208v UPS on residential split-phase

[wizdum]

Not entirely sure if this is networking related, but I found the device in a network rack so.....

A while ago I bought a used APC server rack with everything still in it (UPS, PDU, servers, trays, KVM, etc) from a local company that switched "to the cloud". The problem is, the APC UPS is designed to run in a 3 phase power environment, on 208v. I don't have 3 phase power going into my house, so....

Looking at the spec sheet: http://www.apc.com/products/resource/include/techspec_index.cfm?base_sku=SURT5000XLT

It lists 240v as "other input voltages" and also lists 100v - 280v in "adjustable range for mains operation".

Has anyone else tried using a UPS like this in their home? I know I can get 240v from the two hot wires coming into my panel. Normally i'd just sell it, but the UPS, PDU, and transformer combined are ~500lbs. If this is possible, i'll obviously have a professional electrician come in and do the wiring for me.

 

[shade91]

That UPS looks like it is single phase operating off of a two-pole breaker (two hots giving it 240 total voltage and 1 neutral - aka 3 wire). 3-phase is 4 wire which that UPS is not. You can easily run that off of residential power assuming your panel has 30 amps open for a two-pole breaker.

 

[wizdum]

That UPS looks like it is single phase operating off of a two-pole breaker (two hots giving it 240 total voltage and 1 neutral - aka 3 wire). 3-phase is 4 wire which that UPS is not. You can easily run that off of residential power assuming your panel has 30 amps open for a two-pole breaker.

The cable is labeled "L1, L2/N, Ground", which on 3 phase power gives you 208v, right? The manual also says the three wires are Ground, Hot, and Neutral. There is, of course, no mention in the manual about how to configure it to run on 240v. Because that would make it to easy.

I did find this post by an employee of APC:
http://forums.apc.com/message/33587#33587

yes, you can do that. the UPS just cares that it has 240v input (assuming you meant you have 2 hots and a ground connection available). then, you need to configure the UPS and tell it you are inputting 240. the only note is that then it will not output 240 split phase so don't expect that.

We're planning on having the panel updated soon, I just want to make sure this will work before paying to have a separate circuit run. There is plenty of physical room for another 2-pole breaker, but the main breaker is only 100A. The overhead wires really need to be replaced, so we're going to have the panel updated at the same time.

 

[shade91]

3 phase is 3 hots and a neutral (4-wire). That UPS is most certainly single phase running on a two-pole circuit. The two-pole circuit provides 2 120V inputs to give a total input at 240V.

To put this in something more laymens, I have a 16kVA Symmetra unit configured for 12kVA in my home rack. It is powered by a two-pole 60A breaker giving the device 240V input voltage. I really doubt that 5kVA unit that you have is going to need three phase. Three phase is typically needed for very high requirement UPS systems that I doubt anybody runs in their home.

 

[wizdum]

Thanks, looks like i'm in the clear. I really don't need anything this large (hell, the 208v ->110v transformer it came with has more outlets than the rest of my house), but I figured this would make a really nice learning tool.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Wow that's an awesome grab! Yeah if it's two hots 1 neutral you should be ok. Just be sure it CAN accept 240v and is not expecting 208 and not more. Often 208 and 240 is interchangeable though.

With such a big unit you may as well throw on a couple circuits like the TV and some lighting.

 

[shade91]

Thanks, looks like i'm in the clear. I really don't need anything this large (hell, the 208v ->110v transformer it came with has more outlets than the rest of my house), but I figured this would make a really nice learning tool.

Throw in a network card on the UPS and you definitely do. It is only 5kVA so it should handle network hardware, kvm, and some servers with ease.

 

[wizdum]

Throw in a network card on the UPS and you definitely do. It is only 5kVA so it should handle network hardware, kvm, and some servers with ease.

It has an AP9619 Network management card in it, which I think lets me configure it from a web browser. It also looks like it has some I/O pins for hooking up to an alarm system. Could be a good way to tie in an Arduino. I'm tempted to grab a couple 30+Ahr batteries and run it off those to test it out while I wait for the electrical work.

I did finally find a knowledge-base article from APC on how to wire these for 240v. Apparently the RT versions don't require the input voltage to be set. Thats why I couldn't find any switches or jumpers to set it, and why the manual didn't mention it. The output voltage does need to be set though. I think I can set it through the network management card.

I have 3 IBM 2U servers, one IBM 1U, and two Dell 2U. They're all older units with SCSI drive bays, 16gb of ram, and I think 2 Xeon quadcore CPUs each. They were using them for image processing or something. I probably wont run them all at the same time.