Hello, fellow forumites! Our phone system at work old and cranky and likes to crap out and kill the HDD and remote access every time we have a power blip/brown out etc.. The comms box runs off a standard 13 amp plug through what was believed to be a UPS but, on closer inspection, is little more than a chunky looking surge protector. So, we need a UPS. The telecoms engineer assures me that a 1500VA consumer/SOHO UPS unit will be more than adequate for our needs, but warned us that most 1500VA units tend to have those kettle lead sockets to power appliances rather than standard 3 pin UK domestic plugs. TL;DR I have a budget of £500 ( but the lower the better) to find a 1500VA UPS that accepts appliances with standard UK mains plugs. Advice would be greatly appreciated. Regards Dave
Pro Tip: buy a UPS that takes IEC connectors, 'cos you'll struggle to find a BS-plug one in 1500VA+; buy one of these; cut the end that doesn't connect to the PSU off an IEC power cable; wire the bare wires into the BS socket you just bought; plug the IEC end of your new cable into the UPS and the BS plug from your PBX into the other end. Job done. You can buy IEC-to-BS-socket cables for exactly this purpose, but they cost about £25 to my version's £1.50-ish. Yes, I've done this. Yes, it works. Enjoy!
either cut the plug off your phone system and put a rewire-able IEC in it's place (the kettle type lead) or get a single (or 4 way ) mains extension and cut the plug off that and put on an IEC. Then you have the choice of any UPS. I personally would recommend anything by APC although 1500VA sounds a bit excessive for a phone system, but it depends on the load it draws and how long you want it to run with the power off. (as a general rule the UPS only needs to run as long as it takes to do a clean shutdown or it its that important switch to generator power).
I've found some IEC adapters for a few quid each, thanks guys. I thought 1500VA sounded a lot, but I think he's playing it safe - at half load you usually get much longer than the standard 5 minutes at full load, and this system can take a little over 5 minutes to power down properly.
This. Many times this. It's brilliant! I am amazed that more people don't do it. Spreadie - I have a SmartUPS 1500 which I think is cracking, but I am not sure what they cost now
