How long do UPS Battery Backups last? | BRStv Investigates

[randyBRS]

Today we test a couple of different sizes UPS battery backups (One at $110 and one at $180) and see how long they can keep our MP10s running!

BEFORE YOU WATCH..... What's your guess on how long they will last????
(Share how close you were below!)

 

[GirardA1]

3 to 4 hours longer if you only use for the bare necessities is my Guess not hard fact.

 

[Ox100]

As a brs customer and follower of there content I have to say I'm really disappointed as what I saw in this video was bias and pushing a particular brand the playing field was not level for all participants 1) why weren't the powerheads ran at 20% power on the upc's like the vortex battery back 2) also why didnt I see icecap battery backup which I believe connect to everything. Love you guy's just real talk.

 

[randyBRS]

As a brs customer and follower of there content I have to say I'm really disappointed as what I saw in this video was bias and pushing a particular brand the playing field was not level for all participants 1) why weren't the powerheads ran at 20% power on the upc's like the vortex battery back 2) also why didnt I see icecap battery backup which I believe connect to everything. Love you guy's just real talk.

Totally understand! We aren't done with this one yet, just gathering some data. Honestly, before this video I had no idea what to expect from a UPS backup and runtime. To give them some context and frame of reference, we added the EcoTech backup for this round of testing. I didn't test the UPS at 20% in this episode, because in a real world situation the likelihood that we are going to be around when the power goes out and manually set the pumps to 20% is probably not very likely.

That said, for the next test, I'll answer that question of how long the UPS will last at a lower 20% flow intensity...but my hypothesis is that we will likely see maybe 1-2hrs more run-time tops, since we are still dealing with the difference between a UPS backup that converts AC to DC then back to AC when the power is out, whereas a direct battery connection (like the EcoTech) is a straight DC-DC connection.

All-in-all, any battery backup option is a better option than none. So many reefers consider or use a UPS style backup and now for those in that consideration phase, we have some sort of idea of what we can expect them to provide in terms of protection. And for many, 4-5hrs backup is really all they need.

 

[Ox100]

Thanks for that clarification makes sense now i'd also like the to see the ice cap battery backup tested.Thanks

 

[TheOne]

I will stick with my deep cycle marine battery. Planning for 4-5 hours would have resulted in a loss of everything a few weeks ago when the remnants of a Hurricane came thru and left lots without power for several days.

A marine battery for up to 12 hours running a return pump and powerheads. A generator for anything after that is just the responsible thing to do.

Looking forward to more videos from BRS. Thanks for the awesome content.

 

[robbyg]

The problem with UPS batteries which also includes the Ecotech battery pack is that UPS batteries are not designed to be run for long periods of time. They are designed for catching little dips in the electricity, brownouts or very short blackouts like the period of time it takes a companies generators to come on after a power outage.

If you run a UPS battery right down it will have an extremely short life span. Most UPS batteries at work will typically survive 5-10 discharges down to 20% remaining. It all depends on how old the battery is. I have seen batteries that are 2+ years old get hit with their first ever discharge and within a few minutes they are dead and would not recharge.

Your much better off with deep cycle batteries for this kind of work.

 

[Meldrath]

Totally understand! We aren't done with this one yet, just gathering some data. Honestly, before this video I had no idea what to expect from a UPS backup and runtime. To give them some context and frame of reference, we added the EcoTech backup for this round of testing. I didn't test the UPS at 20% in this episode, because in a real world situation the likelihood that we are going to be around when the power goes out and manually set the pumps to 20% is probably not very likely.

That said, for the next test, I'll answer that question of how long the UPS will last at a lower 20% flow intensity...but my hypothesis is that we will likely see maybe 1-2hrs more run-time tops, since we are still dealing with the difference between a UPS backup that converts AC to DC then back to AC when the power is out, whereas a direct battery connection (like the EcoTech) is a straight DC-DC connection.

All-in-all, any battery backup option is a better option than none. So many reefers consider or use a UPS style backup and now for those in that consideration phase, we have some sort of idea of what we can expect them to provide in terms of protection. And for many, 4-5hrs backup is really all they need.

You could add controller programming to do this, using an alternate power supply to detect an outage and then auto setting your pumps to a lower usage profile. (I know this can be done on an Apex and probably on any other controller that has power monitoring)

 

[randyBRS]

You could add controller programming to do this, using an alternate power supply to detect an outage and then auto setting your pumps to a lower usage profile. (I know this can be done on an Apex and probably on any other controller that has power monitoring)

I've seen a few comments like this. Here's my understanding of how this could work, so let me know if yours is similar or different.

With a VorTech pump control on the Apex where you obviously have a WXM module to program/control it, you don't need to plug the VorTech pump itself into the EB832...(because it is controlled with the RF chip inside the driver and WXM module). That said, you could create a virtual outlet (or change your Fallback statement) to default the VorTech pump to run at 20% when connection was lost. Outside of that, specifically for VorTech pumps, I'm scratching my head as to how you could change the pump speed to 20% when you aren't home.

Is this about right with your thoughts? Am I completely missing something else? Which is entirely possible, since I'm a bit under the weather this week.

 

[Meldrath]

I've seen a few comments like this. Here's my understanding of how this could work, so let me know if yours is similar or different.

With a VorTech pump control on the Apex where you obviously have a WXM module to program/control it, you don't need to plug the VorTech pump itself into the EB832...(because it is controlled with the RF chip inside the driver and WXM module). That said, you could create a virtual outlet (or change your Fallback statement) to default the VorTech pump to run at 20% when connection was lost. Outside of that, specifically for VorTech pumps, I'm scratching my head as to how you could change the pump speed to 20% when you aren't home.

Is this about right with your thoughts? Am I completely missing something else? Which is entirely possible, since I'm a bit under the weather this week.

For VorTech that would be correct, for other pumps see below.

You can also use a battery backup on the apex itself so it doesn't 'know' it's lost power (just the virtual outlet flag that gets its state from the 12v power supply) and then you can have the Apex change it's 'state' based on that virtual outlet (if vo_outage then panic and go into low power mode/turn off everything but essentials) However, now you've added power draw back into the equation via the apex/powerbar and probably the modules. I'm sure it would extend the life of the overall system though. Further, any item that doesn't need to be powered by the apex eb832 (just controlled) can be facilitated to work just like you described but instead of RF, it's via the 0-10v cable, and the power for that system comes from a separate battery backup.

It's not perfect by any means, but it does stretch those watts and increase your total allowable failure time.

 

[randyBRS]

For VorTech that would be correct, for other pumps see below.

You can also use a battery backup on the apex itself so it doesn't 'know' it's lost power (just the virtual outlet flag) and then you can have the Apex change it's 'state' based on that virtual outlet (if vo_outage then panic and go into low power mode/turn off everything but essentials) However, now you've added power draw back into the equation via the apex/powerbar and probably the modules. I'm sure it would extend the life of the overall system though. Further, any item that doesn't need to be powered by the apex eb832 (just controlled) can be facilitated to work just like you described but instead of RF, it's via the 0-10v cable, and the power for that system comes from a separate battery backup.

It's not perfect by any means, but it does stretch those watts and increase your total allowable failure time.

Ahh, there's the disconnect and thanks for clarifying! My mind was focused on the VorTech pumps I tested, but you are absolutely right. There's a slew of options for a variety of different pumps and pump configurations. Hopefully we find ways to come back and test as many of them as we can!

 

[Jet915]

Mine will run a powerhead for about 4 hours....

 

[HOLYREEFER]

im looking at using a UPS unit connecting a 18 watt pump to it so when power goes its the only thing moving water. At 18 watts i should be able to get at least 24hrs of run time. I was out this weekend for thanksgiving the second i got to the airport i lost full power for 3 days.

 

[randyBRS]

Just a little FYI.... I'm currently writing the script to PART-2 of this test! (with luck it will be out this Friday!)

 

[robbyg]

im looking at using a UPS unit connecting a 18 watt pump to it so when power goes its the only thing moving water. At 18 watts i should be able to get at least 24hrs of run time. I was out this weekend for thanksgiving the second i got to the airport i lost full power for 3 days.

That is wishful thinking as the UPS's own internal inverter and logic boards are consuming a lot more than 18 Watts. Randy pretty much hit the nail on the head about why you are better off driving Ecotech pumps directly from the 12V source. The only time the UPS is going to be a better option is if you want to power a bunch of devices via the UPS. Lets say you want your controller and your main (non ecotech) pump to be running then your better off with a UPS system. Of course we are now talking about run time of probably an hour so. This is just a crutch until your generator is online.

I use to use a 1500 Watt APC Smart UPS on my system and that had two 12V 18Ah batteries in it. They could keep everything running for about 30 minutes. This was enough time for me to get from work and turn on the generator. Eventually I got tired of replacing batteries and just abandoned the system for an SMS module for my controller. The tank is fine for the 30 minutes it may take me to get home and get the Genny on.