Need recommendation for UPS

AnnZ · 05-24-2007, 12:08 PM

I have an HR10-250 and a Samsung DLP HDTV. Last night we had some terrible T-storms with lots of lightning. Our power went out right in the middle of recording "Lost" on the TiVo HR10. (Grrrrr!) I am running the TV and other AV equipment through a Panamax surge protector and line conditioner but not a backup battery. I would like some recommendations for what kind of a UPS I should get for my AV system. I plan to plug the Panamax (which protects my two DirecTV cables) into the UPS. Thanks.

I've been away from this forum for awhile, so forgive me if this question was answered earlier for someone else.

rifleman69 · 05-24-2007, 04:09 PM

APC, just find the one that'll fit your needs.

Jon J · 05-24-2007, 04:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AnnZ

I plan to plug the Panamax (which protects my two DirecTV cables) into the UPS.

Regardless of the UPS you select, you might want to research this decision more.

IIRC, most UPS manufacturers don't recommend it. Let the UPS do all the protecting.

newsposter · 05-24-2007, 04:31 PM

my belkin 1100 for all my AV equipment. lasted about 3 years before dying. I have the 1200 as a replacement. My 1000 is on my PC and still going strong though.

belkin.com may still have 12345 as 1/2 price code

moxie1617 · 05-24-2007, 04:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AnnZ

I have an HR10-250 and a Samsung DLP HDTV. Last night we had some terrible T-storms with lots of lightning. Our power went out right in the middle of recording "Lost" on the TiVo HR10. (Grrrrr!) I am running the TV and other AV equipment through a Panamax surge protector and line conditioner but not a backup battery. I would like some recommendations for what kind of a UPS I should get for my AV system. I plan to plug the Panamax (which protects my two DirecTV cables) into the UPS. Thanks.

I've been away from this forum for awhile, so forgive me if this question was answered earlier for someone else.

Neither Belkin nor APC want you to plug a surge protector into the UPS. If they find out, they will not honor any warranty for either the UPS or connected equipment. In addition, Belkin will void the warranty if the UPS is plugged into a surge protector.

5 ACES · 05-24-2007, 05:07 PM

I have the Belkin 1500VA. It runs the HR 10-250, multi switch and our 52 inch rear projection tv. It will run all three for about 30 minutes, it will run the HR 10-250 by itself only, for about 2 hours. APC has some nice equipment, but compared to Belkin, their prices are much higher for a larger UPS. Had the Belkin now for two years and it's running fine. We also have a 1200VA Belkin upstairs hooked to a SD tivo/directv receiver and they both are over three years old and still working fine. I strongly believe that the UPS is a must in this day and age and probably the reason we have never had to replace a DVR or any other electrical gadget in our house since we always had them hooked up to a UPS.

newsposter · 05-25-2007, 08:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 5 ACES

I have the Belkin 1500VA. It runs the HR 10-250, multi switch and our 52 inch rear projection tv. It will run all three for about 30 minutes, it will run the HR 10-250 by itself only, for about 2 hours..

can i assume this is real life testing?

SpankyInChicago · 05-25-2007, 11:18 AM

I have four of the Belkin 1500VA units in the house. They work great. Had them for about two years now.

http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatProdu...duct_Id=186894

Plus I think they look better (at least with my furniture) then the similarly featured APC which, last time I checked, came only in cream.

That being said, APC makes a great product.

No matter what you do just make sure you get a line-interactive UPS.

Also, like others, I go from wall power to UPS to equipment. No surge protectors in between either. The UPS is a surge protector.

newsposter · 05-25-2007, 12:14 PM

just a side note for those unaware...never plug printers into the battery portion of the UPS, just use the surge outlets.

HiDefGator · 05-25-2007, 12:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by newsposter

can i assume this is real life testing?

Also keep in mind that these times wil vary drastically with the age of the battery in the UPS. Eventually it will only last about 30 seconds. Only by real life testing do you know.

henryld · 05-25-2007, 01:10 PM

One other factor in favor of Belkin products is their lifetime warranty. I have had 2 Belkin items replaced in the last 6 months with my only out of pocket costs being return shipping of the defective items. One of the items was a Belkin PureAV (don't remember the model number) surge protector and they replaced it with a PureAV UPS which cost twice as much as the unit it replaced. No questions were asked about place/date of purchase, etc.

AnnZ · 05-25-2007, 02:00 PM

Thanks for all the input. I decided to do more research and phoned Panamax direct. The nice lady that I spoke with said to plug the UPS into one of the Panamax's "always on" outlets and then plug the TiVo and DLP TV into the UPS. Keep the Panamax plugged into the wall outlet. I think she has had a similar question before since she seemed to know exactly what I was asking about.

Both Best Buy and Staples have APC units on sale this week, so I'm going shopping before our next round of T-storms (predicted for this weekend!).

newsposter · 05-25-2007, 02:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by henryld

One other factor in favor of Belkin products is their lifetime warranty. I have had 2 Belkin items replaced in the last 6 months with my only out of pocket costs being return shipping of the defective items. One of the items was a Belkin PureAV (don't remember the model number) surge protector and they replaced it with a PureAV UPS which cost twice as much as the unit it replaced. No questions were asked about place/date of purchase, etc.

how much to send back? I guess for even 20 bucks it's a deal. My batteries or something died right near 3 years so i didnt even bother trying.

henryld · 05-25-2007, 04:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by newsposter

how much to send back? I guess for even 20 bucks it's a deal. My batteries or something died right near 3 years so i didnt even bother trying.

I do not think the batteries are included in the lifetime warranty and they probably cost as much as or close to a new unit. Cost to return depends upon shipping method; definitely use some form of shipping with tracking (I used UPS). BTW, In my earlier post I implied all Belkin products have a lifetime warranty and apparently this is not the case. Be sure and check before you buy a specific product.

5 ACES · 05-26-2007, 12:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by newsposter

can i assume this is real life testing?

Yes, actually it is. My Father is a master electrician and has the opportunity to test UPS units for an electrical distributor here near our area. In fact, counting all three items that the Belkin 1500VA is running: The Tivo, Multi Switch and 52in RCA Rear Projection TV, the UPS is still not at 50% load capacity, believe it or not. It's about 47% loaded so to speak and it does run all three between 23 minutes and 30 minutes. It has never ran all three at exactly the same time and we have tried this test about five times. We tried and tried just for shi*s and giggles to see how long it would hold. I did try just the Tivo/Directv unit by itself, but I ran out of patience and plugged the UPS back into the wall after 45 minutes. I'm guessing that the UPS could power just the tivo for well over an hour. Also, the local State College I work for uses APC units and they never hold a load for more that 15 minutes, just talking to the employees who use them. So, I don't know what the difference could be, being that both the APC and Belkin are rated at 1500VA. I do know that the college is dropping the contract with APC for too many defective units that they have had to replace over the last two years, which is why I ended buying the Belkin units.

newsposter · 05-26-2007, 05:35 AM

I'm sure your real life experience could be copied into all the UPS threads around here.People are always asking 'how long' and I dont think I've seen real life results posted. good info

i guess my 57 inch would use more juice than your 52 but still 20 min would be pretty good. however I admit I'd have to just shut it down to keep tivo running..that's what's important

SpankyInChicago · 05-26-2007, 11:10 AM

I wish I could offer 'real life experience' on my Belkin's run time, but in two years we haven't had a single power outage. We have had numerours sub-second "blips" in power and while everything else briefly shuts off and then immediately turns back on the stuff powered by the UPS sang along without a blip. We've also had a few brown out events that last about 10 seconds or so and that Belkin's handle those as well. The brownouts and "blips" are the real reason I bought the UPS units. If the power goes out, it will be nice to have a little backup time on the UPS units, but that wasn't the critical issue for me.

newsposter · 05-26-2007, 01:40 PM

during the day, if i wouldn't have a CO2 plugged in (beeps when power off), or the belkins didnt beep, i probably wouldnt even notice a power outage with the UPS.

5 ACES · 05-26-2007, 04:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by newsposter

I'm sure your real life experience could be copied into all the UPS threads around here.People are always asking 'how long' and I dont think I've seen real life results posted. good info

i guess my 57 inch would use more juice than your 52 but still 20 min would be pretty good. however I admit I'd have to just shut it down to keep tivo running..that's what's important

Very true newsposter! When it comes down to it, keeping the tivo running without having to start it up again after a power outage is truly why we have ours. I will mention this though, for those who do end up plugging in power hungry equipment like large tv's. Belkin will tell you that it is not made to do things like large tv's, printers and equipment that requires a large load or equipment that spikes out the UPS like some printers. If we have our 52 inch tv on and the UPS starts to tell us that "hey, the battey is getting low, i'm going to shutdown here soon" and that annoying beep gets faster, we'll shut off the tv. DON'T, turn stuff on and off after the UPS has switched over to battery mode! Doing this only causes the UPS to work harder, requiring the batterys to work overtime supplying the equipment that's turning on and that alone will take some years off of your UPS. I did this the first time we got ours. I shut off the tv and then like a dummy, turned the tv on again. The UPS only powered our stuff for about 15 minutes, because of the large drain it required to fire up the tv again. All that being said, it's like newsposter says, use it for your tivo and to keep your equipment safe from spikes and brownouts. If you want to watch tv and everything else after the power goes out, get yourself a generator!