Any good wall mountable battery backups out there for smaller system installs?

Some more details will help identify the product you'll need.

What make of system will this be used on?

How much "up-time" after power loss are you looking for?

Are you only looking for KSU/PBX up time, or are you needing other items too (switch/router, MOH, etc.)?

https://www.tripplite.com/EN/products/model.cfm?txtSeriesID=669&EID=13928&txtModelID=2663

Many of the smaller tripplites, 350 or less, are wall mountable.

I just make a shelf and then you can use anything. Most units that hang on the wall won't be very large.

-Hal

I believe all the small APC's are wall mountable. The 350 to the 750.

It's a real pain trying to get the APC units to wallmount. Even if you make a paper guide to drill in the screws into the backboard, it never lines up just right to the screw holes on the back of the APC units.

I'm with hbiss. Installing a small shelf is much easier. Just make sure you tie-wrap or velcro or whatever to make sure the UPS doesn't fall or get knocked off accidentally.

We use the APC 350 for small installs and they were wall mountable, but now the new 350's aren't. One of our guys got creative and mounts them with D-Rings on two corners, it actually fits perfect.

But I've found that the 350 battery doesn't last for but 10 minutes or so on a power outage, probably just start using the 750.

I agree with the shelf idea, but a shelf won't always fit.

I no longer use APC or Minuteman....went to a CH 700 wall mountable....uses a battery similar to an exit sign battery....can be found at any electrical dealer who has exit lights and Cutler Hammer products.

The internet/Wal*Mart/Home Depot shoppers can't compare pricing....

Do you have that many outages? I know L.A. has had those 'rolling blackouts' Do they still do that?
I know you get a few outages due to storms but those are short n few between.
Most systems have a small backup integrated that last for a short while and adding say an APC should keep you up for awhile so Im curious why you are looking for a BB past that.
I know this doesnt answer your question but asks a question but I am going to install some small systems in Aneheim in April & May so some feedback on outages there is appreciated as I havent considered that past an APC.
Thank You,
Kevin

Ken, do you have a link to the ones your talking about? Can't seem to find them.

This is the one that I went to. The same size (600)from Minuteman had a lot of 30 day or less charger failures. That has been since Pana bought them and put the Minuteman name on their Chinese products. APC just doesn't cut it on their small ones. I even tried Leviton but they are as bad as Minuteman. I've had good luck on the CH so far.

Thanks Ken. :toast:

I think Tony has some valid questions. Some UPS units put out a square wave and that can cause problems with some KSU's.

Other KSU's can use the battery units that plug directly into the KSU power supply providing a long reserve time.

Express Communications

Excellent point, Larry. On that motel job with the TransTel the Minuteman Pro 1100 ran for more than two days during the ice storm last year. This is the one I use for the bank jobs where there is more than just a KSU.....

That is what I was getting at. We usually use a combination, depending on those criteria. We only install and service Toshiba systems, so we use Telcom1.net BBU's for our systems and if they want more up-time, we'll install multiple units with. Then if they have small hub, switch, router, etc. we'll install some >$100 wall mountable unit from APC. If they have more sensitive equipment that must have a longer up-time, then we'll install a specialty unit.

We use true sign wave for all our installs. We either put up a shelf or there is one provided. We have been using the Leviton and Tetrex. Don't know the part #'s but they are a 750 for the smaller and for the bigger jobs we use an 1150. With the True Sign Wave we have voltage regulation, surge and battery back up. We need that here in Central Florida. They are great for the brown outs, which we have a lot of.

Cosmo

Kevin, we haven't had rolling blackouts for years. Just your normal every now and then power outages.

Only the phone system will be plugged into the battery backup. This will go on Panasonic tda50, NEC DSX and ESI. Would like about 30 minutes of uptime

Maybe it's just because I'm powering servers but we never voluntarily install anything smaller then 1500va. Usually when the customer wants smaller we let them know it's against advisement and then do whatever they want.

I've been a fan of the MinuteMan Endeavor and EnterprisePlus rackmounts and the Pro-E stand alones. Like Ken said I've been noticing some change-up's in the product offering but haven't seem much change in the stuff I'm using. The EnterprisePlus got a little bit of a case remodel but the guts seem the same.

I used to be a fan of TrippLite but they kind of fell to the wayside for some reason. Became hard to buy their stuff and they started getting expensive. They still make decent stuff and have some unique or specialty-purpose UPS'.

Ken: Those Eaton UPS units are actualy MGE units in a different case. Eaton bought the small UPS division of MGE a while back. Definitely good stuff. I also liked Adler but they're so damn hard to find!

For small installations when wall mounting is required I've used this:
APC BH500NET

Note that this is a stand-by, not an on-line (true sine-wave) UPS, ie battery power switches on in the absence of AC. You gain in sturdiness what you lose in responsiveness.
It has worked as advertised when there was need to.

As a side note, you may want to tape over the unused outlets on the UPS to prevent "others" from plugging in equipment that may draw too much power from the UPS on battery and trip the overload or steal battery life from your phone equipment. I've seen this frequently in the IT field. Of course if the UPS has a non-battery backup side of outlets, those would be fine for regular uses.

hawk82....

Even better than tape, I use those plastic thingamabobs that you get at a hardware store to plug into unused outlets to protect little kids from sticking something into the outlets. I then use a sharp knife to cut off any finger pulls that some have...just to make it a bit harder for an adult to stick something in as well.

A Large print "Telephone Equipment Only" P-Touch tape on all 4 sides as well, so there's no excuse for attaching to my equipment.

Wes've used the 700e and 1500e MinuteMan stuff for many (over ten) years. We have started to replace quite a few batteries the last 3 or 4 years now---but they have really, so far, done a nice job for us. We use and recommend them because:
1. They are inline. Not as good or expensive as online...but for our purposes...they do what they're supposed to.
2. They have trapezoidal sine waves. Not as good as a true sine wave, but much better than the square sine wave.

In other words, we feel we get the most bang for the buck. JMHO.

We have a habit of either putting them on a shelf that we make or on a shelf in a rack. We're going to have to break our habit soon, and install some of the newer rack mounted MinuteMans.

The rackmount UPS versions with a vertical rackmount bracket would be a good option for a "wall mount" UPS. Plus you'd also get options to some of the big boys if need be.

You'd reallly need to make sure you got one hell of an anchor for the big ones but it could work easy enough.

Yeah I really want to get away from the smaller weak batteries. But I guess anything large has to go on the ground, rack or shelf. But those of us who do smaller installs know that there isn't always a rack, not always room for a shelf and they are high up alot of the time.

I'll research the links you've given me and go with one of those or go with the apc750 which we've rigged to be securely wall-mounted.

I always put 350 to 750 va UPS on my installs for lightning protection (make sure to test the ground on the outlet) and tell the customer that the backup is a freebie to them. If they specify long run times, I charge them for the larger units. Also try using 2 4" D-rings at an angle as wall mounts for UPS w/o keyholes.

"just to make it a bit harder for an adult to stick something in as well."

Dave, do you know what a 1/2 horsepower hammerdrill plugged into an APC600 does? KILLS IT! But I guess you know that, huh. And the garbage it puts out is on the equipment side of the UPS, so even if the UPS takes the drain, the the garbage on the line will drive some KSU's 'around the bend', so to speak!

As an aside, most UPS manufacturers, as well as gel-cell type battery manufacturers, will tell you that if you get 3 years out of the batteries, ya done good. And 'exercising' the batteries really does help. Ideally, you run the UPS until the 'low battery' alarm comes on. And only one time has the power really failed right after a test.
John C.

https://www.rackmountsolutions.net/Wallmount_Rack_V_Series.asp

Kinda neat. I'd probably use two of them (one on top and one on bottom) to not accidentally break the ears off the UPS. Looks like you'll need the square nuts to mount any unit to it though.

I wouldn't use them on the wall for sure. Telephone & Data ports should never be facing UP.

Come to think of it, I wouldn't even install them under a table or desk.

This equipment need to be properly installed on the wall. Tables & desks, like other furniture has a habit of getting moved....walls don't.

I thought we were talking about UPS equipment, not ports. My bad.

Found the Tripplite 350 and 780 in Office depot today and they have the holes for mounting on the wall. The APC's used to have them, but the new ones don't.

They are not true sign wave but for smaller systems they will do.


Cosmo