Hi!

I own two APC 1000va units purchased around 2002. Both
function perfect and do self tests regularly. Both have 'replace
battery' indication if they fail the self test.

Don't expect that it will work. If any of my APC UPS units (about 12)
are anything to by, the only way you'll know the battery is dead is
when it fails to support the load. Most of these are not cheap units,
either--they are SmartUPS units that have a true sinewave inverter. So
far, only one has ever illuminated the "battery fault" indicator as a
result of a self test.

Even if they fail to support the load entirely, this is not enough to
trip the fault indicator.

I've seen plenty of APC units fail prematurely though so I really
don't understand the reasons why some do and some don't.

The ones I've seen the most failures out of are the ones that were
made in China. Every one of them failed in the same way--I came in and
found they were dead to the world. No fuses or breakers had blown, and
the batteries were good. Out of four units, three have failed in this
way. The fourth works but does not really charge its batteries
properly.

None of my APC units marked as being made in the US or India have
failed. Some of them are over ten years old (having had their
batteries replaced, of course).

And I've owned other brands besides APC but they were
not long-lived.

I've had good results with APC and Tripp Lite units. Everything else
(Belkin, Cyber Power) seems to have a poor lifetime
and...interesting...build quality. I have a big stack of CyberPower
units and they all look to have failed in the same way--something
inside them simply got too hot and gave up the ghost. And every one
has had a bad battery. Never seen any Belkin units, but I've heard bad
things about them...

Buying a UPS that is larger than you need will also improve the
lifetime of the unit and its batteries. The ratings provided by the
manufacturers are VERY optimistic and only result in a few minutes of
operation.

William