Re: Out of warranty APC PDU repair

[Oliver Hookins <oliver.hookins () anchor com au>]

On Wed May 27, 2009 at 03:17:24 -0400, Barton F Bruce wrote:
> *This message was transferred with a trial version of CommuniGate(r) Pro*
>
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Oliver Hookins" 
> <oliver.hookins () anchor com au>
> To: <nanog () nanog org>
> Sent: Wednesday, May 27, 2009 12:47 AM
> Subject: Out of warranty APC PDU repair
>
> > Hi all, hopefully this isn't too off topic (since it's datacentre  
> > related).
> >
> > We have an APC AP7952 rack PDU which has stopped working. I believe the
> > management module is faulty, and it is about 5 years old. APC don't  
> > service
> > these outside of warranty at all so I'm trying to find a 3rd-party  
> > repairer.
> > So far APC doesn't seem to understand this concept.
> >
> > Can anyone suggest a company that would work on these units in Sydney,
> > Australia or nearby?
>
> One company here in the USA that might talk you through figuring out what 
> is wrong and then can supply repair pars is Gruber Power Services in 
> Phoenix.
>
> Google for GRUBER POWER as they have several domains , though 
> www.gruber.com probably will work, too.
>
> They are one division of Gruber out there that also custom builds fiber  
> jumpers and makes custom rack shelves and makes 1U 24 and 32 port RJ45 to 
> variously wired 25 and 32 pair champ connectors. and a myriad of other  
> things. They buy refurbish and sell LARGE UPSes and related gear of many  
> brands. Also have good prices on UPS batteries for folks here in the USA 
> in spite of  UnitedParcelService shipping prices... If you are ordering 
> pallet loads, truck becomes very attractive. Small quantities, use their 
> EBAY store as it is very automated and they give you a slightly better 
> price that way on small orders.
>
> Good folks! We did a site inspection of their facilities years ago right  
> after a Nanog meeting that was in Scottsdale. By then they were already  
> making several custom things for us and we were delighted to see where it 
> all came from.
>
> They can easily do custom punched and bent, drilled, tapped, etc steel or 
> aluminum "things" (typically RACK hardware) that can be left raw metal or 
> powder coated. Best price is NOT at some 10/50/110 like step but is 
> related to how many they can make of that item out of each standard sheet 
> of incoming metal. For example, they custom made us dense 96 port OC-48 
> BNC panels in 19" and shorter in 23" sizes. D shaped holes and we let 
> idle NOC fingers load bulk bought 75 ohm insulated BNC feed-throughs when 
> and as needed. VASTLY less expensive than commercial offerings. Also got 
> a lot of 1U 16 hole blanks as we just string 8 pack of 735 cable to a 
> customer's racktop if they need T3s. That will take two such cables. 
> Unless they have a lot of RAS boxes that need many T3s, most anyone else 
> will prefer OC-x if they are getting much more capacity than that.
>
> Anyway, I hope they can help with your problem and it is INTERESTING to 
> hear how long or how short APC chooses to support users... 

Being as we are in Sydney, Australia and Gruber is in Phoenix, Arizona, USA,
I don't think it'll be the most convenient arrangement. I just received a
reply from APC saying even the warranty replacements don't get repaired. I
guess there's a landfill somewhere full of faulty PDUs...

-- 
Regards,
Oliver Hookins
Anchor Systems