American Power Conversion (APC) SMX1500RM2U Smart UPS X 1500VA Rack/Tower UPS with LCD

2020-06-21T20:00:00

I've owned one for a few years now and it's provided great service, but there's a couple of issues that have greatly disappointed me. For one, the AVR appears to have a very limited surge range which required manually setting the input transfer-to-battery voltage to 130V to avoid constant transfer to battery. While okay on its own, once the input goes above a certain voltage AVR did not function, thereby passing the full 129V input I was getting to the load. While within the theoretical input voltage of the attached equipment, the fact that it did not drop it at all was a disappointment. Secondly, and the larger of the two issues currently for me, happened after having added an external battery pack (a SMX48RMBP2US). After a while the batteries in it (7 of 8) failed pretty badly without any visible indication and the unit did not alert me at all. If one of the battery cages from the external pack was swapped with the unit's main battery, it would clearly indicate the batteries were non-functional, but when used in the SMX48RMBP2US, there was no indication that they were bad. When pulled from the unit and tested the two battery packs were only 38V or less. Save yourself the money and get a non-extended runtime unit, or use with your own external battery monitoring circuit, as there does not appear to be any way for the main unit to tell they failed unless the internal pack has also failed, which is, in my opinion, very bad for providing continuous power. I'm lucky I checked my external battery packs for other reasons before the main pack failed.

Webster L.

Originally posted at

2019-09-25T20:00:00

I Purchase around 20 of the SMX1500RM2U per year, and have only seen one have any problem. APC fixed it quickly, and it was back in service.

Purchasing

Originally posted at

2019-01-28T19:00:00

Maybe my favorite ?great value? UPS of S-E?s current offerings. Though it?s not a dual conversion typology UPS (it?s Line Interactive), it does offer a sine wave output waveform when running on batteries. It also recognizes when external battery packs are attached and automatically adjusts runtime, accordingly. If you don?t need a NMC, you can usually save several hundred $ by selecting this model. A great deal!

esstek

Originally posted at

2017-04-10T20:00:00

I have deployed a number of SMX1500RM2U's in my customer's network and have never had one issue with deployment and service. As long as you maintain your UPS with timely battery replacements, you won't have any issues at all.

Rick

Originally posted at

2017-04-10T20:00:00

I have deployed a number of SMX1500RM2U's in my customer's network and have never had one issue with deployment and service. As long as you maintain your UPS with timely battery replacements, you won't have any issues at all.

0

Originally posted at

2012-08-15T20:00:00

A recurring issue. AVR Relay Weld An automatic voltage regulator (AVR) relay fault exists This occurred when the unit was very new. The fix from APC was a firmware update. This worked...(maybe) until the unit was out of warranty. Now it occurs again, except this time my research indicates this will happen everytime there is low inout voltage. Unit works great for a power outage, but falls on its face for low voltage. I'm betting the issue is a hardware issue firmware cannot fix, but only mask until the unit is out of warranty

daboomer22

Originally posted at

2012-08-15T20:00:00

A recurring issue. AVR Relay Weld An automatic voltage regulator (AVR) relay fault exists This occurred when the unit was very new. The fix from APC was a firmware update. This worked...(maybe) until the unit was out of warranty. Now it occurs again, except this time my research indicates this will happen everytime there is low inout voltage. Unit works great for a power outage, but falls on its face for low voltage. I'm betting the issue is a hardware issue firmware cannot fix, but only mask until the unit is out of warranty

0

Originally posted at

2012-06-29T20:00:00

This unit will fit both 4 post racks (cabinets) and will stand alone (as feet it can sit in), 9 I have 3 servers from this and it seems to detect all power problems even "distorted power", which is a lot better than the CyberPower units (i have sold many of both). It runs very cool, has power grouping of outlets, an expansion slot (which i will be using the Management Card 2), this one also has the extended battery option (see below for differences). The SMX series also has the EPO connector (Emergency Power Off) which is another button that can be bought to allow you to turn this unit off instantly if you think there might be a problem (like a fire in the servers and super storm that you don’t want to have issues with). It also has a front mounted digital display that if set to "advanced" will tell you how much power is being drawn, what the reason was for the last power transfer and other details, the screen updates every 5-10 seconds. I have a 600 deep cabinet and this unit fitted after i cut about 2inches from the fixing rail kit as it was to long (they made it fit 1000mm deep cabinets). There are a number of these units: SMT has no extended battery connector (and most don’t have the EPO connector) SMX has the extended battery connector There are older versions of both that do not have the digital display on the front and are lower efficiency as look more “industrial”

SFX G.

Originally posted at

2012-06-29T20:00:00

This unit will fit both 4 post racks (cabinets) and will stand alone (as feet it can sit in), 9 I have 3 servers from this and it seems to detect all power problems even "distorted power", which is a lot better than the CyberPower units (i have sold many of both). It runs very cool, has power grouping of outlets, an expansion slot (which i will be using the Management Card 2), this one also has the extended battery option (see below for differences). The SMX series also has the EPO connector (Emergency Power Off) which is another button that can be bought to allow you to turn this unit off instantly if you think there might be a problem (like a fire in the servers and super storm that you don't want to have issues with). It also has a front mounted digital display that if set to "advanced" will tell you how much power is being drawn, what the reason was for the last power transfer and other details, the screen updates every 5-10 seconds. I have a 600 deep cabinet and this unit fitted after i cut about 2inches from the fixing rail kit as it was to long (they made it fit 1000mm deep cabinets). There are a number of these units: SMT has no extended battery connector (and most don't have the EPO connector) SMX has the extended battery connector There are older versions of both that do not have the digital display on the front and are lower efficiency as look more "industrial"

0

Originally posted at

2011-07-21T20:00:00

The UPS functions flawlessly, just like all other APC UPS's that I have bought. It does look different from the picture however. The one in the picture has a front cover. The one I got did not. Mine looks much more industrial.

Vestrit

Originally posted at

2011-07-21T20:00:00

Purchased 2 of these and as with any APC product, works great, sturdy, and easy to install. My only issue (which is minor) is that I wish the front bezel snapped a little more snugly, or had a release lever. It's too loose and feels like you can bump into it and it will fall off. But it won't stop me from purchasing more of these units.

CBeck

Originally posted at

2011-07-21T20:00:00

Purchased 2 of these and as with any APC product, works great, sturdy, and easy to install. My only issue (which is minor) is that I wish the front bezel snapped a little more snugly, or had a release lever. It's too loose and feels like you can bump into it and it will fall off. But it won't stop me from purchasing more of these units.

0

Originally posted at

2011-07-21T20:00:00

The UPS functions flawlessly, just like all other APC UPS's that I have bought. It does look different from the picture however. The one in the picture has a front cover. The one I got did not. Mine looks much more industrial.

0

Originally posted at

2011-04-29T20:00:00

I traded my UPS 1000 for the 1500 VA to consolidated all my UPSs in one "box." I also had two UPS 800s. Pros: it works, it's quiet (unless it encounters a spike, then it makes a "bonk" noise) good documentation, good customer support for the first few days after you buy it Cons: If you have more than one computer, you've got to buy the network card; pricesfor the 1500 and the card are a bit high for a pro-sumer user; I discovered that it's cheaper to buy the system from your local computer store

0

Originally posted at

2011-04-28T20:00:00

I traded my UPS 1000 for the 1500 VA to consolidated all my UPSs in one "box." I also had two UPS 800s. Pros: it works, it's quiet (unless it encounters a spike, then it makes a "bonk" noise) good documentation, good customer support for the first few days after you buy it Cons: If you have more than one computer, you've got to buy the network card; pricesfor the 1500 and the card are a bit high for a pro-sumer user; I discovered that it's cheaper to buy the system from your local computer store

Uncle B.

Originally posted at

2010-09-26T20:00:00

I chose this UPS for a small business w/ 2 servers & rack w/ minimal load currently but wanted ability to expand as the company grows again. Works like a charm! Does everything I wanted and then some.

Colorado S.

Originally posted at

2010-09-26T20:00:00

I chose this UPS for a small business w/ 2 servers & rack w/ minimal load currently but wanted ability to expand as the company grows again. Works like a charm! Does everything I wanted and then some.

0

Originally posted at

2010-08-18T20:00:00

Only have it about a month. Very easy to setup. Have purchased other APC UPS over the past 15-20 years. Every product worked great and never gave me a problem.

senior c.

Originally posted at

2010-08-18T20:00:00

Only have it about a month. Very easy to setup. Have purchased other APC UPS over the past 15-20 years. Every product worked great and never gave me a problem.

0

Originally posted at

2010-05-19T20:00:00

It hasn't been long since I put it in but it has been working great since I put it in. It was very easy to put in and get a network management card swapped into it from an older APC.

guernseyadmin

Originally posted at

2010-05-19T20:00:00

It hasn't been long since I put it in but it has been working great since I put it in. It was very easy to put in and get a network management card swapped into it from an older APC.

0

Originally posted at