UPS cut my power

I use a CyberPower 320SL UPS to power my computer and protect it from blackouts because I've seen too much of the damage those can do to a good computer.

I have 6 outlets and was using all 6. I had my computer, monitor and cable modem plugged into the battery-powered outlets. I had my scanner, printer and speakers plugged into the regular ones. I'd had it this way for months and months with no problems.

Then last night I was surfing and suddenly the UPS just cut my power. I thought it was a power outage, but everything else was fine. I read in the manual that if the UPS gets overloaded, that trips its internal circuit breaker and cuts the power.

My question is how could it be overloaded if it had run well with all my stuff plugged in before? I've since unplugged the scanner and cable modem in the hopes of preventing this from happening again, but now I'm scared to leave my computer on all day like I was gonna start doing.

 

Power from the power company isn't clean. In other words, it fluctuates up and down from one moment to the next. When voltage drops, electrical devices pull more amperage to compensate for the loss of voltage. My guess is that your wall voltage dropped lower than it ever has since you've owned the UPS. When the amperage rose, it overloaded the capacity of the UPS and it turned off.

I suggest you run all devices except computer and monitor on a wall plug. Personally, when I was running a UPS, the only item I had connected to it was the computer, itself. Even the monitor went to the wall.

 

The only problem with that is I don't have enough outlets. I only have 4 in my room and have many expensive toys that must be plugged in. My guess is, another power strip. Only the computer to plug into UPS as you said. My house is 50 years old and I'm sure the wiring isn't what it should be either. The Wiring Fault LED on the UPS has been lit since I first plugged it in.

 

The UPS also serves as a surge suppressor. If your house is 50 years old and all wiring is original, you probably don't have any ground. No surge suppressor can work without a ground. You may have a three-prong outlet; but, the ground is actually connected to nothing. Running a UPS and/or computer on a system with no ground is dangerous to the equipment.

I suggest you be sure you have a ground at least on the outlet(s) where you have the computer equipment.

On another subject, running some power tools and appliances (washer, dryer, refrigerator, etc. on a circuit without a ground can be FATAL.

 

That's something to think about. Unfortunately, I live with my parents and they're cheap, so they probably wouldn't pay to get if fixed. We had an electrician out a few years ago and he did something with the light in the dining room and the lightswitch in the bathroom, but nothing else. How much would it cost just to get my one outlet updated?

 

I don't know what part of the world you live in; but, here in Birmingham, Alabama, it would probably cost just over $100 to get a qualified electrician for a small job like that--an unlicensed jackleg, maybe a little less. But, where I live, it is illegal to hire unlicensed plumbers and electricians. Here, they don't just fine the unlicensed worker; they fine the homeowner, too--up to $1000 each.

 

Dontcha just love living in Police State Amerika? It's so liberating.