October 20, 201411 yr Hi - I'm ordering a UPS, probably something like this. I currently have a nice surge protector that everything in the wiring closet plugs into. I understand that using a surge protector downstream from a UPS is not advisable. Ideally I'd like to replace it with a high quality non-surge protected power strip, but most of what I've seen looks like junk. Any suggestions for a good one? I know I need to be careful about overloading any one outlet on the UPS, but it seems feasible to run things like the router, switch, and cable modem off a strip... Worst case I know I can use some of these to get the bricks plugged into the UPS, but I'm interested in any alternatives that you've found work well.
October 20, 201411 yr You might consider opening up the powerstrip and removing the surge protection network. (Do this only if you are going to plug it into a protected outlet on the UPS.) Terrible thought. When you open up that powerstrip, you might find that the 'protection' is only two or three varistors. If the strip is old and you have had a number of high energy surges over the years, the varistors could easily have degraded and are not really providing you with much protection.
October 20, 201411 yr I just ordered one of these: http://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B000083KIH/ I was looking for two things: Plenty of room for power bricks No power switch I don't have it yet, but I'm expecting it to work well.
October 20, 201411 yr I understand that using a surge protector downstream from a UPS is not advisable. Would you mind providing a reference for this? My understanding, at least with apc, is that so long as you don't exceed the max output of the ups plug, you should be fine (of course they stipulate using their own brand surge protector) APC support forum
October 20, 201411 yr You indeed shouldn't use a separate surge protector => the reactance of the two units can interfere with your power in undesirable ways; and the UPS provides all the surge protection you need. You can use a simple, dirt-cheap non-surge-protected strip from Home Depot with no problem [ http://www.homedepot.com/p/Belkin-6-Outlet-Power-Strip-F9P609-03-DP/100654575?N=5yc1vZc4o9 ] ... but the 4-way splitter that spreads the plugs out for convenient use with power bricks that ljm42 linked to above is a very nice alternative. I bought a 10-pack of the "liberator" cords a while ago on e-bay [ http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-10-PACK-Power-Strip-Liberator-Extension-Cord-Cable-Adapter-Grounded-1ft-/141443633442?pt=US_Power_Cables_Connectors&hash=item20eeb29122 ] ... and if I didn't still have plenty of them I'd buy one of those 4-way units (I may still order a couple).
October 21, 201411 yr Author Would you mind providing a reference for this? My understanding, at least with apc, is that so long as you don't exceed the max output of the ups plug, you should be fine (of course they stipulate using their own brand surge protector) APC support forum Interestingly, it looks like Schneider Electric has changed their FAQs and Knowledge base recently. If you search for something like "should I use a surge protector with a ups" you'll find a lot of postings with links back to Schneider that don't take you to any real content. They used to take you back to an article that says exactly what garycase mentions - the way the surge suppression circuitry in the two units can interact can produce bad results... I guess maybe Schneider has changed their guidance, don't know. From the CyberPower website, though: Can I hookup a surge strip to the UPS unit? Surge strips cannot be installed before OR after the UPS unit. Doing so will void the UPS’s warranty. If you require additional units, please upgrade your UPS to a unit that has more outlets. If you need a longer input cord, you can purchase a UL certified extension cord that is rated for the respective current of the unit. This cord MUST be a single-outlet extension cord. At any rate, I've read it often enough that I'm going to follow that advice. Thanks for the suggestions. Oddly enough I wish there was a powerstrip that I could pay more for... I think I am suffering from Monster syndrome, equating price with quality.
October 21, 201411 yr Oddly enough I wish there was a powerstrip that I could pay more for... I think I am suffering from Monster syndrome, equating price with quality. I'll be happy to sell you some special "high quality" power strips for $100 each :) ... but they'll look an awful lot like the ones I can pick up at Home Depot for $3.95 The simple fact is, when all you need to do is parallel a few wires to outlets, it's not an expensive proposition. And since you don't need any surge protection circuitry in them, the least expensive ones you can get are just fine. As I noted above, I like the fan-out cord that ljm42 linked to above: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000083KIH?redirect=true&pldnSite=1 If you have power "bricks" you need to use, that's an excellent choice. Or you can just buy a 10-pack of the "liberator" cords if you'd prefer [They're very handy to have].
October 21, 201411 yr By the way, the basic issue with using surge protection units in the UPS path is that the reactance of the surge protectors causes interference with the waveform produced by the UPS, which can cause the UPS to "think" that power is fluctuating, and result in it kicking in and out a lot when on battery power. This is BAD for the UPS unit ... and is why many UPS vendors note that using them will void the UPS warranty. It's worse for non-sine-wave units, since the sharp edges of the square wave power it generates looks more like a "surge" than a sine wave unit will produce; but even the sine wave units (as you're noted you're buying) still are "pure", so there's still some effect.
October 21, 201411 yr Oddly enough I wish there was a powerstrip that I could pay more for... I think I am suffering from Monster syndrome, equating price with quality. here it is http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816225045 I don't use that make or model, but always nice to power things up in the proper order.
October 21, 201411 yr By the way, the basic issue with using surge protection units in the UPS path is that the reactance of the surge protectors causes interference with the waveform produced by the UPS, which can cause the UPS to "think" that power is fluctuating, and result in it kicking in and out a lot when on battery power. This is BAD for the UPS unit ... and is why many UPS vendors note that using them will void the UPS warranty. It's worse for non-sine-wave units, since the sharp edges of the square wave power it generates looks more like a "surge" than a sine wave unit will produce; but even the sine wave units (as you're noted you're buying) still are "pure", so there's still some effect. I did some more poking around, and Schneider-electric has no mention of this concern. They also do not recommend it, but for the following user-controllable reason: Plugging a surge protector into your UPS: The noise filtration circuitry in a Surge Protector can effectively "mask" some of the load from the UPS, causing the UPS to report a lower percentage of attached load than there actually is. This can cause a user to inadvertently overload their UPS. When the UPS switches to battery, it may be unable to support the equipment attached, causing a dropped load. Surge protectors filter the power for surges and offer EMI/RFI filtering but do not efficiently distribute the power, meaning that some equipment may be deprived of the necessary amperage it requires to run properly causing your attached equipment (computer, monitor, etc) to shutdown or reboot. If you need to supply additional receptacles on the output of your UPS, we recommend using Power Distribution Units (PDU's). PDUs evenly distribute the amperage among the outlets, while the UPS will filter the power and provide surge protection. PDUs use and distribute the available amperage more efficiently, allowing your equipment to receive the best available power to maintain operation. Plugging your UPS into a surge protector: In order for your UPS to get the best power available, you should plug your UPS directly into the wall receptacle. Plugging your UPS into a surge protector may cause the UPS to go to battery often when it normally should remain online. This is because other, more powerful equipment may draw necessary voltage away from the UPS which it requires to remain online. In addition, it may compromise the ground connection which the UPS needs in order to provide adequate surge protection. All APC Back-UPS and Smart-UPS products provide proper surge suppression for power lines without the need of additional protection. On the surface of this, they are not recommending the combination of the two products, but the reason in both cases, appears to be that it leads to a user either overloading their UPS (too many devices connected to the UPS through the surge protector), or not enough AC getting to the UPS unit because it is plugged into a surge protector that is already loaded up... These two scenarios could equally well occur with plugging a non-surge protected bar/splitter into the UPS, or using it as an 'extension cord'... My take away from that article is basically if you don't overload your UPS with a powerbar plugged into it, and you don't starve the UPS for power by overloading the surge/non-surge bar that is in front of it, you'll be fine.... Source: Their site is using frames in the FAQ section, so it's a bit difficult to directly link. You can get to the FAQ section, and search for Document ID: FA158852 "Using surge strips with APC's Back-UPS and Smart-UPS products". http://www.schneider-electric.ca/sites/canada/en/support/faq/faq_main.page [edited for spelling]
October 21, 201411 yr Author here it is http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816225045 I don't use that make or model, but always nice to power things up in the proper order. Nice! Looks 4x better than garycase's .
October 21, 201411 yr here it is http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816225045 I don't use that make or model, but always nice to power things up in the proper order. Nice! Looks 4x better than garycase's . ;D I could always provide the "ultra-deluxe" versions of the power strips for $500 each [They also look just like the $3.95 Home Depot units ]
October 21, 201411 yr here it is http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816225045 I don't use that make or model, but always nice to power things up in the proper order. Nice! Looks 4x better than garycase's . They're real handy for folks like me whose gear is always distance.
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