3000XL Fan Always on

[jimm_apc]

This was originally posted on APC forums on 2/16/2014

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Hi,
I have a 3000XL UPS. It used to live in a comms cupboard but due to an office move I now need it to live in the same room as staff.

Upon moving the UPS to its new location I have found the fan seems to run constantly. Im not sure if it did this in the old location.

Is this normal?

Is there a way to stop it?

Its not hot (internal temp is 22^C), no errors in the logs.

It is only running slow (not the fast like when its on battery or charging) but it is noisy enough to annoy staff.

So can anyone say is this is typical?

Thanks

[BillP]

This reply was originally posted by Angela on APC forums on 2/17/2014

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Can you confirm the exact SKU of the UPS? This is on the white sticker on the back of the UPS.

I ask because some newer models have a low/high fan mode in order to keep the UPS as cool as possible. Other models just use the fan typically if the UPS internal temperature is too warm, if the UPS has a high load over 75%, if the UPS is on battery, or if the UPS is charging the battery.

Once I know the model of UPS, I can verify the behavior of the particular model. If it is one with the low/high mode, then is it possible the fan is dirty? If that is the case, then I'd suggest maybe try cleaning it with compressed air. Usually a Smart UPS is installed in a data center or server room so I don't think noise is typically a primary concern but even so, I have not encountered one that I would say on low is too noisy to annoy everyone even outside of a server room environment.

[jimm_apc]

This was originally posted on APC forums on 2/17/2014

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Hi,

The full model code is "SUA3000XL I"

There is currently no load on it, its not on battery and shouldnt be charging (reports 100% battery and been on mains for the weekend).

Thanks

[Battman_apc]

This was originally posted on APC forums on 2/17/2014

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FYI if this Tower SUA3000 is similar inside to the SUA3000 rack mount versions I look after hundreds of there could be upwards of three fans inside, but more likely two. In the rack mount a large one cools the main inverter, a smaller one is immediately beside that one for side by side flow to cool the transformer pair/mainboard, and a third (smallest one) is cooling the batteries. All three fans run continuously in the rack mount version...

[BillP · Accepted solution]

This reply was originally posted by Angela on APC forums on 2/18/2014

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Yes, SUA3000XLI has a fan that is always on with high/low fan speeds. How old is it? If you have the first 6 digits of the UPS serial number I can tell you. It could either be very dirty and dusty and use some cleaning or if that's not the case, it could have a noisy bearing perhaps. A UPS does have a hum, especially when operating on battery, but it shouldn't be so noisy and distracting..