List folk,
        When we installed our Finnigan MAT252 mass spectrometer in March 1993
we also installed a Toshiba Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS). We
ordered the M4000 10KVA model which will power the entire machine for 30
minutes with no power. Because our building also has emergency generator
power the UPS really just serves as an expensive switch to get us from
main power to emergency power when. In actuality, the UPS serves as a
line filter/surge suppresser for the many short black-outs and
brown-outs we have on Cape Cod in the summer and winter. The UPS has a
large footprint (1m x .75m x 1m) and was costly ($25,000) but I would
never do a installation without one. With down time and spare parts
needed after power outages, I am sure that the machine paid for itself
in a few years. Plus, I don't have to come and get the machine up and
running in terrible weather when I should be at home!

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Dorinda Ostermann, Research Associate              http://www.whoi.edu
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Clark 123, Woods Hole, MA
02543-1541
[log in to unmask]        (508)289-2592 office   (508)457-2175 fax