On Mon, 05 Feb 2007 08:34:49 -0800, Larry Blanchard
wrote:

Gill Passman wrote:

Yes, a UPS has a limited life span.....just so long as the battery in
side lasts....if you are talking a long power outage then it wouldn't be
much use (I'm talking days not a couple of hours) - but as the first
line of defense then it would be a good starter....

I bought one that, according to its watt hour rating, should have powered a
couple of heaters and filters for two hours or more. I turned off the
circuit it was protecting to replace a receptacle and the UPS died after only
half an hour.

When I called the manufacturer (a major UPS maker) to question this I was told
that was normal, it would put out the rated capacity for half an hour, or it
would put out less for half an hour - that's just the way it worked.

Needless to say, I'm not impressed by a UPS for anything other than to let my
computer shut down gracefully.

The UPS is not a replacement for a continuous energy supply, but it
can save wear and tear on equipment caused by intermittent short
outages. A few seconds without power and the computer reboots. I
have one on my entertainment center and am very happy to not have the
television protected from interruptions or power surges. Five minutes
of protection to your fluorescent lights might be worth the cost.

Brief interruptions are problem the UPS can handle. If you anticipate
outages of longer duration, then other solutions must be used.