Battery backup for NAS/external hard drives?

[sleepysurf]

Frequent brownouts and transient power outages are wrecking havoc with my NAS (network attached storage that I use as my music server), and a couple other external hard drives. Since these devices are in various locations in my house, I decided to get a few SMALL battery backups/surge protectors. They would only need to provide 5-10 mins of backup power for transient outages. Amazon has the APC BE350G ES 6 Outlet 350VA (see pic) for only $44. Only 3 of the outlets actually have battery backup, but that would suffice. Before buying, I was wondering if anybody has any other recommendations.

 

[Tube60]

Based on my excellent experience with my Tripp Lite power center, I'd recommend them. www.tripplite.com

 

[Cursed1]

APC all the way!!

 

[amey01]

For $44 you can't really go wrong!

 

[sleepysurf]

Thanks! I also looked at a cheaper one from Belkin, but the APC one looks more robust. For $40, I can't go wrong!

 

[SteveInNC]

I have a couple of TrippLite 900s (?) which I like because they have a real-time line voltage display, but I hate because you apparently can't permanently turn off the power-fail beeper. If the power fails at Oh-dark-thirty, I really don't care to be awakened to that fact by a Sonalert.

I'm seriously about to take diagonal cutters to both of the units.

I also have a huge APC I use for my computer stuff, and an APC 350 I use for phone, bedroom computer, and alarm clocks. APC will let you disable alerts via software (but they don't have Mac software for that feature - I had to connect mine to a Windows box).

 

[JonFo]

All DVR's, NAS and other 24/7 A/V - Home services stuff should be on a UPS.

Most equipment of that sort will run fine on non-Sine-wave inverters found in cheap UPS's.

Personally, I like feeding high quality Sine Wave power and having hours of battery run-time, so I run large 1.5Kva and up UPS for this purpose.

I also have the entre network and telephony systems on their own (overspeced) UPS so we can make and receive calls or surf the web during power outages.

For those with Satellite systems or cable boxes hidden in a separate place, remember to put them on a UPS as well, the DVR can't record if the powered satellite multiplexer is not powered

 

[Tube60]

......because you apparently can't permanently turn off the power-fail beeper........
I'm seriously about to take diagonal cutters to both of the units.

Ouch! That's no fun! However a little sleuthing should produce the section on the main board that feeds the beeper itself..... cut the appropriate board trace, then strap a switch across the resulting gap, or just leave it open.
My only nag with my Tripplite power center is that I cannot turn off the voltage and current displays. At night when I want to listen to music in the dark, the blue LED backlighting lights up the living room enough to read by! I find that annoying! Needless to say, I'll be doing a little surgery......:rocker:

 

[kcl]

I'm with JonFo. My ReadyNAS NV+ is connected to a sine-wave APC that provides a demonstrated 2+ hours of backup power.

 

[SteveInNC]

My only nag with my Tripplite power center is that I cannot turn off the voltage and current displays. At night when I want to listen to music in the dark, the blue LED backlighting lights up the living room enough to read by! I find that annoying! Needless to say, I'll be doing a little surgery......:rocker:

The newer units have a slider on the display that will let you dim it to totally off. I have an older unit and a newer unit. On mine, the display is a removable unit (designed to let you switch it between horizontal and vertical orientation) so I would think you could just totally remove it.

My initial inspection seems to show the the Sonalert is somewhere in the bottom of the case under the battery. I was hoping it was a wired unit somewhere near the top so it would be easy to cut the leads. I'm going to have to pull the whole unit apart to get to the beeper. Warning to those attempting this: there is still a big battery in there feeding into circuitry designed to wind it up to line voltage, so be careful if you go poking around in the innards.