Dead UPS

Tony0945 · Posted: Fri Jun 14, 2019 2:53 pm Post subject: Dead UPS

I couldn't connect to the downstairs computer. Went downstairs. Computer was off (should have been on). Pressed the power button, still off. Pressed the power button on the printer, also dead.

Moved printer and stand aways to see front of UPS. No display. Pressed power button. Still no display. Removed UPS and replaced it with a power strip.

Printer came on immediately. Computer powered up from power button.

Did a boot fsck. All OK. Looked in the log. Cronjob to rotate logs ran at 1:00AM. Next entry in log was the first bootup at 7:39AM.

UPS must have died in between. Took battery pack out. One battery was still hot. That one measures 4 volts. The cold one measures 2 volts. They are 12v batteries in parallel.

Question is, are the batteries dead or did charging fail? Original Chinese batteries in ten year old APC unit, BX1000 series.

pjp · Administrator Joined: 16 Apr 2002 Posts: 20609

10 yrs sounds dead to me. APC still appears to list it (discontinued). What does the documentation say about battery life?
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saellaven · l33t Joined: 23 Jul 2006 Posts: 657

You would need to load test the battery, but 10 years is an exceptional lifetime for a battery in a UPS... mine (multiple brands including APC, CyberPower, and TrippLite) are lucky to get 3-4 years of reliable battery life before I have to replace the battery.

Tony0945 · Posted: Fri Jun 14, 2019 11:41 pm Post subject:

I'm sure it's end of life. I had to buy a battery pack in February for one that is even older. That computer runs Windows (dual booting with Gentoo) and the APC Windows monitor warned to replace the batteries. I run apcupsd on this computer but I never get anything meaningful out of it. The windows software tells you if self tests are passed and setails of past outages. Fairly recently I installed XP in a virtual machine on this computer (to run my financial software, MsMoney 2000), I should try to install the APC software there also.

Just not sure if I should replace the batteries or trade in the whole unit. The webpage is enticing "up to 25% trade in". The actual trade in would be $20, so a new unit would be double the cost of just replacing the batteries.

pjp · Administrator Joined: 16 Apr 2002 Posts: 20609

I haven't yet purchased from the referenced site (some day, probably), but you might consider used.
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Tony0945 · Posted: Sat Jun 15, 2019 2:15 pm Post subject:

pjp · Administrator Joined: 16 Apr 2002 Posts: 20609

I haven't looked into the details, but I would guess either some sort of testing was involved, or new batteries optional, perhaps even required.

APC was acquired by Schneider Electreic (a French multinational) in 2007. So that might be a factor in the parking lot usage.

I'm not normally interested in used stuff, but a decent UPS is expensive enough to justify trying at least once. Without the recommendation, it is unlikely I'd consider it.
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Bigun · Advocate Joined: 21 Sep 2003 Posts: 2198

Batteries are only supposed to last a few years, if you got 10 years out of them, then you did very well.

I would say replace the batteries and everything should be fine.

*edit*

I'd also like to say, get generic batteries. Match the terminal types (typically F1,F2, or nut n' bolt), get the voltage the same, the AH (amp hours) the same or higher, and UPS grade batteries. Don't go cheap, but avoid factory batteries since warranty shouldn't be a thing with a 10 y/o unit.
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Tony0945 · Posted: Tue Jun 18, 2019 2:19 am Post subject:

Aftermarket batteries actually cost more here. I'm ordering from the factory. I have no time to shop anyway.
If the unit is bad, I
ll order one of those used units from Amazon or ebay and put the new batteries in it.

Thank you both very much for your advice. I appreciate it.

I'll also try running the Windows APC software in the virtual XP or the virtual Win 7. I think it might work because of the USB interface. I'll report back in this thread.

saellaven · l33t Joined: 23 Jul 2006 Posts: 657

Tony0945 · Posted: Wed Jun 19, 2019 12:06 am Post subject:

Slightly more exensive than the official batteries but twice the ampere-hours.
Sounds like a good trade off.

Ashie · n00b Joined: 09 Apr 2016 Posts: 54

Most "APC" batteries i seen are in fact just industry standard batteries (12V 7Ah-size, 12V 10Ah-size) bundled with a cable with some terminals. Take the matching batteries from whatever manufacturer you want and transplant the cable

Tony0945 · Posted: Mon Jul 01, 2019 4:28 pm Post subject:

Ashie · n00b Joined: 09 Apr 2016 Posts: 54

I think all "rotating rust" made in the last 20 years auto-parks (without physical damage) in case of abrupt power loss

Tony0945 · Posted: Tue Jul 02, 2019 12:51 pm Post subject: