jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

A few months ago, the electricity flickered on an off several times in succession. I think that's what led to the premature death of my TV. Along with a new TV, I bought a battery backup for it. The TV uses substantial current even when it's off because it turns on in less than two seconds, so if I know I won't be watching it for a long time, I turn off the APC UPS.

Here's the odd part. The UPS is plugged into an outlet controlled by a wall switch. When I push the power button on the UPS, nothing happens. I have to turn off the wall switch and then turn it back on for the UPS to come to life. What's going on?

bamfordr Loc: Campbell CA

One thought. Some of our UPSs are configured to NOT turn on automatically after a power failure. Prevents something coming back on that I don’t necessarily want to come back on. I’m not sure how it would apply with cycling the switch, but check your configuration options?

47greyfox Loc: on the edge of the Colorado front range

I would try a normal outlet and see if the ups exhibits the same behavior.

Ourspolair

Normal operation of a UPS is to keep it permanently connected to the supply so that the batteries remain in a fully charged condition... You have the option to switch the UPS output off from the UPS itself.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Thanks for that.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Interesting.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

With a normal outlet, I can turn it on and off. With the wall switch on but nothing being used, it's like the UPS doesn't see the power available.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

I think one thing that’s important to remember is that consumer grade UPS’ like the APC are not supplying power to the load from the battery powered inverter except when the line power fails. The remainder of the time, when a load (in your case the TV) is plugged into the UPS, the power is being supplied directly from the AC line. The only protection that is provided unless the power fails is the usual amount of power spike protection by the internal MOVs that you get with any surge suppressor. The point being, there is no reason to turn it off when the power is good - it needs to be on constantly to keep the battery charged. While these consumer grade UPSs are good to give you time to shut down your computer gracefully in a power failure or keeping your modem from rebooting during short power outages, they are no more useful than a surge protector for protecting your TV.

Another thing to keep in mind is to remember that the battery and the MOVs have a finite life of just a few years. The battery can be changed by opening the case, but the MOVs are soldered in.

If the inverter is on (and battery charged), when the power is turned off or fails, the UPS should beep and change over to the inverter powered by the battery. APC inverters then have the annoying habit of beeping every minute until either the power is restored or the internal battery dies. One good way to test you UPS is to plug in a known load, such as a 60 (or 75 or 100 or...) watt conventional incandescent lightbulb (NOT an LED or CFL), unplug or turn off the power and see how long it runs before the light goes out.

LWW Loc: Banana Republic of America

If it is turned OFF via the wall switch I concur.

If it is turned off via the onboard switch I’m kind of lost.

LWW Loc: Banana Republic of America

All true.

I only use a UPS on the desktop Mac.

On AV stuff I use a power conditioner which is not only a surge protector also protects your electronics from regular current fluctuations which can shorten their lifespan.

Country Boy Loc: Beckley, WV

Apart from your UPS question, have you figured why your power was going off and on? May not be your condition but I had that problem and found that the main power or ground wires in the fuse box needed to be tightened. With aluminum wire, they have a trend to loosen over time. The electrician just put a large screwdriver on each wire and firmed them up and the problem was gone. He suggested that they really should be firmed up every 10 to 15 years. Just a thought!

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

I would just add not to try this without removing the meter base so there is no power to the main panel!. The power transformer (pole pig) feeding your house can deliver huge amounts of power (hundreds of amps at hundreds of volts) into a short if the screwdriver slips while you are putting torque on the main lugs, and the results can be VERY dramatic and unpleasant. Best leave this to a pro.

LWW Loc: Banana Republic of America

As an Appalachian myself, I mean no disrespect in saying that’s some hillbilly engineering advice you received that you will seldom get up north.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

I’m not sure it’s bad advice to occasionally have the main lugs tightened - even connectors designed for AL wire can loosen over time from the expansion/contraction of the wire, and many drops and runs from the meter base to the main panel are aluminum. The real danger in most cases isn’t a dead short, which will typically blow the breaker (or fuse), it’s the loose connection that causes an arc (and heat). I’m just advocating tightening terminals with all power off. Can’t be too careful with electricity - many times you don’t get but one mistake! I have great respect for the amount of energy your local power transformer can deliver into a fault.

taylorzacre Loc: Cypress, TX

I am a retired electrician. The half of the outlet you have the ups plugged into is switched the other is not. Plug the ups into the other half of the outlet and your problem should be solved.