Gate opener needed and UPS advice

[sometimewoodworker]

We are wiring for a remote sliding gate opener, the gate is reasonably light weight as it's stainless steel so we probably don't need a very heavy duty unit. Our electrical contractor has said that he can source one though the price he mentioned at 43,000 Baht seems quite a bit higher than I expected, we want a unit that can be repaired if needed so don't want the cheapest possible. I haven't been able to get information as to suppliers and models on line. We are not far from Khon Kaen or Udon Thani and would prefer to visit a shop.

 

I don't know if a battery backup is needed as long as there is a manual option.

 

 

As an aside he also suggested a 1000VA APC UPS power supply and quoted a price of 10,000 Baht, that is either a good price on one of the higher end units(smart C LCD) or way over priced for the lower end unit (BX) range.

 

I certainly need a UPS but as a Mac user cannot make use of any of the auto shutdown features so guess that the lower priced range is what I need.

 

comments appreciated and welcome. 

[colinneil]

OP send message  with your phone number, man who fitted mine lives near you.

Trying to find his number

[emanphoto]

Here is a snip from a forum post for Mac RE: UPS.  I have been saving this for this eventual purchase that I have put off for too long. It seems to be good advice and mentions needed components. 

 

"I don't recommend APC brand UPS's. I used to recommend them exclusively (they are sort of like the General Motors of the UPS world), but then they started to leave out the all-important AVR feature from all of their consumer class UPS's. You need AVR. They also become over-priced compared to the competition.

I highly recommend CyberPower UPS's, but only those with AVR.

Here is the CyberPower model selection tool:
<http://cyberpower.advizia.com/CyberPower/?v41=CyberPower_UPS>

This one should be sufficient for any Macintosh you might have:

CyberPower 1000AVR ($105)
<http://www.amazon.com/CyberPower-CP1000AVRLCD-9-Outlet-Intelligent-1000VA/dp/B000QZ3UG0>
or
http://is.gd/iaxI4
(Note that this UPS's battery is user replaceable. A big plus.)

You only need to plug things into your UPS that you need to have time to save your work and properly shut down in the advent of a brownout or a blackout. That means your computer, monitor, any external hard drives, and that's about it. *NEVER* attach a printer or scanner to a UPS, that will usually be far too much of a draw. Any other peripherals can be attached to a surge-only outlet on your UPS, or to a separate surge suppressor.

Make sure that you get a UPS with AVR (automatic voltage regulation). Cheap and poorly made UPS' don't have this feature, and trust me, you really want it."

[maxpower]

1 hour ago, emanphoto said:

Here is a snip from a forum post for Mac RE: UPS.  I have been saving this for this eventual purchase that I have put off for too long. It seems to be good advice and mentions needed components. 

 

"I don't recommend APC brand UPS's. I used to recommend them exclusively (they are sort of like the General Motors of the UPS world), but then they started to leave out the all-important AVR feature from all of their consumer class UPS's. You need AVR. They also become over-priced compared to the competition.

Technically; a computer switch mode power supply is a fast acting AVR which leaves the statement 'you need an AVR' down in the grey area when choosing a UPS for home use.

 

Consider first why you are adding UPS as strengths vary immensely. Is it an additional layer of surge protection essential work saver or both.

[emanphoto]

Personally, I will have my UPS (when I get one) plugged into my surge protector.  I've heard of them getting fried without here.  The AVR feature seems to be something that would help extend the life of what's plugged into it to keep the voltage steady.  Battery backup is to give enough time to save and shutdown or if away, possibly give enough time for the power to come back up.  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯   Had my power go off enough times during projects that I should have gotten one long ago.

[sometimewoodworker]

3 hours ago, emanphoto said:

The AVR feature seems to be something that would help extend the life of what's plugged into it to keep the voltage steady.

The problems I have are frequent, daily, few second cuts and much longer ones. As all my computers have switched mode PSU's the AVR function is totally redundant. The power would have to drop well under 100V for the PSU's to have any problems and by the time it was down under about 190v my under/over protection will have cut the power anyway. 

 

The AVR function seems to be marketing hype. The only benefits I can see from the CyberPower range is that they have Mac SW but they are about double the APC price on the lower end.

 

 The APC that is a similar price also has AVR 

so is there a benefit other than the SW?

[sometimewoodworker]

16 hours ago, colinneil said:

OP send message  with your phone number, man who fitted mine lives near you.

Trying to find his number

PM sent

[emanphoto]

13 hours ago, sometimewoodworker said:

The APC that is a similar price also has AVR 

so is there a benefit other than the SW?

Frankly didn't know there was any software Mac or otherwise needed for any UPS.  You may be absolutely right about the redundancy but as a non-electrical person, I usually go by the advice of a  group's "expert" till I learn or know otherwise.  This is what I have done with the original quote.  Beyond that it would be up to your own research and experts.

[sometimewoodworker]

6 hours ago, emanphoto said:

Frankly didn't know there was any software Mac or otherwise needed for any UPS.  You may be absolutely right about the redundancy but as a non-electrical person, I usually go by the advice of a  group's "expert" till I learn or know otherwise.  This is what I have done with the original quote.  Beyond that it would be up to your own research and experts.

The software is available to monitor the UPS condition it can also be set to shutdown the computers in the event of a power cut so that you don't loose data.

 

Many disks will get corrupted if you just shut the power off. It is not unusual for people (who usually don't regularly  backup) to loose vital, irreplaceable pictures or other data.

 

The statements about what an AVR does is accurate. The claims that are made for the need for, and benefits of it were true in the days when most electronics were designed for single voltage use.

 

This has generally not been true or many years. You can check for yourself by looking at the voltage for your products. Generally they are designed for 100V~240V if that is true for anything that you want to plug into a UPS then AVR is of no benefit to you.

 

An example of a single voltage device is a microwave or items with big motors, but you wouldn't plug them into a UPS anyway.