Battery backup: problem with my APC?
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From: Ian D on 15 Oct 2009 10:23 "kenk" <kenk(a)nowhere.com> wrote in message news:hb5gj5$dir$1(a)news.eternal-september.org... >I was sitting at my desk yesterday during a storm when there was a >split-second power outage. Despite the fact that my battery shows all 5 >lights lit, the computer died. > > Is there a better brand to use than APC? Can the battery be sub-par even > though the test lights say it is OK? What have others of you chosen? > > Thanks > Ken K I would be looking at your PC's power supply. There is a very brief delay between the loss of power, and the UPS switchover to battery power. The PC power supply should hold during this period. Before I had a UPS, a split-second power outage would cause clocks to lose their time, etc., sometimes, even my monitor would blink, but the computer would hold without a glitch. If you want to test your UPS, pull the power cord with a load on the UPS.
From: Ato_Zee on 15 Oct 2009 10:55 > Also bear in mind that > batteries typically last only a few years at best, you have to change them > or buy a new UPS at regular intervals. (And of course every manufacturer > will have the occasional "lemon.") 3 to 5 years seems typical for the commonly used sealed lead acid batteries in this application, where they are maintined on a float charge. OP has not said what APC model is referred to, and the indication referred to may only be for battery voltage, which is a different issue to whether the battery still has sufficient capacity to supply the initial surge when the inverter starts, and then maintain the load. The only real test is to have the load connected, put a voltmeter across the battery (warning the battery is at the utility supply voltage and live WRT to the case etc.) then pull the plug and see what happens to its voltage. In my experience, with a 3 or so year old battery, you see around 13V across the battery, pull the plug and instead of the inverter starting to feed the load, the battery drops to a few volts. Most APC units have the make and catalog number of the batteries (commonly there are two) on each battery. There are internal fuses on the PCB and in the hope that it is only the batteries replace the batteries, they usually have push on blade connections. One or more domestic tungsten bulbs can be used as a test load, and do remember that when the inverter starts, even with no utility supply connected, dangerous voltages are generated. ..
From: Rod Speed on 15 Oct 2009 13:17 Ian D wrote > kenk <kenk(a)nowhere.com> wrote >> I was sitting at my desk yesterday during a storm when there was a split-second power outage. Despite the fact that >> my battery shows all 5 lights lit, the computer died. >> Is there a better brand to use than APC? Can the battery be sub-par >> even though the test lights say it is OK? What have others of you chosen? > I would be looking at your PC's power supply. There is a very > brief delay between the loss of power, and the UPS switchover > to battery power. Not with continuous UPSs, there is no delay at all with those. Essentially the PC is running off the UPS output all the time and the only thing that changes with the mains failure is that the UPS isnt being charged anymore and runs off the battery instead. > The PC power supply should hold during > this period. Before I had a UPS, a split-second power outage > would cause clocks to lose their time, etc., sometimes, even > my monitor would blink, but the computer would hold without > a glitch. If you want to test your UPS, pull the power cord with > a load on the UPS.
From: Igor Batinic on 15 Oct 2009 13:38 Hi! Yousuf Khan wrote: > kenk wrote: >> >> Is there a better brand to use than APC? Can the battery be sub-par >> even though the test lights say it is OK? What have others of you >> chosen? > > I've tried so many different UPSes that I've given up on them. None of > them last long, and none of them are guaranteed to save you from a power > outage. Worthless pieces of garbage, they are. Next time you want to press the "send" button, please, re-read and re-think again. With best regards, Iggy
From: Igor Batinic on 15 Oct 2009 13:40
Hi! kenk wrote: > I was sitting at my desk yesterday during a storm when there was a > split-second power outage. Despite the fact that my battery shows all 5 > lights lit, the computer died. There might be several problems which can be the reason of that behaviour. > Is there a better brand to use than APC? Can the battery be sub-par > even though the test lights say it is OK? What have others of you chosen? APC is OK brand. I would not call it the best, and also, you probably have line-interactive UPS. The problem is that such a UPS can not eliminate all of the problems, and also, some power supplies are not working well with that king of UPS (I've heard about problems with certain Chieftek PSs). Best regards, Iggy |