Battling a bug, and my brain is slightly fried this week, so please refresh my memory. Isn't there someone in the group who is refurbing dying APC units? One of mine started acting goofy a couple of weeks ago, so I replaced it. If someone can fix/scavenge parts from the old one, I'll bring it along on Sunday. For the record, it started shutting down and emitting a loud squeal. Had to unplug everything from it, turn it back on, then reconnect everything one at a time. Did it 3 times, 6 or 7 days apart, always when computer and peripherals were in sleep mode.

The person you are thinking of is James R. Cutler. Bring it on!

I would see Jim Cutler. I think he is Mr. UPS.

Most UPS are still good when people think they have gone bad. It's usually the batteries that have gone south and they .... oh yes they .... are replaceable.

They keep going and going and going ...

When I had the same symptoms with an APC unit, the battery was the problem so I researched replacements online and ordered a new one. Replacing the battery was cheaper than replacing the unit so this worked for me.

I wish someone would just make an UPS system that uses car batteries (or better yet, marine batteries).

All the special performance batteries the UPS manufacturers employ are too expensive - particularly considering the backup capacity you get and lifespan.

Sometimes, it just pays to buy a new UPS. I guess the manufacturers need some excuse to convince customers to upgrade UPS systems every 4 years.

What kind of batteries are you replacing the APC batteries with, Jim?

Thanks, Jim. I'll bring it along tomorrow.

It may well be just the battery, but I took the opportunity to upgrade the unit, plus I caught it on sale. On top of that, it didn't want to ring up at the sale price, so I ended up getting a triple discount. And that's why I like Office Depot.

Chuck M,

As long as you feel that way, I'll recycle your old UPS for you.

I generally use industry standard gel-cells, essentially the same as APC installs. Except I have to test them myself. Echoing another discussion, the UPS vendor's replacement pricing covers the testing, packaging, and, warrantee costs.

On occassion we have used automotive and marine batteries to run APC UPS systems. It certainly does not meet UL or CSA standards and would also probably upset the fire inspector. But, and this is most important, it looks makeshift and not pretty, upsetting the fussy homeowner - NOT a good thing.

Phyllis,

Timing is everything!