Is there a reasonably-priced one that I can use to keep computing during a storm? I have a G4 tower, laser printer and laptop.

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Dennis S
Is there a reasonably-priced one that I can use to keep computing during a storm?

No. Inexpensive UPS's simply pass commercial power straight through when the voltage is within normal levels, and switch to battery backup when the power fails. There are UPS's that constantly isolate you from commercial power, but they are expensive.

if there's lightning, you really should turn everything off and unplug from the wall. however, i lose power in a storm even without lightning so i have my cable modem, VOIP device, and router on a belkin UPS and my mac mini, monitor, usb hub, and a desk lamp on an APC router. keeps me going for about 90 minutes.

it is my understanding that laser printers should NEVER be on a UPS.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/04/2008 12:34PM by graylocks.

a simple surge protector will keep you safe in a storm.

can't put that laser on a UPs. their peak draw is too high

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Laser printers eat HUGE amounts of power. Take that out of the equation and, you'll be able to find a UPS that will run your G4. and / or laptop

do you need to PRINT during a storm?

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mattkime
a simple surge protector will keep you safe in a storm.

I wouldn't bet on that in an electrical storm.

A MacBook on battery power over WiFi is the safest way to go. The lightning might take out your dsl/cable modem and access point though. Any sort of wired network connection could be a path for high voltage damage.

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freeradical

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mattkime
a simple surge protector will keep you safe in a storm.

I wouldn't bet on that in an electrical storm.

Isn't that the whole point of a surge protector?

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"The lightning might take out your dsl/cable modem and access point"

We get a lot of lightning here and this is by far the most frequent problem that I get calls for. Modems and ethernet ports also.

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mattkime
Isn't that the whole point of a surge protector?

Surge protectors are way over rated. Do not trust them to protect you from lightning strikes.

The UPS's I mentioned earlier are more properly called "power conditioners". APC makes these for expensive equipment such as large routers, switches, etc. I actually saw one of these that caught fire after a massive spike in commercial power, but the expensive networking equipment was not damaged...

A surge protector will simply kill the power to your computer if it spikes too high. It will not control smaller surges nor will it keep the computer going if there's a momentary blackout.

You will also want to put your monitor on the UPS, and probably your modem, router & switch if you have one.

On my three UPS's I have:
Cable modem
Router
MDD server
Switch
VOIP box
PC
G5
Sometimes a couple external drives
22" CRT
24" LCD
KVM
CO detector

Since getting UPS's with Automatic Voltage Regulation (AVR), I have not had a hard drive fail. It really helps keep your hardware working properly.

I've got a pair of these Belkin 1500VA UPS's: [dealmac.com]

And a slightly older version of this one: [catalog.belkin.com]

They work great. I bought the 1100VA model for about $80 on sale.

The laser printer should not go on the UPS. Most UPS's have surge-only plugs and it's okay to plug it in there, but not in the battery backup plugs.

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why UPS?

bicycle + generator

you can go and go and go

"A surge protector will simply kill the power to your computer if it spikes too high."

Yes. More expensive ones react more quickly, are more sensitive, and let less of a spike through. Many cheap ones are nearly useless, and can be damaged by a surge, and not offer any protection from later surges. As well as dealing with blackouts, a UPS will protect you from brownouts, which can be damaging as well.

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btfc
"A surge protector will simply kill the power to your computer if it spikes too high."

[...]As well as dealing with blackouts, a UPS will protect you from brownouts, which can be damaging as well.

That's what I meant by "It will not control smaller surges nor will it keep the computer going if there's a momentary blackout."

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A surge protector, including ones built into UPS's, can provide some protection from the secondary surges related to lightning. They will not protect from near or direct strikes, the surge is too much or is induced internally within the equipment. The type of arrestors that will provide greater protection you will not find in a store bought surge protector, and need to be wired into the building electrical wiring.

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JoeH
A surge protector, including ones built into UPS's, can provide some protection from the secondary surges related to lightning. They will not protect from near or direct strikes, the surge is too much or is induced internally within the equipment. The type of arrestors that will provide greater protection you will not find in a store bought surge protector, and need to be wired into the building electrical wiring.

Yeah, I now have had two computers that were ruined by electrical surges. The first was a beige g3, and I had an expensive kensington surge protector. It didn't help. I tried to collect on the "insurance" kensington gave, and wasn't able. The other was actually my mother's and it was done in by a transformer or something that blew (she heard the loud pop before the power went out). It killed her g4 cube. She had a fairly expensive belkin, and it did no good. A electrical tech at Washington State U. told me surge protectors are a waste. He claimed what was built in to the computer was just as effective (the power supply?). He said the varistors? weren't fast enough, and get damaged cumulatively by small surges. kj.

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kj

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JoeH
A surge protector, including ones built into UPS's, can provide some protection from the secondary surges related to lightning. They will not protect from near or direct strikes, the surge is too much or is induced internally within the equipment. The type of arrestors that will provide greater protection you will not find in a store bought surge protector, and need to be wired into the building electrical wiring.

Yeah, I now have had two computers that were ruined by electrical surges. The first was a beige g3, and I had an expensive kensington surge protector. It didn't help. I tried to collect on the "insurance" kensington gave, and wasn't able. The other was actually my mother's and it was done in by a transformer or something that blew (she heard the loud pop before the power went out). It killed her g4 cube. She had a fairly expensive belkin, and it did no good. A electrical tech at Washington State U. told me surge protectors are a waste. He claimed what was built in to the computer was just as effective (the power supply?). He said the varistors? weren't fast enough, and get damaged cumulatively by small surges. kj.

Well, when I lived in New Mexico surge protectors would save our TV, VCR... a couple times a year. We lived on the top of a ridge and just had a big antenna up in the air. Our surge protector had an alarm on it and a reset button. I remember it going off fairly often after a lighting strike.

Most surge protectors don't last more than three years. How old were the ones you were using?

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If you want to save some bucks you can get a refurbished unit with a new battery. The previous advice about AVR, surge protectors, cable/modem all seem right on to me.

I use an IBM badged units made by APC. They have slightly better protection than the equivalent APC Smart-UPS 1500 unit .

[excessups.com]

So are all IBM badged UPS units now made by APC? They used to sell rebadged TrippLite UPS units as IBM.

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I had a call recently from a neighbor - found that a power surge fried his motherboard AND keyboard and mouse. His "surge protector" is fine.

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I don't know. All the current ones I've seen are APC .

On another topic. Not all surge protectors are the same. I have used Isobar over the years with good results. The elcheapos seem to have nothing in them.

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M A V I C

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kj

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JoeH
A surge protector, including ones built into UPS's, can provide some protection from the secondary surges related to lightning. They will not protect from near or direct strikes, the surge is too much or is induced internally within the equipment. The type of arrestors that will provide greater protection you will not find in a store bought surge protector, and need to be wired into the building electrical wiring.

Yeah, I now have had two computers that were ruined by electrical surges. The first was a beige g3, and I had an expensive kensington surge protector. It didn't help. I tried to collect on the "insurance" kensington gave, and wasn't able. The other was actually my mother's and it was done in by a transformer or something that blew (she heard the loud pop before the power went out). It killed her g4 cube. She had a fairly expensive belkin, and it did no good. A electrical tech at Washington State U. told me surge protectors are a waste. He claimed what was built in to the computer was just as effective (the power supply?). He said the varistors? weren't fast enough, and get damaged cumulatively by small surges. kj.

Most surge protectors don't last more than three years. How old were the ones you were using?

They could have been that old. kj.

"I tried to collect on the "insurance" kensington gave, and wasn't able."

kj, could you please elaborate? luckily I never had a power surge damage any of my equipment so far, but I do have several surge protectors (and UPSes) that offer warranty. To be honest, I did not keep track of when they were bought and I certainly don't have receipts. Anyway, how does this warranty work? what did they tell you? what do you have to prove? that the computer was plugged in the surge protector at the time of the incident? how can you prove that? why did you get denied? did you contact a state attorney?

I was going to try to use a warranty of a surge protector once, and they said I had to send them the computer.

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space-time
"I tried to collect on the "insurance" kensington gave, and wasn't able."

kj, could you please elaborate? luckily I never had a power surge damage any of my equipment so far, but I do have several surge protectors (and UPSes) that offer warranty. To be honest, I did not keep track of when they were bought and I certainly don't have receipts. Anyway, how does this warranty work? what did they tell you? what do you have to prove? that the computer was plugged in the surge protector at the time of the incident? how can you prove that? why did you get denied? did you contact a state attorney?

It was a few years ago, so I don't remember everything. But the packaging it came in said it came with 15,000.00 worth of insurance. I thought, what the heck, and made several phone calls. I also remember that they did not believe I had plugged the computer into the surge protector. It was pretty obvious I wasn't going to get anything. I believe I also found out it was likely to have damaged the voltage regulator (I might be remembering a different time), so I replaced it. Actually, it could have been the whole motherboard. It wasn't that expensive, so I didn't pursue it any further. kj.