My UPS Caught Fire Last Night

[CCTVCam]

I'm guessing Li Batteries.

BTW I see a few suggestions for fire extinguishing above. Note Li requires a special extinguisher. Normal extinguishers / water can accelerate the fire as lithium reacts to water.

Found some advice here on extinguishing the fire, although this does suggest some water can be used in some circumstances: 2nd post down

What extinguisher for lithium batteries?

 

[Rakin]

I'm guessing Li Batteries.

BTW I see a few suggestions for fire extinguishing above. Note Li requires a special extinguisher. Normal extinguishers / water can accelerate the fire as lithium reacts to water.

Found some advice here on extinguishing the fire, although this does suggest some water can be used in some circumstances: 2nd post down

What extinguisher for lithium batteries?

Don’t use any kind of water with anything electrical. Needs to be class C


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[CCTVCam]

You're right, I'm talking Li batteries generally in the post above. In the case of a UPS, it needs to be unplugged if putting water anywhere near it as water + mains is a big no no.

 

[tangent]

CPSC SaferProducts.gov | Report an Unsafe Product

 

[Purduephotog]

My apc blew the same way. Apc ended up sending a new one, even tho the old one was almost 25 years old.

An aluminum cap melted and slagged everything else.

All the ups sit on rock board.

 

[Q™]

You guys are scaring me

Me too. I've got 5 APC 1500kv units at work + 3 Cyberpower units.

 

[fenderman]

Me too. I've got 5 APC 1500kv units at work + 3 Cyberpower units. View attachment 46673

I sense another giveaway coming ...

 

[bp2008]

I sense another giveaway coming ...

LOL

 

[TL1096r]

I ended up going with one of these after reading so many of these stories.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B077LVMGJ4
(there are people selling for a lot less - amazon might be easier for some)

The price and size was right.

It is better to be safe than sorry.

 

[J Sigmo]

I'm sure I'm not the only one who remembers Carbon Tetrachloride fire extinguishing "bombs".

Carbon tetrachloride - Wikipedia

They were fairly common in refineries and other high fire-risk areas. You were supposed to throw them at the base of the flames, and when the glass broke, it would release the carbon tet, and the fumes were quite good at putting out the fire. They also had racks that you could mount the "bombs" in, above high fire-risk areas so they'd burst and do their job without any human intervention.

Unfortunately, it was later determined that the stuff is a potent liver toxin among other things.

I also remember using it as a general purpose solvent and cleaning solution. It has a rather pleasant aroma!

All of these gadgets you folks are posting seem very familiar! Presumably, they use a substance that has not YET been found to be harmful.

 

[TL1096r]

I'm sure I'm not the only one who remembers Carbon Tetrachloride fire extinguishing "bombs".

Carbon tetrachloride - Wikipedia

They were fairly common in refineries and other high fire-risk areas. You were supposed to throw them at the base of the flames, and when the glass broke, it would release the carbon tet, and the fumes were quite good at putting out the fire. They also had racks that you could mount the "bombs" in, above high fire-risk areas so they'd burst and do their job without any human intervention.

Unfortunately, it was later determined that the stuff is a potent liver toxin among other things.

I also remember using it as a general purpose solvent and cleaning solution. It has a rather pleasant aroma!

All of these gadgets you folks are posting seem very familiar! Presumably, they use a substance that has not YET been found to be harmful.

It says non-toxic. But you are right, who knows about the safety. They used BPA forever and then switched to a plastic that would probably be banned one day.

I don't have the highest hopes for it but it seems decent. It was only around $20 Shipped from China. Another "knock-off" from eBay if you want the small ball:
Fire Extinguisher Ball Anti-Fire-Ball Stop Fire Loss Tool Safety Non-Toxic | eBay

I don't feel the $120 fire extinguisher balls are warranted for a small UPS battery fire. These off-brand models should do the trick.

While impressive. I am not going to be using this to put out a flame this big:

I feel this video is a more accurate representation:

 

[Jose R.]

OP here... As an update to my problem: I opened a ticket with Cyberpower and never got a response. I had registered the warranty on the unit on their site and everything. I never heard back from them as they completely ignored me. So as far as I'm concerned, Cyberpower and eat a fat one. ZERO customer support so I couldn't ever recommend them to anybody.

Luckily I bought the unit from Newegg and not Amazon (or worse) and they stepped in. After trying to get Cyberpower to do something about it, Newegg got back to me and initiated the return and refund even after the 30-day return window. So, a huge thank you to Newegg. The lesson here is to try to use Amazon less and good vendors more.

I bought a new APC unit to replace it from Newegg and it's installed and working fine so far.

 

[Mike]

I have the exact same CP unit all over my house, time for some of those extinguishers! @Jose R. glad you were home to control the situation.

 

[TonyR]

FWIW, have always had good experiences with newegg but then again amazon has been good to me as well regarding returns of bad gear....YMMV, certainly.

 

[Purduephotog]

In all seriousness here, things break. Usually there's enough safety built into the hardware via fuses, zeners, diodes, transient suppression, gas arrestors - it doesn't happen. Yet anytime you store energy... sheeet happens.

So... don't pack flammables around it. Place it up so there's air around the bottom (no overheating). Place it on a fire-resistant material (rock board or cement underlayment). And don't buy cheap arse batteries. Have a working smoke alarm/CO alarm in rooms and a working fire extinguisher somewhere in the house. I have 6 of the latter (including one right up by the stove).

My kids have been 'trained' to use them (thank god they're cheap) and while they got a huge kick out of it, I made sure they knew it was serious (who isn't scared of fire) and that in any real situation they're to get out of the house first.

You should contact the consumer safety commision, open a case, get that number, upload your photos of the fire material- tear it apart if you have to, and document the snot out of it. That'll get traction because it's registered in the federal database.

Someday I'll write up my story about the dishwasher fire that nearly cost me the house... and how an opposing council was kind enough to 'reach out to some friends' to finally get the issue the attention it deserved.

I'm glad you and your family are safe.

 

[J Sigmo]

One YouTube video leads to another:

 

[ThomasPI]

Geez and I was looking at the very same unit today, not comforting.

 

[fenderman]

Geez and I was looking at the very same unit today, not comforting.

Search any brand and you will find reports of fire. Same for surge protectors. Even pc's catch fire. All extremely rare.

 

[ThomasPI]

Search any brand and you will find reports of fire. Same for surge protectors. Even pc's catch fire. All extremely rare.

Point well taken for sure thanks much, sh*t happens as they say. We are breaking ground soon and have a system planned out. Also appreciate your post on the HP SFF, learned a lot.

 

[TL1096r]

In all seriousness here, things break. Usually there's enough safety built into the hardware via fuses, zeners, diodes, transient suppression, gas arrestors - it doesn't happen. Yet anytime you store energy... sheeet happens.

So... don't pack flammables around it. Place it up so there's air around the bottom (no overheating). Place it on a fire-resistant material (rock board or cement underlayment). And don't buy cheap arse batteries. Have a working smoke alarm/CO alarm in rooms and a working fire extinguisher somewhere in the house. I have 6 of the latter (including one right up by the stove).

My kids have been 'trained' to use them (thank god they're cheap) and while they got a huge kick out of it, I made sure they knew it was serious (who isn't scared of fire) and that in any real situation they're to get out of the house first.

You should contact the consumer safety commision, open a case, get that number, upload your photos of the fire material- tear it apart if you have to, and document the snot out of it. That'll get traction because it's registered in the federal database.

Someday I'll write up my story about the dishwasher fire that nearly cost me the house... and how an opposing council was kind enough to 'reach out to some friends' to finally get the issue the attention it deserved.

I'm glad you and your family are safe.

BMW cars have been catching on fire for the past few years and taking out entire homes. It doesn't seem much have been done with that even though it was national news. So I wonder how this would work. As fenderman said if you search for fires and products they are out there.

This should take care of any fires quickly. I have placed a few around each area where I feel fires cold be an issue. 10 of these "off-brands" cost as much as 1 of the other brand and I feel from videos and testing it would be perfect for a small fire if caught early:
Fire Extinguisher Ball Anti-Fire-Ball Stop Fire Loss Tool Safety Non-Toxic | eBay