Thermal Risk

[RflkTor]

I've heard and read that acid-lead batteries can cause a release of a very very dangerous gas, H2S.
Recently got an UPS for my PC, not that demanding so the thing isn't that big you know, it's 1200VA/720W but I then realized my environment might not be ideal for it, usually 70 to 100 F/20 to 35 C in ambient temperature and kinda dusty.
Use it? Use a surge protector instead, H2S risk is my main concern.

 

[BlueLineSwinger]

Unless the room starts to smell heavily of rotten eggs, everything is fine. SLA batteries are very stable and generally won't out-gas unless damaged or improperly charged/discharged.

You'll probably produce more hydrogen sulfide when you fart than the batteries will put out.

 

[Legendary Gamer]

I've heard and read that acid-lead batteries can cause a release of a very very dangerous gas, H2S.
Recently got an UPS for my PC, not that demanding so the thing isn't that big you know, it's 1200VA/720W but I then realized my environment might not be ideal for it, usually 70 to 100 F/20 to 35 C in ambient temperature and kinda dusty.
Use it? Use a surge protector instead, H2S risk is my main concern.

You should be fine. I use a 1500VA USP in damn near every room of my home and have never had an issue.

 

[michalrz]

The risk is lead-acid batteries releasing Hydrogen gas, usually when charged.

It's a non-issue in a normal-sized room that isn't sealed shut.
You'd need a significant concentration, like 4% in air, to get it to blow up. No worries, OP!

 

[pitingres]

I've never smelled H2S from any of my UPS's. I suppose it's possible. The good news is that you'll smell it long before the concentration becomes dangerous. You can hardly ignore the rotten-egg smell, it's awful.

What you DON'T want to do is to smell rotten eggs, and then ignore it. Prolonged H2S exposure can deaden the sense of smell. If you smell the stuff, something isn't right, and you need to fix it.

As michalrz says, your real "danger", such as it is, would be hydrogen build-up. Sealed lead-acids like home UPS's use shouldn't leak H2, and if they do, it shouldn't build up unless you keep your UPS in a sealed box. (H2 gas is very light and should escape any normal room quickly.) Don't keep your UPS in a hermetically sealed box or room, and you'll be fine.

 

[FrgMstr]

Your chances of being killed by your UPS is almost nonexistent, but never zero.

 

[RflkTor]

Unless the room starts to smell heavily of rotten eggs, everything is fine. SLA batteries are very stable and generally won't out-gas unless damaged or improperly charged/discharged.

You'll probably produce more hydrogen sulfide when you fart than the batteries will put out.

Well, what if it does start to smell what do you do then?

The risk is lead-acid batteries releasing Hydrogen gas, usually when charged.

It's a non-issue in a normal-sized room that isn't sealed shut.
You'd need a significant concentration, like 4% in air, to get it to blow up. No worries, OP!

Well, what is normal size to you? This room is actually now I think of it, quite small.

I've never smelled H2S from any of my UPS's. I suppose it's possible. The good news is that you'll smell it long before the concentration becomes dangerous. You can hardly ignore the rotten-egg smell, it's awful.

What you DON'T want to do is to smell rotten eggs, and then ignore it. Prolonged H2S exposure can deaden the sense of smell. If you smell the stuff, something isn't right, and you need to fix it.

As michalrz says, your real "danger", such as it is, would be hydrogen build-up. Sealed lead-acids like home UPS's use shouldn't leak H2, and if they do, it shouldn't build up unless you keep your UPS in a sealed box. (H2 gas is very light and should escape any normal room quickly.) Don't keep your UPS in a hermetically sealed box or room, and you'll be fine.

Again, what is a normal size? The room I keep electronics is actually quite small, 10 x 10 or 8 x 10, dont remember.

 

[RflkTor]

I believe the sheer non ideal ambient is not really coming across in my initial message, I accept that perhaps, maybe, H2S concern was overblown but certainly it has been replaced for a far more insidious and covert risk, HYDROGEN GAS!
Think of it like this, entertain the thought.

Non ideal temperature, plus dust which you know it's everywhere but still, we are talking 75 to 100F/25 to 35C, my research would so far say that after 90F/32C thermal runaway becomes a real possibility, extremely dangerous, remember H2S.
But even then, let's think of the device not failing, working as intended. Hydrogen Gas would still be released from a device expected to be on and plugged 24/7, hmm. Ok.

Sure, a normal sized room you might say, the electronic room is again either 10 x 8 or 10 x 10 but let's use 10' x 9' for the sake of our little scenario. I can easily see such a device causing Hydrogen Gas to build-up in such a tiny space. It's a matter of hours even.

So we have temperature, we have H2S, we have Hydrogen Gas, we have the possibility of an explosion on the battery again, due to heat. Like the David Lynch film, Fire walk with me is the phrase that comes to mind with such a device.
Again, what's the assessment of the situation?

 

[michalrz]

Like the David Lynch film, Fire walk with me

Twin Peaks Season 3 Episode 8 hints at an ability to counter the fire.
If lead-acid is BOB, the solution would be a lithium-ion battery UPS.

 

[pitingres]

Non ideal temperature, plus dust which you know it's everywhere but still, we are talking 75 to 100F/25 to 35C, my research would so far say that after 90F/32C thermal runaway becomes a real possibility, extremely dangerous, remember H2S.
But even then, let's think of the device not failing, working as intended. Hydrogen Gas would still be released from a device expected to be on and plugged 24/7, hmm. Ok.

No, hydrogen should NOT be released. Remember, any consumer UPS will be using a sealed lead-acid battery (assuming it uses that battery type at all, which is likely). Sealed batteries don't vent unless they are dangerously over-charged, which is a very unlikely failure mode. If they do vent, it's a significant one-time event that will release a small amount of hydrogen; the H2 will at that point be the least of your concerns, as it will quickly dilute to below danger concentrations. (We'd be talking about maybe a liter or two of H2 diluted into more than 12,000 liters of air, or more if the room is larger than 8x8x7. Don't forget to do the numbers.)

In other words, it's not going to happen. If you insist on worrying about dangers from your UPS, I can't stop you. I do however advise you to turn your worrying skills to something more plausible; lightning strikes on your home, for instance.

 

[Legendary Gamer]

Well, what if it does start to smell what do you do then?

Well, what is normal size to you? This room is actually now I think of it, quite small.


Again, what is a normal size? The room I keep electronics is actually quite small, 10 x 10 or 8 x 10, dont remember.

Place your nose right up to the battery and inhale deeply.... Seriously?

Room is fine, if the battery starts smoking... get rid of it.

 

[SmokeRngs]

I believe the sheer non ideal ambient is not really coming across in my initial message, I accept that perhaps, maybe, H2S concern was overblown but certainly it has been replaced for a far more insidious and covert risk, HYDROGEN GAS!
Think of it like this, entertain the thought.

Non ideal temperature, plus dust which you know it's everywhere but still, we are talking 75 to 100F/25 to 35C, my research would so far say that after 90F/32C thermal runaway becomes a real possibility, extremely dangerous, remember H2S.
But even then, let's think of the device not failing, working as intended. Hydrogen Gas would still be released from a device expected to be on and plugged 24/7, hmm. Ok.

Sure, a normal sized room you might say, the electronic room is again either 10 x 8 or 10 x 10 but let's use 10' x 9' for the sake of our little scenario. I can easily see such a device causing Hydrogen Gas to build-up in such a tiny space. It's a matter of hours even.

So we have temperature, we have H2S, we have Hydrogen Gas, we have the possibility of an explosion on the battery again, due to heat. Like the David Lynch film, Fire walk with me is the phrase that comes to mind with such a device.
Again, what's the assessment of the situation?

If the concerns you have about a UPS were truly as dangerous as you think, practically none of us would be here to reply to you because we'd all be dead from UPS use.

75F-100F room temperatures are nothing and should be well within normal operating temperatures. Outside temps where I live usually hit 100+ multiple times a year and if that was a problem for lead acid batteries every single car I've ever owned would have blown up because the battery temp in a hot engine bay under load in those temps is way above the outside air temp. While car batteries are not exactly the same as UPS batteries generally, they are similar enough.

Unless you go beating on the battery in the UPS with a hammer or something you're not likely to ever run into a single problem other than needing to replace the battery eventually due to age or normal use.

 

[matt167]

Li-on is far more dangerous and unstable, and they are more common than lead acid these days. Lead acid batteries can become dangerous and vent gas when the plates are sulfated while being charged. The charging circuits on most systems will shut the system down in the event of a battery fault. I’d guarantee that a UPS has those protections

 

[RflkTor]

If the concerns you have about a UPS were truly as dangerous as you think, practically none of us would be here to reply to you because we'd all be dead from UPS use.

75F-100F room temperatures are nothing and should be well within normal operating temperatures. Outside temps where I live usually hit 100+ multiple times a year and if that was a problem for lead acid batteries every single car I've ever owned would have blown up because the battery temp in a hot engine bay under load in those temps is way above the outside air temp. While car batteries are not exactly the same as UPS batteries generally, they are similar enough.

Unless you go beating on the battery in the UPS with a hammer or something you're not likely to ever run into a single problem other than needing to replace the battery eventually due to age or normal use.

Ignition range on H2S though? Maybe these are VLRA, would that change things?

 

[BlueLineSwinger]

Ignition range on H2S though? Maybe these are VLRA, would that change things?

You are way too fixated on this. Let it go for your own sanity.

 

[RflkTor]

You are way too fixated on this. Let it go for your own sanity.

Yeah, I might, I'm overly cautious, sorry. Look, I might have or not have done laser/fire experiments in either this room or the next one, so I wanted to know the uhhh range on Hydrogen Gas.

 

[michalrz]

Mgty23 ressurected?

 

[WilyKit]

Any battery can release harmful vapors if conditions allow. SLA are among the safest and most durable chemistries out there.

 

[pitingres]

Lower limit of H2 flammability in air, bulk, is somewhere around 4% I believe. You'd need to release a couple hundred liters of H2 into a small (8x8) room to come anywhere close. At that point, your sealed lead-acid battery clearly isn't sealed any more, and you are in no danger because you heard the loud pop when it unsealed due to failure overpressure, plus your UPS isn't working any more, which you will have noticed because your equipment isn't getting power.

Now, if you've noticed these things and then said to yourself "gee, this is a good time to play with my lasers", you might want to re-think. Instead, open a door or window for a few tens of minutes, and THEN play with fire.

 

[FrgMstr]

You are way too fixated on this. Let it go for your own sanity.

Pretty sure he is going to die.

 

[Darunion]

Now the "Dumb ways to Die" song is stuck in my head...

 

[drutman]

Yeah, I might, I'm overly cautious, sorry. Look, I might have or not have done laser/fire experiments in either this room or the next one, so I wanted to know the uhhh range on Hydrogen Gas.

4% to 74% explosion range for air/ Hydrogen mix. Coming from a Chemist who worked on PEM fuel cells for the Army this discussion is bonkers, if you are concerned get a combustible gas detector for your PC/home office. This will monitor Hydrogen Sulfide also.