in case of prolonged power cuts,how to use pc for hours rather than minutes

Thread Starter

shashankgulati

Joined May 4, 2020
1
when there is power cut, ups gives only 15 min backup but i want to use pc for more than 15 min. so if i supply power to ups through invertor , then i can use my pc for ,say, 4–5 hours. IS THAT LOGIC CORRECT?..or i have to shut down my pc within 15 min.?
 

Ylli

Joined Nov 13, 2015
1,086
So you want to connect a battery to an inverter and plug the UPS into that so the UPS can charge it's internal battery and supply power to your PC? Seems like a rather lossy configuration to me. Why don't you just connect a bigger battery to the UPS or power the PC right off the inverter?
 

dl324

Joined Mar 30, 2015
16,839
Welcome to AAC!
so if i supply power to ups through invertor , then i can use my pc for ,say, 4–5 hours. IS THAT LOGIC CORRECT?
What are you using to power the inverter?

If you need to use your computer for 4-5 hours during a power outage, you need a generator.
 

sagor

Joined Mar 10, 2019
903
Um guys, usually when there is a long power outage, the Internet is out, as it is powered as well. Exception may be some cell towers, if you have a data plan. But cable/fiber/DSL usually goes out shortly after a large power failure.
I have a backup generator, can run my PCs and networking gear for a long time during a power failure, but the ISP goes dark on me, so no Internet.
 

Tonyr1084

Joined Sep 24, 2015
7,852
The problem with substituting the internal 12V battery with a much larger 12V battery externally will be whether the UPS can handle charging that larger battery. It will take more current to charge and will take longer to charge. Depending on the size of the battery(ies) will affect the run time. One UPS I had a long time ago had a timer in it. When power failed the UPS would run for a set period of time then shut down.

The primary use of a UPS is to provide sufficient power to save your work before the computer shuts down. 15 minutes is more than long enough to save your work and properly shut down the computer. I don't know if newer UPS's have built in timers; and I may even be wrong about them having ever had an internal timer. But if you want long term power then as @dl324 suggests - get a generator. Cheap ones cause more harm to computers. How much you can afford in generators or in computers - that's up to you. But a UPS isn't going to run for 4 hours unless you have a way of connecting a pre-charged battery to it. Maybe two batteries, one at a time. While running on one, charge the other from the car alternator. But you're still going to have to monitor voltages because when the voltage drops too low your UPS will drop out and you'll lose your work.

Why do you need the computer for four hours? Surfing the net? Social media? Try a magazine. Try meeting people. At work??? Well, if power goes out - then work isn't going to be producing anything. Other than running your computer, there's no power to run machinery.
 

Audioguru again

Joined Oct 21, 2019
6,671
I am glad that my electricity was designed to be reliable so that power is NEVER cut and only occasionally fails.
Therefore I never needed or used an inverter. Some people take a motorcycle battery and sound system to the park to have a noisy party.
 

Tonyr1084

Joined Sep 24, 2015
7,852
@Audioguru again I have a "Park Cart" that I load up with chairs, canopy and cooler. Been thinking about adding an old car radio to the cart. With Covid Downtime I may just go ahead and build such a beast. But the cart only gets heavier and heavier.
 

Tonyr1084

Joined Sep 24, 2015
7,852
Plenty more things to do with a PC other than being online...
True. But I'm setting up a custom furniture wood shop. Drawings will be on computer. So access to those drawings will be useful. But one problem - - - my saws won't run without power.

Balancing check book? Shouldn't take four hours. And if you're that rich that it would - you've probably hired a firm.
 

dl324

Joined Mar 30, 2015
16,839
Um guys, usually when there is a long power outage, the Internet is out, as it is powered as well. Exception may be some cell towers, if you have a data plan. But cable/fiber/DSL usually goes out shortly after a large power failure.
When my power goes out, I still have DSL. I have my modem on a UPS and we can still access the internet from laptops, tablets, and smartphones. The UPS dies after 5-6 hours, but most of our power outages are less than that. My landline still works too.
 

BobaMosfet

Joined Jul 1, 2009
2,110
when there is power cut, ups gives only 15 min backup but i want to use pc for more than 15 min. so if i supply power to ups through invertor , then i can use my pc for ,say, 4–5 hours. IS THAT LOGIC CORRECT?..or i have to shut down my pc within 15 min.?
If you want to use your computer longer than what a UPS can do, you use a generator.
 

ci139

Joined Jul 11, 2016
1,898
as a desktop decoration . . . buy a laptop

the moderate desktop + CRT monitor will draw some 150W . . . say the UPS/inverter is 87% efficient makes it about 170W from the battery (avg. 12V →) about 14.2A·h incase you have a charged healthy 60A·h car battery you likely can use it down to some 50% SOC gives you 30A·h useful capacity about 2h to use your computer normally (gaming video complex spice simulation will cut down your battery time to less than half)

generators are relatively cheap but noisy (diesel gasoline) or quiet but expensive (fuel cell ones) ← does it pay off few work hours at blackout
 
Last edited:

crutschow

Joined Mar 14, 2008
34,280
A small inverter-type generator would be best.
They output a clean, stable sinewave, so are electronic friendly, and they allow the engine to throttle down for light loads so are generally quieter and more efficient..
 

ci139

Joined Jul 11, 2016
1,898
i nearly don't play anything at all but (but i remember such (the controls are something ... Z X C V ? SPACE power ?= the time held down ) did exist ... about)
 
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