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APC Recalls 2.1 Million UPS Units
Controlio writes "Check your cubicles. APC has recalled two of its Back-UPS CS models, the Back-UPS CS 350 and Back-UPS CS 500, in both the 120 volt and 230-volt flavors. The units were sold between November of 2000 and December of 2002. The affected units have the potential to overheat, melting the outer casing and causing a potential fire hazard. Yikes."
this is normal UPS operation.
These returned UPS's will be resold as UFS's
Unstoppable Fire Supplies.
Saskboy's blog is good. 9 out of 10 dentists agree.
WEST KINGSTON, R.I. -- January 14, 2003 -- American Power Conversion (Nasdaq: APCC) (APC), in cooperation with the Consumer Product Safety Commission, today announced a voluntary recall of two models in its Back-UPS® CS uninterruptible power supply (UPS) line due to potential safety issues that may result in overheating and represent a potential fire hazard. The total number of affected devices being recalled worldwide is approximately 2.1 million with approximately 900,000 devices recalled in the United States.
APC has received eight reports worldwide of units overheating resulting in the melting of the unit's outer casing, six of which occurred in the United States. Three of the reported incidents resulted in minor property damage. No injuries have been reported.
The recall is limited to two specific models in APC's Back-UPS CS product line - the Back-UPS CS 350 and the Back-UPS CS 500, in both 120-volt and 230-volt models. The affected units were manufactured between November 2000 and December 2002. The units were sold primarily through computer and electrical distribution, catalog and retail outlets worldwide.
Consumers with affected units can identify them by the model markings on the front of the unit and by the serial numbers located on the bottom of the unit. Only units with serial numbers having the first six characters in the following ranges are affected:
AB0048 through AB0251
BB0104 through BB0251
JB0125 through JB0251
Any units with an "R" at the end of the serial number are not part of the recall.
APC recommends that the user immediately remove the UPS unit from service by turning off all connected equipment, turning the UPS unit off, and then unplugging the unit from the electrical outlet.
To learn more about the recall action and the process for replacing the affected units, users should visit www.apc.com or call 866 APC-RELY (866 272-7359).
APC has been working closely with the Consumer Product Safety Commission and other appropriate parties in this action, which does not affect any other APC devices.
"We remain highly confident in the overall safety and reliability of all of our products, and have been working diligently to ensure that this action results in a minimum inconvenience to our customers and channel partners," said Rodger B. Dowdell, Jr., APC president and CEO.
Why do I have to return my huge brown truck??!?!?! WHY!!!!
ooooohhhhhh UPS "UNITS"!, my battery backup. I won't miss that at all, thank god i can keep my truck.
Unexpected
Pyrotechnics
Show
"Uninterruptible," my ass!
Now those crazy Swedes can just use a UPS to heat their Sauna car.
...my APC UPS melted down. Really nasty. It filled the atmosphere in my house with toxic gas. My two other APC units failed within the next week. I'm through with APC. I bought a Liebert Upstation instead. A much better unit, and not horribly more expensive than the three UPSes it replaces.
I have a number of those installed at the office. I guess it's going to be a fun Friday getting all of them replaced :(
Tell me again what the U stands for?
Jason
ProfQuotes
I can't tell which model mine is, all thw text melted off...
-- Shaun "Blessed are the geeks, for they shall Internet the earth"
whats that smell
Thank heavens that a) My mother-in-law does not read slashdot and b) knows that I have one of these. She is convinced that any machine left turned on is a fire hazard. Now this would just add fuel to her ... oops :)
wow, if AMD and APC combine forces they can burn down and catch nearly everything on fire. :)
Free Instant Site Inclusion
When the lights go out - I don't know about you - but I want to huddle around the UPS, tell ghost stories, and roast marshmallows.
Keep your packets off my GNU/Girlfriend!
Just as well I'm a habitual procrastinator ... I bought an APC UPS about a year ago and never got around to plugging it in! Saved by my own laziness!
Having a ton of equipment in my house, I had on occasion wondered if something like that could happen. A couple months back I had a netgear hub start acting whacky, later that day I heard a loud crack which at first I thought was a gunshot.
It turns out it was the powersupply exploding. The plastic top blew off hard enough to make a mark in the ceiling. Examaning the supply, it looks like it was a tiny chip in the adapter. Part of it was not melted so much as cauliflower looking like a silicon STD. Perhaps they were made by Innova?
This was only my second experience of something frying in all my years of computing but I do wonder what the actual rates of this type of failures.
-
-William Shatner can be neither created nor destroyed.
the returning the truck joke made my day.
Simontek
SimonTek
-- Will program for bandwidth
U Piece of Shiat after your home gets burned down
.smell my feet.
They don't have a thermal overload sensor?!? I had an old 1200VA (not APC) that was cooled by a fan. The fan only kicked in while it was on battery power or while it was charging (because it ran warmer during those periods). One night, the power went out and the fan didn't kick in. The UPS got hotter and hotter until...the thermal switch tripped and the unit shut down.
Ugh, ive put these in a few small offices around the last two years, but I recognize them more by LOOK rather then by serial #. I know Im setting myself up for a goatse, but what do these models look like?
The ultimate network admin tool needs HELP!
When I put together my current system I "invested" in a APC Back-UPS Pro 1400 to keep all my equipment running and on filtered power. I got a lot of new computer hardware at once, and the one piece that kept failing was the UPS, it would shut off randomly, drove me nuts.
They replaced it, but of all the things to fail with a new setup! I don't think I'd buy another APC
I think I *could* give it to my boss.... Because I really do miss that nifty red StreamLine stapler he stole (mumbles something).
Computer science is a grab bag of tenuously related areas thrown together by an accident of history, like Yugoslavia.
I have a CS350 on my server that's been running constantly for about a year now. Hopefully the recall is painless....
If you wanna get rich, you know that payback is a bitch
It must be late because it took me three or four reads to see its talking about the CS models. I know its in the title of the linked page, but its 1:30 AM here and my day started out at 8am with a lady who was worried because "her computer [was] broadcasting an IP address."
d =1 7
http://www.apcc.com/products/family/index.cfm?i
(PS, if you hate it when a link is not a link, get phoenix and the text link extension. Id give you the link but yea...)
The ultimate network admin tool needs HELP!
What is the shipping charge for weight of 2.1 million UPS units? Both directions...
Yikes...
In Russia, moderates might have modded this up, because it might have been funny. Everywhere else, its stupid.
Best Power publishes their pinouts and protocols, in addition to making a very nice UPS.
Their products are also bundled with power management software that works just peachily on a Linux box.
We've had a Patriot Pro in place on our production machine for a year or so now, absolutely no complaints.
black smoke...bad smell....some flames.... Shreiking secretaries running away from the source of all this combustion. You'll know them when you see them.
:) - I'm sure your new-found dedication to safety will be appreciated by all concerned.
jokes aside...me thinks you should visit the manuf. website, and learn how to read S/N/s
I'm suddenly reminded of the stories told me by my last roommate, while he was an intern testing UPS at Underwriters Laboratories.
The ones he tested always passed, but the UPSs in the next station seemed to explode daily.
Now if only I could remember the brand name....
In Russia, moderates might have modded this up, because it might have been funny. Everywhere else, its stupid. Proof that Russian jokes are therefore, universally stupid. H4X0R3D!!!
I've had the privilege of using APC products for the network used by a home business run by a relative.
Most of them have worked admirably for years.
One, however, didn't. When looking for the cause of strange computer behavior, I found the UPS half-melted, just as the article describes. I don't recall the model offhand; it had a form factor similar to the VS line, but was pitched as an "office" UPS.
Needless to say, I haven't touched that particular line since.
I've had similar things occur with multi-purpose wall warts (specified current ratings apparently aren't).
Yet another reason to keep spares handy.
Then why are you taking the time to not only read the thread, but to comment on it instead of just moving along, dick?
Ur Post Stupid
The affected units have the potential to overheat, melting the outer casing and causing a potential fire hazard.
Are you sure it's not caused by slashdot effect?
melting the outer casing I sure hope mine isn't involved in the recall...it's made of metal.
What has *science* done?!? -- Dr. Weird (ATHF)
'Was checking their press announcement and found this quote: "APC recommends that the user immediately remove the UPS unit from service by turning off all connected equipment, turning the UPS unit off, and then unplugging the unit from the electrical outlet." Umm... really, if you own a UPS and you need that information, you shouldn't own a computer, let alone an UPS.
This press release contains forward-looking statements
LMAO! What a bunch of fuckin' drones. They put that bit of boilerplate in their recall press release. Remind me to call my broker tomorrow and sell APC short.
"The affected units have the potential to overheat, melting the outer casing and causing a potential fire hazard. Yikes." and i thought my AMD was running hot! one good thing about all of this though... my room is always toasty warm on those cold winter days...
fact: microsoft > linux
I just happend to have one here at home, matching serial number and everything. Since their server seems to be also melted at the moment, what exactly is involved in shipping these back? Are the shipping charges refunded, do I go through the retailer I purchased it from? *sigh*
MGE UPS Systems
"You sunk my battleship!"
Gotta look up how to do the recall thing for 2 units here...
I guess that $20 UPS deal wasn't.
Someone set us up the bomb, so shine we are!
Oh, wait, that's the Two Hours' Earlier's Slashdot Article. Some CERN folks built a sauna in the remains of a dead Saab. One of their problems was how to heat it; this seems like it should do just fine. That's the kind of synergy you get in the open-source movement....
Bill Stewart
New Fast-Compression-only CPR http://preview.tinyurl.com/dy575ks
Consumers with affected units can identify them by the model markings on the front of the unit and by the serial numbers located on the bottom of the unit.
If the unit already is on fire and the outer casing has melted, please try to extinguish before checking the serial number. Do not try to lift burning unit to check serial number. Failure to follow these directions may lead to injury.
"I'd rather have a full bottle in front of me than a full frontal lobotomy"
Nothing tops when Apple had to recall those PowerBooks shipped with bad batteries. That model lives forever in the hearts of techs, dubbed "the hindenbook".
I suppose this incident will be forever remembered by whatever fire-related acronym for UPS is funniest. My vote is for "Unexpected Pyrotechnics Show". Hah!
Unless they are shipped directly from a factory, which is unlikely, replacement units will be first shipped to a distribution hub...then out to victims...I mean owners.
And these things are heavy! Like 15 or 20 kilos. The freight costs are no joke.
Then there is the bill for the corrective marketing....then the income drop due to bad public image...then the personal injury lawsuits...
Remember, kids...when the marketing guy wants you to scalp R & D and just get the darn thing out the door...think about this incident and tell the genius to walk a pier.
So they are recalling these units. Do we get a refund? Do we get a replacement? Do we need our recipt? And where do we send these units to?
So they are recalling them but give us no information about the recall other then the problems. Can someone clarify what we need to do?
Took some digging, I knew I'd seen it somewhere before.
u ps _on_fire
http://marina.horde.org/gallery/?g=2000-01-10--
Yes, that's a UPS on fire. The interesting part... it's still on and running. Definitely not something to spray with water!
I work for the Department of Redundancy Department.
hehehe... yeah it made me smile big. props to yo mad funnies man!
As usual slashdot provides the worst URL for the story. The URL in the story is simply the press release. This is their main site about it, has much better information about how to identify if your UPS is part of the recall... and links to a nice FAQ. Of course I'm still wondering what type of unit they will replace mine with.
My replacment APC UPS catch on fire while I was on the phone with APC tech support. My first APC UPS kept on rebooting every second week. It had a firmware bug. My last replacement (second) APC UPS has been ok. Do I trust it? Heck no.
Funny, I have a Back-UPS Office 280 that also melted like this. Apparently it blew a thermistor. At first I thought the smell was from my 30-year-old amplifier, but after some spectacular pyrotechnics and a small blackout, it became apparent that it was indeed the UPS which was sitting right behind it.
Granted, there was somewhere between 1x and 1.5x its rated capacity plugged into it, but still, a properly designed unit should either turn off or withstand such abuse.
[an error occurred while processing this directive]
All Osama and his cronies have to do now is
trick the US government into ordering thousands
of these units.
If you have apcupsd setup and the cable hooked up you can use the following command to find out your serial number:
apcaccess | grep SERIALNO
(GEEK)Crap, I'm going to lose my uptime when I take my computer (which is normally plugged in to my UPS while I transport it) to Joe's house to play starcraft(/"GEEK")
:P
This is not I lie, I knew someone that did this to come to a Net party. OMG.
6-8 weeks? Hah.. Screwed, let alone unplugging the computer. Waiting for the fire is a better solution than voluntarily losing your "year plus" of uptime.
R4NT.com - A great many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices.
Plastic
Conflagration
-B
Ash and Hickory, straight-grained and true, make excellent bludgeons, dandy for the cudgeling of vegetarians.
I imagine that their stock prices will open LOWER. No surprise, this is one of the poorest performing tech stocks, even in the heady dot-bubble days. LMFAO!
The biggest trick the devil pulled was letting lawyers become politicians so they can write the laws.
I have had a PS burn out... nothing spectacular, just a quick crackle, a puff of smoke, and that was the end of it.
I found myself the proud owner of one dead Fortron Source 550W power supply (almost brand new, only 250W of load on it when it burned out). I know that company makes tons of PS units, and as far as I know, they are generally considered OK hardware... my luck to get the bad one.
I typically only buy known, good, brand-name stuff, and my thinking at the time was that an oversized power supply would last longer under the same load conditions... Yeah, well... maybe not.
I don't own one of those defective UPS's; out of sheer dumb luck I dodged that bullet and bought a Belkin unit instead (the guts of it could be APC for all I know). Heh... maybe I'd better go look.
Even if a man chops off your hand with a sword, you still have two nice, sharp bones to stick in his eyes.
says it all really...
I just bought a new BK500 on ebay, and it arrived yesterday. I spent a good part of today reorganizing my cables and installing and 'figging nut . Now I find out the damned thing has been recalled. I swear, if it weren't for bad luck, I wouldn't have any luck at all.
8 cases of fire reported, 2.1 million UPSes being recalled, 1.2 million outside US. It is nice to see that they are recalling UPSes even outside the US where the chances of them getting sued are much lower.
.ACMD setaloiv siht gnidaeR
I just bought one 5 days ago. :(
# make clean sig
Sage advice, in that order. Ours caught fire (green flame, pink smoke...very trippy), and since the flames were shooting out the sides I couldn't reach the power switch in the back. So, in the heat of panic, I unplugged it. NEVER UNPLUG a burning, charged UPS. It makes it MORE unstable. Long story short, I managed to switch it off, but it was pretty hair raising. Company didn't seem too surprised when I called them about it...
SO using the serial nos printed on them is it possible to identify whether it falls in the defective batch or not ?
Chris ,
Php Programmers.
The wiring in the house I was in at the time WAS flaky, but the UPS didn't handle this one surge well at all.
:/
:)
I looked down and saw a flame inside the case
I think it went out itself, but it still freaked me out.
I called them up and they asked a few questions and just sent me another one (I believe new). For that, I kept buying their UPS's (though I don't seem to have any black ones now (whew)).
I had another one go titsup after my cats knocked the hub off a bookshelf and it landed on it (grrr), and they sent me a refurb.
Say what you will, I still like the company
Just checked the CS 500 under my desk and sure enough mine is one of the ones in the recall.
Here's the more detailed page with instructions to finding out if your's is one of them.
And the recall instructions I got once I registered my UPS.
Looks like all they are doing is replacing the "dangerous" unit with a "safe" unit of the same model, as they ask you to remove the battery from the recall unit and reuse it in the replacement unit.
I was kinda hoping to get a fresh battery with this recall. But then this does save them a hell lot in shipping considering how heavy the batteries are. With 2.1 million unit, every ounce saved amounts to quite a bit of money.
Hopefully I get a replacement soon, power at my apartment sucks.
So how many has any of these UPSes? I know me and my friend have (probably, hasnt checked my serial yet but its very probably one of them). That's 2 ;).
At least they try to keep power uninterrupted even during minor nuissances like heat development.. Isn't that what we expect from a REALLY uninterruptable power supply?
Two ADM trojans, and now this...
Here is a link to the signaling daemon which is completely open source, works with all their serial APCs and has bee out since october of 1999. http://www.apc.com/tools/download/software_comp.cf m?sw_sku=SDW32&os_list=Linux
Fun stuff. luckly my unit hasn't melted YET.
Ubuntu- Linux for human beings.
One problem a UPS has that a power supply doesn't have is the battery will continnue to dump energy into whatever is getting hot.
I bet whoever at APC designed this has a severe pucker factor right now. Their butt has puckered up and gripped the seat cushion. Yessir.
Wansu, th' chinese sailor
Wait exactly two weeks, then hit our power plants.
Thanks, APC.
Let me guess, APC is also making the batteries for Dell laptops bound for South Africa.
--
"Outlook not so good." That magic 8-ball knows everything! I'll ask about Exchange Server next.
After going YEARS without a PS failure, I have seen 3 in the past year or so , and with units that are about a year or so old.
My older power supplies just keep chugging along. What a waste too. Is there an easy way to replace blown capacitors?
Having run hundreds of these APC units in our offices and several in my home for the last 4 years, I can guarantee that this is a temporary problem.
They must have cut some corners with thesee models, but my older units bought before the recall period are still doing fine.
Dell has been a reseller of the APC Back-UPS CS 500 as an optional accessory when buying Dell computers. The one that came with my Dell Dimension 4100 has the recall serial number on it.
The primary page for the recall is http://www.apcc.com/rely/.
The main page includes a link to perform online registration for the recall instead of waiting on hold via phone. The link is similar to the URL given in the story but without the "pressrel.cfm" at the end for going to the press release. In fact, the main page includes a link to the press release but the PR does not include a link directly to the recall main page.
JACK (V.O.)
I'm a recall coordinator. My job is
to apply the formula. It's a story
problem.
TECHNICIAN #1
Here's where the infant went through
the windshield. Three points.
JACK (V.O.)
A new car built by my company leaves
somewhere traveling at 60 miles per
hour. The rear differential locks up.
TECHNICIAN #2
The teenager's braces around the
backseat ashtray would make a good
"anti-smoking" ad.
JACK (V.O.)
The car crashes and burns with
everyone trapped inside. Now: do we
initiate a recall?
TECHNICIAN #1
The father must've been huge. See
how the fat burnt into the driver's
seat with his polyester shirt? Very
"modern art."
JACK (V.O.)
Take the number of vehicles in the
field, (A), and multiply it by the
probable rate of failure, (B), then
multiply the result by the average
out-of-court settlement, (C). A
times B times C equals X...
CUT TO:
INT. AIRPLANE CABIN - MOVING DOWN RUNWAY
Jack is speaking to the BUSINESSWOMAN next to him.
JACK
If X is less than the cost of a
recall, we don't do one.
BUSISNESS WOMAN
Are there a lot of these kinds of
accidents?
JACK
Oh, you wouldn't believe.
So if I'm relying on my UPS to provide uninterruptible power, I can't very well send it to be replaced until I get another one. And if I'm unfortunate enough to have a lot of equipment running off many of these things, then I have a logistical nightmare. I wonder if Rent-a-Center does UPSs...
The SmartUPS 1400's we use at my office have been rock-solid - I guess they cut corners with their Home/Small Office lines.
Kernel request:
could you insert the following line in mod_ACPI: "UPS on fire"
thx in advance
The best weapon of a dictatorship is secrecy, but the best weapon of a democracy should be the weapon of openness.
We have found 26 of these recalled units at our facilites so far. Many thanks to the person who submitted this article and the editor who posted it!
sPh
Damn, my BackUPS 500 CS was keeping my feet so nice and warm this winter, too...almost worth the risk of fire.
SPAM
I got my replacement order in this morning. Their system wasn't recognizing my serial numbers as valid though. Right model number, right range of serial numbers. So their customer service guy just did a manual entry and voila, new ones shall arrive next week.
What really scared me when I first read this is that we just bought 35 new UPS's from APC last month to install next week. Fortunately they are different models. However, from what I've read hear that may not necessarily make a difference.
Even if one of our new UPS's does melt, everyone will just think it is some dumbass burning popcorn in the microwave again (which happens several times a week in the six months I've been here). You would think they would realize they have to either pop it for less time or watch the stupid thing for 3 freakin' minutes.
Im'm Brian Fellows! I make UPS'es for APC!
Just to add to the list of horror stories that are piling up here:
The Great UPS Fire of Fitch
This happened when I was back in college. It wasn't my UPS (heck, it wasn't even my dorm), but I knew several of the people involved. Now, whenever I smell something funny around my computer, I'm always careful to check it out. Nothing like a lead-acid battery fire to really ruin your day...
I work in an industry that specifies standard uptime as 5-9's reliability. Its jargon for equipment that must be in operation without fault 24x7 99.999% of the time.
Ive found that APC leans more towards 2- 5's.
Ok that's a bit harsh, and I am something of a UPS snob (Love my Lieberts) but good god, these things have failed regularly for years and apparently in spite of the AOL like marketing plan success, they still haven't addressed the core issues of the quality of the product.
These models are part of the redesigned-for-costcutting versions. I've got an older version where the outlets on the back are standard off-the-shelf parts.
This version (which I had to fix at my company) uses one molded plastic piece in the back for all the outlet holes (as opposed to one piece of plastic per outlet on ole' reliable). Essentially, they made their own outlets. That was our problem; the metal didn't grip the plugs nearly hard enough, so just a slight jiggle to the plug and the computer would turn off. Not too uninterruptable. Of course, we found out the hard way.
So, I opened up my unit and took a flat-blade screwdriver (note to anyone that tries this - unplug it and remove the battery for cripes sake!) and put a little more tension on the plug-grippers. We'll see if I have to do that to the replacement unit, too...
Anyone else had this problem?
HIV Crosses Species Barrier... into Muppets
Can anyone recommend a decent brand (cheap) that will just handle flickers in power? I live at the the end of the power line out in the country so I get lots of 1 to 5 second power losses. Except when we get ice storms or tornados - then we don't have power for a week.
I consider this pretty responsible on thier part. I mean 8 out of a couple million over a two year span... thats a pretty low failure rate as far as I'm concerned. Compare this to say the fujitsu http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/archive/27136 .html hard drive fiasco and I'll buy APC again. Of course the fujitsu drive didn't pose a fire hazard but look at how hard they tried to dodge responsibility.
Of the 8 reported 3 have cause minor property damage. Without seeing pictures this could mean something like "it left a dark spot on my desk" I'm giving the benefit of the doubt here that "minor property damage" doesn't mean "the second floor of my building burned down".
In all seriousness, I just checked my serial number against the ranges affected and found that I have one of them. drat! now I have to bother with calling them and figuring out how they're handling an exchange or whatever.
I guess buying my ups from a friend for $20 was not such a good deal after all. It could have cost me my other computer hardware! Ouch! Thanks for the heads up on the recall.
The recall is isolated to the BK325I, BK325-RS, BK350, BK350EI, BK350-AZ, BK350-FR, BK350-GR, BK350-IT, BK350-UK, BK350JP, BK350IX218, BK475I, BK475-RS, BK500, BK500EI, BK500-AZ, BK500-BR, BK500-FR, BK500-GR, BK500-IT, BK500-UK, BK500BLK, BK500JP, and BK500TW product models.
Oh, is that it? Well, good, at least it's isolated to only those 24 models.
(I know... i know... they're only a bunch of variations of three different models, but that's not as funny)
Casual Games/Downloads
http://images.slashdot.org/banner/alin0050en.gif
Withdrawal before climax is very ineffective and those who try this are usually called "parents."
Not sure if it was an APC (though that sounds familiar). But my wife had a problem at work a couple years ago.
Seems some fool programmer had plugged everything on his desk into the UPS - including a couple heating appliances (coffee maker and such). The unit began emitting acrid smoke and shut down.
She unplugged it and took it outside. He brought it back in. It wasn't plugged in, but the smoke kept getting worse. Obviously it was in the process of catching fire. (Since she and the programmer weren't in the same command chain she went and got somebody who ranked him in his own hierarchy to get the box outside before the building went up.)
A UPS SHOULD handle overloads by shutting down gracefully. And a UL approval rating SHOULD mean that the UL lab checked this model for this functionallity (or at least checked that it won't emit toxic gas or liquids, flame, or superheated gas, or high-velocity debris as a result of excessive load {let alone from being penetrated by a postal worker's bullet or a lifttruck's fork}.
Did this model have a UL rating? Did UL screw up, or did APC change some element of the design (or have some defective component or manufacturing error)?
Bantam Dominique roosters crow a four-note song. Once you've heard it as "Happy BIRTHday" you can't NOT hear it that way
I hate it when a company doesn't own up to their mistakes. It will cost them but I will buy from APC again because of this.
At an old job, we had a similar issue with Belkin power supplies. When plugging the first UPS in, it went up in smoke right away. We returned it, and got a second which demonstrated a similar smokeshow.
With any power source or backup, it may be an idea to plug it in first... without attaching devices, in case a resulting short takes out your computers. That being said... I wonder if the warrantees on these surge bar's and UPS's are worth their weight.
Dang... I own an APC... *frown* Guess I'll be checking mine to see if it is a disaster waiting to happen..
Save my computer, but burn my home down?
Maybe we'll starting seeing more aluminum housings or even steel housings to help dissapate heat.
Winged Power Photography
Whenever I look at a UPS I see the "worst fire hazard in the house". I buy and use them anyway.
The closest we came was a [non APC] model that we discovered smoking in our household "server room" one evening. Was very hot and producing lots of that bad burning electronics smell. Its replacement went into a metal tray.
If you are super concerned about fire hazards in your home, honestly, I suggest you skip the UPS. Or else put it in something that would contain it if it started to melt/smoke/burn. Co-lo is good.
-joseph
Just because a device is NRTL (e.g., UL) "listed", does not mean that that the NRTL actually tested it...
UL listing or recognition can indicate one of these:
1. the device's technical/construction details and product safety test data were submitted to UL by the mfr (COMPASS).
2. Certain tests were witnessed by a UL representative at the mfr's site (CTDP), where construction and test data are verified.
3. An example unit was submitted to UL for test and evaluation, along with construction details.
Conditions of Acceptability, and usage limitations of any UL listed (and many recognized)devices can be found on UL's website (http://database.ul.com/).
In any case, UL is supposed to visit the factory at least once per quarter to verify the the device is being built according to submitted construction details.
A few months ago, an APC UPS cost me everything I own in a huge blaze that almost destroyed my whole neighborhood. The fire fighters were able to pinpoint the starting point to my office/desk area and concluded the UPS as a possible ignition source. There was no load on the UPS at the time but it was plugged in with the inverter inside running. Its burning feeble plastic case ignited nearby paperwork and the rest was history. Gone were my home, all my possisions, years of art and software design. Most importantly was my beloved Great Dane Dirk whom I will never forget. I am still paying his medical bills on the attempts to save him. I hope the idiots that saved a few dollars by using a flammable plastic case instead of sheet metal will be made to pay for the losses of me and others. I am in Talent Oregon.
A few months ago in that very same office one of the UPS's begin emitting a high pitched whistle from within (described as a 'tea kettle' sound), likely very hot gases escaping.
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I'm glad this came out on Slashdot: I never would have known otherwise. I have one of the afflicted units, and I'd rather not have a melted puddle of lead-acid powered backup get lose near my PC. A funny side note: I also found my serial number on my Quality Assurance Test receipt. Some quality assurance, I guess.
Thanks for the link, it answered my questions. Thet send you the info on how to replace the unit etc.
Say what you like but I own two different APC units that have functioned perfectly over the years. If you ask me APC's UPSs are in general very reliable.
ups on fire!
Did the hamster's name rhyme with 'weasel'?
All my previous sigs now look like this one, I wish they were permanetly recorded when used.