4 ms·

Or you can be lazy like me and buy 3-4 hr battery backup / surge protector bricks at Costco for $50-100.

NavinF 4y ago
I checked Costco and they only sell one UPS: A $50 CyberPower “625VA” (lol) “Simulated Sinc Wave” (sine wave?) model. The datasheet says its real power output is 375W and only lasts 2 minutes at that power draw: https://cdn.cs.1worldsync.com/syndication/mediaserverredirect/d7d7f61256d36bf04a6120012559f0c5/original.pdf https://cdn.cs.1worldsync.com/syndication/mediaserverredirec... It’s certainly better than nothing, but at 12.5Wh (worst case), it has less capacity than most Li-ion USB power banks or even phones. Goes to show how far battery tech has advanced since the days when SLA batteries like the one in your UPS were the only option. For comparison, the iPhone 13 Pro Max in my pocket has a 16.75Wh battery.
- megous 4y ago
  Can your iPhone battery supply 375W? :)
  - NavinF 4y ago
    That’s a discharge rate of only 22.4C; Most LiPo packs can do 30C for 1 minute as long as it’s mounted to a metal plate or has good ventilation. So yes, almost certainly. For comparison a typical $35 RC LiPo is rated for 50C or 1850W (!): https://www.amainhobbies.com/gens-ace-2s-stick-50c-lipo-battery-w-tstyle-connector-7.4v-5000mah-type-1-gea50002s50d1/p530214 https://www.amainhobbies.com/gens-ace-2s-stick-50c-lipo-batt... (first search result; not a recommendation)
    - megous 4y ago
      Is that the battery you have in your iPhone? That must look splendid. :D
- pomatic 4y ago
  Nice article. For those less handy, I have the following unsolicited recommendations: * APC have a special offer on Amazon for a 1.4kVA UPS for £130. It's a nicely made piece of kit that will run a PC setup with monitor for an hour or so (depending on power consumption, obviously). * For 12V equipment, a CCTV camera power supply can be had off ebay for £30 or so. Nice steel case, floating battery charger included. 12V to USB adapters are the same as those used in cars, so USB equipment can be readily charged/supplied if necessary. * Lastly, low end switches such as the likes of Netgear are often constructed around a power supply brick that is simply enclosed in a case with the IEC connector exposed. It's simple to remove it, and power it direct from a 12V supply.

I checked Costco and they only sell one UPS: A $50 CyberPower “625VA” (lol) “Simulated Sinc Wave” (sine wave?) model. The datasheet says its real power output is 375W and only lasts 2 minutes at that power draw: https://cdn.cs.1worldsync.com/syndication/mediaserverredirect/d7d7f61256d36bf04a6120012559f0c5/original.pdf https://cdn.cs.1worldsync.com/syndication/mediaserverredirec... It’s certainly better than nothing, but at 12.5Wh (worst case), it has less capacity than most Li-ion USB power banks or even phones. Goes to show how far battery tech has advanced since the days when SLA batteries like the one in your UPS were the only option. For comparison, the iPhone 13 Pro Max in my pocket has a 16.75Wh battery.

megous 4y ago
Can your iPhone battery supply 375W? :)
- NavinF 4y ago
  That’s a discharge rate of only 22.4C; Most LiPo packs can do 30C for 1 minute as long as it’s mounted to a metal plate or has good ventilation. So yes, almost certainly. For comparison a typical $35 RC LiPo is rated for 50C or 1850W (!): https://www.amainhobbies.com/gens-ace-2s-stick-50c-lipo-battery-w-tstyle-connector-7.4v-5000mah-type-1-gea50002s50d1/p530214 https://www.amainhobbies.com/gens-ace-2s-stick-50c-lipo-batt... (first search result; not a recommendation)
  - megous 4y ago
    Is that the battery you have in your iPhone? That must look splendid. :D
pomatic 4y ago
Nice article. For those less handy, I have the following unsolicited recommendations: * APC have a special offer on Amazon for a 1.4kVA UPS for £130. It's a nicely made piece of kit that will run a PC setup with monitor for an hour or so (depending on power consumption, obviously). * For 12V equipment, a CCTV camera power supply can be had off ebay for £30 or so. Nice steel case, floating battery charger included. 12V to USB adapters are the same as those used in cars, so USB equipment can be readily charged/supplied if necessary. * Lastly, low end switches such as the likes of Netgear are often constructed around a power supply brick that is simply enclosed in a case with the IEC connector exposed. It's simple to remove it, and power it direct from a 12V supply.