Suitable UPS for ASUS RT-AC88U

[Treadler]

I think I have found what I am looking for in Australia. Here is the link and I was looking at buying the 1200VA/650W model. https://treske.com.au/products/apc-...ive-ups-1-20-kva-650-w?variant=48043397808436
I need to check and make sure theirs is no annoying alarm if power is interrupted. If I was just running a pc, router and monitor on this any idea how long it would last? The brochures don't seem to give how long they will last for on power outage?

That one says it has an alarm…….

 

[plato2322]

I thought it was the APC model that someone on here said it can be turned off. Out of this one and Powershield Degender 1600.

 

[Jeffrey Young]

APC has their own free software suite that you can likely use the silence the alarm. There are a few other free software programs you can also use that will likely do the same job. You just need to Google them.

As to how long the UPS will last with your peripherals, one will need to know how much power they draw. Loads of examples on the internet showing you how to calculate all of this.

 

[ColinTaylor]

If I was just running a pc, router and monitor on this any idea how long it would last? The brochures don't seem to give how long they will last for on power outage?

That's a significant change in requirements. My PC and monitor are fairly low powered devices yet they consume 50-150W and 30W respectively while doing light browsing. So you've gone from <10W to 90-190W. Below is the battery runtime graph for the BX1200MI-AZ.

Runtime: BX1200MI-AZ

www.se.com

At 191W they predict a runtime of 14 minutes 26 seconds.

 

[plato2322]

That's a significant change in requirements. My PC and monitor are fairly low powered devices yet they consume 50-150W and 30W respectively while doing light browsing. So you've gone from <10W to 90-190W. Below is the battery runtime graph for the BX1200MI-AZ.

View attachment 67547

Runtime: BX1200MI-AZ

www.se.com

At 191W they predict a runtime of 14 minutes 26 seconds.

Thanks Colin, to me this pretty much means these devices are a waste of space and money, not even devised to do the job they purport to do, are a total nuisance with the ongoing beeping crap and seemingly not worth the effort. Seems like none of them are built for purpose just for bells and whistles, none of which is wanted. If the power goes out all I want is that a router, monitor and pc continue to function, one beep would be ok to alert I've gone to battery and maybe one alert once the battery is almost cactus, end of story. A visual red lcd indicator is fine but seems like these are made and sold under false pretences. Look at all the data sheets and yep they tell you recharge time but no mention on any of the promos about how long they last or with what equipment. Most people only want their tele of pc/modem to keep going for a couple of hours without all the annoying sound crap. Don't the developers understand no one needs bells and whistles.

 

[ColinTaylor]

Thanks Colin, to me this pretty much means these devices are a waste of space and money, not even devised to do the job they purport to do, are a total nuisance with the ongoing beeping crap and seemingly not worth the effort. Seems like none of them are built for purpose just for bells and whistles, none of which is wanted. If the power goes out all I want is that a router, monitor and pc continue to function, one beep would be ok to alert I've gone to battery and maybe one alert once the battery is almost cactus, end of story. A visual red lcd indicator is fine but seems like these are made and sold under false pretences. Look at all the data sheets and yep they tell you recharge time but no mention on any of the promos about how long they last or with what equipment. Most people only want their tele of pc/modem to keep going for a couple of hours without all the annoying sound crap. Don't the developers understand no one needs bells and whistles.

I think you're being slightly unfair here. I expect the beeping issue can be addressed using the provided software (but check with customer services to be sure). As for the runtime duration, you initially said that all you wanted to do was power your router for 3 to 4 hours. This UPS will do that. You said you didn't need anything else powered because you were going to be using a laptop with its own battery. Powering a desktop PC and monitor was never mentioned.

If you're plugging more demanding things (like PCs and monitors) in this UPS then the idea is that it will keep you running long enough to ride out a brief outage, or to save your current work and cleanly shut down your system.

 

[degrub]

Thanks Colin, to me this pretty much means these devices are a waste of space and money, not even devised to do the job they purport to do, are a total nuisance with the ongoing beeping crap and seemingly not worth the effort. Seems like none of them are built for purpose just for bells and whistles, none of which is wanted. If the power goes out all I want is that a router, monitor and pc continue to function, one beep would be ok to alert I've gone to battery and maybe one alert once the battery is almost cactus, end of story. A visual red lcd indicator is fine but seems like these are made and sold under false pretences. Look at all the data sheets and yep they tell you recharge time but no mention on any of the promos about how long they last or with what equipment. Most people only want their tele of pc/modem to keep going for a couple of hours without all the annoying sound crap. Don't the developers understand no one needs bells and whistles.

From the page for the UPS you linked to:

They provided the nominal range of backup time versus load. Full load = 650 watts. 325 watts, half load, would accommodate many PCs with a 500 - 650 watt power supply as these are intended to run at the design point of 50 % rated for max efficiency. If the PC is using higher wattage power supply and higher load, obviously, the run time will be closer to 1 minute or less.

Realize that these consumer units are designed to give you enough time to shutdown and secure the system. Any time after that is just bonus.

If you really need to run the PC for hours during a power outage, i would suggest 1) maybe use a laptop ? , 2) solar + battery ? , or 3) possibly a generator or large battery outside feeding the circuit.

Powerchute Serial Shutdown does provide a command to disable the noise maker.

PowerChute support with USB or Serial communication - Supported APC UPS Models | Schneider Electric USA

www.apc.com

PowerChute Serial Shutdown | Schneider Electric UK

Schneider Electric UK. Browse our products and documents for PowerChute Serial Shutdown - UPS management, graceful shutdown, and energy management software for computers, and servers using dedicated serial or USB connections.

www.se.com

i have one UPS that keeps my network infrastructure on line for about 30 - 40 minutes. Each PC or other critical user has their own UPS that provides 5-10 minutes of run time allowing for graceful shutdown.

 

[CaptainSTX]

Does anyone use or know which UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) may be suitable for keeping an RT-AC88U going for 3-4 hours after a blackout? It's 19v and about 3.5a I think.

If you are looking for a UPS that will run your network and other devices for extended times look at Bluetti emergency/solar power devices. They have a 10 ms cutover in UPS mode, their smallest unit will provide 600 watts of power from 268 wh Lithium battery and cost is US$199. Larger units are available. Lithium batteries are superior in to lead acid and will have much longer service life which helps justify higher initial cost. My unit has no alarm function.

 

[SoFluffy]

The APC I mentioned has the ability to silence the alarm directly on the device with no additional software or open source hackery needed. But yeah, that same device would last maybe 10 minutes if having a computer/monitor on it.. As said, it would give just enough time to shut down safely so you have no data loss/corruption.

I also have an Ecoflow Delta Pro 3600kWh battery (and an additional 3600kWh connected to it for 7200kWh total backup power) and a 400w solar panel. These batteries are around $1700 USD each though.. You can achieve your goal here but it might be a lot more expensive than what you initially thought.

 

[degrub]

LiFePo4 for me instead of straight Li ion. Can also buy them used and scrape by on the remaining life.

 

[Tech9]

to me this pretty much means these devices are a waste of space and money

You are looking for power backup device, not uninterruptable power supply. Such device capable of holding ~200W load for about 4h will have 70Ah or larger battery, as big as your car's battery. It will be bigger size, will cost much more and will perhaps weigh 50kg.

I have 4x APC CS500 devices at home, they have 12V 7Ah batteries, can hold a PC/monitor at idle for about 30-40min with fresh battery. A router ~10W may perhaps work for about 1.5-2h. This is not the intended use of UPS though. My computers hibernate automatically after 5min with no power. The battery recharge time in 6-8h and I don't want to have no UPS in next 6-8h if the battery was fully discharged by needless in my case maximum runtime. Alarm sounds on APC UPS devices can be disabled, of course. Read the User Manual.

 

[plato2322]

While I was interested in knowing how long one of these micht power a pc, monitor and router I simply need a unit that will power a 'router only' for 3-4 hours. This is for a Bridge Club. The game is scored with devices called Bridgemates and each table of 4 players has one Bridgemate, when scores are entered from say 12 tables the signal is sent to a 'Bridgemate Server; which is plugged into a Laptop.
The Bridgemates, Server and Laptop all need wi-fi for this to happen and power for the router to provide the wi-fi.
Two things can interrupt a Bridge Game which goes for about 4 hours (depends on number of boards played).
1. The internet can go down. Presently, if this happens it interrupts the game and the Director has to Hotspot their mobile to the laptop. We hope to eliminate this problem with a Telstra Router that in the event of an internet outage the router will automatically switch to a 4G Backup system and when the internet is back on nbn (landline) it automatically reverts back.
2. Power outage. So we need the router to operate continuously so in the event of a power outage need the ups to take over for 3-4 hours to allow the game to finish. No bells, whistles alarms (just do its job) and when power restored it can charge itself back up again.
Also want lead acid battery rather than lithium.

 

[ColinTaylor]

1. The internet can go down. Presently, if this happens it interrupts the game and the Director has to Hotspot their mobile to the laptop. We hope to eliminate this problem with a Telstra Router that in the event of an internet outage the router will automatically switch to a 4G Backup system and when the internet is back on nbn (landline) it automatically reverts back.

So you're not going to be using an RT-AC88U as you previously said. So you could use the Telstra router and UPS that you previously told us about.

2. Power outage. So we need the router to operate continuously so in the event of a power outage need the ups to take over for 3-4 hours to allow the game to finish. No bells, whistles alarms (just do its job) and when power restored it can charge itself back up again.
Also want lead acid battery rather than lithium.

If you don't want to use the Telstra UPS because it has lithium batteries then the APC unit you mentioned will do what you want.

Check whether the APC supplier will accept returns if there's something about it you don't like. For example, some UPSs have an audible hum that some people find annoying. I'm not saying that's the case with the APC unit because I don't know.

 

[plato2322]

3.5 amps is what the supply is capable of at 19 volts DC. You need to look at what the input draw is at 110 volts AC or 240Vac if you're in Europe.

Either way, you may find it hard to find a cheap commercial grade UPS that will last 3 to 4 hours. What I did with mine, is removed the small battery and ran external leads to a much larger battery (20Ah).

Trying to find the answer is like pick a box. On other forums here it says 30w at normal load, google says between 14-21w. I have also read only 5w so who knows? (Referring to ASUS RT-AC88U).

 

[degrub]

Only way to know is to use a clamp on power measuring device or something like a "kill a watt"

Amazon.com

You'll want to let it capture the peak over a game period at least.

 

[plato2322]

Trying to find the answer is like pick a box. On other forums here it says 30w at normal load, google says between 14-21w. I have also read only 5w so who knows? (Referring to ASUS RT-AC88U).

The RT-AC88U is what we are currently using but I think we'll go over to the Telstra Router (which will be better for an internet outage). Telstra also sell a lithium ups:

Uninterruptible Power Supply for Smart Modems from Telstra

The Uninterruptible Power Supple for Smart Modems provides a battery backup for up to four hours in the event of a mains electricity outage. Order yours today!

www.telstra.com.au

They don't say how long this will power their Telstra Gen 4 Smart Modem for (I couldn't imagine it would be very long). Also I wouldn't think this could be plugged into another ups. Would be easier to know which way to go, this ups battery or a 240v ups.

 

[degrub]

i would ask Telstra what they do for larger loading of the UPS for commercial customers. You may have to talk the the business contract reps instead of residential. You can place UPSs in series, but you will need to check if the stepped sine wave input to the second UPS will cause an issue. This has been a problem in the past.

 

[plato2322]

Only way to know is to use a clamp on power measuring device or something like a "kill a watt"

Amazon.com

You'll want to let it capture the peak over a game period at least.

Sounds like a good idea. thanks.

 

[plato2322]

Amazing how many of these ups devices are on Marketplace (Facebook), most with 'you need to replace batteries'. I'll probably be able to pick one up cheap and still have money leftover for a box of stubbies.

 

[Tech9]

Something like this?

GL-E750 / Mudi

VPN encrypted pocket Wi-Fi. Supports 4G LTE network, 30+ VPN services, and a durable battery.

www.gl-inet.com

4G LTE travel router with built-in battery and up to 8h runtime in AIO device.