ES series 360 va 200watts up to 27 minutes I think I have a problem

[BillP]

Backs-UPS ES 350 firmware 823.B.1.D PowerChute personal edition 2.2, I have windows 7

Had this from 2007 never really had problems until couple of years I have gotten, clicks here and clicks there then (recharging) or power in on run on power while I notice it shows "blackout" while I didn't had one.. When there was a black out I would get a message about going to hibernation all the time when something happens, and I am suppose to have 35 mins but I get hibernation really fast..

There was times I would vaccum then the power would shut off circuit breaker but my computer shuts off too including apc 3 times it did this, so tonight while I was playing world of warcraft while two fans are going including two things I forget it's called it sucks up the water from the air because the rug has water in it.. So the power in the basement shut off including my pc and apc battery too, so after a while I did a test I had the screen of apc powercute personal edition on, I took the plug out of the outlit and saw the power went to 35 to 18 then 1 hibernation like in 1 min..

I sometimes get the message about the battery needs to be replace but I have always got that even a month while I had it, but I always turn it off then reset it, then I could see the mins back.. But whats the point in having a battery if it doesn't even if you time to save your work or something? I mean using a laptop and power go's out it runs on the battery still and you have a hour..

I apologies to the people who had a hard time reading thank you for your time.

[BillP]

Backs-UPS ES 350 firmware 823.B.1.D PowerChute personal edition 2.2, I have windows 7

Had this from 2007 never really had problems until couple of years I have gotten, clicks here and clicks there then (recharging) or power in on run on power while I notice it shows "blackout" while I didn't had one.. When there was a black out I would get a message about going to hibernation all the time when something happens, and I am suppose to have 35 mins but I get hibernation really fast..

There was times I would vaccum then the power would shut off circuit breaker but my computer shuts off too including apc 3 times it did this, so tonight while I was playing world of warcraft while two fans are going including two things I forget it's called it sucks up the water from the air because the rug has water in it.. So the power in the basement shut off including my pc and apc battery too, so after a while I did a test I had the screen of apc powercute personal edition on, I took the plug out of the outlit and saw the power went to 35 to 18 then 1 hibernation like in 1 min..

I sometimes get the message about the battery needs to be replace but I have always got that even a month while I had it, but I always turn it off then reset it, then I could see the mins back.. But whats the point in having a battery if it doesn't even if you time to save your work or something? I mean using a laptop and power go's out it runs on the battery still and you have a hour..

I apologies to the people who had a hard time reading thank you for your time.

[BillP]

Couple of things to point out before we begin:

a) You have the smallest UPS that APC manufactures.
b) You've been getting (and ignoring?) replace battery messages.

These two points alone indicate you're not going to get much runtime. On top of that, these UPSes are not designed to provide hours' worth of runtime. A desktop is not a laptop and draws much more power than one, so you shouldn't be expecting more than 5-10m of runtime in general.

Additionally, I'm not sure what exactly is connected to it - whether that includes these "fans" and "water sucking devices" (dehumidifier...?) - but you're playing WoW on this computer that presumably IS connected, and this tiny UPS isn't really designed to handle gaming rigs. Again, WoW isn't the most demanding game and I don't know if this is a high end system or not, but the UPS is more designed for the lowest of the low end computers, really, so still worth mentioning.

On that note, the basic communication this UPS family utilizes isn't the most accurate when it comes to runtime. Yes, the load will fluctuate which will influence your expected runtime, but the simple signaling isn't the best at detecting and adjusting to these changes.

Now on to more detailed info, since like you suggested, I had trouble understanding your post. To clarify, the UPS seems to be going to battery legitimately, in response to breakers tripping in your home - so that part sounds like normal functionality (for the UPS at least). However, your issue is with the fact you have little to no time to react to said outages. Does the UPS beep when this happens? Are there any flashing lights? Does it immediately turn off or does it give you a minute or two? What is the unit's model & serial number?

Either way, really, I suspect you at least need a new battery and more reasonably, a larger UPS. You might be interested in APC's [Trade-UPS program|http://buy.apc.com/commerce/storefronts/tradeups/tradein.aspx], since a new battery usually isn't that much cheaper than a new UPS, and this way you'd get a discount on a new unit and prepaid disposal of the old one.

[BillP]

buzz I do apologize that you had trouble understanding me, but thank you for really making a effort.. I will answer your questions then making a big post.


dehumidifier, fans and pc's were on one, so the breaker just stop working for a moment.. Thats when the pc shut off with out making a noise, the battery shut off too no blinking lights..

Beeping of the battery: While I unplug the battery there are beeps to let me know it's running on power, including it flashs green..
Replace battery message: The apc doesn't show a red color on replace battery, infact it has always done this gave me a message sometimes... I remember for a month having it and still gave me the message.
immediately turn off: yes it does sometimes while I am using the big industatal vaccum, the power would shut off including the apc batterie..
Plugs I am using battery back up & surge protection: I have my linkeys router plug on the surge protection, pc & monitor plugs are on the battery back up.
Surge protection only: I am using my modem for that.
Model number&serial number: BE35OR / 3B0732X17258
Monitor: syncmaster 941v samsung LCD I think it's a 17 or 15 inch
Pc tower: 32bit, win7, I have chasm fan and a motherboard fan.
35 mins: it go's really fast like 35min 20 min 19 min then 1min after gives the window of hibernation..

Could something be wrong with my apc battery?

Message was edited by: keithnerdloveapc

[BillP]

What version of PowerChute Personal Edition are you running? I assume it's the latest one for Win7, v2.2, but it's always good to check.

In that version, if you go to Monitor System > Current Status, does it list the battery capacity and/or the load on the battery backup? It may not report the latter, I'm not sure this small unit has that info...

It would probably be faster/easier for you to call tech support (800-890-4272) and troubleshoot the unit with a technician to determine what the issue is - whether it's the unit, the battery, or something else. The load may be too much for this little UPS to handle, but by troubleshooting you should be able to figure it out and decide what action to take from there. It's kind of difficult to do via posting but it's up to you.

[Techie_apc]

in addition buzz suggestions, would like to add some more points on this issue....

Each model of Back-UPS is capable of handling up to a certain amount of equipment. The UPS runtime depends upon the equipment connected to the battery backup outlets.This UPS estimated battery runtime is 9.7 minutes at 100 watts and 2.3 minutes at 200 Watts. The correct runtime will not be calculated properly with the Back UPS ES 350 unless the unit is on battery. After operating on battery for brief periods of time, it calibrates the UPS to reflect the runtime more accurately. Depending on the power factor of the computer system, the runtime may be a little lower than expected.

[Techie_apc]

Secondly, you may also do a pull plug test to see if the unit provide the correct runtime. this unit normally provides 9.7(appr.) at 100 Watts load. Please charge your unit for 8-10 hours continuously with out any load and connect a non critical load like a lamp, with a watt rating between 60-100 Watts. Then disconnect the UPS from the wall outlet and check the runtime manually. this test will help you to understand the root cause of your concern.

[BillP]

I have done that before same results, 36, 20m 19m 1min.. Would it be the battery it self or the apc I have is old?

[BillP]

I don't think anything is wrong with the UPS itself. It's almost 3 years old and the batteries usually last 3-5 years. However, based on what you're describing, it doesn't sound like anything is necessarily broken. You're just expecting this tiny unit to give you a lot more runtime than it's able to.

You said you "already did" the test Techie suggested - what wattage light bulb did you use then? And he said to check the runtime manually, that means measure how much runtime you get outside of what PCPE is saying you'll get. Like he said, it takes a minute for the runtime to update after it's on battery.

If you want more runtime, you just need a bigger unit. They're really designed just to give you a couple of minutes, and like I said before, you have the smallest unit APC manufactures. You can't expect to get the functionality of a $200 unit with a $50 unit.

That's why I suggested the Trade-UPS program... That way you can get a discount on a larger unit.

[BillP]

buzz is there somewhere that could explain to me what you just mention because it went way over my head.. Still as you suggestion I should call apc about this..

So a laptop uses less batterie then a destop does?

[BillP]

Yes, most definitely. A laptop's components are designed to function for awhile (typically an hour or more) on its own internal battery, so the laptop components typically draw much less power than a desktop's would. That's the whole point of the laptop - portability, and not always being reliant on the power outlets available.

I can try to think of a few examples to compare to give you a better idea of how it works... Think of a truck engine compared to that of a little tiny compact car. The truck typically uses more fuel than the little car would because it's bigger and requires more power to move it. The same idea goes for a desktop compared to a laptop. The laptop requires less power, so it will run longer on the same size battery, much like the smaller car can go further than the truck on the same tank of gas.

[BillP]

Thank you buzz for explaining that I would of understand.. I just wish the guy from stapples told me, because he said that my pc would last 36 mins before it shuts off that I told him it's a pc that I am using it for.

So about the battery that giving me a warning sometimes, I haven't got the warning stopped on the 18th. What I don't understand why I have gotten the pop up message but never the replace the batterie showing red or why the batterie just stopped when the whole downstairs got shut off..

[BillP]

Buzz I have a question thats related to my upc batterie, I don't know if this is indeed related I get a randomly freeze.. While looking at the event viewer after coming back on I get this (Some processor performance power management features have been disabled due to a known firmware problem. Check with the computer manufacturer for updated firmware.) then it wouldn't do a randomly freeze but I get that message all the time...

I already ask this question from another site just wanted to see if this is related thats all.

[BillP · Accepted solution]

Well, I'm no Windows expert, but I searched the error message you have on Google and lots of other people seem to be having the same problem - their computers are powering off as well, apparently unrelated to power sources. I found one topic on the [Microsoft support forums|http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/itprovistasp/thread/51207cfd-f5b6-4541-851d-783f9e8...]. I suppose it's possible the problems you're seeing aren't caused by the UPS so I would suggest you get that issue resolved and see if you have any other issues with the UPS.