APC UPS 1300VA only $124 at Best Buy

[Bradyy]

Moving my Unraid server on to a UPS has been on my to do list for well over a year... We tend to get one short power outage a month (lots of trees nearby) and I've been extremely fortunate enough to not suffer any data loss due the dirty shutdowns (I guess... at least as far as I can tell).

 

Finally got around to doing something about it at just the right time. A new line of APC UPS's are hitting the market right now and the previous models are getting marked down.

 

I picked up this unit for $125: https://www.bestbuy.com/site/apc-back-ups-xs-1300va-tower-ups-black/9307797.p?skuId=9307797

 

In store it is $150, but they price matched the website. MSRP is $180, Amazon has it for $150, Best Buy has it for $124.

 

There are several other units on clearance at Best Buy as well, this is just the one I landed on. I've got Unraid set to power down after 2 minutes but the UPS will keep our internet/wifi online for about 90 minutes.

[skitzoturtle]

I often sing the praises cyberpower ups. Keep in mind that you will be replacing the batteries in these units every 3-5 years. I've owned APC,  Tripp Lite,  Belkin,  and cyberpower. The only units that were not thrown out due to prohibitive cost of replacement batteries were the cyberpower units. I suggest researching battery replacement before buying. Perhaps cyberpower isn't the best answer out there but it is the best one I've found. 

[JonathanM]

11 hours ago, skitzoturtle said:

I often sing the praises cyberpower ups. Keep in mind that you will be replacing the batteries in these units every 3-5 years. I've owned APC,  Tripp Lite,  Belkin,  and cyberpower. The only units that were not thrown out due to prohibitive cost of replacement batteries were the cyberpower units. I suggest researching battery replacement before buying. Perhaps cyberpower isn't the best answer out there but it is the best one I've found. 

Under their tape and wiring harness adapters, they all use the same generic batteries. You just have to be willing to pull apart the battery "module" to get to the actual sealed lead acid batteries. APC tries to discourage you from doing that, because they make a huge profit from replacement batteries. As long as the voltage, case dimensions, and wide or narrow terminal type is matched, you can use generic batteries in any UPS I've seen.

 

I personally have both APC and cyberpower in use, and you have to be aware that cyberpower does not respond to the "kill output power after shutdown" command from apcupsd properly. As long as you don't try to use that function, cyberpower is great.

[1812]

I only own APC units and replace the batteries relatively inexpensively from battery shark. 

[skitzoturtle]

Thanks for the info. I never thought to open up the packaging around the batteries and see what cells were used. Makes sense that they are all the same. I've always wanted to get a couple deep cycle marine batteries and build my own UPS that could run for hours with a heavy load. I guess it's my one of these days project. 

[JonathanM]

1 hour ago, skitzoturtle said:

Thanks for the info. I never thought to open up the packaging around the batteries and see what cells were used. Makes sense that they are all the same. I've always wanted to get a couple deep cycle marine batteries and build my own UPS that could run for hours with a heavy load. I guess it's my one of these days project. 

Keep in mind that while the discharge side (runtime on batteries) will be fine with that, you may run into issues recharging a larger than stock battery bank. Some charge circuits are built to handle extra loads, others may overheat from excessive runtime when trying to refill a huge deficit.

 

Instead of repurposing a UPS, think about using a largish inverter and a deep cycle maintenance charger. Downside is going to be waste heat from conversion losses, but if you are in a cold climate, there is no such thing as waste heat, you just run your furnace less.