Back-UPS RS1500 (BR1500G) fan

[Anonymous user]

I just replaced a Smart-UPS 1400 with one of the new Back-UPS RS 1500 units (BR1500G). It seems like the fan is always on with the BR1500G, and it is LOUD. With the Smart-UPS 1400, the fan almost never came on. Is there any way to turn off the fan on the BR1500G? Since this is marketed as an office UPS for PC/Workstations, I can't believe that the unit is supposed to be this loud all of the time. If there is no way to turn the fan off, can anyone tell me if the Back-UPS RS 1500VA LCD has the same issue?

[BillP]

yes, you are right. back ups are more geared towards home users and do not support any firmware updating, besides at the factory. i know that some of us power home users are disappointed with that.. 😞

[boe_apc]

I'm having the same issue.   I've had my unit for 2 weeks and it NEVER turned the fan on except when I unplugged it from the wall.    I haven't changed the devices plugged in and all the devices are always on and the fan never came on in 2 weeks.  Today I plugged in the extra battery pack and it has had the fan on for 8 hours and the unit is fully charged.   Temperature has dropped in the past few days so it should be running cooler.

[Anonymous user · Accepted solution]

Is the BR1500 LCD fan always on?

[Anonymous user]

I have the same problem with my 1500!

Did you get it sorted??

[Anonymous user · Accepted solution]

Word. I've had the unit plugged in for 3 days, the battery is fully charged, there is nothing plugged into the unit (unloaded), and the fan is ALWAYS on. Ambient temperature is in the 60's. It's odd that this is considered a "greener" solution when the fan is always on full bore...

Newegg has an APC BN1250G that appears to have the same form factor as the BR1300G and BR1500G, but one of the reviewers there wrote that the BN1250G does not have a fan that runs all of the time. I have not been able to find any information on this unit on the APC site, although it does appear as one of the models on the Trade-UPS picklist of models. Weird.

[Anonymous user · Accepted solution]

I just took delivery of the BR 1500G and plugged it in. The fan started and hasn't quit (about an hour). I read in the manual that it comes on when charging the battery, but the indicator is showing the battery at full charge. If it turns out that the fan will always run at this level of noise, the unit will be returned. If it's just topping up the charge then that's fine. The unit should work when needed but otherwise be completely ignorable.

[Anonymous user]

Yikes. Totally bummed to hear that it's always on. I wrote a note to tech support but haven't heard back yet. Nowhere in any reviews of this unit did I see anything about fan noise. Based on this experience (and the other two APCs that have gone south), I might be done with APC. My needs aren't that complicated but APCs products are too hard to sort out. Too many models. Back to shopping for a battery UPS.

[Anonymous user]

How long does that take? I have had this unit plugged in since early Monday morning. Most of that time, the BR1500G has been off. My understanding is that these units charge the battery when they are plugged into an electrical outlet even if the unit is not on. Nothing is plugged into the UPS. Its load the whole time has been 0. I turned it on about 3 and half hours ago. The battery showed that it was fully charged. The load registered as 0 W; nothing is connected to the UPS. No events are displayed. The fan has been going continuously for the entire 3 and a half hours.

I was hoping that an APC rep would chime in here with the expected behavior from this model, but I guess I'll have to contact their tech support to get an official answer.

[Anonymous user]

I contacted tech support via this site and received a prompt answer. A reset test was provided and I followed the instructions and reported the results. The determination was that the unit was faulty and would be replaced since it's brand new (today) and under warranty. I requested a replacement but haven't heard back yet. Will likely get the issue resolved tomorrow. I'm reluctant to get the same unit again however. The fan was intolerable. I left it on for almost 5 hours with no load and the battery meter showing 100%. I don't believe that's a typical charge time to top off the battery.

[Anonymous user]

Just to put the finishing touch on this. After sending a not to tech support with my failed test results, I decided to plug the thing in another room and let it run. While that was going on and the fan was running, tech support sent me a note with an RMA slip and a promise to ship me a new unit asap. Four hours later I walked past the other room where the Back-ups was plugged in and heard... nothing. The fans had stopped. I set it up with my computer gear and the fans started again, but now they've gone silent and the thing is just as it should be, invisible and silent. Retracted my issue and cancelled the replacement.

So, apologies for the panicky posts and to those who implied that the fan would eventually stop. You were right and I was wrong. If you buy one of these, plug it into the wall socket in an unused area and let it sit and charge for a day or two.

[Anonymous user]

Well, I left my BR1500G on when I left work yesterday (it had been on for a few hours by then with the fan running the whole time), and when I came into work this morning the fan was off. So, I turned the UPS off, waited a minute, and turned it back on. It passed self-test okay, and then... the fan came on. And stayed on. At that point, the unit had been plugged into an electrical outlet for over 72 hours, there had never been anything plugged into it, there was no load on it (0 W, 0% load), and the battery showed that it was 100% charged.

I left it on, fan whining away, and 4 hours later the fan went off. Okay. Turned the unit off for a minute, turned it back on, and the same thing happened: the fan is whining away constantly. Ridiculous.

So I contacted APC tech support, who first told me that the fan would always run, but it shouldn't be loud. In fact, she said that the fan would always run while the unit is plugged in, whether it is on or off. (Huh? She was probably thinking of a different model.) Then she said that the fan in a Back-UPS unit would run when the load is greater than 50%, or the environment is hot, or the UPS is charging, or the UPS is operating on battery. For my situation, none of those apply, indicating a problem with the unit. I wasn't told to perform any test on the unit, although that would have been interesting. I am going to get a replacement BR1500G and keep my fingers crossed. (I wanted to replace it with a BR1500LCD, which costs the same, but they are out of stock.)

[BillP]

In my house there is 21°C (69.8F), my BR1500GI is always silent.
Fan starts only when on battery, it neither turn on when battery is on charge.

Is this normal?

[Anonymous user]

Hi sblantipodi,

Yes, it is normal for the fan to go on only when the device is on battery.

Regarding the fan going on (related to internal temperature of the device), please see my October 5, 2010 post.

The fan going on due to internal temperature of the device pertains only to SMART-family of UPS units (which the BR1300G and BR1500 are not).

Message was edited by: David Purnell

[BillP]

thanks David.

[Anonymous user]

Update: I received a replacement BR1500G on Monday. I installed the battery and connected the unit to an electrical outlet (the same one as I used before). I then left the unit plugged in but turned off until Tuesday. After almost 24 hours of charging, I turned the unit on. It went through self-test okay, and then the fan came on and stayed on. I let it sit, unloaded but powered on, and after about 2 hours the fan turned off. That was much better than the previous unit. I left the unit on, unloaded, until Wednesday and then I turned it off and moved it to its permanent home. After plugging in a computer and some monitors, I turned the unit on. Again, after it passed self-test, the fan came on and stayed on. After about an hour and a half, the fan turned off and I haven't heard it since.

It's not clear to me why the fan would run for so long after turning the UPS unit on, but as long as it isn't running constantly I'm happy. I just won't turn the unit off even if all of the attached equipment are turned off.

[overload_apc]

I am having a similar issue with my just-purchased BR1500G.

Any tiny interruption in power (or running a self-test, or cycling the power button) will cause the fan to come on and stay on for approximately 3 hours, despite Powerchute reporting the battery as 100% charged the whole time.

I am protecting a "silent" PC and 3 hours of noise after any dip in line power is unacceptable.

I was aware some people had reported problems before I purchased, but I contacted support and was reassured:

Yes, the BR1300G and BR1500G are proved to be silent under normal usage. The Fan will run when the connected equipments are more than 50% of the rating of the UPS or when the room temperature is higher than the nominal range of the UPS. It will also run when the UPS is charging the battery or when the UPS runs on battery.

(FWIW, I am running at only 25% of capacity in an air-conditioned room.)


Is the fan running for several hours after any A/C interruption "normal" behavior for this model? And if so, is it possible for it to be fixed via a firmware update (and is APC working on one)?

If not, I'm afraid I will have to return it and look elsewhere for a solution. Everything about the unit seems fine other than the fan noise, but that's a big problem.

I have been an APC customer in one form or another for over many years and purchased or specified dozens of units, and this is the first time that I've been truly unhappy.

[Anonymous user]

I have to concur that this is ridiculous behavior. I have used APC UPS's, of many different types, forever and have never seen this. The fan should be on when required for cooling and mitigating heat buildup when discharging or charging quickly. It is completely unnecessary to have it run for hours while doing some sort of top-up trickle charge every time the UPS is even turned on or gets bumped. This is indeed unacceptable. There are many applications when a workstation UPS is turned on once a week or once a day since the equipment hooked up to it does not need to be on 24/7 and no one wants to hear the fan for the first few hours.

This is either a firmware bug due to some lazy programming that turns the fan on whenever there is any battery charging, notwithstanding the rate or actual heat being produced or APC decided to save a few cents on a temperature sensor for the case and/or rectification/inverter heat sink(s) and simply turns the fan on all the time there is any current to or from the batteries.

In any event I was going to get one or two of these and am glad I found out about this before I purchased.

Please let us know if this can be fixed as I will be holding off at least until then.

[Anonymous user]

I recently bought a UPS BR1300G (a sibling of the BR1500G), and have posted comments (https://community.exchange.se.com/t5/Home-and-Office-Forum/bd-p/home-office-forum) about its fan. It has fan issues identical to the BR1500G.

Here is one of the posts I made there:

MY SOLUTION TO THE FAN STAYING ON FOR 3 HOURS AFTER THE UPS UNIT IS TURNED ON:
The UPS unit is intended to remain turned on (24/7). Therefore, leaving it turned on is normal.
The only time I will need to turn it off and unplug it from the wall is during a lightning storm. That is the ONLY reliable way to protect electronic equipment from lightning.

SCENARIO #1: When the storm has passed, and I want to re-boot-up my computer (i.e., turn the UPS back on), I will just have to endure the fan running for 2 or 3 hours. It's not the end of the world.

SCENARIO #2: If weather reports predict lightning storms during the night (when I'm asleep), I will (as usual) unplug the UPS (and therefore, my computer) from the wall socket before I retire for the night.
In the morning, about 3 hours before I plan to work at the computer, I will re-plug the UPS unit into the wall and turn it on.
The fan will run for 2 to 3 hours and then stop running. When I come down to my studio to work, the fan will already have completed its "thing" . . . and I can sit at my computer, do my work, and enjoy listening to music -- without the sound of the fan.

Additional information:

Why the fan on the BR1500G and BR1300G stays on for 2 to 3 hours after it's turned on:

Melissa Forand, at APC Technical Support, e-mailed me the following update today:

Reasons for the fan running on the UPS BR1300G (and BR1500G):
1. The UPS is on battery.
2. The UPS is charging the battery.
3. The UPS has a load greater than 75%.
4. The UPS is "trickle charging" the battery.

CAVEAT:
I strongly believe this is the reason why your fan stays on for a couple
of hours after you start up the UPS. The temperature issue -- which I initially indicated ("the fan will go on
if the temperature is above 60-degrees F") -- pertains only to the SMART-family of UPS units (which the BR1300G and BR1500 are not).
And so we were originally mistaken when we told you that. Sorry, for the mix up and hope
this helps you with your reviews on the BR1300G.

Thank you,
Melissa Forand
APC Technical Support Engineer

Message was edited by: David Purnell

[Anonymous user]

Hey all,
I saw concerns about the BR1300G/BR1500G fan noise. I also heard that the similar 1250VA BN1250G does not have the issue.

Well I went to Sam's Club and picked up a BN1250G for $144. Plugged it in, ZERO noise - dead silent. Have been using for about 30mins with w/ all stuff plugged in and not a peep from the fan.

I also yanked the plug out of the wall and the fan went on (unit made a buzzing noise also), but after I put the plug in the fan promptly went off and was silent again. I am super-satisfied with this purchase.

So it appears perhaps the BN1250G is geared more for consumers while the BR1300G/BR1500G may be for network server rooms that require constant airflow?

Message was edited by: Ruined

[Anonymous user]

Overload, by the way, I also contacted APC about a possibly firmware update and was told that these units are unable to apply firmware updates. Only the Smart-UPS models can update via firmware.

Doesn't sound right if you ask me, but that's what I was told.

[Anonymous user]

Hi, sorry to bump an old thread, but I was just wondering if there are actually any updates on this situation yet?

Any new findings from users as well? I've been looking at the BR1300g but these threads about the noise factor scare me big time. It's a huge deciding factor in my purchase and wanted to know users getting new units are finding a difference in the noise levels.

A couple of new reviews of the user BR1500g on APC's website seem to claim there is minimal noise, but I wish I could know this for sure. There's too many conflicting reports going on and I don't want to take a gamble.

[Anonymous user]

To sblantipodi,

You wrote, +"Is it true that if the outputted wattage is greater than 50% fan starts?"+

I haven't heard that before, and haven't any experience that validates it.

I wrote on 9/16/2010 that an APC tech agent told me:

Reasons for the fan running on the UPS BR1300G (and BR1500G):
1. The UPS is on battery.
2. The UPS is charging the battery.
3. The UPS has a load greater than 75%.
4. The UPS is "trickle charging" the battery.

The load (sustained load) shown on my BR1300G has never gone above 46%. At startup of my computer,
the load will spike to maybe 54% for a micro-second, but after boot-up the load remains steady at around 44-46%.

--David

[BillP]

I must to be sure.
So is there someone who can confirm that on my future Back-UPS RS1200LCD if battery is fully charged and power line is active
fan will start only when load is greater than 75%?

This means that fans will start only when load surpass 570W.
Can I be sure of that?

[Anonymous user]

Hi icaras/Charles,

I posted a lengthy message on 9/11/10 about my recently purchased BR1300G.

It has been a few weeks since then, and HERE'S MY UPDATE.
Like I stated before, since the BR1300G and BR1500G (same fan issue) are intended to run 24/7, that's what I let it do. Other than during a thunderstorm, I have no reason to turn it off and unplug it from the wall. The only time the fan runs is during the first 3 hours after turning it on. But, for several weeks I have had no reason to turn it off or on. Therefore, for these two weeks of running 24/7, the unit has made absolutely no sound. None.

So, in reply to your expressed apprehension about buying this unit (the BR1300G or BR1500G) . . . I would say, the fan issue (although not the ideal scenario) is -- for the most part -- a non-issue on a day-to-day basis. For the price and the quality of this unit, I'd say the factor of the fan running for 3 hours at startup (startup being an infrequent event) . . . is not worth fretting over. I was disturbed, at first, by the fan "issue." But, in actual practice, it really is a non-issue.

Regards,
David Purnell, owner
NEW YORK WEST Medical Illustration Studio (a home-based studio)

Message was edited by: David Purnell

Message was edited by: David Purnell

[Anonymous user]

Hi David, yes I did read your first thread and your findings on this thread on the subject and am very glad to hear that. 🙂

If I recall, you didn't return your unit back to APC, did you?

[Anonymous user]

Hi icaris/Charles,

You recall correctly, according to what I wrote.

But here is what actually happened. On August 18, 2010, I purchased an APC UPS BR1300G unit.
When it arrived, I allowed the battery to charge for the recommended 16 hours prior to use. Afterward, when I connected my computer, etc. to the unit and started it up . . . is when I first encountered the fan-running-for-three-hours issue.

I called APC sales and tech support, and reported what was happening. They agreed with me that the fan running that long sounded wrong. They immediately sent me a NEW unit -- without even requiring that they receive the first unit before they shipped the 2nd unit. THAT KIND OF APC CUSTOMER SUPPORT VERY POSITIVELY IMPRESSED ME. The 2nd unit arrived within days.

Discovering that the 2nd unit behaved in the exact same way (the fan running for 3 hours after turn-on) as did the 1st unit led me to do some Googling about it. That's when I came across these APC forum discussions, and learned that what I was experiencing was not an isolated case. To wit, other owners of the BR1300G and the BR1500G were experiencing the same thing.

So, I have decided . . . (for reasons detailed in yesterday's post) . . . that I will happily keep the BR1300G. I am pleased to have a UPS that is doing what it is intended to do -- protect my computer and peripherals from power variances and unexpected power outages.

Regards,
David Purnell, owner
NEW YORK WEST Medical Illustration Studio (a home-based studio)

[BillP]

I haven't understood onething.

Is it true that if the outputted wattage is greater than 50% fan starts?

If I use a 800W UPS with fully charged batterys, when my computer/ecc. requires more than 400W fan starts?

[BillP]

it's incredibly that there is no way to get this important info on the APC site and specsheet.
I phoned to technical support here in italy and they even know how to answer...

[Anonymous user · Accepted solution]

I have a slightly different problem.. I have had this unit for about two years and have never heard the fan. Now, it is quite noisy and seems to run most of the time the UPS is on, even when there is no load on the UPS. I was wondering if this might not be the first signs of the battery failing.

[BillP]

So the fan starts just at 60° Fahrenheit ???
this is incredible, it will be always on in my house.

[Anonymous user]

To sblantipodi from David Purnell:

Regarding the BR1300G or B1500G fan going on at 60-degrees F., you might have read an earlier post about this.
More recently, this (below) was sent to me from APC Tech Support, which I posted under "*CAVEAT*" in my September 16, 2010 post:

The temperature issue -- which I initially indicated ("the fan will go on
if the temperature is above 60-degrees F") -- pertains only to the SMART-family of UPS units (which the BR1300G and BR1500 are not).
And so we were originally mistaken when we told you that. Sorry, for the mix up and hope
this helps you with your reviews on the BR1300G.

Thank you,
Melissa Forand
APC Technical Support Engineer

Message was edited by: David Purnell

[BillP]

to be clear, any of these statements refers to the INTERNAL temperature of the UPS itself - not the ambient temperature around the unit.

[Anonymous user]

Just places 32 units BR1500G, and yes without fail a lot of fan noise. Users not very happy. Just tried a couple of things, and eventually found: When I remove it from the mains, without switching it off, and reconnect it the fan noise stops and doesn't come back till the next morning when the user starts up his system. I have been using APC ups's for many years, but this is the strangest thing I have com across. Is this what I have to instruct my users to do?

[Anonymous user]

I just replaced a Smart-UPS 1400 with one of the new Back-UPS RS 1500 units (BR1500G). It seems like the fan is always on with the BR1500G, and it is LOUD. With the Smart-UPS 1400, the fan almost never came on. Is there any way to turn off the fan on the BR1500G? Since this is marketed as an office UPS for PC/Workstations, I can't believe that the unit is supposed to be this loud all of the time. If there is no way to turn the fan off, can anyone tell me if the Back-UPS RS 1500VA LCD has the same issue?

[Anonymous user]

Hello, guys, I am an owner of a Back-UPS® BR1500G-BR and I have the same problem. The fan goes on for hours almost every day, and I never use the battery. When there is a blackout (very rare, once a year maybe) I just turn of the computer / unit.

Is there a way to replace the fan for a better one? I like to build my rigs, and for the noise it makes, the fan seems to be a small one, 80mm or less, running at high rotations (above 3000rmp I suppose). I could replace it for a bigger fan will less rotation.

Is there any tweaking on the software to stop it other than give it a time? Not really a solution, because it runs for hours, sometimes the whole night. Really, it drives me nuts.

I can't even believe that a put up with it for so long. I have this unit for three years. I have two other APC units (600V), but they are small and don't seem to have fans.

[Anonymous user]

Hello, guys, I am an owner of 3 Back-UPS® BR1500G and two of them work fine no Fan issue the firmware on these are 865.L.2.D viewed in the PowerChute Personell app Menu selection Technical Data.

On the one that the Fan stays on awhile on high before reducing speed is the one with the firmware that is 865.L0a.D I am inclined to believe that the Firmware is the issue. I am currently in the process of trying to find out how to replace that firmware to the 865.L.2.D to verify if that will indeed fix that Fan issue.

[Anonymous user]

https://youtu.be/mqdchrREsNI
I have come up with a nifty little work around. I hope this helps.

[s1l3nce]

Did you manage to solve the issue? I have the same exact problem and the support team is not even replying to my messages.

The weird thing is that my UPS is noisy in a certain threshold of watts; if I stay below or above that threshold, the noise stops. It's very strange.