UPS that automatically restart?

[JHZR2]

I have a cyber power 1350va ups that I keep a few small loads on. Over the years the batteries have gone bad, because they show fine and full but if power drops the ups will shut down and not come back on.

Does anyone have an UPS that they know has fully depleted and comes back on when the mains power is restored?

 

[StarCaller]

buy a new battery, they don't cost a fortune /

 

[wwillson]

Does anyone have an UPS that they know has fully depleted and comes back on when the mains power is restored?

Mine would until the batteries were totally dead, then it wouldn't. I went to Batteries Plus and got two batteries that are connected in series. They were the same that I took out, but didn't have the nice plastic wrap that held them together. I connected the wires and the batteries fit snugly in the holder, so no harm that they aren't neatly wrapped. The cost was 50% of installing a new OEM battery that probably had the identical cells.

 

[JHZR2]

buy a new battery, they don't cost a fortune /

No kidding, but I wasn’t sure if the “stays off” attribute was intrinsic to the specific model I have. If so I’d rather buy a new one thst when mains power is restored, it recharges the batteries and turns itself back on to power the connected loads,

Mine would until the batteries were totally dead, then it wouldn't. I went to Batteries Plus and got two batteries that are connected in series. They were the same that I took out, but didn't have the nice plastic wrap that held them together. I connected the wires and the batteries fit snugly in the holder, so no harm that they aren't neatly wrapped. The cost was 50% of installing a new OEM battery that probably had the identical cells.

Thanks, that’s a good data point. I suspect the batteries are past useful life, but I’m surprised it wouldn’t turn on anyway once the batteries are “charged”. As soon as I push the power button it turns back on like nothing ever happened.

 

[Lubener]

I have a cyber power 1350va ups that I keep a few small loads on. Over the years the batteries have gone bad, because they show fine and full but if power drops the ups will shut down and not come back on.

Does anyone have an UPS that they know has fully depleted and comes back on when the mains power is restored?

Mine have always gotten going on their own when power resumed. I would bet your battery is failing.

 

[pcoxe]

The batteries are the heart of a UPS and one might expect them to fail at around 5 years, much like a car battery. And also like car batteries, you don't have to buy from the specific dealer. Some of the larger units may even have room for a bigger battery for more run time.

 

[John105]

good UPS units are pure sine wave and in the ballpark of $500 for 1500Va. Since the output is always through the UPS I believe this does what you are Asking

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1384843-REG/apc_smc1500c_smart_ups_c_1500va_lcd.html

 

[JHZR2]

good UPS units are pure sine wave and in the ballpark of $500 for 1500Va. Since the output is always through the UPS I believe this does what you are Asking

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1384843-REG/apc_smc1500c_smart_ups_c_1500va_lcd.html

That one says cold start. I guess that’s what I’m looking for.

 

[Thermo1223]

Most if not all resume operation after power is restored but they rely on a functional battery to do that. Even when the unit shuts off it is still sensing if line voltage is restored.

Getting a line interactive one which runs everything through the UPS would be better yet.

Cold start just means you can turn the UPS on without input power. Automatic Restart is the function you desire.

 

[mk378]

What is the point of keeping a UPS with bad batteries in your system at all?

Cold start means that if there is charge in the batteries you can switch it on and use it "off grid" to power something without needing to have connected to AC first. That is an unusual use case.

Every one I've ever had would power itself back up when AC was restored after a power failure that was long enough to deplete the batteries.

 

[spackard]

When the batteries go bad the charging circuit keeps charging. The batteries get hot and swell up to the size where you can’t get them out.
Yeah, the commercial grade APC will come back on with power but the Cyber Power is saving you the headache of swollen batteries.

If you want to buy that APC look for a refurbished one. It’ll save you 20-25%.

 

[Cujet]

As always, the crummy 7Ah or 9Ah lead-acid batteries that most consumer UPS's utilize is their shortcoming.

I take old 24V aircraft batteries and wire them in, after a reconditioning charge. The performance of the UPS is substantially improved.

 

[JHZR2]

What is the point of keeping a UPS with bad batteries in your system at all?

Cold start means that if there is charge in the batteries you can switch it on and use it "off grid" to power something without needing to have connected to AC first. That is an unusual use case.

Every one I've ever had would power itself back up when AC was restored after a power failure that was long enough to deplete the batteries.

Come on, what kind of a dumb question is that?!?

Seriously.

Obviously the batteries in my ups are dubious. But before I spend $50 on batteries I wanted to see if an ups with some other functionality was needed.

This ups has never flagged a bad battery. It says it has plenty of runtime which it obviously doesn’t have. The connected load on this isn’t even 25% of rating. On purpose. Yet it doesn’t stay up.

And we rarely lose power. Like years between incidents. It hasn’t hiccuped in the storm that is hitting us. But the storm makes me
Think about these things and being prepared/updated. And frankly I don’t think it’s too much to ask that the ups tracks capability and/or starts itself back up. Given the reliability of my power the “test” unfortunately was when the real thing occurred.

 

[brianl703]

That one says cold start. I guess that’s what I’m looking for.

Cold start means you can power it on without it being plugged into AC power.

 

[JHZR2]

As always, the crummy 7Ah or 9Ah lead-acid batteries that most consumer UPS's utilize is their shortcoming.

I take old 24V aircraft batteries and wire them in, after a reconditioning charge. The performance of the UPS is substantially improved.

While I agree that the 12v7-12v9 batteries are generally junk, that has nothing much to do with it. My connected load is not even 1/4 rating so Peukert isn’t an issue.

A 12-24v battery could still be just as dead. Just after more runtime. But dead is dead, and if the ups doesn’t start feeding power again as soon as mains is restored, that’s where we have an issue…

Your approach with the right fusing is smart where runtime is a consideration.

 

[brianl703]

As always, the crummy 7Ah or 9Ah lead-acid batteries that most consumer UPS's utilize is their shortcoming.

I take old 24V aircraft batteries and wire them in, after a reconditioning charge. The performance of the UPS is substantially improved.

Until the UPS overheats in a power outage because it was designed to be run off a 9AH battery that will go dead before that happens.

 

[JHZR2]

Until the UPS overheats in a power outage because it was designed to be run off a 9AH battery that will go dead before that happens.

Well, I’d argue that one would still buy an ups rated for a fraction of its nameplate so that couldn’t happen. And fusing is really important here too.

 

[brianl703]

Well, I’d argue that one would still buy an ups rated for a fraction of its nameplate so that couldn’t happen. And fusing is really important here too.

Most of the larger, say 1500VA, UPSs have cooling fans so they won't overheat no matter how long they run.

A UPS that doesn't have a cooling fan like a 600VA model probably shouldn't be loaded more than say 150W if you're going to use it with larger batteries than what it left the factory with.

I say that because most inverters larger than 150W have cooling fans.

 

[researcher]

Come on, what kind of a dumb question is that?!?

Seriously.

Obviously the batteries in my ups are dubious. But before I spend $50 on batteries I wanted to see if an ups with some other functionality was needed.

This ups has never flagged a bad battery. It says it has plenty of runtime which it obviously doesn’t have. The connected load on this isn’t even 25% of rating. On purpose. Yet it doesn’t stay up.

And we rarely lose power. Like years between incidents. It hasn’t hiccuped in the storm that is hitting us. But the storm makes me
Think about these things and being prepared/updated. And frankly I don’t think it’s too much to ask that the ups tracks capability and/or starts itself back up. Given the reliability of my power the “test” unfortunately was when the real thing occurred.

hey @JHZR2 I've used CyberPower UPS for a long time. When testing the battery via the software (USB connected to the UPS), the entire unit turned off!

So basically what I'm saying is it doesn't really tell you "bad battery - replace" it will just turn off! Sounds like what is happening to you.

And if you're looking for an excellent quality replacement battery brand..the brand I've been using is ExpertPower on Amazon.. here's a link to what I upgraded to (from the 7aH) 9aH

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00A82A3QG/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

 

[OVERKILL]

My Smart-UPS units are configurable in this respect, you get to dictate how much reserve capacity you want before it automatically gracefully shuts down aware loads (like a computer) and what battery SoC you want it to reach when mains power is restored before it turns the outlets back on.