UPS battery backup question

[Coasting]

So i have a question i hope you guys can answer.

Best buy has a few ups backups on sale and i wouldnt mind getting one.
Murphys law.... knowing my luck power will go out the moment everyone leaves for work and nobody will be home for.... 9 hours. We have a generator and spare battery backup we can plug stuff into. And multiple battery air pumps.

I want something I can have a single powerhead (5w) plugged into that will keep that 1 item going until people get home from work and somebody can deal with plugging stuff into other things.

Now ive looked at various brands and not all list how many watts they are, but they list the amount of energy in a surge they would protect from. But many of these are only saying they will run for 15 minutes.... enough time to save your computer documents and shut down the computer properly. And they talk about software and what not.... will these backups still work for 1 or 2, 5w hydor powerheads? Will they run them for hours? Or will they shut down in minutes even if the battery isnt drained? I guess i just dont fully understand how they actually work. Dont want to end up buying one that only works when its connected to a computer with software. I want one that keeps running my powerheads when the power goes out.

Heres a few i was looking at.

http://m.bestbuy.ca/?lang=en#/catalo...227&lang=en-CA

http://m.bestbuy.ca/?lang=en#/catalo...821&lang=en-CA

http://m.bestbuy.ca/?lang=en#/catalo...845&lang=en-CA

[roblarss]

The second and third one are about 300watts of backup power.

There are runtime charts on both these sites. Both are about 20watts for 120 minutes.
I use one similar to the APC for some pumps. They work standalone without a computer/software.

The second one http://www.apc.com/shop/ca/en/produc...prod_store03-2

The third one http://www.tripplite.com/energy-savi...ort~ECO550UPS/

[Coasting]

So something with 300w can only power a 20w item for 2 hours?

Ugh this is far too confusing.

I need one that will last 8 hours for a 5w powerhead.

[roblarss]

If 20 watt will last approximately 2 hours then 5 watt should maybe last 8 hours doing some rough math. The charts don't show that exact but I would think its possible easily. I had an apc backup (don't know the rating, got at Costco) run my computer and LCD TV during an outage for a couple hours. I don't think it was that big of one.

[Coasting]

Theres just so many mixed reviews on time frames on these things
I think I will try and give some 1-800 numbers a call tomorrow and ask the companies themselves.

[Reef Pilot]

Or you could get a decent sized UPS system to protect and back up your computer stuff, and then use a long extension cord (if it not close to your tanks) to keep your tank pump running during an outage. A 10W power draw (2 of your 5W pumps) should last 6 or more hours with this one.
http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/product/...999aefb993en02

Not a big discount, but free shipping right now.

[Coasting]

Originally Posted by Reef Pilot

Or you could get a decent sized UPS system to protect and back up your computer stuff, and then use a long extension cord (if it not close to your tanks) to keep your tank pump running during an outage. A 10W power draw (2 of your 5W pumps) should last 6 or more hours with this one.
http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/product/...999aefb993en02

Not a big discount, but free shipping right now.

I don't usually have to worry about my laptop dying

Tank isn't even remotely close to the computer at my parents place either, never mind nobody in that house uses a desktop computer anymore. And I think all the powerbars are those Monster surge protector ones anyway.
I just want to cover my ass if the power goes out while people are at work.
Just permanently have 1 powerhead plugged into a UPS so when it does go out, it keeps going.

I have no issue spending $150 on a backup.
•1325 VA/810 W capacity
•Half/full 10 minute / 2 minute runtime

Part of my brain wants to say that a 5w power head would use 5w an hour, so a 810w UPS should power a single 5w powerhead for days.... But obviously that's not how it works lol.

[shiftline]

Ups work great. I have 3 in my house. One on the NAs/ router. One on the computer and one on the tank It beeps like crazy when the power goes out. Lol

[Coasting]

Id appreciate links to some of these products :P im not a DIYer and know nothing about electrics or this kinda stuff haha
I need an adult!

[GrantB]

Hey I just ran my 750VA sine wave UPS on a small pump that was registering 4 to 5 watts on a power meter and at a little over 2 hours the battery was down to just under 50%.

So even with a 1500VA sine wave UPS you may be lucky to get over 8 hrs. My UPS is about 2 years old and it says the battery is fine but it may be down a bit too.

Cost to run a real system is quite a bit more (probably around $500 to start) but you can tailor it to your needs and it would run way more gear.

I agree with the person who said that UPS batteries are crappy I have had a set bulge and it wasn't pretty.

From my calculations a basic real backup system should have about 5 times the runtime for about $500 (with some items on sale) compared to an approx $200 sine wave UPS.