Questions About UPS (Smart-UPS C 1500VA)

[ModernGlitch_apc]

This was originally posted on APC forums on 6/26/2015

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Hello,

My Smart-UPS C 1500VA jut arrived today and I have a few questions about operation.

1. Some of the equipment I'm powering have power bricks built into the plugs, which unfortunaterly means that I can't fit every plug in the back of the UPS. Is it safe to use extensions to extend some of the plugs? I wouldn't use power strips or multiple-socket extensions of course.
2. Is slightly moving/bumping into the UPS while in operation going to affect anything?
3. If I want to unplug and plug in equipment in the future, do I have to turn off the UPS before doing so?
4. Is there any particular order in which the USB cable should be linked to a computer (before/after powering on computer or UPS)?
5. When I first plugged in my UPS, the device actually came on automatically without pressing the power button. Is this normal?
6. My menubar on OS X Yosemite (10.10.3) says that there is an unknown time remaining for the UPS. Is this because the UPS isn't in battery mode?

Thank you,

Novian

[BillP]

This reply was originally posted by Angela on APC forums on 6/29/2015

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Hi,

I'll provide some answers I know about.

1.) For this, it should be OK as long as whatever you used has the same power rating as the original cord/power brick current/voltage wise and isn't undersized as if it was, you could run into melthing. We have some general info here on plugging stuff into the UPS like power strips and extension cords but I know you said you weren't talking about that really (http://www.apc.com/support/index?page=content&country=ITB〈=en&locale=en_US&id=FA158852). 

2.) No, think of this as a desktop computer. So, small bumps or kicks with your feet will be a non issue but just like a computer, obviously tipping it over or something extreme would cause a problem. Just be careful you won't be moving/bumping your power cords which could become unplugged and your equipment will turn off!

3.) No. The UPS is designed to be on all the time pretty much no matter what you do. You can just turn off your equipment/load you wish to remove while leaving the UPS itself on and then unplug it.

4.) No, I don't think so. We see random, weird isolated issues with certain computers though. If it were me, I'd turn everything on - PC and computer, then plug in the cable after everything is booted up so you can monitor the installation of drivers, etc. At the end of the day, this is a preference and I don't think there is any right or wrong method.

5.) I have an SMC here and it did indeed turn on automatically when plugging AC power in. I would say this is normal for this unit.

6.) I think this should always show but I am not all that familiar with the Native OS X UPS support and what values it supports and does not support. You can try putting it the UPS on battery and see if it updates/sends the new value but I do believe it should show the value all of the time, like any UPS or the front display of the UPS itself, regardless if it is operating on battery or not - assuming Mac OS X supports this value.

[ModernGlitch_apc · Accepted solution]

This was originally posted on APC forums on 7/5/2015

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Thank you very much for the info!