BACK-UPS ES 8 OUTLET 350VA 120V Problems

[Anonymous user]

Hello,

There are two APC BACK-UPS ES 8 OUTLET 350VA 120V in my office. Four computers are connected to these two Back-UPSs (with one of the Back-UPS's (which we'll call UPS #1) connected to the other Back-UPS (which we'll call UPS #2), which is connected to an outlet).

During a power outage, I find that 1 of the 4 computers went out. This particular computer was connected to UPS #1. Here is a diagram to give you a better idea:

/_1_2_3__4_/........./__9_10_11__12_/
/__UPS #1__/====/____UPS #2____/====O
/_5_6_7__8_/........./_13_14_15__16_/

1, 2, 3, 9, 12, and 13-16 have power chords of PCs, Monitors, and other devices that didn't go out during the power outage.

10 is where UPS #1's power is connected to.

4 is where the power chord to the PC that turned off during the power outage is connected to.
8 is where the power chord to the Monitor that turned off during the power outage is connected to.
(This PC and Monitor are both hooked up to each other).

O is the outlet.

I'm wondering if these two outer outlets on UPS #1 (4 and 😎 might not work as good as the other six outlets (1-3, 5-7). Should I just move these two power chords to 5-7? Or is it more likely that UPS #1 will need a replacement battery?

In case your wondering, the computer runs Windows XP. I tried downloading PowerChute Personal Edition v2.0, but when I try to run it, I get:

"The installer is unable to locate a supported APC battery backup connected to your computer.
Please check your USB connections and try again."

And yes, I did connect a USB chord from UPS #1 to the computer that had the power outage.


I'd really appreciate any advice I can get.

Message was edited by: mchays

[BillP]

Greetings mchays!

We can definitely help you sort this out. The first major issue in your setup is the fact that you apparently have a UPS plugged into another UPS. APC recommends against this. [Click here to read a knowledge base article on the subject|http://nam-en.apc.com/cgi-bin/nam_en.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=397].

Secondly, it appears that you have some equipment that requires battery back-up plugged into outlets on our product that do not offer power during an outage. In your diagram, it is not clear which devices are plugged into the outlets labeled "Surge Protection Only" and which are plugged into "Battery Backup plus Surge Protection." In an outage, the "surge only" outlets will not provide power to your equipment.

The best way for us to remedy this situation is to determine:
1) which devices require battery power during an outage
2) how much runtime do you require for these devices
3) what the power draw in watts is for these more critical devices
4) the exact model and serial number located on the white barcode sticker on each UPS
5) the reason why the two UPSs were daisy-chained (wanted more runtime, not enough wall outlets, etc).

I think this would be a good start. Please let us know if you have any questions.

[Anonymous user · Accepted solution]

One thing I'd like to add to JoeMomma advices:

These 350VA units are supposed to deliver 200W at best. Depending on what you have there, only one computer can suck all 200W this unit can deliver. A 325VA unit is good for one basic PC only and nothing more. There is also the aggravation of daisy chaining them, one of the UPS is drawing power from the one which is connected to the wall outlet so you might be overloading at least one of these units. If I understood you well, there are in fact at least four computers on one 350VA unit only!! You're definitely overloading things there.