On 11/27/2014 6:43 PM, mike wrote:
If you used the system frequently, you wouldn't need to test it.
In particular, a yearly test suggests that it's more than a year
between power outages.

What's the cost, in additional battery degradation due to discharge, of
20 partial
discharges over the next 20 years? You don't need to run it flat to
learn that it's degrading. Measure the voltage, under load, after an
hour and graph the number.

And the system test is of the whole system
including source, load, wiring, switches, etc.

I have a UPS on my computer.
The battery is not new.
Runs for about 5 minutes.

Power outages around here are of two types.
Virtually all last less than a second.
The rest last for hours.

Replacing the battery with one that runs 10x as long
would be of zero benefit.

My first line of defense in a power outage is the nap.
Nothing fixes a power outage faster than a long nap.

Second line is two dozen harbor freight free flashlights.

Next is the 12V battery-in-a-box car starting gizmo.
Then the car battery.
Then the 500W generator.
Then, if it's cold and I need to keep the pipes from
freezing, I need to run the furnace off the 2KW generator.
Then, if I need to power my neighbor's freezers to keep
his food from spoiling, I run the 6KW generator.

Can't remember the last time I needed more than the nap
and one flashlight. My only excuse is that I acquired all
this stuff over 40 years at pennies on the dollar.

Managing expectations is far easier than obsessing over
attempting to
maintain your full existence during a power outage.

Harbor Freight will sell you a generator for
$67 after 25% coupon that will provide REAL backup power if ever needed.
And that's probably in line with what you'd pay for a new
battery.

Ah, bother. Just got off the phone. My train
of thought is off in space. I'll write later.

--
..
Christopher A. Young
Learn about Jesus
www.lds.org
..