OT: UPS question

[Dave Labrecque]

No you can't. The batteries are toast. pulling the cord to the ups will shut off anything attached to it.

The question posed is will a short duration dip trip the UPS and shut off anything connected to it. we are talking milliseconds here.

The UPS in this scenario is potentially making the situation worse, as there is a delay in the UPS circuit switch over and a delay in the UPS circuit recovery. Since the batteries are non-functional, the normal takeover by the inverter circuit doesn't happen and the power to the computer can actually end up being disconnected longer than would have happened if it was plugged directly into the wall.

I'm guessing it's even "worse" than that. I've had to reset (power cycle) the UPS each time to get it to even pass current again. I don't think it's even trying to switch back to the line source after the battery fails.

[mr_es335]

Dave,

As the price of UPS's has come down in recent years, I suggest that you buy two and keep one as backup - as I do!

I presently use and recommend CybePower to all of my clients and have had not any issues for well over two years - both corporate and home use.

[Ian Alexander]

I'm not an electrical expert, but here are a few thoughts. If you want to gather more data, plug something less expensive than the computer into the UPS and see if it turns off when the fridge cycles off. Plug an decent-gauge extension cord into a circuit on the other side of the house, plug the UPS into the extension cord, and see how it behaves. If you think all the UPS offers now is surge suppression, I like the suggestion CGRAFX made: replace the UPS for now with a simple surge suppressor, and if you still suspect the fridge, plug it into the wall somewhere else.

[Dave Labrecque]

I'm not an electrical expert, but here are a few thoughts. If you want to gather more data, plug something less expensive than the computer into the UPS and see if it turns off when the fridge cycles off. Plug an decent-gauge extension cord into a circuit on the other side of the house, plug the UPS into the extension cord, and see how it behaves. If you think all the UPS offers now is surge suppression, I like the suggestion CGRAFX made: replace the UPS for now with a simple surge suppressor, and if you still suspect the fridge, plug it into the wall somewhere else.

Ian, you troubleshooting maestro, you!

Thanks, everyone, for all your input. My batteries arrived two days early, and I just put them in. Fired up the UPS and the computer. Ran a self-test on the UPS, it came up fine. We'll see how it goes from here. I'm much too lazy to try the many excellent suggestions made in this thread. So why did I start the thread? I guess I just like the attention.

Seriously, I don't feel like I need to have an iron-clad understanding of what, exactly, has been going on. Based on folks' input, it started to sound like it was probably the batteries, so I replaced them. Let's see if things return to normal. If not, I'll get off my butt and look deeper.

Keep your eyes peeled for my next fascinating foray into the depths of my ignorance...

[Naturally Digital]

Ian, you troubleshooting maestro, you!

Thanks, everyone, for all your input. My batteries arrived two days early, and I just put them in. Fired up the UPS and the computer. Ran a self-test on the UPS, it came up fine. We'll see how it goes from here. I'm much too lazy to try the many excellent suggestions made in this thread. So why did I start the thread? I guess I just like the attention.

Seriously, I don't feel like I need to have an iron-clad understanding of what, exactly, has been going on. Based on folks' input, it started to sound like it was probably the batteries, so I replaced them. Let's see if things return to normal. If not, I'll get off my butt and look deeper.

Keep your eyes peeled for my next fascinating foray into the depths of my ignorance...

This confirms everything I thought I knew about you, Dave.

[Naturally Digital]

The UPS should be filtering spikes regardless of the condition of the batteries. However, the circuitry that is used to protect against large high voltage spikes is only good for one use. The parts destroy themselves protecting the downstream systems.

A little less than 20 years ago I had the pleasure of sitting down for an afternoon with Mr. Neil Muncy to share some scotch and talk about my plans for the studio I was building. He taught me about currents on the ground-wire, 'balanced' power, MOV's as spike protection and he shared an effective and affordable plan to wire my studio. Neil was a big proponent of series-mode surge protection, SurgeX in particular and he turned me on to their products.

The company has grown since those days but for anyone interested they have a few white papers that explain why their products make good sense in technical environments.

https://www.ametekesp.com/-/media/ametekesp/downloads/white-papers/esp-surgex_white-paper_causes-of-neutral-to-ground-voltage-and-proper-remediation-methods.pdf

https://www.ametekesp.com/-/media/ametekesp/downloads/white-papers/surgex_white-paper_ups-battery-backup-technologies-and-power-quality-issues.pdf

[Dave Labrecque]

This confirms everything I thought I knew about you, Dave.

Let's see... lazy, attention-seeking, disinterested, ignorant. Yep, that about sums me up. (I just verified it with my wife.) Spot-on! Kudos, Dave!