BATTERY BACKUP OWNERS--IGOT A QUESTION

[ddc0715]

I have an APC pro 700 installed been running solid for a long time. last week my sump water level alarm and my battery backup alarm were going off, all at the same time. Startled the crap out of me from 50 feet away. the tank was draining into the sump because the return was off. I unplugged everything from the Batt back up, no luck it was still screaming at me, I then unplug the Battery back itself, again no luck, it still keep screaming, the unit had a code of F06-RELAY WELDING call tech support ( uhh no I'm not ) it did stop screaming because I unplugged the battery. anyway, i plugged everything that it was running on the left side(see the last pic) into a surge protector and everything on the right side into an open wall outlet, all equipment still functioned properly. SOOO I wrote the BATT BAKUP off as toast and set it aside. well, yesterday before taking it to the dump I plugged it in just to see what happens. I mean no one wants to throw away a lot of money. and what do you know it's fine? no codes, no screaming I plugged in some test equipment, killed the power and all is good. I'm happy and skeptical.

I thought (overloaded circuit) but after speaking with a friend who is an electrician he stated that if too much power draw was an issue then that would have been an instant day one issue. this has been up and running like this for many many months. we went throw the whole calculations for total voltage and amp draws on my tank's circuit (aka plug1 see the last pick) and i am well below limits.

what would you do? and what do you think happened? was is a relay welding error? see last pic for how i was using the battery backup plugs

 

[Mike konesky]

I run the 1500's and they also scream until you shut them up. Holding down the left button shuts off the alarm. Sounds like yours in acting up. Id throw that one out and get a new one. Better safe than sorry.

 

[Malcontent]

I get a bunch of hits on Google for that error code. Seems like it's somewhat common.

Also found a repair video on Youtube:


I've been using the pure sinewave Cyberpower UPSes for sometime now and have several of them. They're not perfect but they seem to have less problems than APC.

 

[ddc0715]

well, I'm not sure why most research points to or is about life support equipment being only wavemakers. in my mind, if the power goes out you want a return pump, wavemaker, and heater running. so why do most only talk about putting a single or multiple wave maker on backup? i disagree if that is the norm.

 

[garbled]

I hate UPS's with a vengance. I would never, ever, in a million years put one on my tank.

1) When a UPS fails, it usually fails DOWN. So even if your house power is fine, your UPS is down, and all connected loads are down.
2) If the battery decides it's had enough of life, the ups fails, down.
3) 1 & 2 happen more often to me than actual long power outages.

I run a few UPS's on my big server rack, and I have them hooked to an ATS. The ATS keeps the rack running even if the UPS fails, which, they do, like all the time. I spend more time futzing with the UPS's than anything else. The ATS's are nice, but expensive, and I dunno if I would trust them anywhere within 100ft of saltwater.

I have tons and tons of problems with UPS's. Sometimes I can replace the batteries in them and get them working again. Most times not. For me, Tripp-lite UPS's have been highly failure prone. CyberPower seem to be less so. APC are purified trash. I don't have any working APC UPS's. And before you say "small sample size", I should note that I have, or have had, 6 APC ups's die, 3 tripplites, and 1 cyberpower.

Also, most of them can't handle big loads. That's why they have the no printer symbol on them, as a laser printer will roast them alive. I suspect heaters fall into the same category.

 

[Malcontent]

I've had five Cyberpower UPSes over the years. One modified sine wave model is retired but I could bring it back into service with new batteries. I much prefer the pure-ish sinewave models.

Only one has actually failed but I have a pretty good idea how to repair it (obvious burned out components) so I'm going to bring it back into service at some point.

I do see more complaints about APC than Cyberpower.

 

[Mike konesky]

well, I'm not sure why most research points to or is about life support equipment being only wavemakers. in my mind, if the power goes out you want a return pump, wavemaker, and heater running. so why do most only talk about putting a single or multiple wave maker on backup? i disagree if that is the norm.

Return pumps and heaters draw too much power for a backup to sustain for more than a couple hours. People run just powerheads off them because they will power one for a couple days.

 

[ddc0715]

Allllll righty then. Lol garbled. The apc was an freebie from my work. And is several years old. So I'm not surprised. I'm need to ponder a replacement. Because I'm all in on back power for power outages and surges. As for wave makers or return pumps. I would prefer to run a return pump yes it may be a bit more power draw but it's it's better option to me for complets tank circulation plus the longest I have ever been with out power was a few hours. So no long term, multiple day issues. Knock on wood. But u know what they say about opions.

 

[garbled]

I totally get it. I would love if my return pump was backed up like that.

You know, an idea just occurred to me from another post.. what if you got a DC return pump as a secondary, something small maybe, and then hooked that straight into a tunze safety connector?