On Thu, 28 May 2015 19:49:31 -0700 (PDT), Uncle Monster
wrote:

On Thursday, May 28, 2015 at 9:13:47 PM UTC-5, wrote:
On Thu, 28 May 2015 18:36:13 -0700 (PDT), Uncle Monster
wrote:

On Thursday, May 28, 2015 at 6:52:15 PM UTC-5, Robert Green wrote:
"sms" wrote in message news:mk84pe$9f1

stuff snipped

Since I needed the pump running right away (I just put in phosphate
remover yesterday and it needs to be filtered out) I ran out and found a
240V 20A breaker at the surplus store for $3.25. No GFI but it'll be
okay until the GFI breaker arrives tomorrow or Monday.

That's quite a jump, then to $104 plus S&T. I wonder what makes them so
expensive?

This is not an outlet with any real openings for anything to get into
but I guess after ten years the GFI circuit failed in some way.

I hope you are going to do a post-mortem, Dr. Scharf? I would be
curious if there was any visible damage inside the case or infestation or
water damage. We anxiously await the results.

I am betting the cause is critters (like Pat reported) or corrosion from
condensation. Sometimes it's both. The GFI circuitry runs hotter than a
passive or semi-passive safety device. I have found insect spoor inside of
outdoor CCTV bullet cams with superfine threads and "O" ring seals. They
still got in somehow, probably at the cord grommet.

Anxiously awaiting the autopsy.

I only bring this up because I recently promised my wife that I would no
longer save things for parts or break them down for spare parts. I retained
the right (-: to take things apart to see if they can be repaired or to
analyze why they failed.

I just scrapped an APC UPS and I mostly complied. Only saved the cord, the
breaker, the big transformer and the metal copper strips that make up the
outlets. Bypassed juicy components that needed desoldering and testing.
Saved all the heavy wires with crimped and insulated ends.

There was a time I would have desoldered even the LEDs. Arthritis took care
of that. )-:

--
Bobby G.

I repair APC and other brands of UPS units that people toss in the trash when all that's needed is a new SLA battery. 8-)

[8~{} Uncle UPS Monster
APC Back-Ups aren't worth replacing the batteries on many times.
Smart-Ups likely worth the effort.
Net-Ups usually worth trying.

I get new batteries for around $12 and I think it's worth it to have small UPS's all over the house with lamps plugged into them. I had the power go out one evening and a 500w backup kept one of my desk lamps with an LED bulb on for 6 hours without running down. I have 750w and 1kw units too and all electronic gear in the house is plugged into a backup. The units provide surge protection and of course everything stays on during power blinks and short power outages. I have a 1kw UPS behind my 23" monitor that keeps my workstations going during power outages along with a 500w unit running the wireless router and cable modem. My LED desk lamps have their own backup power units too so I don't skip a beat when I'm using my computers during a power outage. I'm well aware of the cost to benefit ratio for repairing electronic equipment and since I provide the labor, I find it entertaining to salvage that which others throw away. 8-)

[8~{} Uncle Repair Monster
I didn't say UPS were not worth while - just certain models of
certain brands are less worth attempting to fix than others. And some
cook the batteries out faster than others - to the point they are not
worth wating batteries on.