Re: Colorado's Blizzard (UPS)

[Bill Wichers <billw at waveform_net>]

>Bill, which small pumps have you had problems running on the cheap UPS
>units? I used the $40 APC "UPS ES 350" for the test and was able to run the
>following pumps successfully:
>
>- Eheim 2217 Canister
>- Duetto DJ-100 and DJ-50
>- Aqua Clear 201 and 402
>- Unknown brand small fountain pump

I have had trouble in the past with the Aquaclear power heads, specifically 
402's I think if I remember correctly (been a while since I tried). They 
would "buzz" but not pump anything. I was using a square wave UPS at the 
time. The APC units that aren't true sine units use a modified sine wave 
(basically a square wave that is modified so that the average and RMS power 
values are closer to what they would be in a real sine wave). Maybe they 
are better than they used to be.

>The sinewave was indeed poor as you said but it didn't have any problems
>starting or running the pumps that I had available to test. I'd be
>interested in knowing which ones you found that failed so I can avoid buying
>them seeing I'm using these UPS units on my filters. I also tried a 1700AH
>Smart UPS borrowed from the server room and to be honest I couldn't tell
>much difference in performance, flow rate or noise from the pumps using one
>UPS of the other. I guess if the impeller is dirty and partially clogged
>there might be the chance that the inferior sinewave doesn't have the kick
>to start the rotor turning but I haven't had this happen to me yet.

The pumps wouldn't start for me at all. If they got running they might have 
stayed running but I never got that far. I have several SmartUPS units I 
can use now, although I haven't bothered for the few-hour power 
interruptions when I've even thought about it. The old square wave inverted 
ran air pumps great and at the time that was my primary concern since I had 
a lot of air-driven things like UG filters then.

BTW, to anyone seriously considering using UPSes for their tanks, APC makes 
some "extended run" units. Although they cost more, it is possible to add 
additional batteries to them to extend the runtime. If you get the special 
connector (it's made by Anderson Power Products) you can use regular sealed 
deep-cycle batteries and get a lot of run time for relatively little money. 
You'd probably be better off with a generator though.

         -Bill



>Thanks
>
>Giancarlo Podio


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Waveform Technology
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