Surge Protectors and UPSs for your Longarm Machine

Considering the investment you make into your longarm quilting machine (or any high-end electronic device), it is strongly recommended that you plug it into an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS).  This device has a battery to keep the device/machine running FOR A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME.

Surge Protectors will have electronics to protect electronics against minor fluctuations, but will do nothing to help if the power drops or shuts off.  Your quilting machine will CRASH even though your Pro-Stitcher tablet has an internal battery.  A UPS will switch over to the battery and keep things running FOR A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME.  If a power outage lasts more than 30 seconds, you should be immediately shutting down your machine.

While you are running on battery, your UPS will likely beep.  You may even need to reset (cycle the power) the UPS to get it to return to normal power depending on if a surge was involved.  Keep the UPS accessible.

If you experience a long term power outage, it is recommended that you unplug​ your machine and wait until power is restored and stable.  This will avoid potential damage from surges that occur when power first comes back on.

What size do you need?

Without getting into the technical details of Volts, Amps, Watts, and Joules...
Purchase a UPS that has a "600VA" or higher rating.  The higher the number, the longer the machine and/or devices connected to it will stay running.  Buy larger systems if you plan on supporting more than one machine.  Some of the larger units may have more than one battery.  The manufacturer is not important in most cases.  The APC brand is generally considered the standard.  If you have free shipping through Amazon, you can buy online.  However the cost and regulations with shipping batteries can add cost, so it is likely an item you want to buy from a local store.

Test your UPS by simply unplugging the UPS from the wall while your equipment is running.  If you want to get fancy, many UPS devices come with a UPS cable that can be attached to a PC for testing and monitoring.  (I find this more hassle than it is worth.)

Replacing batteries - every 2-3 years

Expect to need to replace the batteries every two to three years.  Eventually the UPS will give a warning that the battery is bad.  Find a local battery store and swap out the internal battery instead of buying a whole new unit.  If you don't have a store nearby, it will likely be cheaper to buy a full new unit than pay shipping on the battery by itself.