EcoTech or UPS?

[mogurnda]

Hey All,

I am preparing for whatever comes next, and was going to start doing a little homework on backup systems. I thought someone might have already done the math, so I figured I would ask if anyone has compared the EcoTech battery backup to a standard UPS for price, longevity, features, etc. My gut feeling is that a regular UPS would save money, but real data would be useful.

[DaveS]

The EcoTech battery backup will power a Vortech MUCH longer than a reasonably priced UPS.

[OldReefer]

I have pretty good data on this now.

 

I have one MP40 connected to a Vortech Backup. I have the other Vortech connected to one of these dirt cheap 12V UPSs.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Belkin-battery-back-up-12-volt-DC-Model-BU3DC001-12V-Uverse-Modem-Phone-GREAT-/280912624937?pt=US_Uninterruptible_Power_Supplies&hash=item4167b27d29

 

After 12 hours both were running an MP40 at 50 percent.

 

I am sure the Vortech battery will last much longer, but 12 hours ain't bad.

 

I did at one point replace the battery in he cheap UPS with a new one. So I spent $25 on the UPS, $25 on a new new factory battery, an $5 for the right size plug at RadioShack. I also used one of these units to backup my Apex, and another to back up a Tunze 6055 in my frag tank. They are incredibly cheap and useful little things.

[Hayden]

Keep in mind that if you have an EcoTech battery backup your vortech will automatically go to low flow mode to conserve power in an outage. If you keep on a generic ups, your Vortech will run on full power (or whatever it's normally set at) using more power... Until you get home and manually turn down. EcoTech claims a 36 hour run time for MP40 and 72 hours for MP10. I have no personal data to confirm though... Just info from reading the manual.

[mogurnda]

Great input, thanks. That helps put things into focus. Back to reading and trying to decide.

[OldReefer]

Just to clarify, what takes the MP40 down to 50% is the voltage. Normal voltage is 24V. UPS or Vortech backup is 12. The only interface between the Vortech and the backup is a DC power connection. The Vortech looks at the two power inputs it has, and when the voltage available on the backup input exceeds what is coming in on the primary input, it puts itself into backup mode. It is real simple but it works well. The bottom line is that it doesn't know or care where the backup voltage comes from.

 

I really like having the big Vortech backup battery, but I also know that they are prohibitively expensive for some people. If I had a nano with a MP10 I would most definately be running an cheap Ebay backup to it.