[mythtv-users] OT: apc backup

[Mike Thomas]

On Tue, 22 Mar 2016 16:13:02 +0000
Gary Buhrmaster <gary.buhrmaster at gmail.com> wrote:
> On Mon, Mar 21, 2016 at 4:10 PM, Mike Thomas <mt3 at pfw.demon.co.uk>
> wrote: .....
> > The precise model number involved in that telephone call is not
> > material but for the record it is SU1400RM12U.
> 
> Actually, it does matter, as that (very very) old
> variant of APCs control board had a couple of
> well understood issues(*) that manifested
> themselves years after original sale of the
> unit for which repair and workarounds were
> unofficially documented around the InterTubes
> (APC's solution, not surprisingly, is to replace
> the unit ("no user serviceable parts inside")).
> 
> Newer revisions of the boards addressed (at
> least) some of the known issues.  Whether
> the revised boards are better or worse in your
> particular use case is something only testing
> in your environment would demonstrate.
> 
> But the point is specifics do matter.
> 
> When APC was bought out by Schneider
> (and the various integration and synergy
> savings were introduced) more of the support
> was apparently moved "offshore" and that was
> not considered a positive by the customers.
> Your particular poor CSR interaction may be
> unique to your situation, but certainly the
> general flavor is not inconsistent with other
> reports.  I have heard that support has
> improved, but I admit to not having actually
> tried it in recent history, so that is all rumor
> (one hears about the horror stories, not the
> positive interactions).
> 
> (*) In no particular order some that I recall:
>  - The relays c/would (eventually) stick
>  - The components aged such that the float
>    voltage was too high (or too low) resulting
>    in short battery life, or short runtime.
>  - In a 48V system (and I think that model
>    is a 48V system) there is a leakage path
>    that results in two resistors exceeding
>    their rating and running too hot and
>    eventually failing.
>  - "Crap" (usually lowest cost Chinese)
>    replacement batteries sold as "FOR"
>    APC were sufficiently out of spec such
>    that lifetimes were often measured in
>    months [This one is not really on APC,
>    but usually resulted in a poor user
>    experience that customers blamed APC
>    for]

Dear Mr. Buhrmaster,

You seem to have looked into these matters more than I thought worth my
while (why polish a turd). I accept that machines have a design life
and that at this stage those particular models are probably past it.
The faults you mention are indeed significant.

I have been meaning to replace my UPSes for some time now (with those
models being at the top of the list), but round to-its are hard to
come across. If you wouldn't mind, might you care to share your
observations? I would be glad to hear about UPSes and generators of
any size. (We can continue off-list if you prefer.)

Mr. Hobson's experiences lead me to wonder whether these APC UPSes can
be installed safely at all. Requiring a 125A circuit for a 3kVA unit
completely eliminates the chance of fault discrimination. Honestly I
would have thought better of Schneider.

Regards,

Mike.