Surge Protection outlets

Mobius_apc · ‎2022-08-10

The manual for my most recent UPS (BR1500MS2) says the surge protection outlets are useful for printers, scanners, etc. (items which don't require battery backup). BUT, I seem to recall reading somewhere (likely in these forums), that they should not be used for laser printers. Is that correct?

BillP · ‎2022-08-11

@Mobius_apc

Correct. The issue with a laser printer is that when it starts a print, there is an inrush of current for warm-up. That inrush can cause a UPS to fault with an overload or prematurely fail.

The recommendation is to put the laser printer on a surge protector and depending on the printer, on a separate circuit.

See Answer In Context

BillP · ‎2022-08-11

@Mobius_apc

Correct. The issue with a laser printer is that when it starts a print, there is an inrush of current for warm-up. That inrush can cause a UPS to fault with an overload or prematurely fail.

The recommendation is to put the laser printer on a surge protector and depending on the printer, on a separate circuit.

Mobius_apc · ‎2022-08-11

Thanks, Bill. Good to know the reason why, rather than just "Don't do that!". 🙂

Mobius_apc · ‎2022-08-12

A followup question: is it okay (I presume it is) to plug in a laser printer to the other half of the same wall outlet the UPS is plugged into?

BillP · ‎2022-08-18

@Mobius_apc

Yes. However, when the laser printer starts, and there is an inrush, it could temporarily cause the UPS to switch to battery. If that happens, you could correct the issue by adjusting the transfer voltage, but if the draw causes the voltage to drop too low, you would need to connect the printer to a different circuit.