Battery Backup ?

[Accelerated Graphics]

Ok I guess the battery backup I have is junk. The lights have flickered twice today and killed the power to the printer. The fist time I was at 70" of a 72" banner this time only 6" into 250 decals.. What is the best kind to buy for the money/

 

[BrianKE]

APC is typically my answer to this question, but more importantly is the wattage that is being drawn from the power supply. If you get a 50W supply and are trying to draw 100W it will be little more than a surge suppressor. If you know the wattage for each device attached I would suggest getting a power supply twice that. If you don't know how much is being drawn you can get a simple plug in meter that will measure this for you from Radio Shack or similar store. Just make sure you are measuring the max load (all attached devices running jobs) and not idle load.

 

[TonyHoles]

I don't know much about backups but don't they just sit idle until the power is lost and once the power is lost even for a split second doesn't that cause the print job to cancel? So if the generator or backup kicks in wouldn't it be too late?

I would be interested to know if there is some way of preventing it too.

 

[ChiknNutz]

No, the battery backup is to supply power for a short amount of time. I have two battery backups...one is strictly for the printer and the other is for the main computer, server, vinyl cutter, and desktop printer. I've tested them, and I can continue printing for some time with no power at all. I've not tested it to the minute, but I think I can go for about 15 minutes or better. The printer draws a lot more than all of the other components combined, and so I've got the one with the most capacity on the printer. Here are the UPS models I have , bought from ZipZoomFly, both for under $400.

Ultra ULT33046 Backup UPS 2000VA/1200W w/AVR
Ultra ULT33045 Backup UPS 1500VA/900W w/AVR

 

[Billct2]

How old is it?I understand the batteries in them do wear out.
And I thought they were more than a "backup", they are actually running whatever is plugged into them and the battery kicks in if the power to them is lost. I think the better ones also modulate the current.

 

[BrianKE]

I don't know much about backups but don't they just sit idle until the power is lost and once the power is lost even for a split second doesn't that cause the print job to cancel? So if the generator or backup kicks in wouldn't it be too late?

I would be interested to know if there is some way of preventing it too.

Battery backups are not just a backup solution but a line conditioning solution, meaning it knocks out the peaks and valleys in your power from the wall. To do this the power from your wall plug is constantly supplied to the batteries. The batteries then supply power to the attached devices. Therefore, even if the power cuts out the attached devices do not know that power is no longer supplied to the batteries until the batteries run dead. This is why proper sizing of your backup device is so important. Typically you can find a chart on the box that will tell you how much run time you have based on the power draw for a given backup. As with any equipment buy the biggest/best you can afford. I have a UPC attached to my computer/monitor and can continue playing video games for about 30 minutes without power.

This is easy to test, just unplug your backup when it is running. If it is sized correctly for the attached devices you should never see any indication that the devices saw a power loss.

The above is true of battery backups (the big 50 lb things that cost $100+). A surge suppressor is just that and has no way to supply power to the devices when it loses power from the wall plug.

HTH

 

[choucove]

We have several different battery backups in place for our shop. Each design workstation has a battery backup unit with a total Watt supply approximately equal to the power supply unit in that computer. Since the power supply units are actually a little more power than the system really uses, this means you will get a little more life expectancy than is rated on the box hopefully. The only things we run off the actual battery backup is the computer tower and monitor(s) for that workstation, as other things like your phone, cell phone charger, whatever doesn't need to be drawing power away from your computer for those few minutes while on battery. We have tested the battery backups before while the computers were under full load, and while the battery backups only offer about ten minutes of power, it's more than enough to get your project saved and shut down your computer properly.

To get a battery backup big enough to run a large digital printer is VERY expensive and is way more expensive than efficient for us. A Mimaki JV5 printer has a rated power usage of "3,600 Voltamps or below" which means purchasing a battery backup of sustaining 3,600 VA. These are the type of battery backup used for sustaining a whole rackmount server, and can cost over $1,000.00 easily.

If you are using a smaller, less power-hungry printer, you may be able to find a large battery backup capable of handling the digital printer and being cheap enough to be a feasible option, but will still cost you at LEAST $200.00 for a good APC battery backup capable of running the smaller line of digital printers.

 

[TonyHoles]

Battery backups are not just a backup solution but a line conditioning solution, meaning it knocks out the peaks and valleys in your power from the wall. To do this the power from your wall plug is constantly supplied to the batteries. The batteries then supply power to the attached devices. Therefore, even if the power cuts out the attached devices do not know that power is no longer supplied to the batteries until the batteries run dead. This is why proper sizing of your backup device is so important. Typically you can find a chart on the box that will tell you how much run time you have based on the power draw for a given backup. As with any equipment buy the biggest/best you can afford. I have a UPC attached to my computer/monitor and can continue playing video games for about 30 minutes without power.

This is easy to test, just unplug your backup when it is running. If it is sized correctly for the attached devices you should never see any indication that the devices saw a power loss.

The above is true of battery backups (the big 50 lb things that cost $100+). A surge suppressor is just that and has no way to supply power to the devices when it loses power from the wall plug.

HTH

Good info...I have learned something today. Thanks.

 

[Chad.]

In most cases, your batter backup will BEEEEEP non stop if the load you are putting on it, is greater than it can support should there be a power failure. When we had our printer delivered, our went nuts as the printer heater requires more power than it can support ... our install tech was like WTH i have never heard that beeping before ... took about 10 minutes to figure out it was the backup and not the printer because they were so close.

 

[eforer]

You have to spend huge $$ on a battery backup for a printer. You need industrial server room type of stuff. A battery backup thats too small will do more harm than good. My Mimaki gurus said its way better to go without than to go with something that isn't big enough. Keep in mind cheap UPS' are designed for office equipment, and last time I checked computers didn't have 2 stepper stages and heaters.