APC Back-UPS 550 Finally Giving Scream of Death After 7 Years

This is the place to discuss the latest computer hardware issues and technology. Please keep the discussion ON TOPIC!
Post Reply
User avatar
Apoptosis
Site Admin
Site Admin
Posts: 33941
Joined: Sun Oct 05, 2003 8:45 pm
Location: St. Louis, Missouri
Contact:

APC Back-UPS 550 Finally Giving Scream of Death After 7 Years

Post by Apoptosis »

Anyone bought a UPS lately?

I have an APC Back-UPS 550 that I bought roughly 7 years ago that has a failing battery (came home today to the alarm sounding). I don't feel like sinking ~$50 into it for a battery as I only paid about $80 for it new. I see the new UPS models have "Pure Sinewave" technology and all that. Anyone have any advice on that front?
Find us on Facebook to discover the faces behind the names!
Follow Me on Twitter!
User avatar
camaroguy1998
Legit Extremist
Legit Extremist
Posts: 1899
Joined: Sun Jan 07, 2007 5:24 pm
Location: St. Charles, Mo.

Re: APC Back-UPS 550 Finally Giving Scream of Death After 7 Years

Post by camaroguy1998 »

Stick with APC!

I've had 2 CyberPower and both failed at about 3 to 3 1/2yrs old!
I now have 2 APC 650's, both still working!
One is like yours, about 7yrs old, the other is closer to 4 or 5!
I'll never buy another CyberPower!
ASUS AM4 TUF Gaming X570-Plus (Wi-Fi)
AMD 3400G - 32G GSkill RipJaw V - {Win10} Pro 64bit, Win11 Update
Corsair H100i RGB PRO XT 240mm AIO Cooler
Corsair RM750X PSU - Corsair Force MP600 M.2 2280 1TB SSD
ASUS 27" LED LCD monitor - Lepai 2x20W Amp - Dayton B652 Spkrs

Corsair 4000D Airflow
User avatar
KnightRid
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 4295
Joined: Wed Dec 14, 2005 5:21 am
Location: Dallastown, PA

Re: APC Back-UPS 550 Finally Giving Scream of Death After 7 Years

Post by KnightRid »

Yea I would recommend APC also as the others I have used all failed soon after warranty.

My APC's have been so good taht this is my 3rd battery replacement for them and they are still chugging along! Mine are 1500va units though so replacing batteries is normally a lot cheaper than buying a new unit.

I got mine from - https://www.techbatterysolutions.com/ - at a great price (well like 3 years ago now) so maybe you can get lucky and find some low cost batteries.

Best Buy has a 650va for $64.99 - https://www.bestbuy.com/site/apc-back-u ... Id=4984103
Remember, I am opinionated and nothing I say or do reflects on anyone or anything else but me :finga:
User avatar
Apoptosis
Site Admin
Site Admin
Posts: 33941
Joined: Sun Oct 05, 2003 8:45 pm
Location: St. Louis, Missouri
Contact:

Re: APC Back-UPS 550 Finally Giving Scream of Death After 7 Years

Post by Apoptosis »

Wow, those are pretty good prices at Best Buy for the 650VA. Amazon wants $74 and Walmart wants $72.

techbatterysolutions.com Wants $31 shipped for a new battery... So, $31 to put a new battery in or ~$70 after tax to buy a new model... ugh
Find us on Facebook to discover the faces behind the names!
Follow Me on Twitter!
User avatar
camaroguy1998
Legit Extremist
Legit Extremist
Posts: 1899
Joined: Sun Jan 07, 2007 5:24 pm
Location: St. Charles, Mo.

Re: APC Back-UPS 550 Finally Giving Scream of Death After 7 Years

Post by camaroguy1998 »

Apoptosis wrote:Wow, those are pretty good prices at Best Buy for the 650VA. Amazon wants $74 and Walmart wants $72.

techbatterysolutions.com Wants $31 shipped for a new battery... So, $31 to put a new battery in or ~$70 after tax to buy a new model... ugh
$31 for a new Battery, you can do that twice and still save a couple bucks!
I'd say that equals another 10-15yrs up time!
ASUS AM4 TUF Gaming X570-Plus (Wi-Fi)
AMD 3400G - 32G GSkill RipJaw V - {Win10} Pro 64bit, Win11 Update
Corsair H100i RGB PRO XT 240mm AIO Cooler
Corsair RM750X PSU - Corsair Force MP600 M.2 2280 1TB SSD
ASUS 27" LED LCD monitor - Lepai 2x20W Amp - Dayton B652 Spkrs

Corsair 4000D Airflow
User avatar
KnightRid
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 4295
Joined: Wed Dec 14, 2005 5:21 am
Location: Dallastown, PA

Re: APC Back-UPS 550 Finally Giving Scream of Death After 7 Years

Post by KnightRid »

Pure sinewave would be nice and might help out in certain situations but I think I would at least replace the batteries once before chucking it and getting a new one....but thats just my cheap ass self lol

Weird typing on my laptop.
Remember, I am opinionated and nothing I say or do reflects on anyone or anything else but me :finga:
User avatar
Apoptosis
Site Admin
Site Admin
Posts: 33941
Joined: Sun Oct 05, 2003 8:45 pm
Location: St. Louis, Missouri
Contact:

Re: APC Back-UPS 550 Finally Giving Scream of Death After 7 Years

Post by Apoptosis »

Talked with APC a bit and they are game for sending some models out for review.

Thinking about going with the BR1500MS for the office as it has some nice features like SineWave and USB Type-C charge ports. It's 900W and runs just under $190 on Amazon.

Then I'm also going to ask for BE600M1 as I think that would be ideal for your networking area of the home. You can hook up the cable modem, wireless router, security camera system and other home networking devices. that one is 330W and only $57 shipped on Amazon.

So, one UPS for the networking area of the home and then the other for where the PC, printer and other devices are.
Find us on Facebook to discover the faces behind the names!
Follow Me on Twitter!
User avatar
bubba
Staff Writer
Staff Writer
Posts: 4765
Joined: Sun May 01, 2005 10:24 am
Location: STL

Re: APC Back-UPS 550 Finally Giving Scream of Death After 7 Years

Post by bubba »

never put a laser printer on a UPS.

inkjet printers are fine, but laser printers pull to hard to fast.
"The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not."
-Thomas Jefferson
User avatar
camaroguy1998
Legit Extremist
Legit Extremist
Posts: 1899
Joined: Sun Jan 07, 2007 5:24 pm
Location: St. Charles, Mo.

Re: APC Back-UPS 550 Finally Giving Scream of Death After 7 Years

Post by camaroguy1998 »

Apoptosis wrote:Talked with APC a bit and they are game for sending some models out for review.

Thinking about going with the BR1500MS for the office as it has some nice features like SineWave and USB Type-C charge ports. It's 900W and runs just under $190 on Amazon.

Then I'm also going to ask for BE600M1 as I think that would be ideal for your networking area of the home. You can hook up the cable modem, wireless router, security camera system and other home networking devices. that one is 330W and only $57 shipped on Amazon.

So, one UPS for the networking area of the home and then the other for where the PC, printer and other devices are.
Must be nice to have connections in the review world! :mrgreen:
The BR1500MS looks impressive! :drool:
I like the idea of being able to disable the alarm during certain hours of the day!
Wake up in the middle of the night hearing that alarm and imagine what happens next!
Jealous but, still can't justify $190! Thats 3 times what I paid for mine! Thats me being a cheapskate!

Looking forward to those reviews!
ASUS AM4 TUF Gaming X570-Plus (Wi-Fi)
AMD 3400G - 32G GSkill RipJaw V - {Win10} Pro 64bit, Win11 Update
Corsair H100i RGB PRO XT 240mm AIO Cooler
Corsair RM750X PSU - Corsair Force MP600 M.2 2280 1TB SSD
ASUS 27" LED LCD monitor - Lepai 2x20W Amp - Dayton B652 Spkrs

Corsair 4000D Airflow
User avatar
KnightRid
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 4295
Joined: Wed Dec 14, 2005 5:21 am
Location: Dallastown, PA

Re: APC Back-UPS 550 Finally Giving Scream of Death After 7 Years

Post by KnightRid »

Had to get direct injection in my neck yesterday so missed this.

Just make sure they have enough battery supplied outlets for the devices you want to put on them. This is the main problem I have found with cell phones, tablets, etc becoming so popular and even though they are low draw on battery backups, most backup units do not supply enough plugins (on battery, they do supply some on surge only) to keep your devices in and on during an outage.

Maybe they have usb battery supplied ports now a days?
Remember, I am opinionated and nothing I say or do reflects on anyone or anything else but me :finga:
User avatar
Apoptosis
Site Admin
Site Admin
Posts: 33941
Joined: Sun Oct 05, 2003 8:45 pm
Location: St. Louis, Missouri
Contact:

Re: APC Back-UPS 550 Finally Giving Scream of Death After 7 Years

Post by Apoptosis »

They still haven't shipped anything... LOL

Waiting!
Find us on Facebook to discover the faces behind the names!
Follow Me on Twitter!
User avatar
camaroguy1998
Legit Extremist
Legit Extremist
Posts: 1899
Joined: Sun Jan 07, 2007 5:24 pm
Location: St. Charles, Mo.

Re: APC Back-UPS 550 Finally Giving Scream of Death After 7 Years

Post by camaroguy1998 »

Apoptosis wrote:They still haven't shipped anything... LOL

Waiting!
We're all waiting, well at least I am!
ASUS AM4 TUF Gaming X570-Plus (Wi-Fi)
AMD 3400G - 32G GSkill RipJaw V - {Win10} Pro 64bit, Win11 Update
Corsair H100i RGB PRO XT 240mm AIO Cooler
Corsair RM750X PSU - Corsair Force MP600 M.2 2280 1TB SSD
ASUS 27" LED LCD monitor - Lepai 2x20W Amp - Dayton B652 Spkrs

Corsair 4000D Airflow
User avatar
sbohdan
Legit Extremist
Legit Extremist
Posts: 1306
Joined: Sun Jul 17, 2005 9:33 am
Location: Canada
Contact:

Re: APC Back-UPS 550 Finally Giving Scream of Death After 7 Years

Post by sbohdan »

I would try e-bay first. Look for an aftermarket battery from china. They are usualy pretty good and cost fraction of the price with shipping incl.
Main rig: NZXT Phantom modded case with Danger Den WC, Gigabyte B550 Aorus Elite, Ryzen 5800X @ stock, 32GB Patriot Viper DDR4 3200Mhz 16-18-18-36-1T, AMD RX 5700XT + AlphaCool WC, ACER Nitro XV2 27", SP 1TB nvme PCiE GEN3, Samsung 2TB; Cooler Master MW Gold 650W, Win10 Pro 64
my complete GFX tuneup & cooling mod: http://forums.legitreviews.com/viewtopi ... highlight=
User avatar
Apoptosis
Site Admin
Site Admin
Posts: 33941
Joined: Sun Oct 05, 2003 8:45 pm
Location: St. Louis, Missouri
Contact:

Re: APC Back-UPS 550 Finally Giving Scream of Death After 7 Years

Post by Apoptosis »

sbohdan wrote:I would try e-bay first. Look for an aftermarket battery from china. They are usualy pretty good and cost fraction of the price with shipping incl.
Half the batteries on e-bay/amazon are fakes from china or just using crap components. Reading the reviews is scary.
bar-codes.jpg
fake-batteries.jpg
The good news is that I got the new APC units in this past week and will have a review up on one hopefully tomorrow. Big changes in specs from the 2008 model to the 2016 model. After looking into the specifications closer it's worth spending ~$20 on a new model.
Find us on Facebook to discover the faces behind the names!
Follow Me on Twitter!
User avatar
sbohdan
Legit Extremist
Legit Extremist
Posts: 1306
Joined: Sun Jul 17, 2005 9:33 am
Location: Canada
Contact:

Re: APC Back-UPS 550 Finally Giving Scream of Death After 7 Years

Post by sbohdan »

Yes, I know lots of fakes. There is a chinese saying: "If you can con them, do it". This is theft. I always said thiefs should be hanged like they used to. Anyway, I always buy it on e-bay, look at ratings first, read reviews and if there is still a problem, than there is e-bay's money back garantie.
Main rig: NZXT Phantom modded case with Danger Den WC, Gigabyte B550 Aorus Elite, Ryzen 5800X @ stock, 32GB Patriot Viper DDR4 3200Mhz 16-18-18-36-1T, AMD RX 5700XT + AlphaCool WC, ACER Nitro XV2 27", SP 1TB nvme PCiE GEN3, Samsung 2TB; Cooler Master MW Gold 650W, Win10 Pro 64
my complete GFX tuneup & cooling mod: http://forums.legitreviews.com/viewtopi ... highlight=
Post Reply