What UPS To Use With PDU

[ThePie_apc]

Hello,

I have a AP8970 PDU and I'm looking for a UPS to accompany this PDU. The input voltage is 200-240V range that I need for the UPS and the output voltage should be the same.

How have others used  PDUs in conjunction with UPS's? How would the PowerChute shutdown work with a PDU (if at all). The PDU is rated for 30 amps with the L14-30P plug but a lot of UPS's seem to only go up to 16 or 20 amps. Since there is only 1 item being plugged into the UPS (that one item being the PDU) I was wanting to maximize the power output through that single port.

Appreciate the suggestions. 

[BillP]

Hi,

On 12/8/2019 4:21 AM, Zack said:

The PDU is rated for 30 amps with the L14-30P plug but a lot of UPS's seem to only go up to 16 or 20 amps.

You could install a SRT5KRMXLT with back plate kit SURT016. 

https://www.apc.com/shop/us/en/products/APC-Smart-UPS-SRT-5000VA-RM-208V/P-SRT5KRMXLT

https://www.apc.com/shop/us/en/products/APC-Smart-UPS-RT-5-6KVA-120V-208V-PDU-KIT-with-1-L14-30-2-L5...

On 12/8/2019 4:21 AM, Zack said:

How would the PowerChute shutdown work with a PDU (if at all).

I suggest adding a Network Management Card to the SRT5 and then install PowerChute Network Shutdown on the connected server. 

https://www.apc.com/shop/us/en/categories/power/uninterruptible-power-supply-ups-/ups-management/ups...

If you have more questions you should contact local sales support. They will be happy to assist you with your configuration. 

Local support contact information will be found at this link.

https://www.apc.com/us/en/support/contact-us/index.jsp You may need to change the region in the upper left of the contact us web page. 

[ThePie_apc]

Thanks for the reply Bill. 

For the APC Smart-UPS SRT 5000VA RM 208V, would it not need a network card because of the onboard 10/100 Ethernet port it already has? I would think that the onboard Ethernet port would support PowerChute Network Shutdown.

I was also looking at the SMX3000HVNC UPS and perhaps getting a different back plate for the device. Do you know of any compatible back plates that would support 30 amps for a single connection? Bonus if its a L14-30P connector as well (or at least something that a adapter could be used to convert to that plug type).

https://www.apc.com/shop/us/en/products/APC-Smart-UPS-X-3000VA-Rack-Tower-LCD-200-240V-with-Network-...

[BillP]

Hi,

On 12/10/2019 12:03 AM, Zack said:

For the APC Smart-UPS SRT 5000VA RM 208V, would it not need a network card because of the onboard 10/100 Ethernet port it already has? I would think that the onboard Ethernet port would support PowerChute Network Shutdown.

Yes. The onboard network card will work with PCNS. I mentioned the NMC because not all SRTs ship with an onboard card.

On 12/10/2019 12:03 AM, Zack said:

I was also looking at the SMX3000HVNC UPS and perhaps getting a different back plate for the device. Do you know of any compatible back plates that would support 30 amps for a single connection? Bonus if its a L14-30P connector as well (or at least something that a adapter could be used to convert to that plug type).

We do not offer a back plate kit for the SMX3000. The SRT3000 ships with a L6 30 output. 

https://www.apc.com/shop/us/en/products/APC-Smart-UPS-SRT-3000VA-RM-208V/P-SRT3000RMXLT

[ThePie_apc]

Thanks for the reply. What would you recommend between the below two UPS's?

They both have a 30 amp L6 connector which was the main requirement. Seems like the SRT5K is 1U taller and has a bit more battery life. Can you add extra batteries to either of these UPS's to increase their run time when there is a power outage?

SRT5KRMXLT vs SRT3000RMXLT

[BillP]

Hi,

If you need an L6-30 either UPS will work. I recommended the 5000 originally because you ask for a L14-30 which the replacement backplate offers. 

As for external batteries, both UPS allow for adding external batteries to extend the run-time. 

[ThePie_apc]

Could you link to the supporting extra batteries for both of those UPS units? Is there information per the manual that describes the installation procedure for how that would work?

[BillP]

Hi,

For the SRT5KRMXLT with SRT192RMBP the link is https://www.apc.com/shop/us/en/products/APC-Smart-UPS-SRT-192V-5kVA-and-6kVA-RM-Battery-Pack/P-SRT19...

For the SRT3000RMXLT with SRT96RMBP the link is https://www.apc.com/shop/us/en/products/APC-Smart-UPS-SRT-96V-3kVA-RM-Battery-Pack/P-SRT96RMBP

[ThePie_apc]

On 12/20/2019 9:34 AM, Bill said:

SRT5KRMXLT

SRT3000RMXLT

@bill In regards to the UPS above, when on utility power they can both output 240v, what about when the UPS is on battery power? What is the output voltage during a power outage?

[BillP]

Hi,

The output would not change when running off of the batteries. If you have set the UPS for 240 output it would remain at 240. 

[BillP]

Hi Zack - 

The AP8970 is a split phase PDU meant to derive 120v output from a 208v/240v L14-30 input. It requires 2 hots, a ground, and a Neutral for input. While you can definitely use it with an SRT5KXLT, you will need the SRT5KTF transformer to give you a Neutral on the output. This transformer has an L6-30 input and an L14-30 output. Alternately you could use a splitphase Smart-UPS like the SURTD5000RMXL. This UPS is an L14-30 input and output and the PDU could connect to it directly. 

Thanks

Liam

[ThePie_apc]

Bill  Liam 

The AP8970 is a split phase PDU meant to derive 120v output from a 208v/240v L14-30 input. It requires 2 hots, a ground, and a Neutral for input. While you can definitely use it with an SRT5KXLT, you will need the SRT5KTF transformer to give you a Neutral on the output. This transformer has an L6-30 input and an L14-30 output. Alternately you could use a splitphase Smart-UPS like the SURTD5000RMXL. This UPS is an L14-30 input and output and the PDU could connect to it directly.

So it would seem having a AP8970 PDU attached with a L14 to L6 adapter to the SRT3000RMXLT does not work off battery power due to the split phase nature of the PDU. Does that sound correct?

I would like to use a UPS of the SRT family (network monitoring capability and double power conversion) so that leaves me with two choices it seems. SRT3000RMXLT and SRT5KRMXLT. Perhaps using a different PDU instead of the AP8970 would be best. What kind of PDU's do most users pair with either of those two batteries mentioned? 

[BillP]

Hi Zack - 

Even with the L14-30 backplate you wouldn't have a Neutral, so you could not power 120v loads. If your plan is to power 120v loads you would either need a 120v UPS (like the SRTA3000RMXLA), a 208V UPS with a Stepdown Transformer (Like the SRT5KRMXLT-5KTF), or a Split Phase UPS like the SURTD5000RMXLP3U.

The SRT5KRMXLT-5KTF is a 208v SRT5KXLT bundled with a stepdown transformer.

The SURTD5000RMXLP3U is a double conversion UPS that is L14-30 input (2 hots, ground, Neutral) and outputs the same.

There is no way to power 120v load from a 208v non-splitphase SmartUPS like the SRT5KRMXLT without using a transformer. It's a little tricky starting with the PDU and then backstepping to figure out the UPS and transformer. It might make more sense to think about what your load is, what your input voltage is, and what you need for outlets, and go from there. The AP8970 is used for very specific applications where you have a 4 wire balanced output and need to split it into 2 legs of 120v.

[ThePie_apc]

Bill  Liam

Hi Liam,

Good point, let me give you a little overview then. The input power source is 240 volts so either the SRT3000RMXLT or SRT5KRMXLT is good there. All the devices in the rack (as of this time), support 100 - 240 volts input power source. The majority of devices today support those same voltage ranges as well so I don't think having just a 208 / 240 volt setup is restricting me in any way.

It seems as though I should use the AP8641 PDU (restricted to only 208/230 volt UPS) to distribute power to the devices in the rack. Based on the APC selection here, the AP8641 has the same switching and metering functionality as the AP8970.

The question is, will the AP8641 run off the UPS battery power on either of the UPS's mentioned above?

Thanks.

[BillP]

AP8641 would work fine with either of those UPS units.

Thanks!

Liam

[ThePie_apc · Accepted solution]

To summarize this, the AP8970 PDU is a split phase PDU, which is not a PDU that you would typically look for nor is it compatible with SRT3000RMXLT UPS. The solution was to attach a AP8641 PDU to the first outlet group on SRT3000RMXLT UPS.