UPS (=battery backup/surge protector)

josh2203

Bronze
Dec 5, 2013
1,572
527
113
Looking for recommendations if anyone knows where to get a 1000VA and upwards (1500VA preferred) UPS on either North Coast (preferred), in Santiago (second option) or Santo Domingo (worst case scenario)...

I could also consider UPSs with lower capacity depending on pricing.

Main selling point for me would be battery capacity and not surge protecting features...

Thanks!
 

jimmythegreek

Bronze
Dec 4, 2008
1,066
4
0
Looking for recommendations if anyone knows where to get a 1000VA and upwards (1500VA preferred) UPS on either North Coast (preferred), in Santiago (second option) or Santo Domingo (worst case scenario)...

I could also consider UPSs with lower capacity depending on pricing.

Main selling point for me would be battery capacity and not surge protecting features...

Thanks!

Cecomsa in Santiago might be a good option.
 

chico bill

Dogs Better than People
May 6, 2016
12,573
6,329
113
Saw many of those for sale when I had to replace a Dell Power brick in Santiago - probably trip over them going in and out of the computer shops
 

josh2203

Bronze
Dec 5, 2013
1,572
527
113
Saw many of those for sale when I had to replace a Dell Power brick in Santiago - probably trip over them going in and out of the computer shops

Yep, sounds good. Just thought to try my luck if something is closer. I prefer to have some selection though.

Thanks both.
 

JD Jones

Moderator:North Coast,Santo Domingo,SW Coast,Covid
Jan 7, 2016
11,698
8,129
113
I need a new one too. I have a big TRIPP UPS with a digital display that keeps dropping the electrical connection.

All the digital readings are normal, battery fully charged, etc but out of the clear blue sky I lose phones, server and everything else plugged into it.

I bought it in the states because I couldn't find a big one here.
 

Cdn_Gringo

Gold
Apr 29, 2014
8,671
1,133
113
JD have you run a self test to see if the batteries are actually able to perform their backup role? Often the status indicator will 100% charge but the instant the UPS is called into service, the battery output is insufficient to for the UPS to function.

Finding high capacity replacement batteries here is difficult, but those that are available will work with a shorter UPS run time. I find that I have to replace my UPS batteries about every 18 months. Last night my UPS kicking in 10 times between dinner and bedtime. The batteries can only take so much use before their runtime begins to degrade.
 

JD Jones

Moderator:North Coast,Santo Domingo,SW Coast,Covid
Jan 7, 2016
11,698
8,129
113
JD have you run a self test to see if the batteries are actually able to perform their backup role? Often the status indicator will 100% charge but the instant the UPS is called into service, the battery output is insufficient to for the UPS to function.

Finding high capacity replacement batteries here is difficult, but those that are available will work with a shorter UPS run time. I find that I have to replace my UPS batteries about every 18 months. Last night my UPS kicking in 10 times between dinner and bedtime. The batteries can only take so much use before their runtime begins to degrade.

The UPS is less than two years old, and it is there as a redundancy to our inverter. It appears to be a momentary thing.

It never occurred to me to pull the plug and see what happens.

It only began happening about a week ago. I'll do the test.
 

Cdn_Gringo

Gold
Apr 29, 2014
8,671
1,133
113
Pulling the plug is not a good idea as the UPS will probably fail due to the absence of a ground, at least the units that require a ground to operate will. Flipping the circuit breaker probably won't work either.

There should a self test function within the UPS software that you installed on your computer. Usually the self test runs for less than a minute and if there is a significant drop in the battery capacity after the test, you need new batteries. A self test failure shows there is insufficient juice for the UPS to operate even for a short time.

Not all home inverters kick in fast enough to keep computer equipment from cycling off when the power is cut. This was the case at my first house here. The UPS wouldn't even power on because there was no ground and the cheapy inverter not good enough and of course didn't produce a sinewave power curve which buggered everything from the ceiling fans to the desktop computer to the UPS.

Everything complained until there was a ground, the house was rewired correctly and I bought a top end sinewave inverter...then I moved.
 

JD Jones

Moderator:North Coast,Santo Domingo,SW Coast,Covid
Jan 7, 2016
11,698
8,129
113
Pulling the plug is not a good idea as the UPS will probably fail due to the absence of a ground, at least the units that require a ground to operate will. Flipping the circuit breaker probably won't work either.

There should a self test function within the UPS software that you installed on your computer. Usually the self test runs for less than a minute and if there is a significant drop in the battery capacity after the test, you need new batteries. A self test failure shows there is insufficient juice for the UPS to operate even for a short time.

Not all home inverters kick in fast enough to keep computer equipment from cycling off when the power is cut. This was the case at my first house here. The UPS wouldn't even power on because there was no ground and the cheapy inverter not good enough and of course didn't produce a sinewave power curve which buggered everything from the ceiling fans to the desktop computer to the UPS.

Everything complained until there was a ground, the house was rewired correctly and I bought a top end sinewave inverter...then I moved.


It does have a test function. I THINK it has run the test although when I push the test button it doesn't do anything noticible.

I also have a pure sine wave inverter. Losing street power is not perceptible, and when the UPS drops it's not because of a power outage.(I have an indicator bulb)

It does it whenever it feels like it. lol
 

Cdn_Gringo

Gold
Apr 29, 2014
8,671
1,133
113
When you initiate the test, the ups should visually switch to battery power, you should here the internal inverter spin up and on the screen there should be a visual indication that the test has started. A short time later the reverse should happen and the computer screen should indicate whether test succeeded or failed.

If you see nothing and hear nothing then I'd check the monitoring screen in the ups software to make sure it is communicating with the UPS. If that is true you may have a different issue with your ups.
 

JD Jones

Moderator:North Coast,Santo Domingo,SW Coast,Covid
Jan 7, 2016
11,698
8,129
113
When you initiate the test, the ups should visually switch to battery power, you should here the internal inverter spin up and on the screen there should be a visual indication that the test has started. A short time later the reverse should happen and the computer screen should indicate whether test succeeded or failed.

If you see nothing and hear nothing then I'd check the monitoring screen in the ups software to make sure it is communicating with the UPS. If that is true you may have a different issue with your ups.

I don't think that's happening. I'm going to try again on Monday morning and be more observant as to what happens.
 

chico bill

Dogs Better than People
May 6, 2016
12,573
6,329
113
Sounds like bad batteries or one bad one, or faulty control board ? It is probably a Pulse-Width Modulated Inverter - which simulates sine wave and they have automatic voltage regulation - so all your electronics should be protected.
FYI - I think a new one may actually be cheaper than replacing batteries - just shipping and taxes will hurt if you can't find the one you want in DR. Most of the ones I have seen are APC but Smart Power makes a nice 1500 VA unit too - with lifetime warranty - and they have a distributer in Florida
http://smartpowersystems.com/about-us/sales-team/
 

JD Jones

Moderator:North Coast,Santo Domingo,SW Coast,Covid
Jan 7, 2016
11,698
8,129
113
Sounds like bad batteries or one bad one, or faulty control board ? It is probably a Pulse-Width Modulated Inverter - which simulates sine wave and they have automatic voltage regulation - so all your electronics should be protected.
FYI - I think a new one may actually be cheaper than replacing batteries - just shipping and taxes will hurt if you can't find the one you want in DR. Most of the ones I have seen are APC but Smart Power makes a nice 1500 VA unit too - with lifetime warranty - and they have a distributer in Florida
http://smartpowersystems.com/about-us/sales-team/

I may try eliminating the UPS and see how it goes with the inverter alone. I have the UPS more as a backup power source for when the Inverter batteries run down, but to be honest, I don't think that's happened yet.

Maybe a little bit of overkill on my part?
 

cobraboy

Pro-Bono Demolition Hobbyist
Jul 24, 2004
40,964
936
113
I may try eliminating the UPS and see how it goes with the inverter alone. I have the UPS more as a backup power source for when the Inverter batteries run down, but to be honest, I don't think that's happened yet.

Maybe a little bit of overkill on my part?
Rethink your plam.

The UPS switch time is very fast. An inverter not so fast.

We know our UPS's need batteries when the inverter switches to battery power, but all non-battery powered items on a dying UPS go dark.
 

Cdn_Gringo

Gold
Apr 29, 2014
8,671
1,133
113
As cb says, the house inverter alone may not be fast enough to keep desktops running. Laptops with their own batteries are not an issue. You won't know if your inverter switches fast enough until you have a power loss and your computer turns off without shutting down. Needless to say if that happens you could lose the dr1 post you are typing, or scrag the hard drive if cached writes aren't saved etc.

The AVR tech in a modern ups does a much better job of keeping tech equipment safe & happy. A ceiling fan or light bulb doesn't care, but your desktop computer certainly will. I think 12V7Ah batteries are about $RD 700 each. Your ups will take two of these. Even though they are not as strong as the originals, the 7Ah batteries are more than enough to give you time to shut stuff down or have your ups software do it for you if the ups power levels gets low. With a house inverter, the UPS is primarily tasked with keeping the computer running while the house inverter switches over from grid to batteries and back again.
 

josh2203

Bronze
Dec 5, 2013
1,572
527
113
Pulling the plug is not a good idea as the UPS will probably fail due to the absence of a ground, at least the units that require a ground to operate will. Flipping the circuit breaker probably won't work either.

Thanks, that's a good point, I need to check on this. I'm new with anything to do with UPSs, so I did not even think about this.

What I'm principally interested in, is a UPS that I can use also disconnected, as if it was just a battery pack... If that's not possible, keeping it connected is also possible though...
 

Cdn_Gringo

Gold
Apr 29, 2014
8,671
1,133
113
You can buy a portable 1000W inverter that you can connect to a single 12V battery or two. That would be a better system for powering devices during a power failure. A UPS with its surge protection and voltage regulation are not intended for long term power supply. Usually 10 - 20 minutes to either allow enough time for the power to return to normal or to shut down the devices safely so data is not lost.

If the power is going to be out for 8 hours, you need a different solution to keep "things" running. How much you spend determines for how long and how many things you can run during the blackout.

Below is a simple solution to keep just a few low power devices operating using a single battery. You will also need a way to recharge the battery once the power returns. Whole home inverters are more practical if you want to keep just about everything running for hours.

https://www.amazon.com/Quesvow-Conv...qid=1522016027&sr=8-3&keywords=1000W+inverter
 

ljmesg

New member
Aug 6, 2017
526
1
0
I may try eliminating the UPS and see how it goes with the inverter alone. I have the UPS more as a backup power source for when the Inverter batteries run down, but to be honest, I don't think that's happened yet.

Maybe a little bit of overkill on my part?
Pics of your system?