I've just bought an APC BX700UI UPS and I want to connect not only the PC but also the DSL modem and the D-Link switch to the UPS. The modem and the switch each have a low-voltage trafo and both trafos are currently plugged into an extension strip which in turn is plugged into a wall socket.
Can I modify a spare extension strip to take one of these C14 3 pin Male Plugs instead of a standard 3-pin plug?
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Is that permissible according to the electricity regs?
I have done that here. I used a spare cable with a molded-on female on one end, and a male on the other, and cut off the latter then connected that end directly to the power strip. I had to use a power strip with screws that can be undone, some cannot be opened without destroying them.
I did similar but the other way round, as per the OP's idea.
I took a cheap (as there was no real load) 4 way power strip, removed the 13A plug and soldered a male plug on instead (the screw terminals were cr*p). As you say, that removed the issue of trying to open the power strip, was cheaper than buying a m/f IEC extension lead to cut up and gave me a spare 13A plug. ;-)
Yup, done it many times. Label the extension lead "computer use only" or similar... (it won't stop someone trying to run a fan heater off the UPS, but it does at least mean you can tease them later ;-)
Thanks. Actually, I've just found several on Amazon.co.uk, extension strips with the correct plug, that is. Search for: IEC C14 to 4 Way Gang UK Mains Extension Sockets Lead The Kenable one is actually sold as a "UPS Power Splitter". Costs £7.76 with free delivery. Lot less hassle for me to just order one of those instead of sacrificing one of my existing strips.
Quite, and, should something untoward happen in the future (I can't think what mind) at least you can say hand_on_heart that you bought it like that and for that purpose. ;-)
I have one of those on each of my three UPS units. I bought a 1m cable with the C13 connector moulded on one end and nothing on the other. I also bought a socket strip without a cable (and thus, by definition, rewirable). 5 minutes work and job done.
I did the same. You have to be wary though, not to plug in CRT displays or laser printers. Changing the plugs for, say, red ones might be an idea. You go to plug something in and wonder why the plugs already there are red. It's a reminder.
My offline APC UPS was happy with a CRT monitor provided it wasn't on battery when you switched it on.
Or using those 13 A sockets that have verical L and N pins or horizontal earth. Though the OP wants to plug in wall warts so that isn't an option.
At some point I'm planning to rationalise the plethora of wall warts under this desk to a single stand alone PSU. I've yet to do a survey of the voltages required though...
It's not a good idea. When you switch the monitor on, the degaussing coil pulls a lot of current for a short time. That's the "boing!" you hear some CRT monitors make when you power them on. It's not good for the UPS, unless it's an online one.
I've started using USB-to-coax-jack cables to replace the wall warts for those devices that need 5v at less than 1A. The PC's PSU is there, also under the desk, why not use it? Watch the polarity though, almost,
*almost* all devices have centre positive. Sod's law says the one that doesn't and lets out the magic smoke will be the most expensive one...
"Offline" - Mains present - Mains is fed straight through or possibly via an auto transformer with automatic tap changing. This is fairly bullet (degauss) proof.
"Online" - The Invertor is running all the time and connected kit is effectively "on battery". Mains goes to a charger with enough umph to charge the batteries and supply the load via the invertor. A degauss is very likely to trip the invertor, just as it does with an "offline" UPS running on battery.
That's a good idea, although I've never made that error. No CRT displays and only two permanent laser printers! (or any other high wattage stuff)
One laser printer (the newer one) is on the 'raw' supply on a particular ring circuit. Interestingly, when I turn it on, the UPS on that circuit makes noises - I think it's compensating for the voltage drop. At the moment, all that's on that circuit is the UPS (about half loaded) and the printer...
It rather depends on the rating of the UPS. Whilst it's a no-brainer to avoid hooking up a laser printer with a 4 or 5 hundred watt drum heating element to a UPS, it's the 20A peak degaussing surge on switch on on a colour monitor that trips out your typical 400 to 1200 VA line interactive UPS.
A monochrome CRT monitor doesn't present such a problem which is why I still have a small 14 inch monochrome VGA monitor hooked up to my NAS4Free box under the sub-shelf I added to a tiny office desk alongside of my real office desk to house the GateWay 2000 cased NAS. Its main job has been running duty as a "Dust Collector" for the past 8 years or so - I very rarely find myself having to get on my hands and knees to use the NAS's physical console.
My ancient APC SmartUPS2000 surprised me by being able to cope with the degaussing surge of a 17 inch CRT monitor when running on battery power. Thankfully, from the PoV of a UPS backed mains supply, I no longer use CRT monitors so I can be a lot more cavalier about turning the LCD based monitors on and off during a mains outage without getting that feeling of "Playing Russian Roulette" by switching back on to 'Take a quick peek at how close to completion a process has gotten'. :-)
You might find, after some testing with a multi-voltage DC PSU and measurement of the DC current taken over the range from 5 to 9 volts (or whatever the claimed voltage requirement is) that all bar the really ancient peripherals (anything older than around 15 years which relies on a metal case to act as a heatsink for an analogue voltage regulator) that you can indeed get away with a single 7.5 to 12 volt smpsu wallwart of suitable amperage (even those that were supplied with a really cheap AC output wallwart - apart from decades old dial up modems which relied on the AC input to generate a negative rail as well as the standard 5v positive rail, modernish peripherals designed to be powered off their cheap AC only output wallwarts would cheerfully work from a 7.5vdc output wallwart with equal ease since they simply had the additional rectifier bridge and a smoothing cap on the input circuitry to obviate the need for them in the wallwart which could then be "All Transformer".
The key thing when testing for the presence of switching regulator technology in the peripheral's PSU conditioning circuit is a negative current/voltage slope. A 6 watt 5 port Gbit switch might draw 600mA from its specified 10 or 12 volt wallwart but then draw 1200mA from a 6 volt wallwart (assuming the 6v wallwart can supply 1200mA or more). The upper limit on DC input voltage is usually set by the voltage rating of the input filtering capacitor, typically 16 or 25 volt. I's probably best to assume a maximum input voltage of 15 volt on such peripherals (the higher the voltage, the less the current demand but it's not worth risking much more than a 12 volt maximum for such a common rail supply).
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