New BE350R - looks used plus clicking question

Anonymous user · ‎2021-06-29

Ok today I purchased a new BE350R from Walmart. Probably not the best play to buy one but we were travelling and I figured it might correct a problem my daughter was having with her DVD player.

When I opened the unit at my car and hooked up the battery the battery pack looked used (scratches and the outer cover looks scratched - not sure this should be so with a new unit).
So should a new unit have scratches on the battery pack and or the bottom cover that is removed?

We have a small car DC to AC power converter unit but my daughters DVD player apparently did not work correctly when connected to this converter. However when hooking up the BE350R to the converter seemed to correct the problem such that the DVD player worked. And it also allowed my 2nd daughter to also use her DVD player at the same time.

The only problem was there was a clicking noise that repeated ever 30sec or so. After reading the forums it appears the converter was having a lot of interuptions causing the APC unit to switch from Power to Battery and back again.

It was a short term solution for my daughter. I plan on using the unit to keep my DVR up and running through short power spikes.

From what I read if I want to use the converter for the car and a APC backup for the DVD players I might want to get a Smart UPS. Unless anyone has a better solution for a steady AC power supply for the car?

Anonymous user · ‎2021-06-29

Ok today I purchased a new BE350R from Walmart. Probably not the best play to buy one but we were travelling and I figured it might correct a problem my daughter was having with her DVD player.

When I opened the unit at my car and hooked up the battery the battery pack looked used (scratches and the outer cover looks scratched - not sure this should be so with a new unit).
So should a new unit have scratches on the battery pack and or the bottom cover that is removed?

We have a small car DC to AC power converter unit but my daughters DVD player apparently did not work correctly when connected to this converter. However when hooking up the BE350R to the converter seemed to correct the problem such that the DVD player worked. And it also allowed my 2nd daughter to also use her DVD player at the same time.

The only problem was there was a clicking noise that repeated ever 30sec or so. After reading the forums it appears the converter was having a lot of interuptions causing the APC unit to switch from Power to Battery and back again.

It was a short term solution for my daughter. I plan on using the unit to keep my DVR up and running through short power spikes.

From what I read if I want to use the converter for the car and a APC backup for the DVD players I might want to get a Smart UPS. Unless anyone has a better solution for a steady AC power supply for the car?

See Answer In Context

Anonymous user · ‎2021-06-29

As for the condition of the battery pack on the new BE350R, I have the same thing. The battery pack looks used or recycled. I've also noticed APC has shortened the red power lead and swapped sides of the posts on their batteries preventing use of third party replacements. I have several similar units with various clients and always have a spare battery or two on hand for emergency replacement; none will work in the newer units.

Also, I've notice at least one of the Back-UPS 350 units is listed as model BE350R on the box, but labeled BE350U on the bottom of the unit. on the replacement wizard entering the label info will indicate a RBC45 replacement; since there is no BE350R in the wizard, a search indicates replacement battery RBC35 (looks a whole lot more like what I would need).

It used to be that recommending APC or buying APC was a slam dunk. Most of my clients are SOHO; not a major or high profile portion of APC's business I am guessing. I've purchased a couple of CyberPower units that seem to working just as well and no shenanigans with the battery posts. And, no scratches so I'm pretty certain they come with NEW batteries.

Now I catch whatever is on sale since the cost new (or recycled/refurbished--your guess is as good as mine) is less than replacing the battery or upgrading the whole unit especially with shipping costs.

Anonymous user · ‎2021-06-29

Ok today I purchased a new BE350R from Walmart. Probably not the best play to buy one but we were travelling and I figured it might correct a problem my daughter was having with her DVD player.

When I opened the unit at my car and hooked up the battery the battery pack looked used (scratches and the outer cover looks scratched - not sure this should be so with a new unit).
So should a new unit have scratches on the battery pack and or the bottom cover that is removed?

We have a small car DC to AC power converter unit but my daughters DVD player apparently did not work correctly when connected to this converter. However when hooking up the BE350R to the converter seemed to correct the problem such that the DVD player worked. And it also allowed my 2nd daughter to also use her DVD player at the same time.

The only problem was there was a clicking noise that repeated ever 30sec or so. After reading the forums it appears the converter was having a lot of interuptions causing the APC unit to switch from Power to Battery and back again.

It was a short term solution for my daughter. I plan on using the unit to keep my DVR up and running through short power spikes.

From what I read if I want to use the converter for the car and a APC backup for the DVD players I might want to get a Smart UPS. Unless anyone has a better solution for a steady AC power supply for the car?