Back-UPS does not backup during power interruption.

[Anonymous user]

I just bought a BACK-UPS ES 350 last week from a local retailer. The system does not protect the PC in the event of power outages for more than a few seconds. The APC PowerChute indicates everything is connected properly and that "Estimated Battery Time" is at 10 minutes. The "keep my computer on as long as possible" option has been selected. Any suggestions on what other settings I may need to tweak to get my PC properly protected?

EDIT: After doing some digging I've found that some online retailers note this model is a discontinued one. Could it be possible that that all the 350/500 models they sell are so old that the batteries are past their recommended lifespan? (Or is "battery age" actually based on number of uses as opposed to chronological age?)

[Anonymous user]

There were two numbers on the bottom. One coincided with the name/number of the model the UPS, so I assumed that was just an identifier for the model. This was the other number I found:

3B0807X36883

[TheNotoriousKMP_apc]

Can you start with posting the serial number? At least the first 6 of it will tell me its age.

[TheNotoriousKMP_apc]

The UPS was manufactured in February of this year. That would put the battery at 7 months old. If you just purchased it, that would mean it went 6 months between manufacturing, shelf, and your residence. It's possible that the battery discharged some, but not fully. Have you disconnected the entire load and allowed the UPS to charge for approximately 12-14 hours? That may give us a better insight as to where the problem lies.

Also, have you contacted your PC manufacturer to find out if your PC's Power Supply is Power Factor Corrected or not?

[BillP · Accepted solution]

Also, you would want to test the UPS (after letting it fully charge the battery per KMP's suggestion) with a known load, such as a 100W lightbulb.

At 100W with a good battery, you'd get just under 10min of runtime during a power outage.
At 200W, this UPS' maximum capacity, the runtime is just 2.3min.

Your PC and other equipment plugged into the "battery back-up" outlets is likely too much load for the UPS to support using its batteries.