Prius "plug-in" requirements

yeah, this.
and actually, you'd be surprised. i have a 2wire DSL modem that I originally got through my AT&T service, and I've had to replace its power supply twice in 4 years. despite the fact that it's always plugged into a UPS!

 

was your UPS output pure sine wave? They're the more expensive one's. I had a inexpensive 1375 watt ups connected to my Desktop, my Desktop kept shutting off. Found out it was the active power factor power supply in the Desktop doesn't like "Stepped Wave" (fancy word for square wave) output. Fortunately the power supply was covered under it's warranty (just had to pay for shipping) Since then, I got a relatively inexpensive ($200.99) 900 watt Pure sine wave UPS. Haven't had problems with my Desktop since.

 

yeah, it's a more expensive simulated sine wave unit. the only thing running on it is the DSL router though, and replacing the router's power supply costs $10 every two years, vs. getting a pure sinewave unit of similar capacity for $200. so i'll stick with replacing the power supplies for now lol.

i do have another UPS driving my mac mini server, and that's a pure sine wave model.

 

Yeah, I learned the hard way, I figured UPS, 1375 watt, pretty cheap, what could go wrong? Then the Power supply guys gave me the bad news. Called the 1375 watt UPS guys, asked what the output was, because it's not spelled out in the spec's.They told me Stepped wave. Oop's sorry, we got pure sine wave for sale $500.00, I said, no thanks. I asked if I could trade in my 1375 watter. Nope.

 

I have an outlet inthe stage and It is not GFCI. GFCI outlets are inside the house but not in the garage. The house was built new in 2000. Guess I'll have to check Into that when I get closer to trading in my prius for a PIP

 

adding a 240v outlet is about $15 more than adding a 120V outlet.

 

That is good to know.

 

Thanks John.

 

Yup, forgot to disclaimer to not do what I do. I fully know what I am doing and stubbornly taking the risks. I was just saying I wasn't aware of the situation for awhile and the PiP safely notified me it didn't like it.

 

I've had UPSes for ages and none are pure sine wave and almost all of them are APC, yet none of them have caused trouble for my computers or any of my devices. I've run them during power outages. I think my oldest UPS is from at least 10 years ago (it's an APC Back-UPS Pro 1400, I believe Back-UPS Pro 1400VA is right).

Stepped approximation of sine waves are not equal to pure square waves.

 

it depends on your equipment. new PFC power supplies are very picky about the waveform that they get. if you're running laptops or a power supply that accepts a range of voltages (i.e. worldwide), then obviously it's not going to be affected.
these are the two units i'm using:
Cyberpower CP1500AVRLCD UPS - LCD Display 1500VA/900W AVR 8-Outlet RJ11/RJ45/Coax Tower USB (simulated sine) (used for DSL and wired router)
CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD UPS 1500VA 900W PFC Compatible Pure Sine Wave (used for mac mini)

 

yeah, I got APC 1300 which is 780 watts on my tv, printer, laptop, blu-ray and have had it for five years with no problem. But on my Desktop which I purchased last year along with Powercom KIN-2200AP 2200 VA 1320 Watts. About six months later my Desktop kept shutting off for no reason.

 

Yeah, the CP1500PFCLD is what I replaced the 1320 watter with

 

When you know what you are doing and are diligent, it certainly can be done safely. Having a 20 amp circuit, rather than 15, helps considerably. But typical households, containing any family member who is not technically inclined, shouldn't try.

 

I've never heard of Powercom until now. I don't trust Cyberpower very much as they seem to be a recent name, specializing in budget UPSes. Surprisingly, the latter was founded in 1997, yet I hadn't heard of them until the last 5 years or so.

The only UPSes I've ever owned were APC, Conext (one of their lower tier brands) and a rebadged as IBM Tripp Lite. The Tripp Lite eventually went wonky and I've had one APC seemingly go bad (or was damaged in a move). Both of those were real cheap though, so no big loss.

 

I remember my dad buying a CyberPower UPS over a decade ago…had no idea what I was doing, plugged a vacuum into it, and the fuse didn't blow so the thing died. We called up customer service, they sent us a free replacement of an upgraded model, no questions asked. The two units I have here have served me well so far

 

Just got my handy-dandy Oscilloscope today and checked the outputs of all three of my battery back ups just two pic's b/c the cyberpower has the same output (sine wave) with line disconnected (in battery back up mode) and connected. but the Powercom and the APC have squarewaves in battery backup mode but sine waves when a/c line is connected. I realize this has noting to do with the PIP but is on topic (per Se)

 

now I understand how my desktop power supply failed

 

Not surprising that when you are on AC power, you get a pure sine wave since the UPS is just passing through the utility power. Nice that the cyberpower UPS appears to have a real sine wave waveform.