I am in MD on the PA line and we experience power blips and brown-downs quite often with summer storms and high demand… I have an Summit 25 watt laser and new computer to run it. Both are plugged into a surge suppressor… On occasion, the power blips enough to close down the system while I am in the middle of a job. Not good for the system and frustrating to lose a piece if I am doing glassware…
I contacted Epilog to ask for suggestions about a UPS… Their response was to “ask a computer store”… Well the computer store suggested I ask Epilog first as a laser might be a bit more than just needing to cover printers, fax, etc…
So, I ask the wise and learned folks on this site what suggestions they might have for buying a UPS device. I think I want one that charges a battery and that the computer/laser are then run from the battery.. If the battery is solely for back-up, it is my understanding that there is enough of a blip during changeover to possibly cause a shut-down…
BTW, for Epilog Summit owners stuck with Win98: you can get a new scratch-built computer and have Win98 installed as your OS. As long as you have a registered Win98 disk or can furnish a legal code, it is still possible to download Win98 from Microsoft… Is possible to find WIN98 disc sets on ebay or ask around to see who has a set sitting in a drawer…
Thanks for any advice that comes about the UPS device… I think if might be a good idea for all computers and definitely for lasers and other very expensive equipment.
I have not played with UPS so consider myself far from an expert, but sometimes tinker with electronics as a hobby. The first thing you will need to do is to determine the total power consumption of your whole system so at least you know what size UPS to look for.
To work out the total power consumption you will need to refer to the each of the user manuals that came with each piece of equipment, or take a look on the back of the equipment there’s usually a tag with voltage/amps/watts etc..
You should take a note of the watts for each piece of equipment and add it all up for a total watts figure. Don’t make the mistake of counting the laser as 25watts, that only refers to the laser beam power, the actual machine will be consuming significantly more. If the equipment doesn’t list a watts figure, you can easily calculate it by multiplying the amps by the volts. Watts = amperes x volts (amps are sometimes labeled as “current”)
Don’t forget to include everything you intend to plug into the UPS, your laser, PC, monitor, any printers etc….
Once you know your total power requirements you should be able to talk to a computer store or an electrician. Then see what they can offer you as a single unit to protect all your equipment then compare it with perhaps using two separate smaller units (one for the laser, the other for the PC & peripherals) and see which approach is more cost effective and reliable.
You may also need to consider whether the UPS just needs to keep going for several seconds to overcome short power dropouts or extended periods for total power failures in which case a backup generator may be needed.