UPS/Power strip/Surge protector question.

[Woody-]

I am in the process of buying stuff for a new computer setup and I decided that it was time for me to add a UPS to my system. I went with the BELKIN Office Series 550VA UPS from newegg http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=42-101-217&depa=0

It came today and reading through the instructions it warns against plugging any powerstrips into any of the outlets that are on the battery. My plan when I bought it was to put the UPS on floor besides the desk and leave it on all the time and then plug an under monitor power center/surge protector that I already own into the UPS and use the under monitior power center to turn my system on and off instead of reaching around to the floor and hitting the switch on the new UPS.

Is there any problem doing this if all that I plug into the under monitor center are my monitor and computer?

The only other thing I was going to plug into the UPS was my cordless phone so I could use it during a power outage. I will then use the outlets not connected to the battery on the UPS for my printer and sound sytem so they will at least have the surge protection that the unit provides..

Link to the under monitor center I have
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=12-120-236&depa=0

 

[wwparrish]

No problem, they all say that kind of thing to keep people from plugging in world + dog and overloading the UPS. You know what you are doing. Just resist the temptation of using the spare plugs for non-critical stuff.

I have had a power strip on my APC for years I am not about to buy a second one to power my asdl modem because the only two outlets on the ups themselves would only cover the machine and the monitor. I have my phone and power for my usb hub plugged in as well.

Now there could be some really odd thing I am not aware of if the power strip had some bizzare surge protection or something, so if you want to play it safe, just use a plain Jane power strip with no surge protection. an on/off switch on the strip could not hurt the UPS.

 

[Ice Czar]

power conditioning 101

Things Not To Do

If you’ve got a UPS or SPS, don’t plug it into some other power filter and plug that into the wall. A quality UPS or SPS should be a perfectly good power filter by itself, and may not appreciate the other filter shorting spikes to ground for it. If you've got a cheapo SPS that doesn't filter power very well (or at all...), then another inline filter may be OK, but you'd do better to retire that SPS to the important task of keeping the VCR running through blackouts, and buy a better one for your computer.

Similarly, don’t use another filter between your SPS/UPS and the computer - that’s just unnecessary.

While I’m on the subject, bear in mind that computer cabling makes it possible to do dangerous electrical things like connecting together the grounds of two separate buildings. Say you decide to run, for example, a 10Base2 (thin Ethernet coaxial; see my networking guide here) network cable between two buildings. If the network is earthed somewhere, the shield of the network cable will be at the potential of that earth. If the network then gets earthed in the other building, and if those two earths have different potentials because of poor earthing in one or both buildings, miswiring or power surges, the unfused, unprotected Ethernet cable will deliver the higher potential to the lower potential end.

If you’re lucky, this will just stuff up your network. If you’re not, it can fry computers, start fires (Ethernet cable braid is not designed to carry high currents…) and shock anyone unfortunate enough to unplug the cable.

By and large, though, electrical mishaps with computer gear are dangerous only to the equipment and your data. A few hundred bucks worth of power filter can keep that three thousand dollar PC alive for a lot longer.

on my computers there is a button to turn them off and on
strangely my monitors also have buttons

 

[Woody-]

Similarly, don’t use another filter between your SPS/UPS and the computer - that’s just unnecessary.

Ya, I know it is unnecessary but what I wanted to know is if there is any danger in having my under monitor center between my UPS and my computer. I went to the link you provided and I read nothing that indicated that how I want to set it up would cause any problems.

on my computers there is a button to turn them off and on
strangely my monitors also have buttons

I also have lots of buttons, including the one I have used for some time to power up and power down my whole system.

 

[Ice Czar]

turning off the computer other than via the OS shutdown (a hard shutdown or restart)
isnt a good idea, and is a leading cause of data corruption

and

Tripp Lite does not recommend plugging a surge protector into a battery backup outlet of a UPS either as this can overload it. Also, when some UPS systems switch to battery power they will output a waveform that a surge suppressor may see as a surge and short-circuit the UPS. Again, this setup will void the equipment coverage warranty.
http://www.tripplite.com/support/faq/tech_ups.cfm

one of many such warnings out there

Warning: I have received information that warns about possible equipment failure and even safety hazards as a result of plugging surge suppressors into the output jacks of a UPS. You should never do this, as it could create a hazardous situation.

http://www.pcguide.com/ref/power/ext/protSurge-c.html

Warning: You should always remember to use your operating system's correct shut down procedure before powering off your main PC box. If you are in the middle of using Windows and just "hit the switch", you risk lost data and file system corruption.

 

[Woody-]

turning off the computer other than via the OS shutdown (a hard shutdown or restart)
isnt a good idea, and ais a leading cause of data corruption

I might be a n00bie on this forum, but I wasnt born yesterday, I am not one who leaves his system on 24/7 so I do a OS shutdown when I am done for the day and then turn the power off.

Tripp Lite does not recommend plugging a surge protector into a battery backup outlet of a UPS either as this can overload it. Also, when some UPS systems switch to battery power they will output a waveform that a surge suppressor may see as a surge and short-circuit the UPS. Again, this setup will void the equipment coverage warranty.

Now that is the kind of info I was looking for, now that I have some hard facts I probably wont do what I was going to do. Looks like I will have to get used to hitting more than one button when I shut things off.

Thanks for the info.

 

[wwparrish]

when some UPS systems switch to battery power they will output a waveform that a surge suppressor may see as a surge and short-circuit the UPS

Can definatley see how a MOV surge suppressor on the output of a UPS could be major trouble.

In light of Ice Czars information:

Under no circumstances place anything other than a plain jane power strip (no surge protection of any kind) between your UPS and the devices powered. Also per Ice Czar's information/advice even that is not really a good idea.