[Tfug] UPS sizing

[Bexley Hall]

Hi, Harry,

--- On Wed, 12/31/08, Harry McGregor <micros at osef.org> wrote:

> I tend to buy good APC SmartUPS upses, cheap, either used
> locally, or ebay within the phoenix area.

WorldCare recycles lots of these, pretty regularly.
Of course, the batteries are usually toast...  but,
then again, you *expect* to need new batteries anyway.
(I have been tempted to tear some of them open and see
how hard they are charging/floating the batteries...
it seems like you should be able to get more than a 
few years out of a set of batteries  :<  I suspect
they err on the side of charging "quicker" rather than
"safer"  :<  )

> I have a few spare, if your interested, at a very good
> price to free up the space, including an APC matrix.
> 
> For most systems, I use either a smart ups 700 or 1000, and
> I have a
> 2200xl that will be going in for the home entertainment
> setup soon.

I've been looking at smaller units -- 500-600VA.  With hold
times just long enough for a quick shutdown.  I had some
of the beige 1000's (1200's?) but they were still a bit
too large.  (If I'm going to buy large, then I want to
be able to use marine batteries in the damn things instead
of the little/expensive gelled electrolytes!)

How do your loads compare to the sizes of the UPS's
that you are spec'ing?  Are you specing large for greater
hold times *or* for higher loads?