The Disinfotainment server was down for the last couple of hours due to the complete failure of my Belkin UPS. It died and shut down with absolutely no warning. I test the battery every month and it showed no signs of any problems, and then suddenly, poof, everything in my office shuts down all at once. This is not how a UPS is supposed to work, if the battery fails, it shouldn’t take down the main power circuit, it should just fail to provide power during a blackout. I don’t understand how this could happen.
I pulled the UPS and had to plug everything back into the wall sockets, which is a bit risky since thunderstorm season is approaching. I’ve got to get this unit back up and running as soon as possible. And now I discover this expensive UPS doesn’t have replaceable batteries, which is the whole reason I bought it in the first place. So I guess I’ll have to rip it apart and find some aftermarket batteries. I’m sure these batteries aren’t unique, someone has to manufacture them for Belkin. What a pain in the ass.
Update: I changed the title of this item from “Belkin Sucks” to “Belkin Doesn’t Suck” based on new information. I opened up the UPS case to look inside, and the batteries are not replaceable. That sucks. But the batteries apparently aren’t the problem, it looks like the transformer overheated and partially melted. That really sucks. Then I called Belkin, and it turns out my unit has a 3 year warranty, they’re honoring the warranty just on my word, without me even having to dig through my files to find my original receipt. My old UPS is discontinued, so they’re replacing it with a brand new model and giving me another 3 years warranty. Best of all, they’re shipping the new unit today, I’ll have it in a few days, then I can send the old unit back to Belkin for recycling and full credit against the new model. Yay!
Update Again: The replacement UPS arrived today, a week after I contacted Belkin. That time in transit is typical for shipment by ground (I don’t think you’re allowed to ship lead-acid batteries via air). It cost me $26 to send the dead UPS back, ouch. Anyway, the server should go down for a few hours sometime soon while I rewire the power plugs.