Topic: Use a UPS (Uninterruptable Power Supply) powering your console, opinions?

[xylon]

Hello, I put my design here, I have an ecowitt hp2551 station with a powerbank for mobiles etc that is always connected to the network, when I leave home I turn it off the network and the console works with the powerbank and lasts up to 20 hours, it is 20000 mha, then I have a raspberry pi 4 with the Weewx software, a 4g moden and a tablet in another 30,000 mha powerbank and it lasts 16 hours, it is also connected always charging except when I leave home that I turn off the charger. They supply current to the devices and at the same time they charge without interrupting the current and it does not disconnect when it is fully charged. It cost me a lot to find that they will work like this, these are: RAVPower 20100mAh - QC 3.0 + USB-C. and this other Baseus 30000mAh - USB-C, the latter has a display with the percentage of charge, amp and voltage.

[box]

Are we taking bets? The latter part of the battery tends to go quicker, in my experience at least. Going to guess 18-20 hours from the seat of my pants.

You are on!

UPS reports 50-75% this morning at 19 hours

Match report - 25-50% left at 32 hours. You were right about it speeding up, the second light (of 4) went out in roughly half the time of the first

[box]

Hello, I put my design here, I have an ecowitt hp2551 station with a powerbank for mobiles etc that is always connected to the network, when I leave home I turn it off the network and the console works with the powerbank and lasts up to 20 hours, it is 20000 mha, then I have a raspberry pi 4 with the Weewx software, a 4g moden and a tablet in another 30,000 mha powerbank and it lasts 16 hours, it is also connected always charging except when I leave home that I turn off the charger. They supply current to the devices and at the same time they charge without interrupting the current and it does not disconnect when it is fully charged. It cost me a lot to find that they will work like this, these are: RAVPower 20100mAh - QC 3.0 + USB-C. and this other Baseus 30000mAh - USB-C, the latter has a display with the percentage of charge, amp and voltage.

Hi there

Beginning to think my UPS for the single GW1000 is somewhat overspecified!

You have found a really good powerbank alternative, the problem is the permanent charge/power switchover so yours are more like a UPS although you turn your charger off when you are out

[box]

Hello, I put my design here, I have an ecowitt hp2551 station with a powerbank for mobiles etc that is always connected to the network, when I leave home I turn it off the network and the console works with the powerbank and lasts up to 20 hours, it is 20000 mha, then I have a raspberry pi 4 with the Weewx software, a 4g moden and a tablet in another 30,000 mha powerbank and it lasts 16 hours, it is also connected always charging except when I leave home that I turn off the charger. They supply current to the devices and at the same time they charge without interrupting the current and it does not disconnect when it is fully charged. It cost me a lot to find that they will work like this, these are: RAVPower 20100mAh - QC 3.0 + USB-C. and this other Baseus 30000mAh - USB-C, the latter has a display with the percentage of charge, amp and voltage.

Hi there

Beginning to think my UPS for the single GW1000 is somewhat overspecified!

You have found a really good powerbank alternative, the problem is the permanent charge/power switchover so yours are more like a UPS although you turn your charger off when you are out

RAVPower  - Found it on amazon.  I see they call it pass-through charging

[solartempest]

It is really debatable which is a better solution and probably time-to-failure will tell. I have many 20,000mAh and 10,000mAh portable batteries (with lithium 16850's inside) with heavy usage over 5 years on each. The most 'abused/heavily used ones' hold noticeably less charge than new but are still useful.

For the long-term, the 16850 batteries inside such smaller power banks should be longer lasting than the Cyberpower lead acid battery. However, lithium chemistry does not like to be kept at 100% always which is this situation. Conversely, lead acid batteries do not tolerate frequent deep discharges very well.

For me, having the data trend and logs of a UPS is a big advantage. But if you already have a UPS then essentially duplicated power issue data is not important.

[box]

It is really debatable which is a better solution and probably time-to-failure will tell. I have many 20,000mAh and 10,000mAh portable batteries (with lithium 16850's inside) with heavy usage over 5 years on each. The most 'abused/heavily used ones' hold noticeably less charge than new but are still useful.

For the long-term, the 16850 batteries inside such smaller power banks should be longer lasting than the Cyberpower lead acid battery. However, lithium chemistry does not like to be kept at 100% always which is this situation. Conversely, lead acid batteries do not tolerate frequent deep discharges very well.

For me, having the data trend and logs of a UPS is a big advantage. But if you already have a UPS then essentially duplicated power issue data is not important.

Good points
I assume modern chargers for powerbanks and UPS controllers do a certain amount of battery conditioning to avoid the 100% Li chemistry issue

[solartempest]

I assume modern chargers for powerbanks and UPS controllers do a certain amount of battery conditioning to avoid the 100% Li chemistry issue.

For Li power banks, manufacturers will typically not charge the cells to their maximum charge leaving a buffer range at the top. For this chemistry, you trade life for maximum charge amount along with the number of user cycles. It depends on the manufacturer and how conservative they are aka. "hidden" design choices.

Lead acid UPS controllers use float and equalize cycles to keep batteries in good health. Automatic self-tests are initiated to confirm the discharge circuit is functioning properly and only takes the battery level down slightly. Online diagnostics also report any issues if you are using APC PowerChute  or APC Tray. I assume CyberPower has similar software utilities/interface. Beyond that for overall lead acid battery longevity, it is up to the user loading and discharge conditions.

[box]

I assume modern chargers for powerbanks and UPS controllers do a certain amount of battery conditioning to avoid the 100% Li chemistry issue.

For Li power banks, manufacturers will typically not charge the cells to their maximum charge leaving a buffer range at the top. For this chemistry, you trade life for maximum charge amount along with the number of user cycles. It depends on the manufacturer and how conservative they are aka. "hidden" design choices.

Lead acid UPS controllers use float and equalize cycles to keep batteries in good health. Automatic self-tests are initiated to confirm the discharge circuit is functioning properly and only takes the battery level down slightly. Online diagnostics also report any issues if you are using APC PowerChute  or APC Tray. I assume CyberPower has similar software utilities/interface. Beyond that for overall lead acid battery longevity, it is up to the user loading and discharge conditions.

The things you learn on these forums! Thanks for the information ☺️

[box]

Are we taking bets? The latter part of the battery tends to go quicker, in my experience at least. Going to guess 18-20 hours from the seat of my pants.

You are on!

UPS reports 50-75% this morning at 19 hours

Match report - 25-50% left at 32 hours. You were right about it speeding up, the second light (of 4) went out in roughly half the time of the first

Ok..... it died overnight, last report at 0200. Last two lights were around 12 hours

So the duration was (drumroll.........) 61 hours

Thank you, thank you ...I'm here all week