"(e-mail address removed)" said in
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.
