Tuesday, October 5, 2010

It's dead, Jim.

My UPS (uninterruptible power supply, a battery backup for a desktop computer) is dead. I've had it for 8 years +/- 1, so I guess I got my money's worth. I bought it after a power failure in which the power went on and off several times in a matter of seconds, so it kept cutting out while my computer was in the middle of rebooting. I finally got everything straightened out, and bought the UPS the same week.

Recently, it's been cutting power to my computer while the power to everything else in the room appears to be fine. Today, it started cycling on and off rapidly. Time to replace it.

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3 Comments:

Blogger Rachel said...

When mine did this, our friend Steve put a new battery in it. They are expensive, but not as much as a whole new unit.

October 6, 2010 at 12:05 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

My condolences.

October 6, 2010 at 7:48 AM  
Blogger Daniel "Captain" Kirk said...

Rachel, good point. If I were more of an expert, I could probably replace it. This model has been discontinued, (no surprise, after 8 years) but I looked it up on the company's web site. It says to only use the recommended battery, but all I could find about the recommended battery on the case, in the manual, and on the web site was, "12V / 7.0AH, Spill-proof, Maintenance-free, sealed lead-acid" no model number. It also warns that the unit can produce AC power even with it unplugged and the case open. They don't say you can't replace the battery, but they don't say you can, and there are about ten different warnings about bad things that can happen if you do.

Anyway, I already ordered a new one that specifically says you can replace the battery. It's also more energy-effecient, and I know there have been many improvements to inverters in the last ten years or so.

October 6, 2010 at 10:20 AM  

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