Battery backup for a router

Undervalued

Niv said:

Thanks for the added thoughts all. Some interesting options out there.

I get approx. 20 power cuts a year, so this isn't a 'just in case' thought in my case. I also thought it was important that its uninterrupted as 'fairly seamless' etc reads like there is a break.. which defeats the point, I work on some cloud based systems that you may expect to save as you go but ... nope not all do I have found, so if I get a random power cut (well router disruption) I can lose work which is the core of what I am trying to avoid. I may reassess that though to try and determine how big an impact that has as a PowerStation or some of the other options you guys have come up with, as it would at least allow me to get back online 'promptly'. I don't like dropping out of video calls either.

Yes, so the router needs to run permanently from the battery which is in turn kept topped up from the mains charger. The battery needs to be of a high enough capacity to run the router for long enough, in the event of a power cut, for whatever you feel is essential. (i.e Just enough time for you to shut down in an orderly fashion, a few hours, a few days or weeks??).

As I said earlier, like an intruder alarm system or small telephone exchange.

PHK

This is what a UPS is, the crucial thing is the electronics that smooth the supply and cope with the loss of mains power (eg most UPS will signal loss of mains to the PC and other devices so that an orderly shutdown can take place if the power loss  is likely to continue for longer than the available battery power) 

QrizB

PHK said:

This is what a UPS is ...

Agreed.

While reinventing the wheel might be an interesting hobby project for some, buying an off-the-shelf product is likely to be a better bet for most.

victor2

QrizB said:

PHK said:

This is what a UPS is ...

Agreed.

While reinventing the wheel might be an interesting hobby project for some, buying an off-the-shelf product is likely to be a better bet for most.

I also agree. If your router requires a 12V power supply, a small UPS providing that is not expensive. You just have to get a suitable capacity for the duration you envisage. Presumably you are using a laptop with a battery which will take over when the power goes. 
How widespread are the outages? Do you know your broadband feed won't fail during an outage?

gefnew

Question is this router connected to an ont box if so that will also need to be operational for your BB to stay working.
Just a thought as my ont box has lithium battery in the power supply unit.

Vitor

Some power-station makers are seeing an opportunity to implement an “EPS” or “UPS mode” with very fast switchover on the 240V ouput, typically under 20 ms. Most devices won't crash with that switchover time but a true UPS is faster/zero ms

If your Router/MODEM is 12V then powering from power-station that is kept plugged-in is feasible. You eliminate conversion losses from DC to 240 V AC and back to DC inside the router power bricks. You also avoid any switchover issue, because there is no changeover at all.

That said a UPS will generally have an output signal on USB and their s/w will then initiate a controlled power down of a NAS/PC when the battery is close to empty. 

Niv

QrizB said:

PHK said:

This is what a UPS is ...

Agreed.

While reinventing the wheel might be an interesting hobby project for some, buying an off-the-shelf product is likely to be a better bet for most.

Indeed. I do want to buy something off the shelf rather than DIY a device. Its all very well says 'just connect this and that to a 12 volt battery' but if building electronics isn't really something you are familiar with it opens up another minefield. 

I am happy to give that a go in some ways, but need more details than a short paragraph outline, i.e. what exactly do I need to buy, how exactly do they all fit together. Many moons ago I built my own desktop PC, which I consider pretty easy, buy many of my buddies couldn't really get their heads around it and I ended up building theirs too...

Niv

gefnew said:

Question is this router connected to an ont box if so that will also need to be operational for your BB to stay working.
Just a thought as my ont box has lithium battery in the power supply unit.

Had to google that so suspected not, and indeed, no. It just a master phone socket I plug into. I think we have fibre to street, def not to the house. Only about 15mbps

Heedtheadvice

At that speed I would guess that it is copper all the way to the exchange.

I am about 3kilometres from the exchange at about 30+Mb/s so if you are a couple of miles you could well be on copper all the way, with the exchange battery backed up ( as posted earlier ).

It could be though that you are on FTTC if you are more remote.  Your Broadband contract will tell you what you are paying for.

gefnew

seen this on hukd.
APC Back UPS BX750MI 750VA Battery Backup & Surge Protector £64.82 at Amazon | hotukdeals