What's the life expectancy of UPS ?

[jaster]

Any real world experiences with UPS supplies?

I've been using the CyberPower series a 320sl and a 575sl but
they seem to fail within 2yrs without much warning. Anyone know if
that's the normal lifespan for UPS devices? At $30 I've been replacing
them instead of looking for replacement batteries.

TIA

 

[Jim]

A good one, such as that from APC, is probably good for 3-4 yrs. However, I
recently had an old APC unit purchased about 1997 that just died a couple
months ago! So sometimes you get lucky. And yes, it's usually a lot
cheaper to simply replace the unit than just the battery.

Jim

 

[John Doe]

Replacing the unit instead of the battery is not just cheaper, but
it is necessary if the the unit fails and not the battery. My
Tripp-Lite, the unit not the battery, failed after about two years.
I keep backups and I don't have critical data from minute to minute,
so I bought an AC line conditioner instead of a battery backup to
replace it. Hopefully it will last a long time. Is a line
conditioner really necessary, I don't know, but I'm sure the line
conditioning circuit is better than whatever was included with my
Tripp-Lite battery backup. In any case, no more messing around with
a battery. I've heard the line conditioner switch kick into action
only one time so far, but apparently it's doing what I wanted it to
do because my computer does not spontaneously restart/reboot from
time to time anymore.

 

[Mxsmanic]

Any real world experiences with UPS supplies?

Yes. I use APC UPS units. I've never had any problems with them,
even after nearly a decade of 24-hour use. However, the batteries
have to be periodically replaced (every few years). On APC units, the
replacement is usually quite easy and can be carried out without
turning off the UPS or the equipment connected to it. The batteries
are expensive, though, and must be bought from the UPS vendor.

I've been using the CyberPower series a 320sl and a 575sl but
they seem to fail within 2yrs without much warning. Anyone know if
that's the normal lifespan for UPS devices? At $30 I've been replacing
them instead of looking for replacement batteries.

You get what you pay for. If you spend a few hundred for an APC unit,
it will last for a very long time.

 

[jaster]

Replacing the unit instead of the battery is not just cheaper, but it is
necessary if the the unit fails and not the battery. My Tripp-Lite, the
unit not the battery, failed after about two years. I keep backups and I
don't have critical data from minute to minute, so I bought an AC line
conditioner instead of a battery backup to replace it. Hopefully it will
last a long time. Is a line conditioner really necessary, I don't know,
but I'm sure the line conditioning circuit is better than whatever was
included with my Tripp-Lite battery backup. In any case, no more messing
around with a battery. I've heard the line conditioner switch kick into
action only one time so far, but apparently it's doing what I wanted it to
do because my computer does not spontaneously restart/reboot from time to
time anymore.

Thanks. A line conditioner may help but I get power outs 4-5 times
a year sometimes just for <1 min but I expect an outage every
thunderstorm which might last hours. The battery backup keeps the
PCs live for 5-10min then shutdown.

[snip]

 

[jaster]

A good one, such as that from APC, is probably good for 3-4 yrs. However,
I recently had an old APC unit purchased about 1997 that just died a
couple months ago! So sometimes you get lucky. And yes, it's usually a
lot cheaper to simply replace the unit than just the battery.

Jim

Thanks. The last one I bought 4-5 mo. ago is an APC and I'm thinking I
should buy another.

 

[Blinky the Shark]

A good one, such as that from APC, is probably good for 3-4 yrs.
However, I recently had an old APC unit purchased about 1997
that just died a couple months ago! So sometimes you get lucky.
And yes, it's usually a lot cheaper to simply replace the unit
than just the battery.

I'm using a Belkin 1100VA/660W unit. Does anyone have any
experience with Belkin? I could've paid more, I could've paid less;
I think often the best values come in the middle ranges.

 

[Lynn]

I've bought batteries for five different models of APC units at Battery
Warehouse.

 

[larry moe 'n curly]

Any real world experiences with UPS supplies?

I've been using the CyberPower series a 320sl and a 575sl but
they seem to fail within 2yrs without much warning. Anyone know if
that's the normal lifespan for UPS devices? At $30 I've been replacing
them instead of looking for replacement batteries.

I think that three years is the norm for lead-acid gel cell batteries,
but it helps to charge them for at least 24-48 hours straight before
the first use or after prolonged storage (apparently the same is true
for car batteries, but they need only about 12 hours). Also some types
of dealers charge a lot less for batteries, and I found a local burglar
& fire alarm supply offering 12V, 7 A-H batteries for $12.

I looked inside UPSes from APC and Belkin (made by Delta) and found the
former contained far more parts, including more MOVs and power line
conditioning components. I'm no expert, but I think that an UPS should
last about as long as a computer PSU, except for the battery. Also I
doubt that a power conditioner will help because every UPS contains one
already.

 

[spodosaurus]

jaster wrote:




I think that three years is the norm for lead-acid gel cell batteries,
but it helps to charge them for at least 24-48 hours straight before
the first use or after prolonged storage (apparently the same is true
for car batteries, but they need only about 12 hours). Also some types
of dealers charge a lot less for batteries, and I found a local burglar
& fire alarm supply offering 12V, 7 A-H batteries for $12.

I looked inside UPSes from APC and Belkin (made by Delta) and found the
former contained far more parts, including more MOVs and power line
conditioning components. I'm no expert, but I think that an UPS should
last about as long as a computer PSU, except for the battery. Also I
doubt that a power conditioner will help because every UPS contains one
already.

Can you use other batteries in an APC UPS? The APC battery replacement
kits are quite dear, and I was thinking of buying from one of the local
battery supply specialists. My three year old APC UPS is having some
battery issues. I've been limping along by charging it overnight with
nothing connected to it when it freaks out, but that won't last.

Ari


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transplant, too. Please volunteer to be a marrow donor:
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[James T. White]

Can you use other batteries in an APC UPS? The APC battery replacement
kits are quite dear, and I was thinking of buying from one of the local
battery supply specialists. My three year old APC UPS is having some
battery issues. I've been limping along by charging it overnight with
nothing connected to it when it freaks out, but that won't last.

I've replaced APC batteries with new ones of the same model and manufacturer
with no ill effects. If memory serves, those were Panasonic and I got the
replacements from DigiKey.

APC doesn't always make it easy for you to find the manufacturer and model the
way they stick batteries together using foam tape, though. You also have to be
careful to save the wiring and fuse from the old batteries.