I live in a neighborhood that loses power all the time. So, I have a whole house automatic backup generator, but of course it take between 1 and 5 minutes to fully engage.
I’ve learned the hard way that an uninterruptible power supply is an absolute must for my home desktop computer workstations and networking gear.
I’m worried about losing power while I’m running my CNC, and I’m wondering if anyone is using a UPS to protect against power loss? What capacity UPS would I need?
I got an Ecoflow Delta 2 Max battery inverter generator a few months ago. Recently tried it as a UPS for my SPROXXL - worked perfectly. Has a 2Kwh battery pack in it & the inverter is good for 2400W - so essentially the equivelant of a 20Amp household circuit. If the power goes out during a CNC run, it should be capable of running the CNC plus shopvac(which I run at reduced speed) for a couple hours. Or could pause the job in which case it would keep things in standby for a couple days.
There has been some discussion of this here — if you’re using a trim router there is a specific electrical concern over whether the power is in a sine wave:
https://community.carbide3d.com/search?q=sine%20wave%20order%3Alatest
which should also capture most of the UPS discussions here.
I would have to comment that the proliferation of portable RV/camping/ battery inverter generators with very sizeable LiFePO4 battery packs has changed the UPS industry.
I’m still using a UPS at every electronic device and still not having any problems with the fairly constant quick drops of electrical power. (I don’t think one can afford to add a “portable RV/camping/ battery inverter generator” at the same points, so I don’t think the “UPS industry” is worried about losing much business.)
My comments here and other places are still valid.
I use an APC Smart UPS with supposed sine wave output. Here is a very quick and dirty video of me running my SO3 and just yanking the power cord out of the wall.
Run time just depends on battery capacity and workload. You could get a Kill-A-Watt or something similar to see what the running load of your whole system is. Then you can determine what battery capacity and load you need based on how long you’d like it to run your whole system.
I’m running a Shapeoko 5 Pro with the 65 mm spindle, a Dewalt shopvac through an automatic vacuum switch, and an old Dell laptop. I guess the laptop has its own battery and doesn’t need to be connected to the UPS.
My goal is to keep everything going for up to 5 minutes if I’m in the middle of a job and the power goes out, mostly just worried about ruining whatever I’m cutting.
Thanks for posting that video, exactly what I’m trying to achieve.
After reading the responses here and on the other linked threads, I’ve gone ahead and purchased the following:
Hopefully that will do the trick.
Here in South Florida during summer months, once a day there is a reset on the power grid. Usually shuts off power for a few seconds and then it starts right back up.
I purchased a Bluetti EP900 with 2 batteries which handles up to 7600 watts with a 10ms trip time. It handles three 220 HDM’s with 2.2k spindles, and I piled on a 1100 watt PC and two Carbon X1 printers and it handles them all with ease.
For single machine APC, I did not have much luck with a 1500VA, it was not able to handle the spindle on a S4 Pro. I upgraded to a APC Rack Mount 3000VA Smart UPS and it handles a 1.5k 110 with no issues.
If I am running my machines and the power goes out and it is not momentary, I immediately pause my spindles and there is enough power to keep the machines on for days till the power goes back on and I restart the operations. I do not have my dust collection on backup, as a few moments of no suction will generally not hurt anything.
I do not leave my CNC machines running on the battery backup during power failures, I just use the system to prevent ruining my projects or hurting my machines.
For single machine APC, I did not have much luck with a 1500VA, it was not able to handle the spindle on a S4 Pro.
OK, that’s not good news. I guess I’ll see what happens and report back.
The two other options you listed are around $1,300 and $10k+ so probably more than I would like to spend. This hobby is getting expensive!
You might have better luck with a 1500 then I did.
It is true, the choices are very expensive. These purchases were a necessity for me to be able to function during summer months.
Has been a few years since I looked at APC’s but Bluetti has smaller portable power systems that also have a 220 outlet built in. This one has enough capacity for a 2.2kw spindle.
There is a new Tesla Power Wall 3 that just came out, and also if you own a Ford F150 EV, you could plug in to the house grid and use it as a battery backup.
Very interesting, thanks for the follow up. That smaller Bluetti device does look interesting, need to read more about it.
I do have a large whole house generator powered by natural gas, and it can (and has) powered my house for days at a time. We’ve had several 7+ foot blizzards in the last few years which have taken down trees, lines, and transformers, with no ability for crews to come in until the snow is cleared. Actually had the electric utility guys out on snowmobiles the last time it happened.
Anyway, what I really need is a whole house UPS, which can bridge the few minutes between power loss and generator recovery. Which is I guess what the Powerwall is, kind of?
Yes and with solar panel options it becomes a desirable whole home power solution, at least for my area, probably not so much for yours in the winter time.
With these small units you really want the software to have the ability to gracefully shut down when the power fails the way most servers and NAS units are set up. Don’t know whether the C3D units can do that. An 800 watt spindle will run down a small UPS pretty quickly.
We have solar to cover close to 100% of our use and a NG generator for backup (pre-dated the solar). No battery yet, but I’d love to have a hybrid system where the generator could recharge the battery and then shut off so we don’t have to listen to the incessant drone and provide whole house UPS. We are also subject to possible many-day outages (most often in winter when the panels are covered by snow) as well as routine blips that last only a few seconds.
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