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Uninterruptible Power Supply > Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions |
About Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS)
About Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS) About UPS Sizing Troubleshooting Troubleshooting by Product Line SentryII Troubleshooting by OS |
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What is a UPS? An uninterruptible power supply (UPS) is a device that sits between an A/C outlet (i.e. a wall outlet or power strip) and an electronic device (such as a computer, server, or phone equipment) to prevent power disturbances (outages, sags, surges, spikes, noise, etc.) from affecting the performance and life of the electronic device and vital data. How can a UPS help me? A UPS contains batteries that provide backup power to your system in the event of a power outage to give you the time to safely save all open files and gracefully shutdown the system or even continue to work until normal power has been restored. Additionally, most UPSs regulate the power that comes from the original supply (i.e. the wall outlet). These functions offer several advantages
What are the different types of UPSs and how do they differ? There are basically three types of UPSs: Standby, Line-interactive, and On-line. Standby: (sometimes called "off-line") With this type of power supply, power comes directly from the A/C outlet until the voltage sags or the power fails. After the power sags or fails, a battery powered inverter almost immediately turns on to continue to supply you with power. Batteries are charged, as necessary, when direct A/C power is available. Even while power is coming directly from the A/C outlet, the UPS provides protection from voltage spikes and surges. Standby units are the low cost solution in the UPS family. Line-interactive: Just like the standby units, line-interactive UPSs provide protection from spikes and surges, as well as supplying auxiliary power if a voltage sag or a blackout occurs. Unlike the standby units, line-interactive UPSs provide automatic voltage boost when the power dips, without accessing the batteries. This feature provides continuous lined conditioning, promotes longer battery life, and eliminates electronic "noise" that can cause minor application errors and loss of data. On-line: On-line UPSs provide the highest quality of power protection by using a double-conversion technique. The UPS takes the incoming A/C power and recreates it by converting the voltage to D/C, then conditioning the power to eliminate noise, sags, or surges, and, finally, converting it back to A/C before it exists the UPS. Since the power runs continuously through the inverter, there is no transfer or switching time to battery mode in the event of a blackout. Does Minuteman offer have a trade-in policy? The UPS trade-in program is designed so the customer can upgrade to new units because of increase power requirements or new MINUTEMAN UPS technologies. Under this program, customers may trade-in old MINUTEMAN UPS units (or other manufacturers? units) for new MINUTEMAN UPS units, each with full warranty at substantial discounts. How long can equipment keep running on a UPS? There is no standard answer. There are UPS solutions available to support almost any application anywhere from five minutes to two days, the solution just depends on your application. Typically, you should plan on enough run time to allow you to save any open files and safely shutdown the system. Use SizeMyUPS. to find a UPS solution with enough backup time to meet your needs. How does a MINUTEMAN UPS differ from the others? MINUTEMAN UPSs offer more features -- from on-line help, power management software, to test buttons -- and more volt amps (VA) for your money, which means you can support greater power loads for less cost. Why is Power Protection Necessary? Desktop computers, network file servers, telephone systems and other critical business equipment play a vital role in the day to day operations of most businesses and the reliable functioning of those systems depend on a clean uninterrupted supply of power. In many cases, an uninterruptible power supply can be justified with simple arithmetic. Several hours of professional work can be lost due to a momentary brownout. This can crash a computer before the work can be saved to disk. Consequently, an organization can suffer expensive setbacks in terms of time and disruption. But, with an uninterruptible power supply in place, a brownout can pass unnoticed. Spending as little as a hundred dollars on power protection can buy complete protection and peace of mind. The need for power protection goes beyond the single-user desktops. The increasing use of local area networks makes offices even more susceptible to power problems, because most files on these networks are centralized on one high-speed file server. A brownout affecting a file server could disrupt fifty or sixty users. Since such systems often do not have an operating staff, power protection must also be automated. Phone systems are increasingly computer based, making them equally vulnerable to power problems, and if computer downtime is painful, downtime on the phone system can be disastrous. With the upsurge in telemarketing, many businesses now conduct literally all their business over the phone. Brownouts are momentary slumps in the AC power supply to a level under 100 volts. They are normally caused by the use of heavy machinery in the vicinity -- as motors and compressors are turned on they cause a momentary drain on the grid. Within an office setting, air conditioners and laser printers are often culprits. Brownouts can affect a computer without being visible to the naked eye (in terms of its affects on the room lights). And even if they do not crash the computer, brownouts can cause stresses that can shorten the life of components. It's common for line monitors to detect as many as four potentially disruptive events a day. Power surges, meanwhile, often follow brownouts as the power rebounds back to normal. High-voltage conditions, as opposed to momentary surges, are especially prevalent overseas, and must be guarded against. Complete outages are most common in suburban areas where lines are hung on poles that are exposed to lightening. This is especially true along the Gulf Coast where the power grid is often exposed to severe tropical storms. Why is a UPS Now a Must on All Power Sensitive Equipment? Power problems in most cases cannot be prevented or corrected due to the tremendous demand placed on the public utilities in our fast growing technological society. With utility de-regulation, power quality is expected to deteriorate even further. Power protection is the only answer. What is an On-Line UPS? The on-line UPS provides the highest quality of power protection by incorporating a double-conversion technique, whereby power coming in to the UPS is converted from AC to DC. Power is then conditioned and converted back to AC at the output of the UPS. There is no transfer or switching time since power actually runs through the battery system. By isolating the input from the output, on-line UPSs provide true sinewave power to attached equipment that is clean and free of any power anomalies. Minuteman manufactures the Continuous Power series of on-line UPSs. Within this product line are units that include the following VA ratings: 500VA - 1KVA - 2KVA (220V only) - 3KVA - 5KVA - 6KVA - 8KVA - 10KVA The ferroressonant UPS design is perhaps the most misunderstood. This design, while frequently marketed as an "on-line" UPS, is truly a stand-by system. This type of UPS employs a ferroressonant transformer where the inputs are both the incoming line and the inverter, with both going to a common output. The ferro transformer stores a small amount of electrical energy, allowing the unit to ride through brief power interruptions until the inverter can start up. The ferro transformer is a good filter and regulator. However, being a resonant device, the output tends to sometimes fatally degrade when the input parameters drift from the required resonant values. What is a Line Interactive UPS? The newest form of UPS is a line-interactive system, providing automatic voltage regulation when low voltage or high voltage conditions occur. Line-interactive UPSs fall between an on-line and stand-by in terms of cost and performance. This type of UPS tends to preserve battery life because it is not constantly switching to battery mode in areas plagued with brownouts. In a blackout situation, all Minuteman line-interactive UPSs switch to battery mode in less than 4 milliseconds. Additionally, line-interactive units provide protection from spikes and surges, plus RFI and EMI filtering. Minuteman's PRO, XRT, and PowerMind series are line-interactive and include models with the following VA ratings: Pro Series (with simulated sinwave output) 320VA -520VA - 700VA - 1000VA - 1400VA Pro Series Rackmount (with simulated sinwave output) 700VA - 1000VA - 1400VA - 2200VA XRT Series (with true sinwave output) 600VA - 1000VA - 1500VA - 2000VA PowerMind (PML) (with true sinwave output) 600VA - 900VA - 1250VA - 200VA What is a Stand-by UPS? A stand-by UPS provides filtering and protection from spikes and surges, while "standing by" with batteries in the case of a low voltage, high voltage or blackout condition. If one of these conditions occurs, the inverter automatically switches to battery mode to condition the power. What is Extended Runtime? Few UPSs are intended to supply long-term power. MINUTEMAN designs its systems to supply backup power for about 10-15 minutes at full load, as is standard in the industry. This is ample time to bring the system down safely, ensuring that all data is saved. The XRT Series leads the market in extended runtime, and is designed to allow the installation of additional battery packs, offering the potential for extended runtime. Our battery packs are designed to stack on top of each other. This eliminates bulky racks and makes efficient use of space. With telephone and computer network equipment becomes more mission critical to both small and large businesses, 10 to 15 minutes of back-up time may simply not be enough. Many business owners and network administrators are seeking 30 minutes to 8 hours worth of back-up time. Surprisingly, several hours of runtime is considered inexpensive when compared to the cost of a phone system or a network being down during an extended power outage. What are primary Uses of Power Protection?
Sinewave vs Simulated Sinwave - Which is Best? A sinewave output is the optimum waveform for electronic equipment. The incoming AC line is a sinewave, thus electronic equipment expects to see this type of waveform. A sinewave is the most expensive output form for UPS manufacturers to produce due to more complex circuitry and components. All Minuteman UPSs that produce a sinewave output go one step further by producing a synchronized sinewave. This feature eliminates the problem of an out of phase wave at the output. The Continuous Power, XRT, and PowerMind series from Minuteman provide a true sinewave output. A pulse width modulated squarewave (also called simulated sinewave) is considerably easier to produce in a UPS. This type of waveform is quite suitable for virtually all electronic business equipment. Minuteman's Pro series produces a simulated sinewave output. What is Power Monitoring Software? Power monitoring and shutdown software is a recent technological advancement in the UPS marketplace. All Minuteman UPSs (except Pro 200) incorporate a communications port for either shutdown, monitoring, or both. Power monitoring and shutdown software was developed out of the need for more sophisticated capabilities from a UPS. File servers and multi-user computers are critical resources for businesses, and the personnel managing these networks must have control over every aspect of these systems. Minuteman's SentryTM bi-directional intelligent communications software is compatible with the Pro, XRT, CP and PowerMind series of UPSs, providing comprehensive information about power conditions in the form of statistical data and a graphical display. The graphical display shows current conditions including available battery voltage, UPS load, charge status, UPS temperature, and battery age. A running line graph is also featured that displays input voltage and UPS load for the past 10 minutes of monitoring. Warning messages are broadcast to all users in cases of power outages, low battery warning during a blackout, momentary disruption, log-in failure, and power restored. SentryTM software products add security and reliability to networks by performing an unattended shutdown in case there is an extended power outage. Both software products also include a comprehensive testing facility, a battery replacement warning, and allow the data generated by the software to be written to a file for future reference. How can power management software help me? Power management software provides you with very valuable information, such as: Battery condition, so you know if you have a fully charged battery. Power statistics that allow you to analyze the quality of your incoming A/C. The number of power sags, surges, or outages and when they occurred. System temperature and system load, so you know the amount of power the UPS is supporting. It also provides you with several functions that help manage crises, such as power failures: Safe, unattended system shutdown to protect your equipment and data even when you're not there. Broadcast warning messages that notify all users of power loss. Dial-out modem capability and automatic paging capabilities to notify system administrators. Automatic restart of applications that allow your system to resume normal operations once power has been restored. When should I replace the batteries? The typical life of a UPS battery is 3 to 5 years. Battery life is dependent on temperature, the number of times the battery is fully discharged, and other factors. For the best results, we recommend that you fully discharge your battery 4 to 6 times a year. Need replacement batteries for your MINUTEMAN UPS product? Just email our technical support department at support@minutemanups.com or call us at 800.238.7272 or +1 972.446.7363 and select option 3. To find out which batteries you need, select your type of UPS product and click the "Find Batteries" button. (e.g. Select MINUTEMAN Enterprise to see replacement batteries for the E 500, E 750, E 1100, etc. ) Can certain types of loads harm my UPS? Yes! Power loads that are highly inductive can cause serious damage to the UPS. Examples of equipment that should NOT be attached to the UPS include: air conditioners drills space heaters vacuum cleaners buffing machines fans laser printers transformers (step up/step down) We recommend that you use your UPS to support computer of telephone system loads ONLY for the best overall performance. Self Maintenance Tips Related Links Tech Tips Contact Tech Support Product Tech Manuals Software Downloads Product Warranties UPS Trade-in Program How are UPS size requirements determined? UPS sizes are typically based on Volt Amps (VA). VA is determined by the following formulas: 1. Amps x 120 (for domestic applications) = VA 2. Amps x 220 (for international applications) = VA 3. Watts x 1.4 = VA Find the right UPS for your application at SizeMyUPS. Can I SizeMyUPS on-line? Yes, you can find the right UPS for your application at SizeMyUPS. What size do I need? The UPS you need depends on the load, or amount of A/C, your system is pulling and the equipment the UPS will support. You can determine what you need by following these steps:
What else should I consider before I purchase a UPS? You should always consider system expansion before purchasing any hardware items. Typically, you can plan on 5% growth per year due to new applications and new users putting additional burdens on the system. Visit SizeMyUPS to find the right UPS model for your needs. Why is the alarm sounding? The alarm on a UPS is a means of communicating information. As such, the information being communicated will differ from product to product. Here is what the alarm means when it goes off for the following products: Pro Series: The constant alarm tone means that the UPS is overloaded or that the unit's batteries are low or weak; a LED indicator will tell you which problem is occurring. The back-up mode alarm on this product will sound every 15 seconds while the UPS is operating on the battery (i.e. normal power has failed and you are operating on reserve power). XRT Series: The alarm will sound every 2 seconds to indicate that you are operating in battery mode (i.e. normal power has failed and you are operating on reserve power). PowerMind (PML) Series: The alarm will sound constantly to indicate that either the input frequency or input voltage is too low or too high. The constant alarm sound with a FAULT LED generally indicates a serious fault, such as a processor lock up, and you should call MINUTEMAN technical support (972)446-7363. The constant alarm sound with the OVERLOAD LED means that the UPS has more equipment attached to it than it can safely support. The alarm sounding periodically means that the unit is operating on the battery (i.e. normal power has failed and you are operating on reserve power). Troubleshooting the Pro Series UPS Front Panel
Troubleshooting the Pro Rackmount Series UPS
Troubleshooting the XRT Series UPS If your XRT UPS does not function as you expect or if you get an error code or message, please follow the chart outlined below before calling your dealer or Minuteman. Make note of each problem so that we may quickly troubleshoot and correct the problem. Please remember to have your model and serial number before calling.
Troubleshooting the PowerMind Series UPS The Trouble Shooting Chart covers most of the difficulties that you may encounter under normal working conditions. If the UPS fails to operate properly, please review the following checks before calling the repair center. 1. Is the UPS plugged into a correctly working outlet? 2. Is the line voltage within the rating specified? 3. Has the fuse on the back panel on model PML600, PML600/2, PML900, PML1250 blown? Has the circuit protector tripped on the PML900/2, PML1250/2, PML1650, PML1650/2, PML2000 or PML2000/2?
Troubleshooting the Continuous Power Series UPS The Trouble Shooting Chart covers most of the difficulties that you may encounter under normal working conditions. If the UPS fails to operate properly, please review the following checks before calling the repair center. 1. Is the UPS plugged into a correctly working outlet? 2. Is the line voltage within the rating specified? 3. Has the fuse on the back panel on model CP500 blown? 4. Has the circuit protector on the back panel of the model CP1K or CP2K/2 tripped? 5. Has the circuit breaker on the back panel of the CP3K/2 tripped?
Troubleshooting the SNMP
Troubleshooting SentryII for Windows 95/98/ME We have made every effort to ensure an easy and straight forward Sentry installation. If you should experience problems or unexpected results during the installation or execution, please verify your system setup and configuration using the following checklist: Positively identify the serial port to which the UPS interface cable is connected. (Consult computer and/or operating system documentation if necessary.)
Troubleshooting SentryII for Windows NT/2000/XP When you start Windows NT, NTDETECT searches for the pointing device (usually a mouse). In the course of this process, data is sent to the serial (COM) ports. If a serial mouse is detected, Windows NT disables the port so a device driver for the mouse can load instead. If a device is not detected, Windows NT disables the port. A disabled COM port does not display any information in Control Panel Ports. What occurs in this instance is that the "NT DETECT" process at startup sends a signal to each com port to check for the presence of a "serial mouse". This is recognizing the UPS attached to the com port as a "serial mouse", which in turn then changes the "resource" of the com port from "serial" to "sermouse". In order to prevent this from happening it is necessary to disable the "NT DETECT" signal on the port assigned to the UPS. MORE INFORMATION To disable the detection of devices on COM ports in Windows NT:
You may find additional help in solving your problems with the Event Viewer. The Event Viewer is in the Administrative Tools folder. The Event Viewer lists each occurring event. To display a list of event log messages, select Applications under the Log menu. To view more details for the event, double-click on the event. The Event Detail dialog box displays the Date and Time of the Event, and a brief description of the event under Source. Common Problems and Solutions
Windows NT COM Ports To disable the detection of devices on COM ports in Windows NT:
Troubleshooting SentryII for Linux Description: The SentryII daemon won't start after installing on Suse or Mandrake even though the install seemed to complete successfully Details:
Troubleshooting SentryII for Unix We have made every effort to ensure an easy and straight forward Sentry installation. If you should experience problems or unexpected results during the installation or execution, please verify your system setup and configuration using the following checklist:
Keyboard Usage Some terminals do not support the keystrokes listed on the Sentry screens. Use the following table to choose alternative keystrokes.
Troubleshooting SentryII for Novell We have made every effort to ensure an easy and straight forward Sentry installation. If you should experience problems or unexpected results during the installation or execution, please verify your system setup and configuration using the following checklist:
How do I contact MINUTEMAN for additional support? By clicking here. |
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