Power cleaning : UPS or other for my setups

[yojitani]

I feel like I'm going in circles trying to work out what type of protection I need for various setups at home. There aren't many power outages where I am, but I am convinced that the house (a rental) has particularly poor wiring. So, I want something that will "clean" the line running to my valuables. I'd be very grateful if the MR community could offer some advice!

Setup #1: Macbook Pro (C2D 2.53), often connected to power source, attached to Dell U2410. Dual tray JBOD external HD (70W), Brother DCP 7020, Airport Base Station (wireless n), cable modem.

Setup #2: iMac (2007), Seagate external HD (250GB?), some other little gizmos (obviously not my personal setup ).

Typically, people looking at UPS' are Mac Pro users but, as I say, I am concerned about the power here.

Thanks!

 

[radiogoober]

I use a UPS to connect to the wall, and then I plug a very, very nice surge protector into that, and then everything plugs into the surge protector. The UPSs have little data cables that plug into the Mac's USB port and can shutdown the Mac in case of a power outage.

 

[drsox]

I don't think you have a power problem unless the house is miswired or you are running the mains from a DC inverter (e.g. a diesel driven power unit). For supplied AC power, the quality of the power sine wave is defined by the Power Company.

Normally a UPS is used for either a. to keep the power running in the event of a blackout/brownout or b. to guarantee a long-enough power availability for sensitive equipment to be safely shut down.

I have 2x APC 1500W UPS units and I use them for b. Both are attached to NAS units (and also run some network equipment). The NAS units are set to shut down when power availability drops to 10mins or so (and NAS units can share a UPS with some clever Linux S/W).

You need to think through which you want to do (and how much you want to spend).
If you need a UPS for a. then you will be limited to probably a 90min availability (1500W).
If it is for b. then any power level above 300W is enough. What is more important is to find one than can communicate its status to a monitoring unit (PC, Mac, Linux).

 

[SR45]

How about just a very good Surge Protector from APC or TrippLite instead. I live in a apartment, older and questionable wiring as well. I have a Dell U2412M monitor, a cable modem, USB cable monitor tray and printer from Canon connected plus MacMini 2011 for over a year now and have not had a problem yet here in lightning capital of the south (Florida).

APC surge protector or TrippLite. Get the better model

I also have a UPS APS protector as well, but stopped using it. Waste of money for me since we have so few outages and when they do happen, its for a short time. UPS uses more electricity and I'm trying to save as much as I can. Having a notebook, you should not need a UPS protector in my humbled opinion.

http://www.apc.com/products/category.cfm?id=12

 

[drsox]

Forgot to mention - APC UPS units also provide surge protection.

 

[gramirez2012]

Forgot to mention - APC UPS units also provide surge protection.

As do Tripp-Lite's.

 

[edk99]

Look for a UPS that provide Automatic Voltage Regulation (AVR). This will maintain a steady voltage to your equipment.

 

[takeshi74]

There aren't many power outages where I am, but I am convinced that the house (a rental) has particularly poor wiring.

You need to clarify this point. UPS's and power conditioning devices can only do so much. If you have a wiring issue then you need to get it corrected. If you don't know what the problem is then what are the symptoms?

 

[yojitani]

You need to clarify this point. UPS's and power conditioning devices can only do so much. If you have a wiring issue then you need to get it corrected. If you don't know what the problem is then what are the symptoms?

Thank you for asking. I don't know much about wiring so perhaps I'm being paranoid! Symptoms: A high-pitched sine wave-sound from certain light switches and from a number of electronics. Audible electrical interference in certain devices when a high wattage appliance (like a blender or food processor) is in use (in a different room.. on a different floor, in fact). Could be coincidence, but over the last 18 months an unusually high failure rate of certain electronics. Most surprising to me was when a fairly new surge protector suddenly 'broke' (as if it had experienced a surge) in normal conditions when no other protectors were affected.

How about just a very good Surge Protector from APC or TrippLite instead....

Having a notebook, you should not need a UPS protector in my humbled opinion.

http://www.apc.com/products/category.cfm?id=12

Thanks for this. I'll look into it. I was thinking the same thing about the UPS and notebook. What attracted me to the UPS units was the line conditioning capabilities. I'm concerned about the recent failure rate of certain electronics at home - or not always failure but odd electrical disturbances (such as static shock).

Normally a UPS is used for either a. to keep the power running in the event of a blackout/brownout or b. to guarantee a long-enough power availability for sensitive equipment to be safely shut down.

I have 2x APC 1500W UPS units and I use them for b. Both are attached to NAS units (and also run some network equipment). The NAS units are set to shut down when power availability drops to 10mins or so (and NAS units can share a UPS with some clever Linux S/W).

You need to think through which you want to do (and how much you want to spend).
If you need a UPS for a. then you will be limited to probably a 90min availability (1500W).
If it is for b. then any power level above 300W is enough. What is more important is to find one than can communicate its status to a monitoring unit (PC, Mac, Linux).

Thank you. This is also very helpful.

 

[DanielCoffey]

I ran my 2007 iMac off an APC BackUPS-800 and it ran at about 40-50% load. You will probably be able to run the laptop at the same time if you look at something with about 1000VA capacity.

You will only need the more expensive Pure Sine Wave UPS if you are using the modern iMacs or Mac Pros. The older ones can get by on the Stepped Sine Wave UPS which I can state from personal experience of using my 2007 iMac off that BackUPS-800

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If you are getting shocks off appliances, you may want to get your earth connection tested by an electrician. Since you are in a Rental, make it your Landlord's problem.

 

[yojitani]

I ran my 2007 iMac off an APC BackUPS-800 and it ran at about 40-50% load. You will probably be able to run the laptop at the same time if you look at something with about 1000VA capacity.

You will only need the more expensive Pure Sine Wave UPS if you are using the modern iMacs or Mac Pros. The older ones can get by on the Stepped Sine Wave UPS which I can state from personal experience of using my 2007 iMac off that BackUPS-800

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If you are getting shocks off appliances, you may want to get your earth connection tested by an electrician. Since you are in a Rental, make it your Landlord's problem.

My landlord, like every landlord the world over, is rather tight-fisted... and if he did test it, he'd get his cousin Reg (who worked in an appliance shop) to do it. Thanks for the advice though. I need to come up with an argument that would persuade him that a test needs to be done.