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Oh, before I forget - check the power supply on your computer: some of them do not like "chopped" square wave, and may insist on a "proper" sine wave input. Some UPS's will give that, some won't.
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
"Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
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OriginalGriff wrote: check the power supply on your computer:
Thanks for info. That's why I was looking at the CyberPower ones.
In my case I'm really wanting to power up the wifi router and cable modem so I'm guessing that since they have external power supplies even the square wave ones would probably work?? Not sure though.
Thanks
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Hi Paul if you ever get around to buying another UPS give me a shout and tell me what you've decided on - I use a SBC as a jenkins and local nuget server for my home and shared projects and it's on 24/7 , I know it's not on the same scale as powering a server but the dear litle box is very useful and a PITA to rebuild ( despite my having an image of the base build )
"We can't stop here - this is bat country" - Hunter S Thompson - RIP
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The only problem I've ever had with a UPS other than old batteries was when UPS bashed a brand new APC unit so badly they bent the sheet metal casing.
That said, yes, there have been a small number of reports of fires out of millions made.
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Thanks for the info. From the reviews it made it seem like they happened quite often. But I understand reviewers often have bad setups, incorrect wiring in their homes, etc. Just wanted to get a feel for what other people experienced.
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Hosting them in the chimney, should be a safe place 
It does not solve my Problem, but it answers my question
Chemists have exactly one rule: there are only exceptions
modified 19-Jan-21 21:04pm.
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raddevus wrote:
What is your experience with this? Are these things safe?
I've never experienced any such thing in all the years I've had a UPS. All electronics have the potential to be dangerous. That's just the nature of the game.
"One man's wage rise is another man's price increase." - Harold Wilson
"Fireproof doesn't mean the fire will never come. It means when the fire comes that you will be able to withstand it." - Michael Simmons
"You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him." - James D. Miles
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David Crow wrote: I've never experienced any such thing in all the years I've had a UPS.
Very good to know.
David Crow wrote: All electronics have the potential to be dangerous.
I agree. It was just that there were quite a few reviewers mentioning sparks and fires so I wanted to get another random sampling of intelligent users...and even though I wanted intelligent users, I came here to CP.  Of course, I am kidding. CP Lounge is really full of a lot of great people with vast years of experience.
Thanks for the info.
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I got a good-sized APC unit quite a while ago at a very good price. Eventually the batteries wore out and I replaced those last year and it's still going strong. I think it is a 1500VA unit.
I find it difficult to believe stories of sparks being emitted because how could a unit possibly acquire UL or CE rating with that kind of behavior?
"They have a consciousness, they have a life, they have a soul! Damn you! Let the rabbits wear glasses! Save our brothers! Can I get an amen?"
modified 28-Jul-20 14:41pm.
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Thanks very much for the info.
Rick York wrote: I find it difficult to believe stories of sparks being emitted because how could a unit possibly acquire UL or CE rating with that kind of behavior?
That's exactly what I thought! If this happened even in 1 out 10,000 it wouldn't be a valid product really. 
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I bought a cheap "UPS" from Staples, which was a mistake. No sparks, but it's not a true "UPS" - it takes a few tenths of a second to switch over to battery, by which time the devices on it have powered off.
So, make sure you get a UPS that actually generates the AC from the battery and doesn't do a "switch over" from the mains to the battery.
Can't tell if that CyberPower model does that or not.
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Marc Clifton wrote: but it's not a true "UPS" - it takes a few tenths of a second to switch over to battery, by which time the devices on it have powered off.
Thanks for the info. I was trying to determine the same thing. Is this the option where it is sine wave versus square wave? I just can't tell. The flickers are the exact thing I'm trying to get rid of.
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I've owned or managed at least 30 or 40 of those things (2 at home others at companies where I worked for years) and never ever they emitted anything that was not expected.
Of course they die without further notice, their batteries die...
But in my experience they are safe.
It's a relatively simple device... I fail to see how brands like APC, EATON and others could do this kind of mistake... which would make them illegal in most cases...
modified 28-Jul-20 16:57pm.
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Joan M wrote: I've owned or managed at least 30 or 40 of those things (2 at home others at companies where I worked for years) and never ever they emitted anything that was not expected.
Thanks for the great info. This is what I was looking for...various people chiming in who've had a lot of experience with them. I too wondered how it would be a valid product if that sort of thing happened even 1 in 10,000. Thanks again.
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One additional piece of advice : test your UPS periodically. I work for a rather large manufacturing company and we have UPS' on probably every system in the factories but no one ever tests them so I am willing to bet a majority are useless. The last service call I had to deal with was because of corrupted files that resulted from a power loss where the UPS immediately died because its batteries were shot.
"They have a consciousness, they have a life, they have a soul! Damn you! Let the rabbits wear glasses! Save our brothers! Can I get an amen?"
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Great advice. I was thinking the same thing. I hope I'm not too lazy though -- because it will mean walking all the way down to the basement and flipping the circuit breaker.
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I just unplug them from the wall to test them but what ever. 
"They have a consciousness, they have a life, they have a soul! Damn you! Let the rabbits wear glasses! Save our brothers! Can I get an amen?"
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Haha! Yes, you are correct. I dont' have one so I was thinking I had to make sure it had no power by other means. Hahaha. Yeah, just unplug the UPS. I will remember that.
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Some mobile phones have known to burst into flames.... 
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A very good point. Laptops on airplanes too...remember?
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I have an APC Back-UPS PRO 550. This one is 3 years old. I have had many others over the last 20+ years. Mostly from APC. I used to have hard disk drives fail before that. Never since. The main benefit is the clean power. On the occasions when there is a blackout I get a few minutes of runtime. If I am around at the time I shut the system down cleanly before the juice runs out.
I agree with the other reply that said the main hassle is replacing the battery every few years.
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Good to know. Thanks for the info. 
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I had several APC over the years. As others have stated, the batteries die after several years. Also I find they don't allow for prolonged used without electricity (the ~USD100 ones can give you power for 15 minutes).
What I've been wondering for my own setup here is whether it would be possible to have some battery powered modems and routers: you would avoid useless conversions (your UPS's battery converted to AC 100/240V then converted back to DC around 5 to 12V).
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Riz Thon wrote: your UPS's battery converted to AC 100/240V then converted back to DC around 5 to 12V)
I know. I thought about that too and it is very interesting because you could have a very small battery running the wifi router and cable modem since they both have external adapters that convert to 5 or 12 V.
The challenge is to have the battery kick in when the 120V is lost. I've done some Arduino and electronics stuff so I'd like to look into building something.
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