Dangerous UPS componants

[TheGreatSatan]

awesome, thanks for the advice guys. trying to see what i can do to my ups to make it a little more presentable.

I thought of that once....

[Cannibal23]

I thought of that once....

yes i remember. it was the spaceballs mod. lone star's ship. i dont think you ever finished it off though wich is a shame i was really looking forward to it

[Cannibal23]

What kind of PSU is it? And what is your exact idea? Maybe we can throw some options or other ideas your way

its not a computer power supply its a UPS battery backup system. want to add some lighting in there. just was having a difficult time thinking of where im going to leach voltage to run my stuff from. think i have it now just some fine details to work out now.

[Outlaw]

its not a computer power supply its a UPS battery backup system. want to add some lighting in there. just was having a difficult time thinking of where im going to leach voltage to run my stuff from. think i have it now just some fine details to work out now.

DOH! i did that the other day at work.... UPS...PSU so close. lol. That is cool though. Just use some lighting that uses 120V and a standard outlet. run the outlet to the back of the UPS... Done! lol

[Cannibal23]

ya using the regular 110 voltage incoming from the back would be the normal and easy way. for some reason lately i always pick the hard way. basicly i want to put a cathode tube in there and some leds to light up some stuff. unfortuantely that all runs on DC power. figure i will have to leach into the existing circuts to get some power. i dont want all that stuff on when there is a power outage and were running off battery though so i am thinking on using some relays to do some automatic switching for me. its a little out of my normal relm but thats what learning is about i guess.

fortuantely i have some electronics people here at work that i can bother for answers here and there. as i am the network admin i can just put them on the end of the fix it list untill i get my answers... moohooahahahahhaa

[Outlaw]

From my basic understanding of electronics and transformers. You are going to have to tap into the transformer before it enters any of the circuits (unless you know which circuits stay on when the main power is off). On top of that, you will have to watch out where you tap into the transformer too since (if I'm not mistaken) will have different voltages along it and you can't just splice into the wire going into the board because it might draw too much power and your ups won't work properly or at all. Personally I think the relays might be a little much and just finding the right location to tap into (even though you like the hard way) will be easier and save you a few bucks. Plus, is there even enough room in the ups for relays and lights? Hope that makes sense...it did in my head. Good Luck and you are evil!!!

as i am the network admin i can just put them on the end of the fix it list untill i get my answers... moohooahahahahhaa

[Cannibal23]

here is the plan. there is a fan inside used for venting the gasses given off by the batteries either when charging or discharging (not sure yet) and there are some led's on the front panel to show if your on ac or dc. the fan is most likely 12 volts (to be determined when i find my multimeter) and the leds most likely work off of 5 volts (to be verified). i was thinking i could splice in and take my voltage from these areas with out having to learn too much about electronics. the reason i am looking at the relay idea is if you run your cold cathode tube while your running on dc power i think it will significantly impact your battery life. so i figured i would just switch it off automaticly. if you have some suggestion or any info about that situation it would be greatly appreciated. there is an empty cavity in the front half of the ups where i will store the relay. for your information, evil is relative.... ok ya your right im a little evil...

[Outlaw]

What is the brand/model ups? Have you tried looking it up for a wiring diagram or something to give you an idea of voltages or areas to splice into? Again with my basic knowledge and what I think I rememberd correctly (lol) You might be able to use the fan wire, given it is 12v or whatever your cathodes/leds need for a minimum, and run it in parallel (should give you an even voltage to all required items. You would just have to watch your amps. Something like this.

[Cannibal23]

thats prettly close to what i was thinking. the only diffrences are that i would wire the led up with the led thats in the front of the case so i dont have to route wires all over. there going to be placed up front anyways. and with the addition of that relay to do the switching for when were on ac or not. im concidering what type of relay to use though. i could get away with a 110VAC rated one and just use the wireing at the back where the power cord plugs in to run the thing. the ups is a Fortress LI 1.3.

[Cannibal23]

man i just had a brain wave here. i must be mental to have not thought about this option before when you were pointing me this way. like you were saying i could hook my devices up by wireing into the back where the power cord comes in. the problem i was seeing was my devices run of dc not ac. so why dont i just go buy a little acdc adaptor that runs at 12 volts and hook it up... for my next trick i will invent the slightly rounder but more complex wheel....