Battery Backups Suck in Off Topic

ID:182470
 
Jun 11 2008, 2:56 pm
Does anybody have a battery backup that actualy works? I've tried 2 different ones, but isntead of actualy providing any kind of backup, 90% of the time the power will cut off for half a second and the thing will decide to cut the power to itself permenantly, untill I reset it, causing my computer to shutoff when if I had just had it plugged into the wall it probably would have survived the half a flick of power
#1 Jun 12 2008, 6:44 am
Sounds like you have dead batteries. We have two at work and they both work. One actually connects to the computer via USB so it can see the battery backup as a battery like in a laptop and the computer can shut itself down before the battery dies.

The simple way to test a battery backup is to plug only a fan into it, then yank the power out of the wall and see if the fan still runs. If this works, then chances are you are actually overloading the battery, and it can't charge everything you have connected to it.
#2 Jun 12 2008, 8:55 am
Falacy wrote:
Does anybody have a battery backup that actualy works? I've tried 2 different ones, but isntead of actualy providing any kind of backup, 90% of the time the power will cut off for half a second and the thing will decide to cut the power to itself permenantly, untill I reset it, causing my computer to shutoff when if I had just had it plugged into the wall it probably would have survived the half a flick of power

The only times I've had issues with battery backups (except for the sticky pushbutton APC likes to use) were when I was connected to dubious power. 8 years ago when I moved into an old house the wiring was in really crappy shape, and my computer had to be plugged in via a 2-prong outlet that didn't have proper ground. I was also using one of those older surge protectors that's like a short platform for the monitor with a row of switches in front. Long story short, during a power blip the surge protector failed spectacularly, and it pretty well destroyed an $80 battery backup.

So my advice is to check the outlet. At any hardware store--and probably places like Wal-mart as well--you can buy a very cheap tester that plugs into the wall and lights up 3 lights whose pattern tells you the state of the wiring. That should tell you if everything is kosher.

Lummox JR
#3 Jun 12 2008, 3:05 pm
I have one connected to my DSL router, so I can stay online when the power goes out. Living in a canyon means high winds and odd weather at times, meaning utilities like electricity and phones can cut out at any time, sometimes for many hours. With my UPS and my laptop's batteries, I can stay up and running through most black-outs. My box isn't very big, so i can only get about an hour out of it with only the router plugged in. My laptop can last up to 12 hours in power-saver mode with all 3 batteries at full charge.
#4 Jun 13 2008, 9:12 am
I love my battery backup. When my house flooded the battery backup was on the floor of my room and the incoming electrical had shorted so that the battery backup was still operating, but not charging. Because of this it let off an incredibly loud beep noise saying that it was operating on battery. This awoke me, alerted me my house was flooding, saved about $2500 worth of computer equipment, a $400 Nintendo Wii, and about $2000 in power tools.