wrote:

I service about 35 APC Back-Ips units for one customer - and they are
pretty crappy. They generally outlast 2 battery changes - but aften
die during the life of the 3rd or 4th battery - and some of them (the
250 va units iirc) require a "backwards" battery that is difficult to
source other than from APC, and significantly more expensive. They
also appear to be simple square wave devices (reading in the low 80s
AC volts on a typical voltmeter) while the better "stepped" or "quasi
sine" units read in the nineties - (and my onlines, being full sine
wave reat 117 to 127 depending on how rhey are adjusted)

APC used to be the best in consumer UPS; but they've been cashing in the
brand name for a while, and now they're just overpriced. I switched to
Cyberpower a few years back. Their cases aren't quite as sturdy as
APC's, and they might not last any longer, but the units and batteries
are cheaper.