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maxim wexler <blissfix <at> yahoo.com> writes: |
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group, |
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> Only 2.8mins left? The UPS unit, fairly common I suspect, is a Back-UPS ES 350 |
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and less than a year old. It only |
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> saw service once last year during an electric storm when the house power |
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failed for a few minutes. Why isn't |
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> it charging. Or is it? |
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13.4 volts looks good on a 12V battery. I'm not sure I'd trust all the numbers. |
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One easy thing to do is to, just swap in another (hopfully 7AH) |
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standard 12V battery), give it a few days, and see what the numbers |
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say. If you have lots of UPS's then getting a low cost 12V batter |
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tester for 'Jell-Cell' batteries is not a bad idea. If you see signs |
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of corrosion, toss the battery to the nearest recycle agency near |
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you. |
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It says BATTDATE 2000-00-00. Huh? |
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Ignore. This looks like a default firmware value if not is correctly |
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entered during manufacture or by the person that does maintenance. |
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Some firewares include it, but the manufacture does not have a |
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software application, where the info can be updated. |
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Gel-Cell batteries are not smart (i.e. no microp) so there is no |
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way for the battery to provide this info, to the UPS firmware. |
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It's gimmickery. |
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> I'd like to test it further but the apcupsd manual recommends at least 5mins |
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time left. |
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I'd use manual testing techniques with the battery removed from the ups. |
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You could have leaky or degraded circuitry in the ups. I canabalize |
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old ups for good circuits and batteries and such. If you have |
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several similar models you can do the same. Best to buy UPS in |
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qty 2 or more to cannabalize parts. Never by a ups that does not |
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use the standard 7AH or multiples of that standard battery. The further |
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away from those batteries you get, the more you'll get 'ripped' |
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at replacement time. One more thing. The smaller UPSs are of poor |
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quality. I usually never bay an ups with less than 1KVA rating, |
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although 800VA seem to be OK. The smaller ones just dye as the |
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electronic swithcing circuits (how AC is made from DC) are just |
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crappy and often fry or fatigue. Try not to run a UPS at more than |
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40% of the duty cycle, if you want it to last very long. |
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Hooking up any arrangement of AC lighting will allow you to see how the |
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battery performs over test intervals of 5,10,20,30 minutes. An amp meter, |
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the kind that clamps around the power cord will give you the current |
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draw of the load. From those numbers and the measured voltage |
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across the battery, you can plot performance curves. After you do |
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a few batteries, you can just watch the lights and pretty much |
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tell if a battery is cooked. Battery testers are also cool, and convenient. |
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If you are in the US, here is a great supplier for replacement batteries. |
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They have an 8AH replacement of the standard 7AH battery |
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(same form factor) that is usually less expensive, better quality |
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and will give you a 1/7 longer life, nominally, |
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Battery Wholesale Dist. |
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40120 Industrial Park Circle |
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Georgetown, TX 78626 |
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800 365 8444 not sure the website... |
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hth, |
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James |
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