Why Full load runtime is listed when load is only 40%

[ankle]

I have a APC SmartUPS 1000 2U rackmount UPS (SU1000RM2U). It is a few years old, but is still running OK except for one thing. When I connect to it using PowerChute Business edition, the runtime listed appears to be very short, only 9 minutes which is the runtime stats for a full load. However, I only have a 40% load per the software and only 2 lights are lit up on the load light on the UPS, so the 40% must be correct. I thought batteries were an issue as the battery tray(4 batteries) was old. I replaced the battery tray and I have the same results.

I have two other non-rack UPS also being monitored by Powerchute:
1000 XL with 22% load and 53 minutes runtime
1000 XL with 34% load and 41 minutes runtime

I would think I would have at least about 25 minutes of runtime available on the 1000 RM.

I don't have funds to replace the UPS unless absolutely necessary especially since I just replaced batteries.

Any ideas?

 

[cajuntank]

Have you checked to see if there is a firmware upgrade for that UPS?

 

[ankle]

I have been to APC website and checked for firmware upgrades. The only firmware that I can find which is compatible to my UPS is the Network Management Card firmware. Is that what I need?

 

[cajuntank]

Not unless you have a SNMP network management card. Your plugging in via the serial black cable or a USB. What version is Powerchute and what version of java are your running?

Also, have you tried to see what the OS reports by just using the built-in UPS service built into Windows instead of using PowerChute (just to see if it reports differently)? If it does, then there is something up with you APC software. If the OS reports the same, then you have a flacky cable or UPS.

 

[ankle]

Thanks, I will check using Windows.

 

[ankle]

After uninstalling the Powerchute Agent, I found out as this UPS connects via USB, Windows control is limited. It sees the UPS as a notebook battery and does not use the UPS service. The other UPSs use serial ports.

I am checking into another software package and will let you know if I get better results.

 

[ankle]

I am finally getting back to this. I installed PowerChute Business on a server and now I can manage 3 UPSs. This has been great. Again, this UPS was saying that it only had 9 minutes of runtime. I had about given up until someone told me about a diagnostic feature which I did not know was in PowerChute Business. You have to turn on the Advanced Features to find it. Select the UPS and make sure that Advanced is checked. Go to Diagnostics and then UPS calibration. It will drain out the battery and calibrate to find out how much actual run-time you have. After the battery gets to 100% charge the run-time is now showing up as 21 minutes which is about what I expected.

 

[rudenate3]

The other thing you can do if the UPS doesn't show the correct runtime after doing a software runtime calibration is a manual runtime calibration. You want the UPS to have as close to 30% load as it can. When the battery charge is full, unplug the UPS and let it drain until it drops. When you plug it back in and it charges back up, it should have the most accurate runtime that it can have. What would be even easier is to call APC and tell them you need a Cal-key. It only works on the older SU models, but you just plug that into the serial port, power cycle the UPS and let it run for about a minute and it will have an accurate charge. The cal-key only works with a new battery pack though so be careful.

 

[ankle]

Thanks, but I may just go with what I have for now and not do the manual calibration. This UPS does not have a serial port so the Cal-key probably won't work. However, I will check into this for future needs with other UPS that I have that do have a serial port.