Hard to go wrong with APC.

Whatever you get, make sure it uses a very common 12v ~7Ah-ish battery of approx. ~ 5.9 x 2.6 x 3.7 inch dimensions.  There are some very small variations of sizes in descriptions, but it's a pretty standard size in SOHO UPS units regardless of brand.  Beware that there are UPS units that require odd-sized batteries that are quite pricey to replace.

I've also had very good service from OPTI-UPS units in addition to APC.

My latest UPS is from Cyber Power, a 1500 VA/900 watt pure sine wave unit (more POWER!!!) that was less than half price last Black Friday.  I'm using it to power two PC simultaneously.

Check newegg for pricing too.

slmjim

The difference all comes down to the small implementation details in my opinion.

I particularly dislike devices and appliances that make unnecessarily loud noises, and many UPSes are notable offenders. It’s like, the power went out, I get it, pretty much everything shuts off, and I don’t need an audible beeping alert every second to remind me that there’s no power. Some of the older APC models even kept beeping after the power came back!

Also check the other small implementation details like: Does it have enough outlets for you, and how many of them have power backup and how many are just surge protection? Are they spaced enough to fit any of your especially large or strangely oriented wall warts?

You might be able to get something with more capacity around 1000Va for almost the same price if you shop around a bit more. But definitely prefer good design and features over capacity.

Is the purpose of the UPS to mainly allow the comuters, etc. to be shut down in an orderly and safe manner, or is the purpose to allow continued use for a longer period of time?

The ultimate UPS is my PV system with a large bank of batteries…. runs the whole house.

MtnDon wrote:

Is the purpose of the UPS to mainly allow the comuters, etc. to be shut down in an orderly and safe manner, or is the purpose to allow continued use for a longer period of time?

The ultimate UPS is my PV system with a large bank of batteries…. runs the whole house.

A bit of both, but mainly to allow you to shut down safely. Obviously the better one you get (battery wise) the longer it will last.
The ones above are literally to shut down with safely, as most budget ones will be. The batteries alone cost quite a bit – I used motorcycle ones in my old one (because they were free lol)

Since I use laptops for almost everything, I just connect my fiber modem and router to the UPS. Those two devices have low power consumption, so I get over 5 hours of internet access even during an outage.

OK. I would assume play time is then important. So as large a battery as possible would be important???

I do not use any such devices (not a gamer and hardly ever watch TV). Do you also have to power a TV/monitor?

I have both APC and CyberPower units at home. Both are in the 1000va and 1500va ranges and both have powered USB ports and management USB ports. I back up my network, my main computer and my home automation server. I use the USB management ports to talk to my HA server, 1 directly and the other thru a Pi connected to the backed up USB port, and it determines what gets shutdown and when. I really like both units and would not hesitate to by them again. Both are sine wave units, so no problems with high performance pc power supplies at all.

Costco often has a CyberPower 1500 (I think) for $99 when in stock.

raccoon city wrote:

I was all ready to buy a UPS, and I realized I don’t have an empty wall outlet!  alt=:" />

So no UPS for me.  alt=" />

sb56637 wrote:

I particularly dislike devices and appliances that make unnecessarily loud noises, and many UPSes are notable offenders. It’s like, the power went out, I get it, pretty much everything shuts off, and I don’t need an audible beeping alert every second to remind me that there’s no power. Some of the older APC models even kept beeping after the power came back!

RC
A UPS is the kindest gift you can give to a sensitive electronic device.

I’ve have used APC for 30+ years. I have 3 that are that old and still going strong.
I feel that they have dropped in quality or at least QC in the last few years to keep prices lower on their consumer lines.
But I still put them into customers systems all the time. And they work just fine.
I just don’t think the new ones are going to last decades like the old ones.
The batteries are easy to change.

I do like the CyberPower pure sine wave supplies, but they seem to be our of your budget range.

SlimJim is right about checking battery size. For example the CyberPower 1500va uses 2 standard 12v 7ah batteries. Easy to find.
The CyberPower 1250va uses 2 junior sized 4.5ah cells that are not easily found. And the darned UPS is exactly the same external size as the 1500va unit. I never knew about the odd batteries till I needed new ones.

Something that use the 12v 7 or 8 Ah batteries is nice since even Academy Sports stocks them for use in deer feeders.
I took a look at the UPSs you mentioned and I’m having a hare time telling what batteries they actually use. The APC – looks (notice the word looks) like it uses the standard 7ah battery. Check the APC web site for more details.
https://download.schneider-electric.com/files?p_File_Name=BU%20UM%20990-...
Easy – to change batteries.
Manufacturers like to obscure the actual battery replacement details so they can charge way more than a generic battery.

When looking at power ratings remember that they are rated in volt-amps which is not the same as watts. The specs should tell you what the approximate watt rating is.

As MtnDon mentions, the little ones are really just about making sure you have enough time to do an orderly shutdown. Sure they will run a router for maybe an hour. But a gaming PC? – better shut that puppy down PDQ.

Most UPSs have like a 2m-4m run time at their rated output.

But Hey – If you can mod a flashlight you can mod a UPS!
Open up the battery compartment, and if you ar lucky you can get at the battery connectors.
Figure out what you need to connect to the internal connectors.
Find a whopping big 12v deep cycle battery and Presto-Chango you have a UPS that will run for a several hours (days?) maybe.
Fun thing to play with if you have an extra old UPS sitting around with dead batteries.

Don’t Try This at Home…
Safety – Blah Blah – 12v is 12v. Just use common sense when doing this. Shorting a whopping big truck battery is – well – more than entertaining.
The little UPSs might overheat simply because they are not designed to run for extended periods at max power.
Bigger units have built in cooling fans.

Expect to change batteries about every 3 years or so. For some reason the first battery always seem to last a bit longer. Magic I guess.

Keep the light burning,
All the Best,
Jeff
PS The local stores seem to have more stuff on the shelves today (Monday).

Timely discussion, I just took delivery of a 100kw APC at work. APC/Schneider is the only brand that I will put in my central comms sites.

mattward,
100KW!! The enterprise level UPSs are a whole different ball game.
You know you’ve got a UPS when the delivery pallet is being crushed by the batteries.
Somebody or other has started making UPS using LiFePO cells.
With those the deep cycle life should increase a vast amount over lead-acid.
Not to mention the hernia rate of the IT staff when it’s new battery time because of the weight reduction.
They were stupid expensive as I recall.
All the Best,
Jeff

RC,
UPS into surge strip. Not supposed to, but it happens all the time.
Just get a $7 power strip at the hardware store to put in place of the surge strip.
Then plug the surge and UPS into that.
All the Best,
Jeff

I bought a small CyberPower UPS to be the battery backup for my Amazon Echo Show I use as my clock radio. The Echo only draws about 2-3 watts during its nighttime resting state, so the UPS will give me several hours of backup power during the night, unlike its endurance for powering a computer.

I think the product is a quality UPS. The reviews of them are generally good.

Came in on 5 pallets at 5200 pounds total. I run 3 of them and 4 single phase 16 kva units. They are amazing units, just wish they could deliver the 100kva units in lithium ion, but you have to go bigger for that.

I recently bought three smaller UPS to help deal with frequent power outages.

I did a bit of research and decided on the CyberPower ST625. It looks like it fits your general needs (625VA/360W) and price range ($54.95). This model seemed to be a sweet spot for price,performance and reliability.

What I liked – Direct cable interface with monitoring software, 2 usb charging ports, 8 receptacles well spaced, low flat form factor, easy to find battery replacement.

Mine have been runing for a few months, so far so good. Maybe this will work for you.

CyberPower ST625U

raccoon city wrote:

Ilumenati wrote:

Maybe this will work for you.

CyberPower ST625U

I was looking at that one before.

Amazon doesn’t take returns on that UPS.

Since sometimes you get shipped a dud, I wouldn’t get that one.

I usually buy second hand UPS’s with dead batteries cheap.
I replace battery’s and use it.
Mike

raccoon city wrote:

Pete7874 wrote:

Does it say somewhere that it’s non-returnable if defective? I’m not seeing anything…

You sort of have to read between the lines.

Up top, it says “$54.95 & FREE Shipping.”

It is missing “& FREE Returns”

Also, if you read the customer reviews, many point out that if you get a dud, you’re stuck with it.

 

EDIT:

Amazon is very sneaky when they do not accept returns.

They don’t usually just spell it out for you.

But I do see the reviews mentioning that Amazon is refusing to accept returns on this particular item. That is shady.

I bought my CyberPower UPS at BestBuy. They accept returns.

One of the UPS I received had the power button slightly damaged from shipping. I online chatted with an Amazon rep and it was arranged to have a new one sent to me. For some reason they do not want to have this item shipped as a return.

Please don’t purchase this depending on my return circumstances, I can not guaranty it will be the same for you. If you contact the supplier you will get a better answer.

I am not recommending this UPS or Amazon just sharing my experience.

If you have more questions feel free to PM me.

raccoon city wrote:

Amazon is very sneaky when they do not accept returns.

They don’t usually just spell it out for you.