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recharge/replace UPS batteries?
Had a power outage last night, and this one apparently used up the battery
in my APC Back-UPS 650. Does the battery (batteries) need to be recharged, or replaced, and how is it done? If replacement is needed, does anyone know what kind of battery and a good source for them? Thanks, Alan -- --------------------------------------------------------------------- **** Please use address alanh[at]min.net to reply via e-mail. **** Posted using registered MR/2 ICE Newsreader #564 and eComStation 1.1 --------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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wrote in message
ganews.com... Had a power outage last night, and this one apparently used up the battery in my APC Back-UPS 650. Does the battery (batteries) need to be recharged, or replaced, and how is it done? If replacement is needed, does anyone know what kind of battery and a good source for them? Thanks, Alan The batteries are supposed to recharge on their own and if they are going to do it then after 12-16 hours they should have done so. There is always the possibility that your batteries are too old to hold a proper charge or that the UPS's charging circuitry is defective if the charge has not been regained after a suitable wait. APC's "smart" line has the option to run tests on the batteries and circuitry and report the results but the "back" line lacks these refinements (which means they are cheap and is why most of us use them). The unit's manual will tell you how to replace the battery(ies) if they are designed for end-user replacement. The smaller units like the 500 (I have three of these) use a single 12V gelled-electrolyte battery which is replaced from the back after removing a single screw and small panel. Not sure how yours manages it. -- John McGaw [Knoxville, TN, USA] Return address will not work. Please reply in group or through my website: http://johnmcgaw.com |
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" said in
ganews.com: Had a power outage last night, and this one apparently used up the battery in my APC Back-UPS 650. Does the battery (batteries) need to be recharged, or replaced, and how is it done? If replacement is needed, does anyone know what kind of battery and a good source for them? Thanks, Alan The batteries will go dead after 4 to 5 years with the last year having a shorter up-time because of reduced capacity. The same goes for the battery in your car. Since the batteries in the APC UPS are lead acid type, it does help to periodically let it drain completely and then charge up to prevent sulfer from accumulating and solidifying in the sponge plates which reduces the amperage output. If you have left the discharged UPS running for 24 hours to fully charge it and then you test by yanking the plug (some manuals tell you not to do that because you'll lose the ground protect but then just don't static shock your computer during the test) to see how long the batteries provide power. I had a 2kVA Fortress that after 6 years the batteries were dead. The battery tray was removable and I got replacements from Batteries Plus (at half the cost of getting them from the manufacturer). The battery in my TrippLite 450VA UPS also went bad after around 3 to 4 years and, although it probably wasn't supposed to get replaced, the case could be opened and I could get at the battery to replace it. For the Fortress, the cost of $160 for the 2 replacement batteries (30 pounds each) was a lot cheaper than a new equivalent UPS at a cost of $1500 and up. For the much smaller and less capable TrippLite, I think the replacement battery was half the cost of getting a new equivalent UPS. If you feel the batteries are too old and won't hold a decent charge to give the full rated up-time during an outage, see if there are any screws in the UPS' case that lets you take it apart, or a panel to open it for access to the battery. You can then get some info off the battery (if it wasn't provided in the manual) to give a call to Batteries Plus, or whomever you like, to see if they carry a replacement. Note that the replacement might be just a wee bit different in size, so you may have to add or shave the rubber or foam cushions usually used to keep the battery in place. When you have the UPS opened, be sure to put stickers (long ones that you can wrap around the cable and have enough room to write on the tab hanging off) on the cables and make notes as to what was connected to what to ensure you know how to hook it up again. When you come back and have 2 black wires, you might no longer know which was the positive or negative lead. According to the manual at http://sturgeon.apcc.com/techref.nsf/partnum/990-2037B/$FILE/2037be.pdf (I'm guessing yours was a model BP650), they don't bother to list the battery type number which could be used to determine its dimensions, weight, voltage, amp rate, and other specs. All they say is that it is a sealed lead-acid battery and to order their replacement model RBC 4 battery (yeah, like you need to pay them a royal price just to get a battery that you can get much cheaper elsewhere). When you open the case to look at the battery, hopefully it has sufficient markings so the folks at Batteries Plus can recognize it or look it up. The only problem you might run into are the connectors on the battery for the cable. The replacement battery might use different connectors. You'll have to decide if you can reuse the current connectors on the ends of the cables with the new battery or if you'll have to cut them off and attach different connectors. If you replace the cable end connectors, just don't crimp them on but also solder them (that's my recommendation although crimping might meet the current load for the lesser amount of contact area when crimped). If the UPS has gone bad because the batteries don't take a charge anymore, and if the unit is outside the warranty period, then you would be trashing the UPS anyway (unless you want to pay APC's price for a replacement) so there's no harm in dismantling its case to peek inside and check if you can get a cheaper replacement from Batteries Plus or whomever is local or closest. -- __________________________________________________ __________ *** Post replies to newsgroup. E-mail is not accepted. *** __________________________________________________ __________ |
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