Korg Forums

So I bought a UPS for my Kronos 1 year ago. So far it hasn't been on the road & I use it at home with the K, my Kurz & computer plugged into it. The model I have is Tripp Lite ECO650LCD 650VA 325W UPS & has sufficient battery backup for my needs. Through the years I have had good luck with Tripp Lite products however last night we had a 2 minute power outage & suddenly all I smelled was something burning. I isolated the problem to the UPS & had to unplug it quickly for fear it would catch fire. Needless to say I lost what I was working on in the computer but my keyboards were Off at the time. No damage done but it could have been worse if I wasn't sitting right there when this happened. No doubt a powered on Kronos might have puked over this.

Anyway I contacted Amazon & they are sending a replacement for free. I'm not sure I even want to use it though. Has anyone else had similar experience???
Larry

I haven't had experiences with this brand, however had bad experiences with 2 I bought here in Australia.
Overheating
Battery running out so quickly it wasn't worth having.
Alarm going off for no apparent reason intermittently.
Failed to shutdown my computer after outage.

These were PowerShield models that still seem to have good reviews
I don't want to give PowerShield a bad name - maybe Murphy's Law stepped in….

So, I don't really trust UPS now - what to do??? what to buy???

Power surge is my main concern - don't care about losing data/keyboard work etc…

Pete

Never hear of that with a Tripplite. I worked a band that plugged 3000 watts of PA into a UPS designed for home computers. They thought it was a power conditioner. The unit wasn't responding to a power outage. It was trying to handle all that current and it got smoked. Then they tried to hook the same PA up to a rackmount power conditioner (a power strip) and it kept popping the breaker (15A). The rookie sound techs had no idea what was going on. Any chance somebody plugged in a high current device that you were not aware of? I know it's a dumb question, but I have to ask. I imagine a vacuum cleaner might be able to do that.

karmathanever wrote:I haven't had experiences with this brand, however had bad experiences with 2 I bought here in Australia.
Overheating
Battery running out so quickly it wasn't worth having.
Alarm going off for no apparent reason intermittently.
Failed to shutdown my computer after outage.

These were PowerShield models that still seem to have good reviews
I don't want to give PowerShield a bad name - maybe Murphy's Law stepped in….

So, I don't really trust UPS now - what to do??? what to buy???

Power surge is my main concern - don't care about losing data/keyboard work etc…

Pete

What model were you using? Was it rated for your application. Bigger is better. The better units cost upwards of $300 (US). A UPS for the Kronos is always a good idea. After all- it IS a computer. Power conditioner in front of that might be a good idea too.

GRISWOLD3 wrote:So I bought a UPS for my Kronos 1 year ago. So far it hasn't been on the road & I use it at home with the K, my Kurz & computer plugged into it. The model I have is Tripp Lite ECO650LCD 650VA 325W UPS & has sufficient battery backup for my needs. Through the years I have had good luck with Tripp Lite products however last night we had a 2 minute power outage & suddenly all I smelled was something burning. I isolated the problem to the UPS & had to unplug it quickly for fear it would catch fire. Needless to say I lost what I was working on in the computer but my keyboards were Off at the time. No damage done but it could have been worse if I wasn't sitting right there when this happened. No doubt a powered on Kronos might have puked over this.

Anyway I contacted Amazon & they are sending a replacement for free. I'm not sure I even want to use it though. Has anyone else had similar experience???
Larry

Amazon has product reviews. Suggest u write yours with that bad experience

I'm using an APC brand and it's nearing 2 years old. It's been perfect. I have seen UPS's have batteries go bad and in some cases, leak. Those were usually always plugged into a computer that was always on for years.

Mine is only turned on each Sunday when I play, otherwise it is powered off and stored during the week.

Geo

ronnfigg wrote:What model were you using? Was it rated for your application. Bigger is better. The better units cost upwards of $300 (US). A UPS for the Kronos is always a good idea. After all- it IS a computer. Power conditioner in front of that might be a good idea too.

Actually, that is not correct. If you use a UPS that is rated too high, then the device attached to it (e.g. a Kronos) may not be drawing enough current through it to cause it to flick into battery mode in the event of a power failure. You would do best sticking to a UPS in the 250VA to 650VA range for one or two keyboards.

Not to mention bigger is a lot heavier too. The Kronos draws only like 60 Watts of power I think? (someone correct me please)

I've had a basic APC that looks like a large square power block. Been good to me so far (nearly three years).

Check out Furman F1000! I have this one.

For what it's worth, I've been using APC products for years with no problems, and they work as advertised and have saved my work many times. (We have really crappy power here that can just go off in the middle of the day for no apparent reason.)

DaveBoulden wrote:

ronnfigg wrote:What model were you using? Was it rated for your application. Bigger is better. The better units cost upwards of $300 (US). A UPS for the Kronos is always a good idea. After all- it IS a computer. Power conditioner in front of that might be a good idea too.

Actually, that is not correct. If you use a UPS that is rated too high, then the device attached to it (e.g. a Kronos) may not be drawing enough current through it to cause it to flick into battery mode in the event of a power failure. You would do best sticking to a UPS in the 250VA to 650VA range for one or two keyboards.

thanks Dave. I learned something new.

[quote] What model were you using? Was it rated for your application. [size=18][b]Bigger is better.[/b][/size] The better units cost upwards of $300 (US). A UPS for the Kronos is always a good idea. After all- it IS a computer. Power conditioner in front of that might be a good idea too.[/quote]

Actually, that is not correct. If you use a UPS that is rated too high, then the device attached to it (e.g. a Kronos) may not be drawing enough current through it to cause it to flick into battery mode in the event of a power failure. You would do best sticking to a UPS in the 250VA to 650VA range for one or two keyboards.[/quote]

thanks Dave. I learned something new. [/quote]



I have a Belkin UPS which has been reliable over the years. The battery has been changed every three years. The Belkin UPS changes over to battery mode during a power cut even if no current is being drawn i.e. all devices are unplugged, and the same is true of the APC UPSs I've used in various places. However, APC have actually been rather disappointing, reliability wise. Out of 10 APC UPS, three have failed within a couple of years, cutting off power whilst the mains has been up. They were attached to expensive bits of kit, too. We're talking ~$200,000!! Now, that's quite a few Kronii!! (Is that the correct plural?).


.

Not used one on a keyboard, but at work we installed around 500 building management computers on APC UPS's. Very few problems, mainly batteries going after a few years. Only a handful developing genuine component failures. I would recommend APC, although you always have a chance of bad luck with any electronic products.

Oh, and the APC model we used also had mains filtering built in and protected against spikes, dips, etc.

Before I retired, I worked as an electronics engineer for Sensormatic and other companies. We used to repair UPS's, it was a common occurrence for one to come in and work OK on the bench for 5 mins or so, and then explode the electrolytic capacitors all over the ceiling and anyone standing nearby. It got so we would put on crash helmets if one was in for repair. I won't go near one these days, I #'ve seen what they can do.

Paul