Am I doing something Wrong?

Hello to all,
As some know I just installed a UPS on my system, an APC 550 Watt unit. I've noticed having it three days, that when I turn the UPS on it it blinks. On looking on the APC software log it shows that there were three events where the battery was turned on for 10 seconds due to line noise. These events seem to occur when I turned it on the first three times. For clarity I have a Surge Supressor strip feeding all the other devices plugged into the surge protected only outlet on the UPS and it does not turn off when the it is powered down. I shut it down at night and when the box is off and the monitor show it's off, then I turn the UPS off.
Am I doing something wrong? I also noted that the UPS reached originally a runtime of 26 minutes on a full charge. Now it only goes to 14 minutes power with the battery fully charged. What might be causing this.
Thanks from the ignorant side.
glennc

Hello pparks1,
Thanks for your participation. I see your point on the use of the UPS. Is it strange to at least coincidentally occurring with power up? In reference to the runtime difference, the original 26 minutes was with the monitor and box, same as now. It just changed to 14 minutes and I am interested in why.
Have any ideas?
glennc

Fumz said:

glennc said:

...I just installed a UPS on my system, an APC 550 Watt unit... For clarity I have a Surge Supressor strip feeding all the other devices plugged into the surge protected only outlet on the UPS and it does not turn off when the it is powered down. I shut it down at night and when the box is off and the monitor show it's off, then I turn the UPS off.
Am I doing something wrong? I also noted that the UPS reached originally a runtime of 26 minutes on a full charge. Now it only goes to 14 minutes power...

Are you saying you're using two surge protectors: one in addition to the surge protection provided by the UPS? If so, don't.

Second, don't turn the UPS off at night: allow it to fully recharge, which can take some time if you're house is subject to a lot of brown outs, which may be the case given what you're reporting.

26 minutes is a long time. I'm not sure, given your machine, that that's a realistic expectation. Neither is 14 minutes really. The unit isn't all that big, and it's not storing a whole lot of power. It's really there so you can close out your work and safely turn the machine off given a black out.

Hello Fumz,
Thanks for replying to my plight. As a novice with UPS and surge protectors, what little I know is that the UPS Joule rating is way lower than the surge protector I have coming of it. Would that add up, I easily may be missing something important.
I agree about the times, I was just wondering how the UPS determines the value that it displays and how it changed so drastically. I have it set to shutdown after 2 minutes.
Lastly I thought I read that the UPS was charging even when off. I will try to figure out the manual. So leaving it on and just powering down the attached devices is o.k.?
glennc

Petey7 said:

When it comes to any kind of surge protector/power strip, you should never have one plugged into another. All kinds of problems can occur. I thought that it would charge even when turned off, but I'd look that up if I were you. The change may have to do with the age of the device. All rechargeable batteries lose charge over time. The more time goes by, the less they can hold. I hope that answers some of your questions.

Hey Petey7,
I will look into that. I am just wondering why it seems to only occur when I turn it on. 3 times on, 3 line noise events. Weird, at least in my mind? Do know of the problems that might occur with surge protectors off of another? I'd like to get some clearer explanations, not that I don't trust your experience. Thanks for the reply.
As to battery losing charge its only been on for 3 or 4 days. Anyway thanks I appreciate your reply.
glennc

Mellon Head said:

Most UPS's that I've used have been left on all the time. Some charge the batteries when off and some don't. As a rule of thumb, I just leave mine on all the time since the charging circuit slows to a trickle once the batteries are fully charged, so it isn't a problem. I'm running a server and a media machine off of it, so I need to leave it on.

I do use a surge protected power bar on the output of one circuit on my UPS. That powers my tower and main monitor. It has no effect on the operation of the UPS, provides a slight bit more protection, and gives me the convenience of being able to easily cut the power to my main PC at night, without turning off the UPS. The circuits that power the server and media PC don't need that capability, so no power bars there.

@ Glenn: It's normal for a UPS to kick on and off once in a while. It's just leveling out the brownouts that are common in times of high electricity demand. Like after work, around the dinner hour. It's the opposite of the normal surge protection that clamps the high voltages that show up once in a while.

Hey Hey Mellon Head,
So basically you're using a surge protector off another surge protector. I like the idea as I may have mentioned if I decide to leave the UPS on all the time. Better than turning off the devices individually. Do you think putting a router and a DSL modem on the backup circuits would be too much drain on the UPS, in addition to an LG Led? monitor and the computer?
Thanks as always.
glennc