Foreman Elite Power Requirement

I would like to buy a voltage conditioner / uninterrupted power supply (UPS) to protect the Masso G3 controller, 4 Masso stepper motors and Onefinity power supply on a Onefinity Elite Foreman from brown outs (voltage drops) and intermittent short outages (less than 2 minutes) with the associated voltage spikes. I am in North America so the voltage is 110V. Does anyone know how many watts these pieces of equipment draw?
I am using a spindle with a 220V VFD so the spindle does not draw any power from the Onefiniity power supply. The shop vac and coolant pump are on a separate 110V circuit controlled by a PwnCNC IoT switch from the VFD.
If worse comes to worst I could put an recording ammeter on the supply cord and run the machine through its paces.

Hey Mark,

I don’t think it makes sense to have an UPS on the machine but not on the spindle.

If you have the electricity fail totally, and the Onefinity/Masso will continue to run thanks to the UPS but the spindle will stop, you will break the bit and possbibly have more damage.

And if you want to power a spindle, it’s not a UPS you need but an engine-generator or emergency power system.

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Yes I am aware that I may break a tool. What I am trying to prevent damage to the electronic in the controller. I have already lost 1 Wifi chip due to a power surge.

I have an Elite Foreman also but I have not measured the power draw of power supply. I just have it on a 20amp 120vac ckt. I probably should just because. You need to do it to answer your question. An AC clamp meter will do it, or if you are electrically inclined a power monitor plug in from amazon for like $15. Once you have current, assume 10amps, multiply times voltage. 10amps x 120v = 1200volt-amps pr 1200va. For this assume power factor is 1 so volt amps equals watts. This is important when you pick your UPS. It needs to support watts as well as volt amp rating. We could get into battery run times but there are a lot of variables so you are better off just looking for a UPS on Amazon that meets the VA/watt rating and has the run time you want. I suggest avoiding the china off brands, they may be allr ight or not. Quality matters in these devices. I suggest Tripplite, APC or CyberPower (Cyber power being my fav, I have deployed 80,000 of various cyber power units in the northeast and love them) They are mostly all made in china but you kinda get what you pay for with these 3 brands and they stand by the warranty pretty well. I am betting it costs you $400 to 600 usd for an appropriate one. Replace the batteries every 3 years even if they say they are good for 5 years. They aren’t. Good Luck.

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Hey Mark,

the kVA rating is what the UPS max. draws (so-called apparent power, for dimensioning wires and fuses), the kW is what it is able to provide as so-called real power. The ratio between them is the power factor.

Usually you are on the safe side to stay within 60–70% of the power that the machine in question draws when sizing your UPS’ kVA.

Note that measuring the current draw of a CNC machine may not give you a safe results as there could always be a situation where it draws more. I would rely on the technical data of the machine, or if it’s you who put together the components of the machine, the technical data of the components. All components should have a power rating.

I have UPSes on all my PCs with lead acid batteries which last a few years (and of course LiIon batteries on the laptops).

You seem to have no luck with power surge / failures and WiFi chips. Why do you have power surge / failing?

And wouldn’t the CNC controller alone benefit of a UPS?

I live on a rural island off the coast of British Columbia Canada. Power comes to me through an under sea cable then through the trees on overhead wires. Every time the wind blows the tree branches touch the overhead wires causing the power company’s breakers to trip. These breakers have an automatic reset which causes the power surges.
The CNC power supply is the only piece of equipment that plugs into a wall outlet. The CNC power supply feeds the Masso controller and stepper motors at 24V DC, hence the need to determine the power draw for all of the equipment listed.
I use a UPS with lead acid batteries to protect my desktop computer and router. I use a 1500 watt power conditioner to protect my TV and stereo.

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