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Pricey UPS Accessories

Former Community Member
Former Community Member
Hi there,


Long-time reader here posting for the first time. I quite enjoyed the discussion about audiophile fuses and while this isn't anywhere as ridiculous something seems off about the price of UPS power accessories.


I have just purchased a UPS for my home office having suffered some hard-drive damage from frequent 'brownouts'. This is an APC 1400va - 700 Watt with 6 x IEC C13 outputs at the back, enough to get me over the brief outages unscathed. As some of the devices being attached have a transformer I need a short extension from an IEC C14 to a BS 1363 Socket. So far so good and some air between the UPS and transformer is helpful.


I found them online at about £40 each which seems excessive when the component parts are readily available at a fraction of that cost. For example: https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/power-distribution-accessories/7794159/ Other UPS power accessories have similarly questionable markup.


My question is, can you folks see any reason why such a simple accessory is so expensive? For the life of me, I can't, so for the price of one of these, I plan to buy the parts to make six.


Now, I'm off to use the saving to buy a gold-plated plug for my stereo!


Neil





  • Former Community Member
    0 Former Community Member

    kfh:

    I use many cheap adaptors and notice that most get quite warm on currents of less than 1/2 the design current. I have had a few 13A four ways fail (melt) when taking anything approaching 13A even for short durations.  So in a situation requiring reliability I would go for the more expensive branded option and hope they have just not made an excessive markup on the cheap dodgy import. 




    This is the point that maybe concerned me, that the conductor csa tends to be where the corner is cut in these accessories. While not technically undersized I would imagine some could use with a little derating to account for misuse that the general population can subject them to. 


    As for my own question, I will wire the UPS extensions up myself with a conductor csa that I am comfortable with, suitably fused, and I thank you for all your responses!

     

  • 0
    This is no different to the pricing of  ready assembled portable appliance tester adapters or other items such as calibration check boxes, if you are competent, make some.


    I have made a set of similar items for use with my PAT testers, that's what electricians do!


    The guys at the counter in my local electrical wholesalers laughed at me when I took my testers in to send for calibration, because I had been told by NAPIT "it was too long since they had been calibrated" and I was told by all the other guys that they needed calibrating regularly. My response to this was that I have some calibration check boxes and if I cannot check my own meters and be confident that I have shown that they are performing as required, then I should not be going out and testing electrical installations with them


    Strangely I didn't get a response to that.


    Assembling fly lead adapters, testing adapters and for that matter assembling meter check boxes or testing test meters should all be within the capability of a working electrician, just get on and sort it out ?


    Andy Betteridge
  • 0
    Back in the Autumn of 2004 I was deciding which part P scheme to apply for ready for their introduction on the 1st January 2005.


    I phoned the NICEIC and had a chat about enrolling with them, I mentioned calibration check boxes and that they were a bit pricey, the response was you're an electrician make one. I didn't, I bought one, but that comment has stuck in m y head for fifteen years.


    Andy Betteridge.
  • 0

    Sparkingchip:

    My response to this was that I have some calibration check boxes and if I cannot check my own meters and be confident that I have shown that they are performing as required, then I should not be going out and testing electrical installations with them.




    Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? Or in English, who calibrates your calibration check?


    If your meter gives a consistent reading over a period of time, it is most unlikely to be due to it becoming inaccurate precisely in step with your check box, so I agree that annual calibration checks are unnecessary. I think that we would all notice if a MFT was becoming unreliable. To my mind, for example, the exact value of an R1 + R2 test is usually unimportant, but we do want to confirm that it is close to what we expect. I have a fairly new SRCD in my workshop which allows me to monitor both RCD and Zs functions - quite handy for a banned device! ??

  • 0
    Someone said on this forum some years ago something along the lines of:


    ”Learn to test, test to learn”


    Andy Betteridge
  • Former Community Member
    0 Former Community Member

    kfh:

    I use many cheap adaptors and notice that most get quite warm on currents of less than 1/2 the design current. I have had a few 13A four ways fail (melt) when taking anything approaching 13A even for short durations.  So in a situation requiring reliability I would go for the more expensive branded option and hope they have just not made an excessive markup on the cheap dodgy import. 




    Job done! I'm quite happy with my C14 to BS1363 trailing sockets :o) Happier than I would have been ordering from ebay if the linked report on conductor csa skimping, among other things, is anything to go by: http://bs1363.fatallyflawed.org.uk/



     

  • 0
    Something that is proving elusive and I cannot make up out of what is under my desk is a Mini-DisplayPort Male Plug to Display Port Plug Monitor Cable, it seems that such things are not available locally and need to be ordered for delivery.


    Andy B.
  • 0
    Sparking Chip,

    Yes before Calcard became famous I made my own calibration box, close tolerance hi stab resistors and some 4mm banana sockets mounted in a plywood box . 20 sockets giving hopefully sensible spread of 9 continuity and 10 ins res type resistances . First use I labeled all the figures I actually got from my meter and checked regularly. Pretty cheap but at around 250mm sq x 45mm deep It does not fit in my wallet like a calcard does though. Similarly two RCD sockets too It seems to work though by giving a little "confidence" between official calibrations.

    Like you I spoke to all of the Part P schemes of the day prior to my final decision before launch day Jan 1st 2005.
  • 0
    Maplin was at times an odd shop to be on the high street and in retail parks, but I do miss it for odd bits and pieces.


    Andy B.
  • 0
    Yes Maplin was great for years when it was mail order. Got a big catologue too. Brill. Spoilt a bit when they opened shops, prices went up and worse of all the staff used to pounce on you as soon as you walked in. Really cheesed me off and lost them loads of custom

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