flips Posted April 24, 2011 Share Posted April 24, 2011 I picked up a rackmount APC 700VA off of craigslist for $20 a while back knowing the batteries were bad. They are about 10 years old, so they are to the point where the don't even last for an instat when power is pulled. I'm looking to get some replacements, and there seems to be a wide range of prices to say the lest. My replacement number is RBC22. Although there are 4 batteries in the cartridge (RBC23), so I'm wondering if the faceplate is wrong. I need to check what the systems reports back over serial. I did notice that the tray says 1000VA in the warning, but I was thinking that might be just a safety thing. Anyway... what do you guys recommend? The APC brand is around $270 from a quick search. If you go to ebay you can get the 4 batteries for about $50. Researching online it says that you will have to replace the generics more often than the APCs, but even if I have to replace the generics every year (which I would kind of doubt) it is still about half the price. What do you guys do? Thanks, flips Quote Link to comment
SeeDrs Posted April 24, 2011 Share Posted April 24, 2011 Any 12v 7ah sealed battery will work just fine. I go to a local battery store and get them for ~20 dollars. Quote Link to comment
aim60 Posted April 25, 2011 Share Posted April 25, 2011 I've had good service from these guys http://stores.ebay.com/Gruber-Power-Services but shipping on a Back-Ups 1000 battery was as much as the battery. Still a good bottom line price, but it hurts that 50% of my dollars went to UPS. Quote Link to comment
amatt Posted April 26, 2011 Share Posted April 26, 2011 APC RBC23 - Pack is for one ups, (4) 12V 8AH Batteries APC-132 $75.60 batterywholesale.com - had good luck w/ recent replacement of battery packs for several UPSs - different brands and models. Quote Link to comment
WeeboTech Posted April 26, 2011 Share Posted April 26, 2011 Anther place to try. Refurb UPS http://www.refurbups.com/s.nl?search=RBC23 Quote Link to comment
johnny121b Posted April 26, 2011 Share Posted April 26, 2011 Back in the day, I ran a BBS, and rather than pay $$$ for proper replacements, I'd go to Lowes (or Wal-Mart, now) and buy a $28 lawn/garden battery. Significantly more amperage capability than needed, and not sealed, but my UPS were never tipped- nor were their large outboard batteries. And I weathered some long outages. But that was a wife-time ago. Are you single? Quote Link to comment
flips Posted April 26, 2011 Author Share Posted April 26, 2011 Are you single? Nope.. That seems like a very interesting option. As much as I don't mind kludging stuff.. I think that is going a bit too far for me. lol.. @aim60 The cheapest on ebay is just a couple bucks less than GPS, but probably will go with your link. How long have they lasted? Battery Geek seems to be the cheapest on ebay: http://cgi.ebay.com/RBC25-UPS-Battery-Pack-SU1400RMXL3U-RBC8-RBC23-RBC24-/200468876592 $52 shipped, versus GPS is $56 shipped. Also, battery geek is 0.5 ah higher, but not sure that is that big of deal for me. Thanks, flips Quote Link to comment
johnny121b Posted April 26, 2011 Share Posted April 26, 2011 Alright, if I can't interest you in that, how about the prospect of rejuvenating your current battery? I honestly didn't know about this process until about half an hour ago. But I've found almost identical information in several (regularly reputable) sites, and I'm sitting at work now, eager to go home this evening and give it a try. $2 to restore a battery....I'll try that!! http://www-rci.rutgers.edu/~crisitel/EV/Battery%20repair.doc Quote Link to comment
flips Posted April 26, 2011 Author Share Posted April 26, 2011 You were closer with the first option… I have heard of doing that with car and lawn mower batteries, but those are not sealed batteries. AUPS battery is a sealed battery, so you would have a heck of a time getting the thing sealed up again especially since they side on their sides while they are installed. Now if you combine the two options with a car battery and then a lifetime of replacements for $2 a time.. then you might have something. flips Quote Link to comment
RobJ Posted April 27, 2011 Share Posted April 27, 2011 I researched this myself recently, and the source I was most impressed with was: http://www.upsforless.com/ http://www.upsforless.ca/ (for our Canadian friends) UPSforLESS currently has a 10% off special. They carry both new and refurbished UPS replacement batteries, but unless you know you can trust the vendor and it's a really good deal, new is generally always the better choice in batteries. Quote Link to comment
johnny121b Posted April 27, 2011 Share Posted April 27, 2011 so you would have a heck of a time getting the thing sealed up again Actually, the first one I took apart this evening, was nice enough to have friction-fit rubber caps on the cells. Almost like they wanted me to try something... At least..... that's how I look at it. Quote Link to comment
DoeBoye Posted May 6, 2011 Share Posted May 6, 2011 Actually, the first one I took apart this evening, was nice enough to have friction-fit rubber caps on the cells. Almost like they wanted me to try something... How did this science project work out? I'd love to hear more details!... Quote Link to comment
johnny121b Posted May 6, 2011 Share Posted May 6, 2011 I learned the hard way, that "spill proof" means there's no liquid in there to replace! The plates are coated with some sort of paste whose chemistry doesn't seem to be compatible with epsom salt method. Nothing interesting happened when I filled the cells, so I let it sit overnight. No reaction. Next day, I hooked it up to a charger and got a quick reaction. The liquid started bubbling out of the cells almost immediately. I figured that wasn't a good sign, and I wasn't set up to contain a little volcano/battery, so I turned things off and admitted defeat with non-spillable batteries, which I found were in ALL my units. All the accounts I've read online say the method does work with lead/acid batteries, but they're all referring to liquid acid types. Still have a small (standard liquid acid) lawn-tractor battery that I'm using with one UPS, but it's still in good shape, so I've not had reason to attack it yet. Quote Link to comment
DoeBoye Posted May 6, 2011 Share Posted May 6, 2011 Very Interesting! Thanks for telling us about your results! Quote Link to comment
flips Posted May 6, 2011 Author Share Posted May 6, 2011 Wow.. you weren’t doing this on your kitchen table were you? Can you share some photos??? Quote Link to comment
bubbaQ Posted May 7, 2011 Share Posted May 7, 2011 All batts are not the same, even with the same ratings. If you buy a lawn/garden battery like for starting a lawn mower or a motorcycle, those are not necessarily "deep discharge" as they are designed for cranking amps... not deep discharge like a UPS needs. Quote Link to comment
aim60 Posted May 7, 2011 Share Posted May 7, 2011 Are you single? Nope.. That seems like a very interesting option. As much as I don't mind kludging stuff.. I think that is going a bit too far for me. lol.. @aim60 The cheapest on ebay is just a couple bucks less than GPS, but probably will go with your link. How long have they lasted? Battery Geek seems to be the cheapest on ebay: http://cgi.ebay.com/RBC25-UPS-Battery-Pack-SU1400RMXL3U-RBC8-RBC23-RBC24-/200468876592 $52 shipped, versus GPS is $56 shipped. Also, battery geek is 0.5 ah higher, but not sure that is that big of deal for me. Thanks, flips They lasted 3 years. The first set they sent were their own private label batteries. Their replacements, 3 years later, were another brand. These guys refurb large (as in pallet jacks and fork lifts) UPS's, so I figured they wouldn't risk their reputation selling junk. Toured a large datacenter the other day. They used [uPS's] without batteries. Utility Power -> [electric motor -> large flywheel -> generator] -> load. In case of a power outage, the flywheel keeps the UPS going long enough for diesel generators to kick in and replace utility power. Great idea for anyone that has a diesel generator at home that can kick in in 5 seconds. Quote Link to comment
johnny121b Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 those are not necessarily "deep discharge" as they are designed for cranking amps... not deep discharge like a UPS needs. It is true that lead-acid batteries aren't designed for deep discharge, but no UPS (that I've ever owned) deep-cycles the battery. The UPS quits long before the battery's completely discharged. Quote Link to comment
S80_UK Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 There are different lead-acid battery types for different applications. Some are optimised for regular cycling and some of these will be designed to support deep discharge. Others are designed to be kept on a top-up charge for standby use, such as batteries for alarm systems. UPS applications fall between these two categories. They are often kept fully charged with a trickle charge current for weeks or months, but when they are needed the discharge currents are often very high. Again, this has an influence on the internal design of the battery. For domestic use one might compromise. For commercial use I would seek out batteries specifically suited to UPS applications. Quote Link to comment
joellite Posted November 11, 2016 Share Posted November 11, 2016 You have no choice with the batteries they have to be new. I used these guys (same company) http://www.lextec.com/prod_sla_batteries.html http://www.lextec.com/prod_sla_batteries.html They're in Canada. Quote Link to comment
joellite Posted November 21, 2016 Share Posted November 21, 2016 You shouldn't just scrap your UPS because the batteries died. These guys supply replacement batteries. http://www.lextec.com/prod_sla_batteries.html They also sell UPS and you can get them to set you up with what you need. Take your old batteries with they recycle too. Quote Link to comment
trurl Posted November 21, 2016 Share Posted November 21, 2016 You shouldn't just scrap your UPS because the batteries died. These guys supply replacement batteries. http://www.lextec.com/prod_sla_batteries.html They also sell UPS and you can get them to set you up with what you need. Take your old batteries with they recycle too. I have sent this user a PM asking if they are actually interested in unRAID. I will be banning them and bilging their posts soon. Left their first post since I thought it might be useful but looks like they are just a spammer. Quote Link to comment
RobJ Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 You shouldn't just scrap your UPS because the batteries died. These guys supply replacement batteries. http://www.lextec.com/prod_sla_batteries.html They also sell UPS and you can get them to set you up with what you need. Take your old batteries with they recycle too. I have sent this user a PM asking if they are actually interested in unRAID. I will be banning them and bilging their posts soon. Left their first post since I thought it might be useful but looks like they are just a spammer. I agree. Still no external spam indicators though, but he only comes here to post about a commercial site, no minutes otherwise. Perhaps a small-time spammer, a friend of the business, trying to help it. But it's still spam. A case could be made though that it provides info to the community, therefore benefits the community ... I wonder what others think ... Quote Link to comment
trurl Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 We could leave his first post as useful, bilge the other one, and if he does it again ban him. Quote Link to comment
RADIatiON Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 My $0.02cnd Had he not posted twice so close together I would be OK with it. As stated, it is a good note for the community. I'd probably use a baseball analogy here... 3 strikes and you're out. Quote Link to comment
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