BR1500LCD Replace Battery Icon Blinking - Does it Surge Protect?

[BillP]

I have a BR1500LCD purchased about 3 1/2 years ago.

Since a few months ago, its "Estimated run time in minutes" as displayed on its LCD, while in Online mode, suddenly dropped to 4 minutes - from the usual ~300. (Of course, the 300 changed to approx 20 as soon as the UPS went into Battery mode.)

With 4 minutes showing, when I ran tests by pulling the UPS from the main, the connected Mac didn't get a chance to shutdown properly. It was as if the Mac's power cord was pulled.

Anyway, I continued to use the BR1500LCD, thinking that it'd at least provide good surge protection, until I replace the battery or the whole UPS.

Now, the "Replace Battery" icon is blinking.
("Battery Charge" shows 100% on the LCD as well as in the Mac connected via USB. Estimated run time is 4 minutes.)

I've searched the forum and I think the answer is yes, but I'd like a confirmation, especially with regard to my BR1500LCD.

The question:

If the "Replace Battery" icon is blinking and/or the battery is truly kaput, does the BR1500LCD provide Any protection at all, such as surge protection, through its battery backed sockets?

If it does still provide surge protection, is the protection any better than that provided by a simple surge protection bar?

Or, am I better off trusting a simple surge protector bar such as Belkin?


Advice and comments would be appreciated.

[BillP · Accepted solution]

As long as the UPS/Surge protector is plugged into the wall, it's "surge protected".