Looking for a reliable UPS

P

Pez

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Jun 9, 2006
Messages
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I’m looking to purchase two UPS’s – something reliable with decent replacements. One will be used as a better form of surge protection. Since power outages have been happening more frequently in the summer by me, I need something that will buy me time to power down my machine with no risk of damaging my hardware. I don’t plan on running my rig off of it longer than several minutes. Maybe also to charge mobile devices if needed.

The other will be a gift for my father. For him, it will be used to power his CPAP machine at night. When he loses power (even more frequently than I do), he can’t sleep because his machine won’t run.

Cliff Notes:
- Looking for 2 UPS’s
- Doesn't need to run a computer longer than several minutes, just an upgraded surge protection
- Needs to be able to run a CPAP machine all night (approx 6-8 hours) - I don't know how much power these things require
 
For the CPAP machine you can just get a Ultra brand UPS which a 600w unit is and $100 that I ran my HTPC from. I also owned a 900w version for the rest of my theater equipment, no trouble with those two.

I used Belkin and Cyberpower for my main PCs and other desk items.
 
Look at the CPAP machine. It should be labeled with its rated current or power draw. From there, you can figure out how big of a UPS you need. As for brands, go with APC or Cyberpower. Avoid Ultra like the poster above me suggested; their products are generally poor quality.
 
Here's what the manual has on it's power consumption (I suspect the device would be on the low end of that):
AC Power Consumption: 100 – 240 VAC, 50/60 Hz, 2.7 A max

I went looking through APC's and CP's items, but I must be an idiot, because I don't understand any of it. For example, the STAYTION600BI would run a 100W device for 29 minutes? If so, that's nowhere near as long as I'm looking for.
 
120V * 2.7A gives 324W maximum, so you need a UPS rated for at least that much.

Keep in mind that UPSes are not designed to run for long periods of time. They're meant to power your devices during short outages or to give you enough time to save whatever you're doing and shut down your computer before the battery runs out. I don't think you'll find something that can power the CPAP machine all night without spending a lot of money, so if he has frequent outages that last a long time, there probably isn't a solution.
 
the solution for the CPAP machine would be an emergency generator running off of Natural Gas or Liquid Propane... I suggest a Generac unit.
 
Thank you for all the info and help. I feel slightly less stupid now.
 
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