Back-UPS ES 700 momentary power outage

[BillP]

Hello,

our company uses three APC Backup-UPS ES 700 (700 VA / 405 W) units and we are experiencing some strange power outages on two of them. Let me describe the setup:

Unit #1:
- 2 PCs (with G620 and G840 processors) in the BATTERY sockets
- 2 screens in the BATTERY sockets
- 1 desk phone in the SURGE socket
- 1 HP 3010 printer in the SURGE socket

Unit #2:
- 2 PCs (with G620 and i5-530 processors) in the BATTERY sockets
- 2 screens in the BATTERY sockets
- 1 desk phone in the SURGE socket
- 1 nondescript old audio speaker in the SURGE socket

Unit #3:
- 1 PC (with the Athlon 64 X2 4200+ CPU) in the BATTERY socket
- 1 screen in the BATTERY socket

Each of the units is plugged straight into the wall. Units #2 and #3 are in the same room and (obviously) plugged into different wall sockets. Yes, I checked, the batteries are present, and according to powerchute, the offending unit #1 that I'm checking right now has 83 % of battery charge. Please note that #1 is several years old (the APC logo is in fact still red, I presume these are a more dated version), but #2 is only several months old. Battery replacement has been done regularly.

Now on to describe the problem:
The affected units are #1 and #2. The PCs are normally working, then, suddenly, the UPS beeps ONCE, the connected devices power cycle, and everything goes back to normal. Happens irregularly, however the highest frequency (and the point where I finally found it strange) was twice in one week.

Is there any battery or UPS - related reason for this? The single beep leads me into thinking that something is causing the UPS to restart. Is there some problem with the UPS or battery, or does it simply mean that we are overloading the units or that our electrical network is just bad?

I would be thankful for any help. Cheers.

[BillP]

Hello Jan,

If the units were being Overloaded, you would receive a Constant Tone from the UPS when switching to battery power and witness the load powering off. This does not appear to be the symptom you've described.

In your configurations however, the load does appear to be significant. With large loads, we may experience diminished run-times when transferring to battery. The more discharges and recharges that the internal batteries experience, the weaker they will become over time. Eventually the batteries will no longer be able to support the connected load.

Based on your description, it appears the units may be attempting to temporarily switch to battery power and are finding that upon switching, they are unable to support the load.

The HP 3010 printer you've indicating as being plugged into the Surge Only outlet of 1st unit may have something to do with the issue. Laser printers are continuously active when powered on and will often "sag" an electrical circuit. This "sag" can cause electrical disturbance which force the UPS to battery, more frequently than is normally expected. This can prematurely weaken the batteries. 

I would recommend attempting to electrically isolate the Laser Printer, preferably it's own dedicated electric circuit. I would then add two additional UPS, to lighten the load being carried between UPS#1 and UPS#2.

Secret Squirrel

[BillP]

Hi Jan,

Can you provide the model number and serial number of the unit which is located on the bottom of the unit (on a white barcode sticker).

[BillP · Accepted solution]

On 2/27/2017 4:14 PM, Merick said:

Can you provide the model number and serial number of the unit which is located on the bottom of the unit (on a white barcode sticker).

Hello, the numbers are as following:

Unit #1:
BE 700-CP
5B0945T78017

Unit #2:
BE 700G-FR
5B1617T47196

On 2/27/2017 4:12 PM, Secret Squirrel said:

I would then add two additional UPS, to lighten the load being carried between UPS#1 and UPS#2.

We might do this as a last resort. I forgot to mention - yesterday, me and my boss were hooked to unit #2. That is two monitors, two PCs in the battery slot (with G3240 and i5-6400 CPUs - so no lightweights) and nothing ill happened. However, as I was checking unit #1 with nothing except for data cable plugged in, I heard it switch to battery two times during ~3 hours, always only for a few seconds.