Questions on Using Old UPS

[bovine.baron]

I was getting an old speaker amp from the basement when I found an American Power Conversion (APC) UPS. The model number says BACK UPS 600 (BD) but it must be an old model because I can't find anything about it. I was wondering if anyone knowa about this model or brand. More importantly, what should I watch out for in general? I have no idea how old it is and it says it has a lead acid battery, which frankly I've never seen and don't really trust. I'm pretty hesitant to just plug it in but I don't want to be wasteful when it can be useful.

halp how do I evaluted safety of UPS :F

[fefox]

before you power it up, open it up and take a look, the batteries are, "sealed lead acid" so they shouldn't leak but they sometimes do around the posts...

if you have a voltmeter check to see if they still have a bit of a charge in them, a 600va APC probably has 2 x 12v 7ah batteries wired for 24v... if you still have a decent voltage in them they might still be good enough to run the unit well,, if they are almost dead flat you will probably have to replace them.
I think a new set is about $50


so if you don't have a voltmeter but everything looks good inside, you could try and power it up, if no errors then let it charge up, once charged hook a lamp to it for a load and see how long it lasts for..

if my memory is correct there are about 6 Phillips head screws at the back side you take them all out and the UPS opens on a hinge towards the front of the ups.. so just pull up on the top part and the rear of the ups.

be careful, if the the batteries still have a decent charge that means the UPS can still make 110v so even if its not plugged in you could give yourself a bad shock..

[Perineum]

The "back ups" models are not true sine wave, if that matters to you....

[MpG]

Watch out how much you try to power off of that - 600VA is probably only going to be good for around 400W. Probably not an issue with the rig in your sig, but things like a printer or monitor will go above and beyond what your actual computer PSU uses.

For a basic test run, you might consider charging it up first. Plug a lamp into it with a known wattage bulb or two, and then unplug the UPS from the wall and see how it does. If you've got a multimeter, set it to AC and see what the voltage in one of the unused outlets is.

[Dr_BenD_over]

It's highly likely the battery(ies) are toast and will need to be replaced.

[bovine.baron]

Thanks very much guys, I'll have a look over tonight and get my Dad's (an EE) opinion, too.