APC BE550G Back-UPS ES 8 Outlet 550VA 120V
by APC
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of APC BE550G Back-UPS ES 8 Outlet 550VA 120V
Customer Review: Of the Highest Accountability
Summary: 5 Stars
When the AC coming into my house falters because someone hit a pole or lightning tears up the sky, all the devices that feed off of it fail. Unless they are connected to the APC back-up, which my computer is connected to. Time and time again it has served me well.
APC, a subsidiary of Schneider Electric, a French company dating back to 1836, doesn't simply deliver a very high quality product, but provides with it a simple receipt-like document labeled "Quality Assurance Test", and the test itself has a revision number (64.68.478.36). Underneath the test revision number is the date (9/16/08) and time (8:36 PM) the product was tested before being shipped out. Then there is the station id (FT361) and the operator id (08041101). After that, the model number (BE5506) of the product and the unique serial number (3B0838X07720) of the product I have purchased. Then a complete list of all the tests conducted with the product I've purchased: DC Wires Polarity Check (passed), Cold Boot Test (passed), Clamp Output Voltage (passed), AC Input Verification (passed), Wiring Fault LED Check (passed), Enumerate Power Device (passed), Open Power Device (passes), Set Programming Mode (passed), AC Line Calibration (passed), Set Alarm Control (passed), Program UPS Model (passed), Verify UPS Model (passed), Program UPS Serial Number (passed), Set Battery Constants (passed), Set Transfer Sensitivity (passed), Set Upper Transfer Point (passed), Set Lower Transfer Point (passed), Program UPS Manufacture Date (passed), Float Voltage Test (passed), Battery Calibration (passed), Output Polarity Check (passed), Low Line Transfer (passed), I/O Phase Angle Check (passed), Start of Burn In (passed), Power Calibration (passed), Exit Programming Mode (passed), LED/Beeper Test (passed), Output Freq Test (passed), End of Burn In (passed), Set Audible Alarm Control (passed), Set Last Battery Date (passed), Close Power Device (passed), UUT Turn Off (passed).
And then a quick summary of the test: Overall Passed! Signed off by the tester.
Can there be a higher sense of accountability for a product sold by a company?
Customer Review: Exceeded my expectations
Summary: 5 Stars
I installed one of these a few weeks ago after having a power outage where I thought I had lost a hard drive. I am running a Windows 7 desktop PC, router, cable modem, monitor and my telephone base unit on it. It came with a power management Windows application called PowerChute. I downloaded the software since it was newer than the version that came with the unit. It installed flawlessly. I let the battery charge up completely, then pulled the AC power cord with the computer running to make sure PowerChute did a shutdown. You can configure PowerChute to specify how long the you want the computer to keep running on battery power until forcing a shutdown. Then I charged it up again and forced a power outage with the software configured to keep the equipment on as long as possible. It lasted almost 7 minutes, which was a little more than predicted with my equipment load (per specifications). The UPS unit monitors AC voltage levels and noise on the AC line, and can be configured to force a switch to battery operation if either voltage or noise is outside of acceptable limits. PowerChute keeps a log of outages -- when they occurred and for how long was the system running on battery power. I leave my PC on almost continuously, but I put it into 'sleep' mode when I am done using it. While in sleep mode, the computer will *not* be awakened by the UPS if the power goes out. My equipment draws about 0.25 amps while the computer and monitor are in sleep mode, so it would take an outage of about 90 minutes until the UPS ran out of gas. One quirk I noticed is that when the computer is awakened (by me), the PowerChute tray application immediately tries to communicate with the UPS and briefly displays an error message. The UPS unit has 8 outlets - 4 can switch to battery power; the other 4 cannot. But they all have a small amount of 'surge' protection. The UPS unit does not get hot when charging or running on battery power. There are no odors such as I read about in another review. Haven't had any reason to contact technical support, so I am a happy, power-protected camper.Customer Review: great UPS device.
Summary: 5 Stars
I had bought this because i needed something to put in the closet for my ReadyNAS Duo and my DIR-655 router.
I wanted the ReadyNAS and the router out of view so i placed it in the closet. Previously they were both on my desk and connected to another UPS (the 10 plug one, Apc Back-ups Es BE750G 10 Outlet 750VA 120V Master Control, which is also an excellent UPS).
It's big and heavy, maybe 2/3 the size of the 10 outlet APC and it does it's job well. I plugged in the battery (not very hard to do at all, only that the battery is very heavy and you might have to make a bit of effort to take out the battery from the UPS) and let it charge for about an hour. Connected the router and the NAS to the UPS and then turned on the UPS. Everything was green.
I then ran a test to see if the UPS kicked in by unplugging the power cable from the wall electrical outlet. It beeped loudly and went into battery mode. That's the only indication you will get (the beep) and it will keep beeping until the power is restored.
The UPS is connected to my ReadyNAS Duo's USB port and the ReadyNAS has UPS support/detection. I opened the ReadyNAS's setup and it states it's connected to a UPS and has 33 mins of battery power left.
Before that I had connected the UPS to my laptop USB port and configured the UPS via the PowerCute software (supplied with the UPS via CD).
One note is that the 10 outlet one allows for software diagnoses via PowerCute, but this one (8 outlet) does not allow for software diagnoses.
Overall, 5 out of 5 product!
Customer Review: Worth It!
Summary: 5 Stars
I've been using a regular surge protector for a long time at my home office desk but with all my data becoming more precious it seemed to be a good idea to get a step up in protection. So, I invested a very reasonable amount and got an APC Back-UPS ES 8 Outlet 550VA. I have attached to the battery back up my PC, monitor, DSL modem, and router. The other outlets are surge protection only so I have a fax machine, external hard drive and a couple of other peripherals on those. Now the battery in this is now going to last a long time so I wouldn't count on it for that although the included Parachute software indicated that with what I have connected it will run on battery for about 20 minutes. Not bad. One of the big reasons I got it was to 'clean' the power going to my electronics. It is supposed to keep the voltage right around the 120V mark so your stuff stays protected from big swings in voltage. Thats what a 'surge' protector does I suppose. The included software works well. It tells you when and how many times and for how long it has kicked in in a log for you to read. Pretty cool. Within the first day or so it kicked in for 18 seconds once. So it kept my computer from just cutting off suddenly. Computers don't like that, it can screw up the hard drive.
Overall, recommended for small applications.
Customer Review: Great UPS for computer or home theater!
Summary: 5 Stars
I have a few UPS devices - one for my computer, one for my home theater, but needed another for additional equipment.
My 2 other UPS' are the large kind - APC BACK-UPS RS BR1500LCD 1500VA/865W UPS System - great, but a little overkill for plugging in just a receiver, dvd player and an Xbox 360. I found this UPS during Amazons black friday sale at a great price and decided to give it a chance. While it lacks a lot of the 'fancy' stuff my other UPS' have (like LCD screens), I needed a plain surge protector/power strip anyways and this was about the same price. I have to say.. I'm impressed! I immediately noticed an improvement - I recently had a blackout int he neighborhood and this thing kept the power flowing (long enough for me to safely shut everything down, but it would've kept going if needed). When the power is cut, it gives a loud audible beeping noise (I didn't know what it was at first since all the power stayed on because of the equipment plugged into it - it wasn't until I looked outside that I realized the power was out).
Great device -- wish I had bought a few more at that price! Plus it has the APC name behind it.