UPS Question

[JimGoshorn]

I just got a Mac Pro Octo 2.93. It has a 4870 card and 4 1tb drives. I also have a Sonnet E4P e-SATA card installed. Would a 780 Watt 1200 VA surge suppressor be enough?

The other question is about waking the computer up. My old G5 Quad (7800 GT card, E4P card, 2 500gb drives and 8gb RAM) would wake up and while the afore mentioned surge suppressor would beep, the room electrical breaker wouldn't be tripped. Using that same suppressor for the Mac Pro results in the breaker being tripped when the computer wakes up. Would getting a bigger suppressor help with this? In other words, does a unit with a bigger battery capacity allow the battery to take the extra load when the computer wakes up preventing the breaker from tripping?

 

[gjw4u]

Can you not run you Mac Pro off a separate circuit breaker?

 

[cmaier]

If you run the computer directly into the wall, does waking it up break the circuit? It's a common problem with cheap UPS's that a sudden drain causes a too-sudden load on the wall power. The battery draws a higher current than the computer.

 

[JimGoshorn]

If you run the computer directly into the wall, does waking it up break the circuit? It's a common problem with cheap UPS's that a sudden drain causes a too-sudden load on the wall power. The battery draws a higher current than the computer.

OK, I plugged it directly into the wall and it waked up OK. So now how do I proceed? I looked at the APC site and the next one up is the RS 1500VA which is 865 watts and 1500VA. Is that enough or are you suggesting a different brand all together?

Thanks!

 

[cmaier]

OK, I plugged it directly into the wall and it waked up OK. So now how do I proceed? I looked at the APC site and the next one up is the RS 1500VA which is 865 watts and 1500VA. Is that enough or are you suggesting a different brand all together?

Thanks!

Is your current UPS fully charged?

Other than that, not sure what to tell you. You probably have a 10A circuit, so if you have a 20A circuit handy, you might try that. You may also try removing anything else from the same circuit, particularly laser printers and monitors (and I assume you don't have monitor or laser printer plugged into the UPS?)

Conceivably, plugging the UPS into a surge protector, then plugging the surge protector into the wall could solve your problem, but it would have to be a pretty good surge protector. A line conditioner would be better, but they're expensive.

 

[kevink2]

I thought you were not supposed to plug ups units into surge protectors.

 

[JimGoshorn]

Is your current UPS fully charged?

Other than that, not sure what to tell you. You probably have a 10A circuit, so if you have a 20A circuit handy, you might try that. You may also try removing anything else from the same circuit, particularly laser printers and monitors (and I assume you don't have monitor or laser printer plugged into the UPS?)

Conceivably, plugging the UPS into a surge protector, then plugging the surge protector into the wall could solve your problem, but it would have to be a pretty good surge protector. A line conditioner would be better, but they're expensive.

The unit is a little less than 4 years old. I tried an experiment of unplugging the suppressor from the wall with the computer plugged into it and to my surprise the computer shut down so that doesn't look good for the battery. The question is should I get a more powerful unit like the 865W/1500VA for the Mac Pro to be on the safe side?

The only other thing I had plugged in was an AsanteTalk box for my HP 6MP. I wouldn't think that that would even count as a draw on the suppressor.

 

[UltraNEO*]

Don't get it...

What's the point of having an anti-surge protector and a UPS for the same piece of equipment? Isn't that like using two anti-surge protectors?

 

[nanofrog]

Is your current UPS fully charged?

Other than that, not sure what to tell you. You probably have a 10A circuit, so if you have a 20A circuit handy, you might try that. You may also try removing anything else from the same circuit, particularly laser printers and monitors (and I assume you don't have monitor or laser printer plugged into the UPS?)

I don't recall 10A circuits used in the US. (OP lists NY as their location).

A line conditioner would be better, but they're expensive.

Last I looked, my reaction was .

I thought you were not supposed to plug ups units into surge protectors.

It won't hurt it. The simple power strips that are nothing more than a thermal circuit breaker, are essentially worthless IMO. Transistors will blow far faster, so there's no real protection.

The unit is a little less than 4 years old. I tried an experiment of unplugging the suppressor from the wall with the computer plugged into it and to my surprise the computer shut down so that doesn't look good for the battery. The question is should I get a more powerful unit like the 865W/1500VA for the Mac Pro to be on the safe side?

The only other thing I had plugged in was an AsanteTalk box for my HP 6MP. I wouldn't think that that would even count as a draw on the suppressor.

It's at that age where the battery is likely going or gone. A battery is less expensive, but if you'd like additional run time, go for a larger VA/output model.

I have one of the APC 1500VA LCD models, and it works quite well. The monitor circuit is handier than having to plug in/unplug a Kill-a-Watt unit to measure the load. I prefer not to go digging through the "rat's nest".

 

[Le Big Mac]

I don't recall 10A circuits used in the US. (OP lists NY as their location).

In older buildings 10A circuits may exist. They aren't allowed under current code, but were under older code.

 

[cmaier]

I don't recall 10A circuits used in the US. (OP lists NY as their location).

It's at that age where the battery is likely going or gone. A battery is less expensive, but if you'd like additional run time, go for a larger VA/output model.

As a former electrician (IBEW local #3), I assure you the U.S. uses 10A circuits. Lots of buildings and residential houses have them.

And, I agree, in this case the dead battery is causing the issue - it's acting as a virtual short under load, and causing a current spike.

 

[JimGoshorn]

As a former electrician (IBEW local #3), I assure you the U.S. uses 10A circuits. Lots of buildings and residential houses have them.

And, I agree, in this case the dead battery is causing the issue - it's acting as a virtual short under load, and causing a current spike.

I checked the breaker and it's 15. Will replace the suppressor; I guess with the 865/1500 model. Never hurts to have little bit more coverage.

 

[nanofrog]

In older buildings 10A circuits may exist. They aren't allowed under current code, but were under older code.

I don't ever recall seeing 10A circuit breakers. Fuses, yes, in old hardware stores as a kid.

I never saw a fuse panel still in service though. Only after it was removed and my dad showed me how old it was. My familiarity has been with 15 & 20A from the mid fifties or later (residential).

As a former electrician (IBEW local #3), I assure you the U.S. uses 10A circuits. Lots of buildings and residential houses have them.

Were they magnetic breakers or fuses?

The 10A breakers I'm familiar with are Airpax IEG1-1-72-10.0-91-V (or similar), used in a stand alone devices, such as bench equipment. But nothing in a building. Oh well, maybe I'll come across one some day. Sort of cool, that something can last that long.

 

[cmaier]

I don't ever recall seeing 10A circuit breakers. Fuses, yes, in old hardware stores as a kid.

I never saw a fuse panel still in service though. Only after it was removed and my dad showed me how old it was. My familiarity has been with 15 & 20A from the mid fifties or later (residential).

Were they magnetic breakers or fuses?

The 10A breakers I'm familiar with are Airpax IEG1-1-72-10.0-91-V (or similar), used in a stand alone devices, such as bench equipment. But nothing in a building. Oh well, maybe I'll come across one some day. Sort of cool, that something can last that long.

Both fuses and breakers, though, to be honest, the only time I've seen 10A fuses is in an ancient house I rented in Troy, NY. Though that was also the only place I actually saw fuses.

Heck, NYC still has buildings running on DC (I was an electrician in manhattan). Though they did stop distributing DC a year or two ago. You'd be surprised what kind of stuff is still out there.

 

[nanofrog]

Both fuses and breakers, though, to be honest, the only time I've seen 10A fuses is in an ancient house I rented in Troy, NY. Though that was also the only place I actually saw fuses.

Heck, NYC still has buildings running on DC (I was an electrician in manhattan). Though they did stop distributing DC a year or two ago. You'd be surprised what kind of stuff is still out there.

Odd, but I wish I would have been able to see things like that. I grew up in Florida, and nothing's really that old. IIRC, the oldest buildings (still standing) I'd been in were circa 1907, and were public (uni). So the wiring was far newer. Even when I lived in PA, I never got to see anything like that. Lots of 20A though.

Perhaps making some friends in NYC is in order.

 

[cmaier]

Odd, but I wish I would have been able to see things like that. I grew up in Florida, and nothing's really that old. IIRC, the oldest buildings (still standing) I'd been in were circa 1907, and were public (uni). So the wiring was far newer. Even when I lived in PA, I never got to see anything like that. Lots of 20A though.

Perhaps making some friends in NYC is in order.

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/11/14/off-goes-the-power-current-started-by-thomas-edison/

 

[nanofrog]

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/11/14/off-goes-the-power-current-started-by-thomas-edison/

Thanks for the link.