Battery Back Ups???

How many people are using them? What kind and how many are you running? I'm currently running 3 APC Back Ups 1500s. One in my living room for my TV and DVR. One in my office for my pc and router, and one in my bedroom for my other TV and cable box. I just got a 4th one for free from work (same model). The batteries are dead so I need to order a new replacement set. But at this point I'm not sure what to use it for.

 

Run time is painfully short, their primary use is to give you enough time to safely power down, and most systems available can tell Windows to power down.

But one thing they excel it, if they are full on-line systems, is their power conditioning. That can really help to save electronics from surges when power is restored, so the answer is "anything you want to protect"

 

Don't use them at home, but have one APC at the facility I work at.
We just ordered batteries for it, since the old ones have been dying out the past month. I didn't realize the batteries only had a 5 (?) year warranty. Expensive.
Once we get the new batteries in, we do have a pretty decent run time. Maybe an hour for 3 computer rooms, and a few servers.

 

Yeah I get about 40 minutes out of each of mine. I love when the power goes out in my apartment complex and I still have my pc + internet or tv & cable still going strong.

 

Had one of the theater conditioner/backup that decided one day to crap out. All it would do is turn on and off constantly. Sucks since it was $300 and lasted just out of the warranty period. I still have it and thought about trying a new battery but I don't know if that's it or not.

 

I just put new bats in one of mine. The symptoms mine was displaying was when there was a power event it would switch over to battery power but since they were dead all of my equipment would loose power. New bats in now and its working again.

 

I have 2 APC ES 750s. They're a few years old and still running strong. I like that it gives me stats on power usage too. Who knew that my original PS3 sucks down as much power as my whole computer setup.

 

One of the best arguments for continued use of UPS at home is that most of them will clean up crappy power to protect expensive electronics. UPS, depending on the type, will correct one or more of the following: spikes, surges, dropouts, over/undervoltage, RFI and EMI. When replacing the SLA batteries, use the same type (AGM or Gel Cell) and voltage so they will recharge properly.

 

And for that reason I tried to use one along with a generator. Unfortunately it didn't work so well.

 

You can use a power conditioner / surge suppressor with a generator , I have one for my home theatre components

 

From what I understand, the APC models will continue to provide power conditioning even if the batteries are dead. So if you don't need the equipment to be running in a blackout, you can just use the one from work as-is.

 

From what I've seen, they beep when the battery is dead.