My UPS Caught Fire Last Night

rotordave said:
Thanks for posting this, I went and bought a couple of those balls to stick next to my UPS units.
Click to expand...

If you can, also place the UPS on a piece of ceramic tile; they make them in 12 x 24” pieces too. I learned that from working overseas as the 220 to 120 converters would catch fire all the time and the tile trick has saved many lives and still does today. The tile will hold off a lot of heat for a while versus a more flammable floor surface.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I'm sure most people would consider me paranoid. The NVR and switch are in the crawlspace against a concrete foundation wall. They are surrounded on the other 3 sides by a wall of stacked bricks, with a piece of concrete board as the roof. The NVR sits on top of the switch, and there's a temp sensor sitting on top of the NVR with its readout inside the house.

I have a high end plasma TV that I got for free after it shot flames out the cabinet back following a power supply failure. Its owner just wanted it out of his house. When I was a you adult I watched a neighbor's house burn down while nobody was home, the cause later determined as a television.
 
chipjumper said:
If you can, also place the UPS on a piece of ceramic tile; they make them in 12 x 24” pieces too. I learned that from working overseas as the 220 to 120 converters would catch fire all the time and the tile trick has saved many lives and still does today. The tile will hold off a lot of heat for a while versus a more flammable floor surface.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Great idea.

I feel many would not be home when this happens and feel the extinguisher ball is the only hope to stop it any spread of the fire. I feel 2 would be best in each area where there is a USP. With it only being $10-15 from China it is a small price to pay.

electrical.jpg


fire-extinguisher-ball-500x500.jpg


milestone07.jpg


tigerwillow1 said:
I'm sure most people would consider me paranoid. The NVR and switch are in the crawlspace against a concrete foundation wall. They are surrounded on the other 3 sides by a wall of stacked bricks, with a piece of concrete board as the roof. The NVR sits on top of the switch, and there's a temp sensor sitting on top of the NVR with its readout inside the house.

I have a high end plasma TV that I got for free after it shot flames out the cabinet back following a power supply failure. Its owner just wanted it out of his house. When I was a you adult I watched a neighbor's house burn down while nobody was home, the cause later determined as a television.
Click to expand...

Nah. Better safe than sorry.
 
Last edited:
One of my UPS units is raised up, sitting on brackets. Not sure if this helps or makes it worse. My other is in a TV cabinet so I'll put a ceramic tile under this one.

I'll be putting RPI-enabled smoke detectors in each cabinet now as well so I can be notified if there is any smoke.

I just want to protect my dogs while I'm not home, that's what matters most to me! They'll get the fright of their life if one of those balls goes off and probably run out of the house anyway.
 
rotordave said:
One of my UPS units is raised up, sitting on brackets. Not sure if this helps or makes it worse. My other is in a TV cabinet so I'll put a ceramic tile under this one.

I'll be putting RPI-enabled smoke detectors in each cabinet now as well so I can be notified if there is any smoke.

I just want to protect my dogs while I'm not home, that's what matters most to me! They'll get the fright of their life if one of those balls goes off and probably run out of the house anyway.
Click to expand...

That is probably what you would want as dogs/cats hide during fires.
 
@Jose: Did you ever get this resolved with CyberPower?
I think this unit is bad. I bought a similar item from Amazon in Dec 2017 and it also nearly set the house ablaze recently!
CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD PFC Sinewave UPS System, 1500VA/900W, 10 Outlets, AVR, Mini-Tower
It melted the casing off the nearby computer. If any of you own a cyber power device, I'd seriously consider junking it.

Very scary for sure, my wife was not amused at all. This UPS is a CyberPower CP1500AVRLCD that's less than 3 months old. I've contacted them for a replacement.
CyberPower Intelligent LCD Series CP1500AVRLCD GreenPower UPS - Newegg.com

Should I switch to APC? Does Cyberpower suck? Just a fluke? Does anyone here take any sort of fire suppression measure in their equipment closets?

I replaced the UPS with a Triplite surge power strip for now and it seems all the equipment is fine. So that's very good news, considering the amount of hours of work that's sitting on that shelf.
Click to expand...
 
As an Amazon Associate IPCamTalk earns from qualifying purchases.
Cyberpower never got back to me. Newegg stepped in and took care of the issue and refunded me. The APC unit I replaced it with has been flawless.
 
I have 3 of the CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD Out of which 2 have been running since 2018 and one since dec 2019 so far no issues. Perhaps it could be just some units were defective ? I see on amazon it has over 3000+ reviews about 4.5 star. But again I dont want to rule out that it cannot happen it very well can with batteries which is scary !!
 
As an Amazon Associate IPCamTalk earns from qualifying purchases.
  • Like
Reactions: Arjun
Oh fuck I have 2 in this room...

Cyberpower 1500 (more expensive Sinewave model)

But both purchased in 2013. One on original batteries! Second one I just replaced batteries like 2 weeks ago. So far so good.

Tbh anything can catch on fire. Freak accidents. I'll get a smoke detector for this room just incase.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Arjun
I do read a lot more battery issues with Cyberpower compared to APC, but they both have their faults and its very puzzling. I even doubt now if it has anything to do with in terms where they are assembled.

Jose R. said:
Last night, oddly enough, I was running a cable in the attic for my next camera location when I noticed my internet went out. So I go over to my network shelf and everything is off? Modem, router, BI PC, all switches and cameras. The whole shelf is dead. Strange, I didn't touch anything here yet.

I checked the outlet and it was fine. UPS was off, no response to button presses. Hmm...

I lightly tapped on the UPS and the damn thing popped VERY loud and a small fire started inside it which I could see thru the case vents. Heavy electrical smoke started to come out. I blew it out quickly and started to remove it from the shelf, quickly unplugging everything.

I set it down and started to remove the batteries when it popped and caught fire again. Movement seems to set off the reaction. Once I got the batteries out, it's been fine.

Very scary for sure, my wife was not amused at all. This UPS is a CyberPower CP1500AVRLCD that's less than 3 months old. I've contacted them for a replacement.

CyberPower Intelligent LCD Series CP1500AVRLCD GreenPower UPS - Newegg.com

Should I switch to APC? Does Cyberpower suck? Just a fluke? Does anyone here take any sort of fire suppression measure in their equipment closets?

I replaced the UPS with a Triplite surge power strip for now and it seems all the equipment is fine. So that's very good news, considering the amount of hours of work that's sitting on that shelf.
Click to expand...
 
I purchased the true sine wave model from Costco 1500VA. Costco has been selling this model for quite some time now, don't seem to come across anything negative


Warptrooper said:
Oh fuck I have 2 in this room...

Cyberpower 1500 (more expensive Sinewave model)

But both purchased in 2013. One on original batteries! Second one I just replaced batteries like 2 weeks ago. So far so good.

Tbh anything can catch on fire. Freak accidents. I'll get a smoke detector for this room just incase.
Click to expand...
 
You're not supposed to connect the UPS to a surge protector; the other way is fine, but the UPS is supposed to be connected directly to the wall outlet

Rakin said:
I use Tripplite isobars both before and after my apc


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
 
  • Like
Reactions: taschenmesser and sdkid
To be frank, its hit or miss. I've experience an equal failure in both APC and CP (non-sine wave) models in the past. Every UPS is supposed to be connected to a wall outlet that is properly grounded. There is no liability if grounding is not available at that socket.


TonyR said:
I agree about that it's likely any brand of UPS or electronic device (especially with large batteries) can fail and catch on fire, but I have a different reason for avoiding Cyberpower: after using APC exclusively for 10 years with no issues I decided to try CP.

July 2015, a nearby lighting strike induces a surge which comes in through powerline (no Ethernet or HDMI cables on TV), goes through the CP like a straight wire and fries a 65" Sony 4K 3D TV....the CP was a month old.

Fast forward 3-1/2 years: March 2019, a nearby lighting strike induces a surge which comes in through powerline goes through a different CP like a straight wire and fries a Vizio soundbar....the CP was 6 month old.

Two days later I'm back to APC, got a 1500VA on the TV/satellite and 2 each 650VA units on 2 PC's, 1 of them my Blue Iris server. Not taking any more chances on the Cyperpower unit...YMMV.

FWIW, it's a PITA but I unplug TV completely when I leave the house or if I know something's coming up....the UPSes are like insurance, which doesn't guarantee that nothing will happen.
Click to expand...
 
If you're using firebricks make sure they're asbestos free.

Also be aware LiOn fires tend to be quite fierce and spit flaming bits long distances. Skip to 7 mins 30 secs (not sure why someone posts 7 mins 30 secs of video of nothing!):



As for why the UPS are catching fire, the batteries are usually LiOn. Assuming you haven't dropped or knocked the units the most common cause is temperature followed by ovecharging - so poor / failed charge controller. LiOn don't like getting hot especially under charging conditions. If you're in a hot state, maybe consider air con in your PC / server room.

Another alternative might be to put your UPS outside in either a garage (preferably brick and detached). It's a bit extreme, but the main aim is going to be to keep the batteries cooler and away from anything flammable. Hence in the garage, next to the car, the can of oil / petrol or those oily rags not a good idea. Also make sure you have a smoke alarm in the garage. Good place for a CCTV camera and some kind of detection for the flames.
 
UPS failures in the form of fire are simply not common. Otherwise there would have been a massive recall. Even in areas where outages are rare, people use UPS's to maintain their work flow in the even of unexpected outage or ongoing maintenance.
The include PowerChute software (that comes with APC UPS) should be able to detect anomalies that can result in impending damage. The only way to for these companies to avoid litigation is to employ stringent QC. Doesn't matter if they're made in Philippines, China, or in our own backyards
 
Yeah I realise it's not common. Doesn't hurt to take abit of extra precaution though. Only needs to happen once...
 
The UPS doesn't have to burn like a LiIon- there are plenty of other items that'll catch fire.
I posted mine where the inductor smoothing cap, an aluminum one, slagged and melted. The FR4 board burned, the fuses burned, the resistors burned. The battery and power continued to work- supplying the necessary heat.



Don't put flammable stuff around them, and have them on fire-resistant materials. I use rock board.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom