They're owned by Eaton, which is pretty standard for commercial protection and backup equipment. They used to be really big into commercial and industrial eletrical and service equipment. When I was young we were salvaging 30 y/o eaton disconnects, panels and so on because they were so good. Personally cyberpower commercial line is right behind Eaton. Cyberpower and Eaton offer replacement parts for old units and will even service them (they used to anyway). I can't say the same for triplite prosumer equipment. I got shafted on my 3 year old backups for replacement batteries. They pulled the same shit APC does. Sell a unit that is discontinued after the warranty period, then don't offer parts or service. Or in the case of APC replacement batteries cost nearly the same as a new unit. The answer is always the same. Save your money, buy used commercial grade shit.
Discussion
I have an APC unit I have used for years, and I've replaced the batteries twice. They are standard batteries assembled into a pack. Head to your local battery depot and get replacement cells for a fraction of the price.
An older version of this.
Yup, and I've done that many times, but they don't last like the originals. Working in automotive taught my the value of OEM parts. This is unacceptable for commercial imo.
I've recently learned the value of OEM parts too, when possible. I had to use an after market caliper pin (I cross threaded, another lesson learned) recently just due to the fact my wife needed her car back. I'll probably replace it on the next brake job just because. Some parts seem okayish but you can usually see the quality differences right away. Other times a lot sooner down the road. Alternators was a big lesson for me some years back. Critical solo components that work hard get OEM or at least the highest quality alternative. Anything capable of burning your fucking home to ground is smart too 😂 I learned that during my brief time as an electrician. People do some WILD shit out there.
I had a very similar unit, had a board catch fire after the batteries swelled up so bad it cracked the plastic case. No warning, still kind of work through mild outages. I learned my lesson now and replace batteries every 3-4 years, budget permitting.
Crazy. I've had this unit for 12 years, still works great 😂
I've actually gotten better results with self servicing the batteries, you can get higher wattage than what OEM is. I actually learned this tactic working at a support gig. YMMV I guess.
I think mine was about 8 years old when it failed like that. It was the original battery, so 8 years is a lot to ask from an SLA battery.
It was in a closet where a return air duct was, when the hvac turned on it blew nasty smells out with a little smoke. I spent like an hour tearing the furnace apart trying to figure out then eventually traced the smell back. Never tripped the circuit breaker just sat there smoldering when the battery pack went dead short internally (pretty common for me).
I was quite impressed.
Lucky it didn't burn anything down 😬 I keep mine under my desk, I like anything with batteries to be out in the open. That can have downsides too though. I had one fail because my dog used it for a bathroom. Can't blame the unit for that though 🤷♂️
8 years is a long time yes 😅 I replace them every 4 years, yay for reminders in my calendar, otherwise I would forget. This one gets pulled apart again in February actually. I wonder how much more the batteries are going to be this time? 😮💨
XD
Yeah I think Im at 4 years on my big units. They're cyperpower units and the batteries are packed in a steel cage you purchase as an assembly. Its like $200/pack iirc so it's not terrible to buy them, but if I can save a few bucks that would be nice.
I don't use battery backup stuff yet and I did see that Eaton bought them around the time I picked these up. Hopefully they don't make the brand worse, as so often happens these days. My hospital actually used the same surge protectors I have. Although they sometimes add more as we expand and seem to be using cheaper ones now. They just don't feel as nice, for whatever that's worth (I don't know anything else about them). Maybe they are better but I have doubts based on using them.