UPS Battery Back Up Question

[Kilgore Trout]

I have 6 Uninterruptible Power Supply cases scattered around my home to provide battery backup for computer systems and other electronic items.

Two of them have stopped providing battery back up over the last month and I'm wondering what to do with them.

I kind of expected the UPS systems to last 10 years each or so; but, did some reading on the net and it turns out the expected life span of a UPS is maybe 3, 4, or 5 years max.

The problem is that purchasing a new battery from APC say, is so expensive that I might just as well through the whole thing out and buy a new one.
So, I'm wondering if anyone knows if there is a place in GTA where I can take the battery from the APC UPS, and pay them to repack it with good battery material so that I can plug battery back into the case and be good to go for another 4 years or so.

Just wondering if this is realistic. The only other option is throwing the whole thing out because I'm not going to pay what APC wants for just a new battery for the UPS.
Thanks for any ideas.

 

[Disturbia]

Whatever you do with them, please make sure you dispose them properly.

Depending the usage, they should usually last between 3 to 6 years. I've been using them for over 10 years now. Personally, I think Belkin has better products and support though. Twice the battery itself died in about 3 years ... called Belkin and they sent me a new one in less than 48 hours! The problem was the batteries were not replaceable so that's why they sent new units!

You didn't say what models you have there but here are couple of links which perhaps cheaper that dealing with APC directly.

http://www.infinitecables.com/ups_man.html

http://www.nhsmedia.com/apcbatte.htm

As you know by now, sometimes it's cheaper to buy a newer model with more juice than just the battery for the older ones.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

One of them is an APC XS-800, the other is a Belkin 1100VA, like this one:

http://cgi.ebay.ca/Belkin-F6C1100-U...3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66:2|65:3|39:1|240:1318
Called Belkin and they are no longer in the UPS business they told me. I think my product is just past the 3 year warranty; so, I'm out of luck there.

Anyway, I think I'm going to drop the dead batteries off at Home Depot because I heard they recycle batteries or something and just throw the casing out.

I like Geek Squad brand from Best Buy. I have 4 of those now and they have never given me a problem. Plus they cost about 35% less than APC for comparable models.
http://www.bestbuy.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&sku_id=0926INGFS10090725&catid=20195#

TigerDirect sells the Ultra Brand. 2000VA and 1200 watts for only 229.99
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1815470&Sku=ULT33046

I don't think I'm going to buy anything from Belkin or APC again. Overpriced and unreliable in my experience.

 

[Cassini]

Open the UPS, find the battery. Go to your local Sayal Electronics store. Purchase the most expensive replacement battery of the same size/shape/spec. It will be really obvious which one this is. Avoid the batteries that are "used".

The used batteries can be dropped off for free at your local recycling facility.

Battery backups only last a few months if the power fails often, particularly if you haven't set them to automatically power down after a few minutes of up-time. Don't let the UPS drain the battery, only let the UPS drain the battery to 80% capacity or so.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

Thanks for Sayal Electronics info. That's something I was hoping to hear about. I'll stop by on Monday.

I don't know how old my dead UPS's are. It feels like 3 years; but, if I stop and think about it- they could easily be maybe 5 or 6 years old. I don't keep old receipts lying around.
I'm going to buy a new Geek Squad one right now because I need another one anyway and I'm going to put a sticker on the back of it to let me know when purchase date was. At least I'll know how long it lasted before croaking.

 

[Disturbia]

One of them is an APC XS-800, the other is a Belkin 1100VA, like this one:

http://cgi.ebay.ca/Belkin-F6C1100-U...3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66:2|65:3|39:1|240:1318

I had 2 of them. The battery is not replaceable, as far as I know. But maybe there is a way of fixing it, hopefully.

 

[Cassini]

As long is it is a lead acid battery, pretty much anything works, as long is it is the same voltage and has an equal or higher amp-hour rating. The APC UPSs I usually dismantle are larger units than yours, but they all use standard backup lighting sealed lead acid batteries. Your biggest problem is selecting a battery of the correct physical shape, such that it fits inside the enclosure.

Replacing batteries on an old UPS can be dangerous. With anything other than a standard sealed lead acid battery though, be very careful with what you do. Batteries can explode. Li-On batteries are notorious for exploding. Lead-acid batteries can explode if incorrectly connected, or if the UPS failure has other issues. Blown charging circuits can cause explosions.

 

[Never Compromised]

I have a APC UPS. When the battery went down this past fall, I took it out and went to a alarm supply store. It cost me $5 less (not including postage/handling) than having a battery shipped to me.

 

[Disturbia]

What I meant was the battery is not user replaceable. Sorry for the typo!

In any case, just a reminder: please be careful when trying to fix these for the sake of your own safety.

Keep in mind that your health and well being is priceless.

 

[svtcobra]

There is a company in Markham, which I purchases batteries for a couple of my units in the past. I forgot their exact location but here is their ebay link.

http://stores.ebay.ca/ExcessUPS

Hope that helps.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

Okay, thanks for all the feedback Disturbia, Cassini, Compromised.

Checked Sayal and they didn't have my size of lead acid battery and battery from manufacturer is too expensive; so, I bought 2 new UPS cases from Bestbuy, - the Geeksquad brand .
Person at TigerDirect told me most people just toss out their UPS boxes when the battery dies because new batteries are too pricey.

Anyway, dropped off the old batteries in the Best Buy recycling box and tossed the casing boxes into a garbage dumpster.
Thanks for your feedback again.

 

[blipluey]

I recently replaced two our our batteries. The ones that failed were about 5 years.
I got replacements from these people: http://www.refurbups.com/
Note you will have to pay for shipping and brokerage.