[Nut-upsuser] Testing UPS themselves: Best Practices

[Bruce Pleat]

Over time and houses, I have accumulated several UPS of different brands
and capabilities.
I've been trying to figure out a way to test them in a somewhat
standardized way. (Test ~ see how long they last and how quickly the
decline on a given load so that I can determine how the batteries will
perform in "real life", at least relative to each other.)
I was wondering if I missed any obvious existing references on the topic,
and/or if anybody has any thoughts on the matter?

To date, my thought was, wait for temps to stay below 30/86 (hahaha), run
an Edison bulb off one outlet (bought a 300W for this purpose), and monitor
via NUT.
For each UPS:
Charge fully
Take readings (via NUT of course)
Plug in bulb, monitor readings
Run to 0%
Go to the next UPS
Repeat the set
(If >5% difference between runs on any, run a 3rd set; if 2nd and 3rd
align, throw away data from 1st)
Then repeat down to just 50% instead of 0%
Then test to see if the lightbulb is still consuming energy at the same
rate.

Please chime in on a better (and less energy-wasting) process if you have?



My original planning notes:
- UPS include 550VA to 1500VA/900W, some others; APC, CyberPower, Amazon
basics, other brands. Record info on all...
- Check all for any acid/leak due to age/storage. Do outside of house, just
in case...
- test which allow muting of beeping, schedule accordingly (family, calls,
sanity). Quick test...
- Normalize thermals for at least 48 hours before testing
- Test that all can be monitored in NUT; preferably all USB, all recognized
as such in NUT UPS by USB driver, to avoid any variability in drivers or
other. Configure/Test...
- Use a fixed-rate load to avoid any variability; tech equipment itself
might not be best, maybe a curling iron or iron or light bulb? Be aware of
heat. Brightest bulb I can find is 300W, will that drain all my UPS
sufficiently for this test? Is this a valid substitute for tech gear or is
the consumption different enough? Research...
- Run high-power extension cord outside, bulb should run outside. Make sure
cord and fixture support lengthy durations at this power. Does outside
temperature matter significantly? Research...
- Linux or Windows NUT? Linux: N150 or Raspberry or my heavyweight Laptop?
Local, VM, LXC, Container? Likely not relevant. Ask NUT User group...
- Focus on 10%+ variances, not the tiny variances.
- not scientific, just ballparking, but don't want to rely on bad batteries.
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