Feeding UPS off battery and converter?
Thread Starter
Plastic PPRuNer
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 1,902
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From: Rochechouart, France
Feeding UPS off battery and converter?
As you may all know, the electricty supply is a bit wonky in SA at the moment..
I used to get by with a trio of APC UPS'es for brownouts and brief dropouts, but now the dropouts can last an hour or more.
I have 3 big deep discharge marine 12V batteries constantly on charge from smartchargers.and 3 decent converters (12vDC to 240V AC)
My question is whether I can plug the UPSes into the converters and thus sail through blackouts without fiddling with things.
Possible? Dangerous? Silly?
Advice please
Mac
I used to get by with a trio of APC UPS'es for brownouts and brief dropouts, but now the dropouts can last an hour or more.
I have 3 big deep discharge marine 12V batteries constantly on charge from smartchargers.and 3 decent converters (12vDC to 240V AC)
My question is whether I can plug the UPSes into the converters and thus sail through blackouts without fiddling with things.
Possible? Dangerous? Silly?
Advice please
Mac
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 224
Likes: 113
From: UK
You might also end up with a control circuit issue with the addition, potential, extra current available from adding the batteries in parallel, best to consult whatever documentation you can find from the UPS manufacturer.
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 277
Likes: 5
From: Baltimore, MD
Some UPS have an external connector for larger 12volt batteries. Also there are heavy duty inverters for sale. Hah! Soon you will discover all about why powering everything with batteries is tough.
I think mixing battery types in parallel is a bad idea.
I think mixing battery types in parallel is a bad idea.
Thread Starter
Plastic PPRuNer
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 1,902
Likes: 0
From: Rochechouart, France
The usual little UPS sold for home use has a a 12V motorcycle battery desisned to give your machine a message to shut down gracefully (5-15min). The circuitry is designed to give you enought amp/hrs to do that only - it cannot handle prolonged loads without overheating.
There are real UPSes that really wil give you several hours, but they are big, heavy, noisy and ferkin' expensive - PDR1's answer is theoretically correct but impracticable unless yer wants to spend mucho dinero. Better to buy a little genny and hope it starts.
My solution is relatively cheap, seems safe enough and lasts me a couple of hours. Just add batteries in series for more time, but be prepared for a l-o-o-o-n-g recharge.
Mac
Comments?
There are real UPSes that really wil give you several hours, but they are big, heavy, noisy and ferkin' expensive - PDR1's answer is theoretically correct but impracticable unless yer wants to spend mucho dinero. Better to buy a little genny and hope it starts.
My solution is relatively cheap, seems safe enough and lasts me a couple of hours. Just add batteries in series for more time, but be prepared for a l-o-o-o-n-g recharge.
Mac
Comments?
