Question 1

I have a i7 3770k and a gtx 1080ti with a few mechanical hard drives powered by a 850 watt corsair HX850 hypothetically if my power goes out, do I have enough time to run outside and flick my breaker back to ON before my computer pulls too much battery from this and it shuts off?

Accepted Answer

I've had this for over a year. Living in a part of the U.S. that experiences extreme wind and ice conditions (e.g., systemic power delivery outages), this unit has been put to the test a couple of times per season and passed with flying colors for me... and I've got a consumption beast, too.

YMMV, but I hope this helps. The 1500VA model will keep my system running for at least the 5-7 minutes it takes to physically get to the machine, save any open work and exit programs, and shut the PC down correctly...

Why is your breaker "outside"? Why no internal house breaker box? Cycling mains could lead to deleterious effects on every piece of electronics, wiring, major appliances, etc. in your house. You should 'un-trip' individual circuits at the indoor box. Living rural? How far to the "outside" breaker is it? Do you have to fire up the tractor and drive 30 minutes to get to it?

Question 2

Does this model recharge the battery after any use, or is it like so many UPS models which only work once then must be discarded because a replacement battery costs as much as the whole unit?

Accepted Answer

This unit is an amazing unit. We use it for our individual computers.   You plug this unit in the wall plug any items you need to have power it in a case you lose power this unit has battery power for about a half hour to an hour depending on what you are running on it. 
We have two and works great.

It has paid for itself, three times our building lost power in between a very important design job, but thank God we have these battery packs that kicked in to keep us going till we got power back.

Question 3

Is this a true UPS (AC - DC - AC), or is it a SPS (AC-AC, but DC - AC when needed?) I find a lot of back up battery solutions are Supplemental, and not truly Uninterruptible, but use the term UPS since it has been obfuscated over the years. I would like the additional line conditioning you get with a true UPS, but an SPS doesn't have that feature since it just passes the AC straight through and engages the battery when needed, which can still allow critical systems to crash.

Accepted Answer

It's a line-interactive type of UPS, not on-line.  So, using your terminology, it's an "SPS."  The switching time is given as 4ms on the manufacturer's web site.  It also includes a voltage-regulating transformer, so high/low voltage events are handled without switching.

Question 4

Could I use this for two gaming PC's at the same time, or would I need one per machine? Both PC's are currently using 850 watt power supply, ASUS Maximus VI Hero, i7 4770k, 780 Ti, 12GB RAM, SSD, couple standard hard drives.

Accepted Answer

Yes. Your PC's power draw is in part a function of their power supplies, but more a function of what those power supplies happen to be powering (i.e. HD's, video cards, game consoles, etc.). Generally speaking the internal P/S (that you defined as 850 Watts) is going to be sized such that it has 1.5-2X rated (above actual output) capacity. As such, your two machines (as roughly described) are probably not even drawing 300W each. Next, the 900W rating is mostly a function of the battery side power... operating as a surge protector only (while plugged into line power) the output of the CP box will be sufficient for your 2-PC's. Finally, if your PC's are actually drawing more power, the only real downside to putting two on the one UPS will be, in the event of a power outage, your "up time" before shutdown (i.e. the battery power is 100% dissipated) will be shorter.

Hope this helps!

Question 5

I am actually looking at using this as a ups for a salt water tank. I have appx. 150 wats of draw with pumps, circulators and heaters ( when they need to kick in). What wuold be my appx. run time with this unit? Thanks guys!

Accepted Answer

I'm drawing about 325 watts out of a possible 900, with my computer and some other minor plug ins.  The on screen Power Panel says I have about 17 minutes of battery power.  Assuming it's linear, I'm guessing you would have a little over 30m of backup.

Question 6

I am thinking of getting one to use as a backup for my cctv, does anyone know how long it would power a qsee system?

Accepted Answer

This is not meant for that purpose. It is meant to allow you to safely power-down your equipment after a power outage.

Question 7

Does this product provide shut down commands to attached devices such as servers?  Do this device protect not only against power outages but "Brown Outs"?

Accepted Answer

Yes it does provide for auto-shutdown. The software may be installed on a server.

Yes it does protect against brownouts (simulated sine wave output). It is not a truly line-interactive device, but rather simulates it, and protects against it.

Question 8

Whats the difference between the CP1500PFCLCD and this one?

Accepted Answer

The CP1500PFCLCD outputs a true SINE WAVE, whereas this model outputs a simulated SINE WAVE. Some electronics can handle a simulated SINE WAVE for short periods of time. Longer periods will cause incremental damage to the electronics and cause a premature failure. Newer computers almost always have Active PFC power supplies and require a TRUE SINE WAVE. If you have an older computer or are planning on getting a newer computer then it's best to err on the side of caution and buy a UPS that delivers a TRUE SINE WAVE when in battery mode.

When your power is not down, the "LINE-INTERACTIVE" technology is such that the UPS is passing the power to your computer. So some people can be confused into thinking that their UPS is working great for their computer which has an active PFC type of power supply. It's not until there is a power outage and the batteries kick in do they find out that their computer abruptly shutdown and not because it received a shutdown command.

A 2nd note that should not be ignored. This UPS and others sold by CyberPower may have a built in surge suppressor that uses MOV based technology. An MOV is a disk about the size of a quarter with two leads on it and in volume purchases costs about a quarter. It's designed to work in a way that when the voltage reaches a certain level it starts to operate by diverting current from one side (lead) to the other. The danger is that many companies use MOV's between the HOT (LINE) and NEUTRAL, and between the HOT (LINE) and the safety GROUND, because the GROUND is used as a reference by electronics and when it is raised by several hundred or several thousands of volts even for a fraction of a second or longer it can cause power supplies to fail, USB ports to stop working or HDMI ports on a TV to stop working as well as noise in AV equipment. In this case the solution, the surge suppressor, is actually doing more harm than good.

Questions & Answers