UPS Power draw.

[unheard]

7 minutes ago, MJCM said:

But may I suggest in buying a Power Monitor and see if there is no leakage of power / battery not holding it's charge anymore. That is the reason why I opened this thread

I have a very limited knowledge on anything electrical.

But from what I understood reading your original post you might be mistaken by assuming that your refrigerator doesn't draw any power while on "stand-by".

My limited understanding is that modern refrigerators don't just operate on the simple on/off cycle.

Your thinking is that the fridge goes into stand-by because you don't hear its compressor running, while the fridge is still performing other energy consuming tasks, like running a coil defrosting cycle.

[MJCM]

14 minutes ago, unheard said:

But from what I understood reading your original post you might be mistaken by assuming that your refrigerator doesn't draw any power while on "stand-by".

My fridge on standby is drawing around 9-12 watts (This was a separate test with the Fridge NOT plugged into the UPS but directly in the Mains). When I open both doors it increase to 12-15 W (I think the 3W extra is for the lights ????

 

So with the Fridge plugged into the UPS and the Fridge on standby off the 170W the power monitor is reading, 12-15W can be deducted for the Fridge and thus leave 150W+ just what the UPS is using! So my conclusion was "UPS Battery not holding it's charge"?? But not sure about this still!

[unheard]

44 minutes ago, MJCM said:

So with the Fridge plugged into the UPS and the Fridge on standby off the 170W the power monitor is reading

Unplug the fridge from the UPS, just leave the UPS connected to the power monitor.

That will give you the UPS power consumption number (when fully charged).

You can't calculate the UPS unit power consumption while another electrical load is also plugged in and consuming energy.

[MJCM]

32 minutes ago, unheard said:

Unplug the fridge from the UPS, just leave the UPS connected to the power monitor.

That will give you the UPS power consumption number (when fully charged).

You can't calculate the UPS unit power consumption while another electrical load is also plugged in and consumes energy.

Will do that, but now I am doing a 24hr test to determine the total kW it uses in preparation for getting Solar and Batteries in! (Main reason why I bought that Power Monitor (shame I only bought one) )

 

Not connected to the UPS while doing the test btw ????

 

Will update!

 

Edit: Ahh sod it. Unplugged the fridge from the Mains and now only the UPS is connected to the Power Monitor and it's drawing 140W. Fluctuating between 100 - 140W

 

Just discovered something, bought this UPS around a year ago, but on the quality control leaflet it says it was assembled in 2019! I think I have to scrap it ????

[unheard]

2 hours ago, MJCM said:

Edit: Ahh sod it. Unplugged the fridge from the Mains and now only the UPS is connected to the Power Monitor and it's drawing 140W. Fluctuating between 100 - 140W

That wattage is going somewhere, and converted to heat.

I can only think of a faulty battery.

[unheard]

2 hours ago, MJCM said:

Just discovered something, bought this UPS around a year ago, but on the quality control leaflet it says it was assembled in 2019! I think I have to scrap it ????

APC units are grossly overpriced in Thailand.

It seem yours doesn't even feature a replaceable battery.

You can get much cheaper UPS's made by Thai brands or opt for widely available Chinese brands.

[unheard]

2 hours ago, MJCM said:

Unplugged the fridge from the Mains and now only the UPS is connected to the Power Monitor and it's drawing 140W. Fluctuating between 100 - 140W

Also, make sure that your power meter is not at fault - test it with other equipment to check if its readouts are within the expected for that equipment range.

[MJCM]

29 minutes ago, unheard said:

Also, make sure that your power meter is not at fault - test it with other equipment to check if its readouts are within the expected for that equipment range.

Thx.
 

I am now testing my water pump and it’s only idle with 5-7W

 

Will test with a 0,45 and a 1W and a 60 watt light bulb and my Coffee maker (1300W rated). But will also test another UPS tmrw. (Same brand same model)

[unheard]

26 minutes ago, MJCM said:

But will also test another UPS tmrw. (Same brand same model)

Just for a reference..

I keep a Thai made UPS unit in reserve - purchased it almost two years ago.

It's rated at 1000VA/500W

Just tested it with my power meter.

It idles at 11W solid, no fluctuations.

[MJCM]

11 minutes ago, unheard said:

It idles at 11W solid, no fluctuations.

I just came back from looking at the Power Meter that is connected to the PUMP and the W isn't SOLID (not all over the place but it was something like 5.01 then 5.05 then 5.12 then 5.07 etc etc)

 

It wasn't even SOLID when connected to the Fridge and to the UPS, it was fluctuating ALL the time!

 

But the UPS had the widest range 100 - 140+

 

Edit: Different sensitivity of meter?

 

 

[unheard]

21 minutes ago, MJCM said:

I just came back from looking at the Power Meter that is connected to the PUMP and the W isn't SOLID (not all over the place but it was something like 5.01 then 5.05 then 5.12 then 5.07 etc etc)

 

It wasn't even SOLID when connected to the Fridge and to the UPS, it was fluctuating ALL the time!

 

But the UPS had the widest range 100 - 140+

 

Edit: Different sensitivity of meter?

Well, the readings will always fluctuate when connected to an electrical load.

In my reference post I had no load connected to the UPS, just the UPS unit plugged into the power meter.

Also my meter displays one decimal place, not two.

There's really no point for two decimal places in a consumer device.

It's a marketing gimmick to make the tool to appear to be more precise than it actually is.

[MJCM]

5 minutes ago, unheard said:

In my reference post I had no load connected to the UPS, just the UPS unit plugged into the power meter.

That's how I tested the UPS in that last test and then it showed 100 - 140W.

[MJCM]

Oke tested another UPS same brand same model.

 

Nothing connected

 

UPS turned off = 10W

Ups Turned on = 22-25W but after a while it went back to 10-11W

 

So can safely say the battery of the other one is toast (or bread ???? )

 

Tested light bulbs as well all measured right in the range.

Tested Coffee maker as well.

Not turned on 0W

on Startyp - 1300+

on idle  (after warm-up) back to 0W

[tjo o tjim]

I had a brief (<20s) outage yesterday, and two UPSs that support a total of 150W of computer equipment burned through an extra 80W x 12h to recharge the batteries.  Batteries about 14 months old.

 

I need to look into the no-load losses on these things and figure out a better option.  I know lead-acid batteries have bad self-discharge and round-trip efficiency, but since I have at least six of the UPSs scattered around the house it might be time to take a look at better options.

[unheard]

21 hours ago, tjo o tjim said:

 have at least six of the UPSs scattered around the house it might be time to take a look at better options.

Hmm, other options?

I'm not aware of any other cheap option for uninterrupted power.

[MJCM]

On 8/5/2022 at 7:26 AM, Crossy said:

Voltage surges when the power returns after a blackout - Use a delayed re-start unit.

Unit (40A) finally arrived and installed in between the fridge and Mains. (UPS removed)

 

 

Can change a lot of settings (Only changed Nr #10 to 60 Seconds)

 

 

Forgot to add link:

 

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/tian1505-220v-i3258797882-s12102031473.html

[tjo o tjim]

On 8/11/2022 at 5:26 PM, unheard said:

I'm not aware of any other cheap option for uninterrupted power.

I doubt it will be cheaper.  Really what I want is an LFP based UPS where the battery will last 10 years, but that gets tricky.  

 

I think if I can move all my networking and IT equipment to one location I can at least eliminate two units, but the rest of the units are needed mainly for brief interruptions.  A centralized UPS likely causes more problems than it solves.