I have 2 UPSes, both used, and one was marked Working when I bought it for $7, and the other I might have gotten for free. I can't remember.
Batteries are not cheap of course. A couple webpages gave me the impression that some people just buy a new UPS instead of replacing the battery. That's not a sound plan financially, is it???? Surely a UPS should outlive several batteries, unless there's a lightning strike.
The second question is, I've read the instructions but still not sure if the second one works. The instructions are short and don't address my issue
APC XS 900 .
Does there have to be a load for the Online light to go on? It's off.
A 60 watt lightbulb is as good a load as any, right?
OTOH, the Building Wiring Fault light is on, probably because somewhere I lost the ground connection, but It's only plugged in for testing. Do I have to plug it in somewhere with a ground to get the Online light to go on?
Sometimes the switchover or charging circuitry fails. The last time I replaced my home UPS the battery was good but it wouldn't switch over. We have a lot of UPS's at work and the failure rate is fairly high. That goes for APC or no-name units.
Plug a radio into one of the protect outlets. Pull the plug on the UPS. Is the radio still functioning? The 60w bulb is also a good idea since that will allow you to see how long the battery will maintain the output. One failure mode I've seen several times is on switchover the UPS will effectively short the output crashing the computer while one just plugged into the wall survives the very brief flicker fine.
As far as the control connection to the computer, good luck. Find the appropriate software for the machine and your OS like PowerChute.
The UPS may be like some of the battery powered drills. You can buy a new drill with two batteries for what just one or two of the batteries cost.
I have not looked at the cost to make the batteries, but there must be a big mark up on them when they sell for over $ 50 each,but you can get two, a charger and new drill for the price of less than two seperate batteries.
Where I worked we had a lot of small motors (around 1/2 HP) that had a gear box on them. We could get the motor and gear box cheaper than just the motor.
Most UPS replacement batteries are more or less standard. APC favors
12v 7.5amp for most of their low end residential/commercial UPS units.
They take either a single battery or a pair and I have no problem picking up batteries through various internet sites, Ebay or Amazon.com for WAY less than half the price of APC replacement batteries. I get ~3yrs service out of those "compatible" batteries. Who cares if they may not (and I have no evidence of this) last as long as a "genuine" APC replacement? Even if they last half as long, I'm still money ahead.
Most UPS replacement batteries are more or less standard. APC favors
12v 7.5amp for most of their low end residential/commercial UPS units.
They take either a single battery or a pair and I have no problem picking up batteries through various internet sites, Ebay or Amazon.com for WAY less than half the price of APC replacement batteries. I get ~3yrs service out of those "compatible" batteries. Who cares if they may not (and I have no evidence of this) last as long as a "genuine" APC replacement? Even if they last half as long, I'm still money ahead.
Unless you're doing business or other critical work, it's not clear to me that you even need a UPS. I've never had one and despite numerous power outages, never lost anything, had any issue with the disk getting corrupted, etc. Typical apps like word, excel, etc also do an autosave every 5 mins or so, and that's saved and there too.
I just replaced the batteries in one unit. If you buy the genuine battery from APC is comes with the wiring harness attached and you pull out the two batteries as a unit and slide the new one in. Cost is $110.
I found a place that sells replacements. I had to take the harness off (four spade connections) and put it on the new batteries. I also taped the two together to be a solid unit too. Cost was $37. plus half a penny for tape and five minutes to do the connections.
This is where I bought, but there are many other sources.
Apparently, the batteries are ok in the one unit. Try putting the 'good' batteries into the other unit so see if it works, before ordering new ones. As others have said, you can get good batteries for cheap on the internet. I've replace mine at least 3 or 4 times over the last 15 or so years and it's still going. When I was 1st gifted with this old AT&T UPS, it wouldn't even pass line current to the output. I borrowed a bunch of 6 volt batteries and connected 4 in series ... this UPS actually uses 24 volts instead of the usual 12 volts. Once the new batteries were connected, it started passing line voltage through. Apparently, on this unit, when the batteries are dead, it tells you by not working at all. I've kept this unit because it is built like a tank inside. It has big hefty line filtering also.
Check the reviews on Amazon. This is how I judge them.
formatting link
An internal fan with no vent ? I hope not. Maybe the thing is ferroresonant and the noise is the transformer.
The APC site claims to be "down for maintenance" at the moment, or I'd have a look at the user manual. It could be an AVR unit for example (automatic voltage regulator) and "line interactive". That means, it is buggering with the power at all times, one way or another.
*******
And yes, replacing batteries makes perfect sense, on the mid-range ones. I paid $250 for my UPS when new, the battery lasted *ten years*, and a new battery cost $60. The price on batteries has come down slightly over the years, presumably since all the batteries are made in China. And if you take the rate of inflation into account, the price has come down.
One secret to battery life, you can do nothing about. But you can control the "level of discharge". I'm always careful, if I'm in the room, to shut down the computer loads then switch off the ATX supply, to spare the battery when the lights go out. The shallower the discharge, the longer they last. Don't rely on the low voltage cutoff on the UPS itself, to "protect" the battery. The battery life can last longer, if you take care of it.
I don't consider the UPS to be an "alternate power source", it's merely a way to ride out one-second outages, when the utility switches over stuff. I have one computer cabled to the automatic shutdown feature, and Windows happens to have the right driver for that APC unit, already in Windows. For the second computer connected to it, I shut down that computer manually.
*******
The low end of the UPS market, the failure rate out of the box is 10%. And the Amazon description for the XS900, shows it just doesn't last with time.
There are different kinds of UPS architectures. There are SPS (standby power supply). There are AVR (automatic voltage regulation). There are more than five different types. The SPS remains cool to the touch, because the inverter doesn't run when AC power is available. The battery charges to a constant voltage (and you can stick your meter on the battery terminals after a 24 hour charge period and verify the terminal voltage is correct). That's one check I could do after installing the new battery.
The UPS has the ability to do a load test. It places a known load on the battery for a few seconds, and checks the resulting terminal voltage. The output impedance of the battery is considered a health indicator. A high impedance battery, drops to a low voltage when loaded. A UPS which "beeps" once every 24 hours, has just done the short load test, and found the terminal voltage to be wanting.
And a 60W light bulb makes a fine load. It is resistive. The load is relatively well controlled (draws 120W when cold, has a "surge" due to the cold resistance), but eventually settles down to 60W. If the output voltage of the UPS is not correct (makes 200V rather than 113V), then the color of the filament when lit gives a quick indication of whether the output voltage is correct or not. I can easily spot when my power here drops to 100V at the mast, just by the color of the remaining incandescent bulbs I use. LED bulbs on the other hand, are regulated, and have no characteristic useful for analyzing what the utility is doing to you.
*******
For your next curbside UPS, check the reviews and see if the unit stinks or not. If a lot of users complain of weird symptoms within the first year or two, chances are fixing one up is not a wise use of time or money.
I have one now, but did not for decades before. My reasoning? You can get them cheap now, about $50, they also act as a surge suppressor, it saves some annoyances. I've never lost any data from a power failure.
I also put on in my family room but not for a computer. I have a controller for lights that has a defective internal battery backup and the TV box that takes forever to reboot once power is cut. At least once a week that phase would have a power glitch and I've have to reset the times in the controller and wait seemingly forever for the TV to go on again. The power drop is usually just a second or so, enough to be a PITA.
Do I "need" it? No. It is strictly a matter of convenience that I'm willing to pay $50 for.
The other answers were valuable and I'm going to reply to them later, but this is the answer I was looking for.
Somehow I was suspicious that this could happen, so I'll see if it's happening to me.
Somewhere I have some worn-out 12-volt batteries but since they're buried, now is just the time to do what you say, because I'm going out soon to buy 12 volt batteries for the other two (There's another small one that I didn't mention.)
Now would also be the time to order by mail, since I need 2, maybe 3, and I would save on shipping, but these things fit so tightly, and the dimensions listed for the NP7-12, for example, one dimension was smaller than my old battery but another was bigger than it and wouldnt' fit in the UPS. Better to buy in person in this case. I'll take both batteries and one UPS with me.
Even the dimensions given on the APC page for the specific UPS were like that, one maximum dimension bigger than my battery, but one smaller. Neither of which makes sense since my battery exactly fits the space. In fact in two of the three cases, it's an APC battery (maybe the original one?) Hard to believe they would get their own dimensions wrong.
Sounds like you have the same kind of cable box we had before switching to Direct TV. The box used to boot fairley fast when we first got it after moving here. Then it started taking longer to boot up. It was not usually a power loss, but once a month or so I had to reboot it because it would lock up or something else.
In general, you should be able to replace the batteries and extend the "life" of the UPS. The UPS manufacturer would like you to purchase the batteries from *them* -- at a highly inflated price!
Most batteries are standard case sizes (sometimes there are ~0.1" differences). Virtually all used in UPS's are 12V -- though some UPS's will use 1, 2 or
4 such batteries (12, 24 or 48V).
If yours uses more than one battery, it is usually wise to replace ALL at the same time; a "weak" battery will alter the way the charge is shared among the batteries, typically shortening life.
If you opt to replace batteries, be sure to salvage any wiring harness that is present. For a single battery, sometimes there is just a "fancy connector" that transitions from the battery to the UPS. Other times, there are wires (possibly including fusible links) interconnecting the batteries within the "battery pack" (the batteries are sometimes fastened together -- tape? -- to form a single unit).
Almost all UPS batteries (at least SOHO units) have "spade"/faston terminals. These come in two typical sizes -- 0.25 and 0.187 (IIRC). Obviously, you don't want a battery that has a larger terminal than the mating cable can accommodate (it won't fit on!). But, you also don't want a battery with a smaller terminal (you'll end up with a tenuous fit that could end up being a high resistance connection).
For battery "packs", you can also fabricate your own from discrete batteries held together with 2" cellophane packing tape.
It is often tedious to extract the battery pack from many UPS's. They are designed for a tight fit -- don't want the battery flopping around in there as it represents a significant mass.
Often, failed batteries will "bloat" -- you will actually see that they have EXPANDED/bulged during use. In this case, it is often hard to extract the batteries ("tight fit"). Rather than dismantling the UPS itself (which will leave you with a bunch of DANGLING parts as they are "fitted" into the plastic case; not held with fasteners!), try to loosen the appropriate screws as if you were going to disassemble the case. This extra "slop" usually makes it easier to remove the battery -- esp if it has "bulged".
Of course, don't short the battery (new or used) as they are capable of delivering a fair bit of current (e.g., hold your wedding band across the battery terminals and feel it get HOT! :> )
Dispose of defective batteries responsibly. They contain lead so represent hazardous waste. There are usually places in town where these can be recycled -- the lead is extracted, "cleaned up" and then reused (to make NEW batteries).
Typically, you size the test load at 1/3 the nameplate rating of the UPS. Too small and you aren't really checking to see that it can handle a *reasonable* load. Too large and you'll probably get failures from "old batteries".
Some UPS's will not turn on unless AC mains power is available.
Many (esp APC units) UPS's will do a battery test on startup (and then periodically, thereafter). If the UPS complains after/during this test, chances are your battery (or battery connections) are faulty. (it's looking to see how much and how quickly the battery voltage "sags" under that known test load)
Some UPS's will omit the test cycle if they detect a *missing* battery pack -- but will perform the test if they detect a present but "dead" battery pack! The former is useful: it allows you to use the UPS as an "outlet strip/surge protector" even if the backup function is not available (because the battery is missing).
[I have a dozen UPS's here that primarily serve as "outlet strips" -- I can turn off a computer and its monitor plus any peripherals with that one button/switch -- instead of having to turn off the individual items]
For UPS's that test batteries periodically, a failing battery can screw you unexpectedly: the UPS goes to test the battery at some "random" time by essentially switching to backup power. If the battery is toast, your computer will now crash! (i.e., when the battery is known to be dying/dead, just remove it until you get a replacement)
From the upsc command on my system ... battery.type: PbAc battery.voltage: 27.2 battery.voltage.nominal: 24.0 device.mfr: American Power Conversion device.model: Back-UPS XS 1300G
I have no idea what to look for, when it's time to replace the battery. Not sure where I put the manual, and am having trouble finding one online.
Surge protectors were not enough when power failed stopping computer in its tracks and losing hard drive sectors. This was years ago and maybe computers react better but why take chances. I buy cheap units as I only want enough power to safely power down computers. In maybe 20 years, I've only had to replace one UPS.
Hmmm. I've actually got a third one for my DVDR, and its battery is old and I've seen the power dip and if it's recording, it stops recording but stays on, and then starts recording again asap. I recorded 30 minutes of news and it ended up in 7 pieces!! OTOH, if it's not recording, it turns off and stays off.
**How could I have 7 power failures in 30 minutes. Well, I've got a "portable" air conditioner, and it's plugged into the same receptacle that the DVDR is. And every time it goes on, I hear a short beep. I thought it was the AC but finally realized it was the UPS. Still when I wasn't using the AC, and storms caused the power outage, it got through some that of those actual outages, not just dips, and lasting 2 or 3 seconds, without losing its list of programs to record.
But last night I had the feeling that if the UPS were not there, the dips in voltage would not have caused the recording mode to turn off.
So I just got back from buying a new battery. for this little one, and another for the one I paid $7 for and was marked Working. It was a few dollars more than mailorder, but I wanted the small one today, and I was able to compare the dimensions of the new one with the old one adn they matched. Some of the ones on the web had one dimension larger and anoher smaller. I guess the dimensions on the web were wrong, but I didn't want to buy mail order and find out that it didnt fit.
I didn't even think to do look at this, maybe because I own it already.
Wow. 2 stars out of 5, which I consider to be 1 star out of 4 since one can't give something 0 stars.
I didnt' think APC would make anything that bad. Unless people have unreasonable expectations because it's a famous brand. -- I haven't read the reviews yet. Only 11 reviews.
That's the second lowest thing I've seen. The lowest was a battery powered jumper box for cars, that Pepboys marked down from 50 to 30. Since I'd been wanting one, I bought it and when I got home, I looked it up like you did. I owned it but could return it. It was only 1.7 stars out of 5. But when I returned it, the clerk, and clerks often don't give a darn, seemed surprised and told me they sell them and never hear back, that is, people are satisfied. (Of course they are only used when the car won't start, so maybe it's too late to return them then!)
I think Pep Boys marked them down because the rating was so low and they couldnt' sell them at the regular price. It was part of a Grand Reopening Sale (even though they were never closed) and they had other things cheap but nothing I needed. Well they had the little red floor jack 40 marked down to 20 or so, but I had already bought one and used it for 5 days. Plus for pulling the broken fence post out of the ground). Where was I?
That's what one of the reviews says. I'll take a look. I'd be glad to put a hole in the case, but it sounds like it's too late for that. But I''ll still do the check I told Art I would do.
Well mine's not humming..... because it won't do anything yet!!
Do I detect a note of suspicion, the quotes and all? ;-)
Anyhow I got the manual earlier today (been up since 5) and it's only two pages long. I think it's funny that in an age where printers etc. come with 200, 300 page manuals, they have a 2 page manual.
A longer one makes people think they're getting more for their money. Especially when they could go on with situations like the one I asked about, but they don't. .
That's what I thought, but I'm susceptible to suggestion -- in many areas and I've known this for a long time -- so when two of them suggested what they did, I had doubts.
Much better than spending 250, plus it's easier to go buy a battery than to have to shop for another UPS, evaluate features and price and all that.
Yes. And I don't know why people need a big one. I almost never have more than one file that hasn't been saved, and that's the file I'm typing in at the moment. Before I leave this window, I"ll save it. So it takes 10 seconds to save the file, 30 seconds maybe to wait for the power to come on if it usually does, and a couple minutes to hibernate.
What do they do when the voltage goes down? Just go dark like digital TV with a weak signal?
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here.
All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.