UPS Recommendations. Online or not.

[Cwill]

Our remote location often sees power outages. The site has a standby generator that comes online about 20 seconds after a utility power failure but this forces the our Horner XL4 PLC to restart. We would like to have the PLC on a UPS that would give us a runtime of 5 to 10 minutes. This would bridge the power gap and allow the PLC time to notify the operator if the generator does not come online and then gracefully shut it self down. We have been quoted for an online 120VAC UPS that would give us a run time of several hours but this seems like expensive overkill.

Does anyone have any recommendations for rail mounted UPSs? Is an online UPS recommended or necessary? TIA

 

[OkiePC]

What voltage do you need for the pic? Do you need to keep other devices powered up too?

 

[Tom Jenkins]

I'm not usually a big UPS fan, but remote locations like yours are the exceptions.

I've used both Sola and Control Microsystems UPS with success.

http://www.schneider-electric.com/en/brands/control-microsystems/

http://www.solahevidutysales.com/sdu_din_rail_dc_ups_series.htm

 

[Bullzi]

I have used the Allen Bradly 1609-B series of UPS in control panels and have had good luck with them. I think they come in 350W and 500W. Normally more than enough power for a PLC.

 

[Cwill]

The PLC needs 24 vdc. There are no other devices requiring power during the time the UPS would be in use.

 

[Bullzi]

For D.C. I like to use the UPS from Phoenix Contact. You can get 10 and 20 amp outputs.

 

[Cwill]

For D.C. I like to use the UPS from Phoenix Contact. You can get 10 and 20 amp outputs.

That is what I was looking at. Is 'online' necessary or even meaningful in the DC UPS world?

 

[OkiePC]

We use a lot of the PULS DC UPC units with a separate battery:

http://www.pulspower.com/products/show/product/detail//ub10241/

You can set it up to run for days without power with a big enough battery, and a separate battery is easier to maintain.

 

[Bullzi]

Online in the UPS world means that the power for the system is provided by the UPS even when there is proper input power to run. So when you lose input power the system just keeps on supplying output power until the battery is dead. The transition is seamless.

If the UPS wasn't Online it would have some kind of switching system that would sense the loss of power and then "Kick in". That isn't the way you would normally want to run a Control System. The "bump" from the changeover could cause lots of issues. I doubt that you will find an Industrial UPS that isn't Online.

 

[V0N_hydro]

The term UPS intones AC power and shouldn't be used (IMHO) unless there is an inverter involved. The phoenix device is what you want. Or you could use a battery charger and connect the PLC to the battery which is what we normally do. Sure the PLC sees 27.2V and will get browned out if you let the batteries go flat but so far that hasn't caused us any problems.

what is your industry?

 

[RET]

Do you even know what your current draw is?

 

[Cwill]

Do you even know what your current draw is?

The present power supply is a Siemens LOGO!Power 24 V @1.3 A DC. PLC draws 190 mA @ 12 VDC

Do I know what the actual draw is? No.

 

[RET]

The present power supply is a Siemens LOGO!Power 24 V @1.3 A DC. PLC draws 190 mA @ 12 VDC

Do I know what the actual draw is? No.

That should be good enough for sizing, say 1.3 amps...it would be a different story if you had a 20 amp power supply and didn't know what the actual draw is, I mean you have i/o that requires 24VDC, solenoids, relays, etc.

 

[guydegraeff]

Hi Cwill.

We use an online UPS purely to keep critical equipment powered during a dip such as the PLC, HMI any critical solenoids etc. Our usual setup is so the UPS will power the 24VDC power supplies in the panel and thus the PLC & HMI etc. We then monitor the state of the incoming 3ph and if there is a dip then we pause or stop process that will be affected or take other necessary steps.


We use an online UPS (usually a 1kVA unit), rather than a line-interactive UPS, as the load is continuously supplied by the battery pack via the inverter so there is no dip in the output when the main power drops, a line-interactive UPS will have a few milliseconds dip.
The online UPS also provides better noise/surge suppression as well as a true sine wave rather than a simulated sine wave.
I have not had an opportunity to use the DC style UPS units, as they are generally rather expensive here, so I cannot comment on them.

Cheers
Guy

 

[tragically1969]

We use a lot of the PULS DC UPC units with a separate battery:

http://www.pulspower.com/products/show/product/detail//ub10241/

You can set it up to run for days without power with a big enough battery, and a separate battery is easier to maintain.

One more vote for PULS, great kit, we use them with anywhere from 12 to 180Ah, the 10A version only needs one 12VDC battery too which saves a bit of space and cost