A UPS and a generator is a good combination if you suffer from powercuts

Phil2008

Phil2008

Phil2008

Soldato
Joined
17 Dec 2004
Posts
8,733
I have had a UPS for about 12yrs now and when I upgraded the UPS 2 years ago I decided to get a generator friendly UPS. So last February I bought my first petrol 2800watt generator and today was the first time I have used it during a powercut.

Normally during a powercut I would keep the UPS running till the batts are about dead (pc will last about 2hrs on battery power). Anyway tonight when we had a powercut for about 2hrs, instead of letting the UPS go flat I transferred it over to generator power after 30mins, and it worked flawless as my pc didnt notice the change over from battery power to generator power, then back to mains power. It made a nice change not having to turn stuff off during a powercut, plus I connected our 50" tv and few lights to the generator for my parents aswel

So no more having to turn off my computer during powercuts and letting the UPS's batteries go flat.
 
Last edited:
Cool-c70d6a-1612772.jpg



Would watch the movie/mini-series! :D
 
I guess your opening post drops into the 'boring or pointless' category that's usually indicated by 'cool story bro'.

No questions asked to be answered.

No real potential for further discussion.

I'm sure it was nice to finally use your generator in anger after all these months, but that's not going to mean much to anyone else.
 
Well people who buy UPS's mainly want their equipment to stay on during powerloss and even if you buy expensive powerful UPS's they still dont last that long on battery backup. So if you want the power to last indefinitely on your UPS, buy a generator to take over from battery power for long power outages.

That was the main reason I upgraded my UPS for a more powerful one, to extend the battery runtime. But stil l wasnt happy with the runtime, plus the UPS costed way more then the generator:mad:
 
Whereabouts do you live Phil?

I would argue for the majority of the UK a power cut is a very rare occurrence (thankfully), so spending money on things like a generator plus having a jerry can of petrol lying around would certainly be an unnecessary expense.

I guess people also buy UPS's for the surge protection they offer.
 
For a lot of places yeah - earlier in the year I moved out into the country a bit (not that far but still) and our supply comes in on overhead poles and it hasn't been flawless - we are definitely more exposed to extreme weather, etc. than when living in a town or city.

My UPS logs show 2x ~30 minute, 1x ~12 hour and 3x ~5 minute losses of power since April so nothing too extreme but nothing like the last few years of living in a town where it didn't even hit that total.

I've been contemplating a generator - hardly any real need for it but if we did have a wintery patch along with a loss of power it could get a bit inconvenient - chances pretty low though.
 
Rroff said:
For a lot of places yeah - earlier in the year I moved out into the country a bit (not that far but still) and our supply comes in on overhead poles and it hasn't been flawless - we are definitely more exposed to extreme weather, etc. than when living in a town or city.

My UPS logs show 2x ~30 minute, 1x ~12 hour and 3x ~5 minute losses of power since April so nothing too extreme but nothing like the last few years of living in a town where it didn't even hit that total.

I've been contemplating a generator - hardly any real need for it but if we did have a wintery patch along with a loss of power it could get a bit inconvenient - chances pretty low though.
Click to expand...

Yeah I live in the countryside and from time to time we get a powercut due to a branch or tree taking down a powerline. Its typical though years ago we use to have powercuts all the time, but in those days half a decent generator use to cost a few thousand, and now they are in the hundreds. I bought mine for £250, a honda clone 2800watt with electric key start and a 8-10hour runtime on a full tank of petrol. Not as good as a proper honda as they cost twice+ as much, but for the amount of times Ill use it, its good enough Id say.

The problem with generators, they need monthly runs to keep the engine running smoothly, I run mine for about 10mins monthly.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom