My APC UPS caught fire in a server closet last Tuesday night

I was working late on a 16U rack at a dental office in Newark when I smelled something burning. Opened the closet and saw smoke coming from an old Back-UPS XS 1500 that had been running for maybe 4 years. I yanked the power cord and tossed it outside. Has anyone else had an APC unit fail like that without warning?

2 comments

2 Comments

faithcampbell21h ago

Wait, wasn't the Back-UPS XS 1500 discontinued way more than 4 years ago, like maybe closer to 8 or 10? That makes me wonder if it was already past its safe lifespan when you got it.

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emery_white21h ago

Haven't looked it up recently but isn't the XS 1500 from closer to 2015 or 2016? I remember seeing them in stores around then and they were already kind of old stock. From what I recall, APC stuff usually has a 5-7 year usable life on the batteries anyway, so that would line up with it being pretty worn out by now.