Hi folks,
I have a BE650R that has served me well for a while (it's still under warranty) and just gave its first -- and evidently last -- sign of trouble this morning.
I had turned off, unplugged, and moved the unit a few days ago in order to throughly clean the area around my desk. The unit had been moved to the linoleum floor near the entrance to my apartment. There were no loads connected at all to it.
This morning, I awoke to the sound of an intermittent, weak-sounding beeping coming from the UPS. It beeped once every minute or two (unfortunately, I was a bit disoriented due to it being rather early in the morning and didn't have the presence of mind to time the intervals between the beeps). I thought that the battery had discharged over the last several days and the unit was signalling a low-battery condition and so I plugged it into the wall outlet and got back into bed. I did not push the power button -- it remained powered off but charging.
Several minutes later I awoke again, this time to a sound not unlike that of popcorn being popped. I immediately went to the UPS and noticed it sitting in a puddle of a thick, clear liquid and emitting smoke from its outlets. I immediately tripped the circuit breaker for that outlet, donned rubber gloves, and unplugged the UPS from the wall outlet. Upon opening the battery compartment, I was presented with more clear, thick liquid. I disconnected the battery, separated it from the UPS and, using paper towels, spent the next hour or so cleaning up the liquid.
Upon closer examination, there is a small hole in the plastic body of the unit on the "surge protection only" side (see picture). It appears as though the plastic body had melted. Due to the haste in which I reacted, I did not notice if the hole was the source of the liquid or if the liquid was emitted from the vents on the body.
As an experiment, I placed a small amount of baking soda in a sample of the liquid. It dissolved, but did not react in any other way. If the liquid were an acid, I assume that there would be some sort of reaction (e.g. bubbling). The battery does not appear to be bulged or otherwise damaged. Holding the battery at various angles and positions does not result in any liquids spilling from it. My multimeter reads the open-circuit voltage of the post-incident battery to be 12.98 volts, so the battery clearly has some electrolyte.
Any thoughts as to what could have caused this dramatic event? Any ideas of the source of the liquid, any special disposal considerations, and any thoughts on how harmful it may be? While I did wear gloves, I have no respiratory protection other than an open window and a fan.
I've contacted APC and they've agreed to replace the unit under warranty, but I'm curious as to the source of the problem.
I can provide additional photographs if requested.
Cheers!
-Pete