Question 1

So recently I had a power outage and this did not work...How do I know if the battery is charged in there and working properly without turning the breaker on and off and hurting my computer?

Accepted Answer

There are several reasons why this may not have worked.  Here are the reasons from most likely to least likely:

(1) The unit has two different types of outlets on it.  BATTERY (UPS) outlets and SURGE PROTECTION outlets.  When the AC power goes out, only devices plugged into the BATTERY outlets keep working.  The others will immediately shut off.  Check very carefully what outlets you have things plugged into.  If you look closely the outlets are labelled.

(2) The unit has a maximum power rating.  This is the maximum power that the unit will deliver when your AC power goes out.  If you overload the unit, when the power goes out the unit will simply turn off.  You should only have your PC and monitor plugged in to the BATTERY outlets.  Everything else should be plugged into the SURGE PROTECTION outlets.

(3) The unit's internal battery degrades over time - just like your car battery.  If the unit is more than three years old, the internal battery may need to be replaced.  Newegg generally sells the replacement batteries, which you can find using the UPS model number.

(4) When setting up the unit initially, you need to connect the internal battery correctly.  If you did not correctly connect the battery, it may not work when the power goes out.  It is also possible that the connections have become loosened.  There should be an error indicator of some type if the battery is not correctly installed.

(5) The unit may be defective.  This is the least likely possibility.

Question 2

Is there a battery in this tiem that could run low and need to be changed?

Accepted Answer

UPC's  have  battery. Typically gel acid,  similar to  car batteries.  Battery  is  kept constantly charged.  During  power  interruption  battery  supplies 120Vac   to  the  computer for  some  time,  typically  several  minutes, depending on  the  power demand  -  look into  manual.  Charging,  recharging  is  done  automatically  under  electronics system  control.  No   action  from  the  user is needed.  After  couple of years,  depends,   battery gets  old  end requires  replacement  -- look into  manual.  Batteries are easily available  -  Newark,  Digi Key,  Mouser  etc  etc.  Size   has to  be  specified  --   matching  any given  UPS  type.

Question 3

Will this work with mac computers?

Accepted Answer

Yes, it works with my Macs. But the extra software and monitoring apps are not mac compatible. But, for me that does not matter. All that I use it for is so my computers and drives will not be hurt by an instant crash or surge of power. Be careful to use the BATTERY inputs. and not to put too much  equipment into it. - do not go over the stated capacity.

Question 4

Does this automatically  power off (shutdown) connected PC 
device?

Accepted Answer

No, device shutdown is dependent on the device being connected via a USB cable to the UPS.  If the device is connected and the software on the connected device detects that a power event has occurred the device itself should shutdown.   The only "automatic shutdown" is when the battery runs out of power during a power outage event.

Question 5

I want to replace my old APC BACK-UP UPS ES 550 with a 650VA.

The old 550 had a labeled data port which had the ethenet cable plugged in. Is there a port for this cable on the 650?

The cable goes to the modem.

Accepted Answer

I don't personally use it, but the technical specifications say:

=> Data Line Protection:  RJ-45 Ethernet

This is what you have in your current unit.

Question 6

In the overview and in the specs this does NOT show coaxial protection  
but in the comparison chart it DOES. Which one is right???

Accepted Answer

The documentation is outdated.  There is no coaxial protection in this unit.  Also most CATV providers will request that you do not use a surge protector in line anyway.

Question 7

what is the difference between the 550 VA and the 650 VA. I need to know which to use for backing up office server?
Thanks

Accepted Answer

I can't tell you any differences other than what you could read about them yourself. We use the 650 for backing up our individual computors. We use a larger, more expensive one for backing up our server.

Question 8

will this condition voltage between my emergency generator and my router and modem and cable tv digital box?

Accepted Answer

Sort of.  By technical definition this is NOT a line conditioner.  It is however a surge protector/arrester, as well as a battery fail-over device (in the event of a power failure the unit has a really fast response to switch over to battery and stay on battery till a stable AC source returns or the battery dies.) 
A line conditioner smooths and refines an unclean sine wave (AC voltage wave) coming in from the local power company or generator.  If this is what you need as well as a battery backup look for a "True sine wave UPS"  they are usually far more expensive.

Question 9

stand by time?

Accepted Answer

Depends on the load. One pc will get about 90 minutes.

Question 10

Does this have provision for wall hanging?

Accepted Answer

It does have slots for screw heads, but no mounting hardware is included.

Questions & Answers