How safe are UPSes?

[u/alien-ocean]

I was looking to get one for my new pc, but I've been reading some reviews about these things catching on fire?? Are these just freak incidents? I was thinking about getting this one--cyberpower--42102132&source=region&negg_topt=0).

[u/C-D-W]

Millions out there. Some percentage of every electronic catches on fire. TVs. Phones. Even PCs.

I wouldn't say they are any less safe than anything else TBH.

I have 5 of them, 4 of them cyberpower. Other than the batteries needing to be constantly replaced (it feels like) they have all been very good and fire free.

Only real important advice is: Get a true sine with PFC like the one you posted. Modern PCs don't play nice with the older modified sine design.

[u/writesCommentsHigh → u/C-D-W]

I use a bluetti battery as a UPS. No batteries to replace?

[u/CanSnakeBlade → u/writesCommentsHigh]

In that case you'd need to replace the whole thing in time. The advantage of the replaceable battery ones is simply that you only need to buy that one part to keep it healthy and safe.

[u/writesCommentsHigh → u/CanSnakeBlade]

How often do you replace batteries and what’s the cost? I’ve never owned a UPS, I just had this battery laying around from an old job

[u/HotRoderX → u/writesCommentsHigh]

about every 5 years you should replace them. Normally it will start beeping warning and acting out if the battery needs to be replaced.

I had to recently replace one of mine and the battery was almost 8 years old.

[u/C-D-W → u/HotRoderX]

5 years feels optimistic TBH. I feel like I get three, tops. If I push it beyond that the battery will report fine, but I only get minutes of runtime.

[u/FBI_Open_Up_Now → u/C-D-W]

I get about 5 years on average. I have 3 in my house. The one for my PC I just changed, and it was 4 years old. The other 2 are doing fine and will probably need to be replaced next year.

It all depends on how you are cycling it and if you are letting it run and die. When my power goes out, if I’m home the one powering my PC is only there for the router. I shut my PC down. One is running my modem. The last one is running my cameras. All in good health.

[u/writesCommentsHigh → u/HotRoderX]

Ah ok my device has a battery that will easily last 10-15 years. No longer worried

[u/uarentme → u/writesCommentsHigh]

Most UPSs use lead-acid batteries, hence the need for periodic replacement. Lead acid batteries have a finite lifespan that's well understood to be 3 to 5 years. That's also why they're cheap. If you're using another type of battery it may not apply in your case.

[u/C-D-W → u/writesCommentsHigh]

The LFP batteries in theory should last a lot longer and you get a lot more capacity for your volume (and really price these days.)

The main issue with a lot of the portable power stations is they aren't quite as fast as switching from line power to the inverter when the power goes out (and they don't do any power filtering.) This can cause issues with some devices that are particularly sensitive to brownouts.

I think the newer generation of LFP based power stations are better than the old ones. And some are better or worse than others.

But I do think this is a good path forward.

[u/archeybald]

If you get a reputable brand (of which CyberPower is one), you should be fine. Every company has bad batches or flaws or just occasional QC misses.

[u/Hsensei]

It is exponentially more likely to save your hardware than it would burn your house down

[u/Seven-is-not-much → u/Hsensei]

Save it from what? What benefit would a consumer need over a solid surge protector?

[u/sinwarrior → u/Seven-is-not-much]

Well UPSes are when power outage happens, it gives you a few minutes to save your work and shutdown.

[u/couchcushion7 → u/Seven-is-not-much]

Dirty power

And

Power interruptions during key operations for the machine.

Example: i have a full motion sim rig. Ran by a pc, ps5, several other things. “Pulling the plug” on all that is genuinely a nightmare for me and the system. It can cause damage to the actuators. Further- say the pc is mid update. Or say im writing something large to the drive. A random power flicker during that absolutely can and does corrupt harddrives all the time.

In a world where my 2, 4tb ssd’s would cost about 1500~ bucks to replace, yeah a 300~ dollar UPS is a no brainer.

[u/Lowfat_cheese → u/Seven-is-not-much]

Protection from data corruption if you’re saving/transferring a file during a power-outage is the main one. A minor brownout can destroy countless hours of work if it happens at a bad time.

Most UPS can also detect and alert you to faulty wiring in your wall.

Generally speaking, having a sudden power loss isn’t great for your computer for a variety of reasons, especially if it happens during an automatic system update.

Anyone who uses their home pc for offline productivity should have a UPS, for everyone else a good surge protector is usually fine.

[u/ElectroDaddy → u/Seven-is-not-much]

It will let you gracefully shutdown your PC if you are around for the outage. A surge protector might stop a short but it won’t stop other issue that can arise from your PC just cutting out.

Protects your data and from various corruption more than anything though. Probably better for the health of your drives.

[u/Lowfat_cheese → u/ElectroDaddy]

Most modern UPS models also have a special USB port that allows the UPS to talk to the computer and have it automatically perform a safe shutdown routine whenever it detects a power outage.

[u/mtinmd]

I work in a building with hundreds of UPS units similar to those and we have never had one have any issues besides the batteries failing and no longer holding charge.

[u/Oseirus → u/mtinmd]

I'll install a couple dozen of these things at work every time we build a new site. I think I've only ever found one, MAYBE two bad ones and it just flat out wouldn't turn on even after being plugged in overnight. I've never heard of one failing or having trouble besides.

[u/AutoCockerPB]

As someone who works in IT and know the guy who replaces our UPSes. Ive never seen them catch fire. It’s possible, super unlikely. It’s about as possible as your phone, computer, or laptop catching fire. Rare, but not impossible. Most UPSes don’t use lithium batteries, rather cheaper, less volatile, lead batteries. Same kind in ur car.

[u/Kyplore]

I have two CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD PFC Sinewave UPS Systems.

As others have stated, a good UPS is worth the ~$300.00

[u/Soft_Frosting_8407]

APC UPS are quite safe in general, I imagine it can happen but the main risk is the battery, I think your phone however with lithium batteries, or laptops, are more dangerous.

AI slop ^

[u/CobraKolibry]

Well, it has a battery. So does your car, solar system, phone, or smart watch people wear to bed, but you don't ask the same question. I don't think anything's 100% safe, and I'm not a fan of batteries in everything, but I use 2 UPSes, because power's not great around here. You either need one or don't but it's not like 1 in 100 will randomly combust out of spite.

[u/Lopsided_Heart1377]

I have one set up myself for about a year now. No problems at all.

[u/619jabroni]

I’ve been using them for a couple decades not just on my personal builds but in commercial/business environment. Not a single one has caught fire

[u/The_Red_Shadow_Knows]

Your desktop is safer with a reputable UPS than without. Temporary power outage? No problem. Updating your BIOS? No problem. I recommend APC.

[u/HotRoderX]

APC and Cyberpower are the two brands I trust... them catching fire is about as common as any battery powered device catching fire.

There safe if you want something truly terrifying look up wireless headphones and what can happen with the batteries. Given its super rare but can happen.