UPS monitoring software and APC and Tripp lite UPSs

[Wolfgang S. Rupprecht]

Robert Moskowitz <rgm at htt-consult.com> writes:
> Well my APC smart1400 has died, shorted battery.  So I am in the
> market for a new unit.

THe other problem you have with your UPS is that it doesn't take
standard size batteries.  The more modern units take standard 9ah 12v
cells that can be had mail order for around $25 per cell.  My APC
Backups RS-1500 takes two of them.

> I could get another APC 1400, but part of the reason it died was I was
> not monitoring it to note a battery had failed.  And I was not
> monitoring it because it uses serial connection for the monitoring
> system.
>
> So I am looking at what I might get with a USB monitoring port, either
> APC or TrippLite and what software would work on Fedora.

I'm happy with my unit.  It has a USB connection and it works well with
Fedora and BSD using apcupsd.  The ~865 watts is 3x more than I need,
but it is nice not to beat on the batteries too much.  At 1/3 load the
unit runs like 10x longer.

The modern version of what looks like the same product is APC Backups
Pro 1500.  Just like my version, if you need more runtime you can add an
external battery pack (BR24BPG) which triples your battery capacity for
an ungodly amount of run time.  (I have this unit and it is a blast to
continue to work for close to two hours after a power failure.)

-wolfgang
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