Seems my old CyberPower surge/ups thingy got tired and died. So many choices & prices, thought I should pick the experts' brains before spending my wife's money.
Opinions? Recommendations? What to avoid?

What plug in to? (No Laser Printer.)
How long to you need it to last w/o power?

If battery is dead... Just get a new battery. Many places can get one locally.

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Dr. Ian Malcolm: Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should.
(Jurassic Park)

The Ogre's Fiero Cave (It's also at the top and bottom of every forum page...)

quote Originally posted by theogre: If battery is dead... Just get a new battery. Many places can get one locally.

I agree with that, unless you know for sure that the UPS charger or inverter electronics have failed. See below.

quote Originally posted by Cheever3000: Opinions? Recommendations? What to avoid?

First, something in the 500 VA (~300 W) range is appropriate for most modern home computers. Anything larger will just buy you more time while running on battery. FWIW, most power failures last less than three minutes.

I used Tripp-Lite UPSes for more than ten years, both low-end and high-end models, and they worked fine when they were working, but I began to experience a high failure rate when their batteries (inevitably) failed due to extended charging. Old-age decline in a UPS battery should never cause a failure in the UPS electronics, but the failure rate in my Tripp-Lite units eventually exceeded 75%. I have since moved to inexpensive APC UPSes, with excellent results (so far). The APC units seem to incorporate "smarter" chargers that keep the batteries topped up without overcharging them, so their batteries tend to last quite a bit longer. About $50 (on sale) will buy you a very good quality APC BE550G (550 VA / 330 W) UPS.

[This message has been edited by Marvin McInnis (edited 02-23-2013).]

I have a few APC units. 350-500 VA.
I replace 2 last summer from a local battery store. They carry allot of gell cells etc.
Just take battery and maybe brand and model # w/ you.
Shop online but shipping will hurt...

APC and others have online tools to select new units.

Note
Pb mean:
No in trash. (Many trash co will not take any lead batteries)
Yes to recycle. Scape Dealers and Battery makers will pay for dead lead batteries. Example, East Penn {Deka brand} will and Depending How much and where they will pay and come to get them.

[This message has been edited by theogre (edited 02-12-2013).]

quote Originally posted by theogre: If battery is dead... Just get a new battery. Many places can get one locally.

Done! Thanks! Seems I made the assumption that the whole thing was a one-piece deal, and never considered that parts inside could be replaced by the consumer. Who does that in the new millenium? Anyway, I got a replacement battery for about a THIRD the cost of buying a new unit. Thanks again Ogre!

Man... I feel like such a user. Ugh!

Yes, Many are easy to replace the batteries.
Most gel cell last 3-5 years max.

I picked up a replacement battery for my APC unit at Batteries Plus+ for a fraction of what APC wanted.

Dr. W.

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