Question Problem with UPS- APC Back ups 650

[pannonian_sailor]

So, I have a problem with these UPS' I owe. Unlike any UPS devices I've used in the past, the BK650EI ones tend to work for about an hour and then shut down on their own. Is this a known issue? Can this be changed in some way? What could be the cause of this?

 

[Aeacus]

the BK650EI ones tend to work for about an hour and then shut down on their own

What do you exactly mean "work for about an hour"?

Does the UPS shut itself and whatever is connected to it off?
Does the lights on UPS turn off, but what is connected stays powered?
Something else?

Keep in mind that these UPSes you have, are standby topology.

Oh, what is your location? USA with 120V grid or somewhere else, in a 240V grid?

 

[pannonian_sailor]

Hello. What I meant is, the UPS works as intended for about an hour, and then suddenly it turns its lights off and all the devices connected to it are turned off, as if I turned the UPS off myself with the power button.

 

[dwd999]

Hello. What I meant is, the UPS works as intended for about an hour, and then suddenly it turns its lights off and all the devices connected to it are turned off, as if I turned the UPS off myself with the power button.

Its a battery; when it runs out of stored power it turns off. The concept is you lose main power, the battery takes over allowing you to manually power down whatever is connected to the battery, and that's it. Its not supposed to power your equipment forever.

 

[pannonian_sailor]

Its a battery; when it runs out of stored power it turns off. The concept is you lose main power, the battery takes over allowing you to manually power down whatever is connected to the battery, and that's it. Its not supposed to power your equipment forever.

I am quite sure the problem is not in the battery, as I have tested it multiple times.

Could there be another cause for this? With other APC UPS models the power would run for much longer than with these ones

 

[Aeacus]

as if I turned the UPS off myself with the power button.

Contact APC and ask what the issue is.

With other APC UPS models the power would run for much longer than with these ones

If you pay peanuts - you will get monkeys.

These two UPSes, are almost bottom of the barrel, with standby topology (cheapest topology there is). Slight saving grace is that they output simulated sine wave and not square wave, but for PC's, simulated sine wave isn't good either.

Proper UPS, for PC's use, would be true/pure sine wave, with line-interactive topology (e.g like my CyberPower CP1300EPFCLCD). Perfect would be double-conversion topology (aka online).

Also, it depends what capacity UPS you have. Your UPSes are 650VA/400W units, while my CyberPower is 1300VA/780W unit. 50W load on your UPS lasts for 60mins, while same load on my UPS will last 80mins.

Of course, UPS isn't meant to be used as a generator/battery where to run your hardware off from constantly. What UPS is for, is when main power cuts (blackout), you'd have some backup power to safely shut down your PC, without data loss or damage to your hardware. If you want to keep your PC running for longer periods of time when there's no main electricity, buy a generator (gasoline or diesel powered).

 

[pannonian_sailor]

Could there be any problem with this specific UPS type, because I have tested my batteries, and they are fine? Even using multiple batteries wouldn't work, and I was testing it not on a pc, but on devices with quite smaller power consumpiton?

 

[geofelt]

You really need to contact APC support.

 

[pannonian_sailor]

You really need to contact APC support.

Fair enoguh. Thank you

 

[HSmithMichigan]

Dumb follow-up question. Many UPS units will automatically power-up in the event that power was lost and the batteries drained down then utility power returns. I suspect that the APC 650 does not power-up the outlets when utility power returns and you must hit the Power button to have power at the outlets as hinted at in the 2 page user manual. It states that if the batteries drain down it "powers itself off". If I buy a new UPS, what is the feature called to automatically power-up the outlets when utility power is restored?