

http://apcmedia.com/salestools/RMUZ-7DTKRC/RMUZ-7DTKRC_R1_EN.pdf?sdirect=true

mmitchell_houston

I have a Sentey MBP750-HM Power Supply (750 watts, 80 Plus Bronze Modular) and I have this power supply: APC BR1500G Back-UPS Pro 1500VA 10-outlet Uninterruptible Power Supply

Power Supply link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00SN7CGAO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

UPS link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003Y24DEU/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

They work together perfectly. I pulled the plug on the first day I got it and the computer stayed on. I've had several brownouts and power fluctuations and the computer stayed running. The real proof for me came while I was working one afternoon and we had a fast brownout and I saw no interuption in what I was doing. The power supply beeped once, went into battery mode, then the power came back on and everything was fine again. I definitely like the APC model I bought.

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If your power supply really does have the Active Power Factor Correction you list, you may very well have to get something with a pure sine wave output. However, many of the other models do say they work wtih Automatic Voltage Regulation. Anyway, I don't know if anything I wrote here was of use to you, but good luck finding something that works for you.

Charlie Judge

Thanks for all the help and input.

 

mmitchell_houston said:

If your power supply really does have the Active Power Factor Correction you list, you may very well have to get something with a pure sine wave output. However, many of the other models do say they work wtih Automatic Voltage Regulation. Anyway, I don't know if anything I wrote here was of use to you, but good luck finding something that works for you.

Link for the power supply I have in my computer: https://www.amazon.com/Corsair-CS850M-Modular-Supply-Certified/dp/B00NJNDGGA/ref=sr_1_1?s=aht&ie=UTF8&qid=1469630072&sr=8-1&keywords=Corsair+CSM+Series+CS850M

The specifications say it does have that automatic power correction, so I will have to get a "pure sine wave" UPS to be compatible. I considered this https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00YXW6MFI/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER but Amazon says it would be maybe as much as 4 weeks to ship. and I am afraid to be that long without protection for my computer.

So I also looked at ths CyperPower unit: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00YXW6MFI/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER. What do you all think of it?  Would it be as good as the Tripplite?

 

Edit to add: I was able to get the Tripplite Powerr Supply from Staples with only a 3 to 5 day delivery time and they honored the Amazon price with their price match guarentee. So, I decided to go ahead and get that

Thanks again to everbody who helped

sriesch

When it comes time to replace your battery, be sure to price both loose batteries and entire UPS units.  I have found sometimes the batteries cost MORE than the original unit.  I actually ended up purchasing a second UPS with batteries which was cheaper than just the batteries alone (because MARKETING!), which also gave me a spare UPS (which I am now using as the original one eventually died after many years.)

Also be sure to periodically test the runtime on the unit.  The batteries of course don't last as long as they get older, plus you may forget that you have upgraded/changed hardware since the last time you checked to see how long you could run, so whatever you have on day 1 isn't what you'll get on average.