Isogeochem,
Thanks very much to all who responded with UPS information and tips.
It's very helpful. I've copied the information below for any who are
interested. As for brands, there were two responses each for Powerware and
Always On and one response for Toshiba and one for Powervar. Thanks again.
Steve
Steven Silva
U.S. Geological Survey
345 Middlefield Rd., Mailstop 434
Menlo Park, CA 94025
ph: (650) 329-4558
fax: (650) 329-5590
email: [log in to unmask]
Powerware brand has many models currently that will work well for
instrument use. The system is expandable with modular additions,
and it can be remotely monitored and controlled. They're extremely helpful
and knowledgeable both preceding and following the sale. In addition,
Power Factor, Inc. represents several companies
besides Powerware and thus is tied to no one brand
The contact info is:
Matt Roddy <[log in to unmask]>
Power Factor, Inc. http://powerfactorinc.com
Powerware http://powerware.com
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We've had good luck with Always "On" UPS systems
(http://www.alwaysonups.com). I don't have one on our Delta-S, but I
would use one now for a new installation. Our XRF kept running at
full-power through a 10 minute power outage this past weekend without
missing a beat, while everything else crashed. The UPS can also do
the 3-phase 208V to 230V conversion if needed. The cost for a 10kVA
UPS was less than twice the cost of a simple transformer to do the
voltage conversion. You can add additional battery packs to extend
the power-out runing time.
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I just purchased a 8.0 kVA Toshiba 1400 XL. It's one of the largest single
phase UPS systems that Toshiba makes, and is plenty big enough to run a
DeltaPlus XP, an EA, a Gas Bench and two computers.
http://www.tic.toshiba.com/productpages.php?prod=1400XL&family=UPS
I purchased through Thermo as part of my IRMS, so I got it "at cost"
($8800). One advantage of purchasing through Thermo is that they sold me a
customized configuration (Model #UC3E1E080-51MV1) with exactly 230 VAC
output (from approximatly 208 or 240 input). This built in transformer
works even when the batteries are dead.
I briefly looked into APC units, but to get the correct power output would
have involved putting a transformer after the UPS.
Anthony K. Aufdenkampe, Ph.D.
Assistant Research Scientist - Aquatic Organic Geochemistry and
Biogeochemistry
Stroud Water Research Center
970 Spencer Road
Avondale, PA 19311
Tel: 610-268-2153 ext. 263
Fax 610-268-0490
A good company that seems to have it together is:
Always ON UPS Systems Inc.
#100 - 150 Campion Road
Kelowna, BC
V1X 7S8
Canada
Phone: (250) 491-9777
Fax: (250) 491-9775
Toll-Free: 1-877-259-2976
Email: [log in to unmask]
http://www.alwayson.com
They have just about all possibilities and are not that far from you for
service and support. On a regulated UPS it is possible to get one that
will work on 50Hz. Some european equipment seem to prefer this in some
cases, even though it says 50-60Hz on the box. Plus your $US exchange rate
is in your favour right now.
Gilles
Gilles St-Jean
Chercheur / Research Scientist
U d'Ottawa/ U of Ottawa
Sciences de la Terre / Earth Sciences
Labaroires d'isotopes- G.G. Hatch -Isotope Laboratories
Don't forget air pump. We use house air for our pnuematics and have had
problems after power outages--the air pumps have to be manually reset,which
we found out after powering up our systems only later to have the air
pressure drop off when the air tank depressurized.
Dave Houle at Powervar has provided a bunch of systems for mass spec use
and should be able to put something together for
you.
we got a Powerware 9330 20kVA units to power two Delta Plus XLs and they
has performed superbly. We run three-phase wall power totalling 208V to
the UPS, which feeds the two transformers supplied by Finnigan. Each
transformer boosts the power to 230V for the mass spec that it feeds. This
way, we can briefly bypass the UPS for maintenance and still have proper
voltage (rather than using the UPS for the voltage boost). The battery
cabinet is good for about 2 to 3 hours with both mass specs. The UPS has
true dual conversion (rectifying and inverting) that totally cleans up the
wall power, much more than any surge filter. The total cost was about $18K,
and we pay $2600 a year for the service contract (very important). Service
is superb.
Very important: do not run EAs, TCEAs, GCs or other devices with ovens
through the UPS. The massive load cycling will quickly destroy any UPS.
Those devices are not so sensitive to power spikes and sags, but their
internal cycling will affect the mass specs if on the same circuit. Power
the peripherals through one or more independent single phase circuits with
isolation transformers, with a common ground to the mass specs. If power
goes out the peripherals will quit and you may lose a sample or two, but
the mass specs will be protected. I've been very happy with this setup.
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