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UPS battery usage

N

Nicholars

Gawd
Joined
Jan 10, 2012
Messages
788
If I had a UPS and almost never actually get any power drop outs, my power never cuts out, maybe once a year max, except when my refrigerator comes on it can make my DAC cut out for a second... how long would a battery last? Would I still have to replace it regularly? I it still charged and discharged regularly even if it is not used for power drop outs?

I want a UPS for the AVR and surge features and the actual UPS would be a bonus but I would almost never use it and would be annoying if I still have to replace batteries more than once every 10 years for example (as the UPS function will be very rarely used)
 
A sla battery(type used in a ups because it is safe in a house or office) only last 3-4 years even with light use.
 
Thansk for reply... So even if it is very rarely used... eg. the fridge would probably be corrected by the AVR and not need the battery and my actual power drops out (power cut) almost never... once a year max... So even then I am going to have to change the battery every 4-5 years?
 
I don't know about the need to discharge it, I don't think these need formatting.
But I'd say - it depends on the quality of the battery and the control circuit in the UPS.
Also, in my case at least, 4-5 years was the limit for a UPS which constantly used the battery for AVR. The other ones are fine after 6-7 years.
Also they don't suddenly go and die, you'll just see that they give less and less runtime with each year.
But a fridge is a large load I think, so that loss of capacity might actually drive it over the limit and cause a shutdown. If you overprovision it might last a bit more than 4-5. I'd say stormy's estimation is right, but it's also the worst-case scenario (in my experience).
 
It's a good idea to replace your UPS batteries every 4 years. More like 3 or slightly less than 3 if you get frequent power outages.
 
The lead-acid batteries used by backup supplies last about as long as the lead-acid batteries used by vehicles, typically 3-4 years. I had one battery last 10 years; it came with a 300VA all-metal APC backup with only 2 AC outlets, both in the back. It could actually run my system for almost 5 minutes.

Backup supplies periodically run an automatic load test on their batteries, but I've found that batteries can pass that test but be in really sorry condition, in one case being able to run the computer only 30 seconds. Many backup supplies can't even be turned on if the battery doesn't work
 
Same deal with me! I actually discovered an black all-metal APC 300VA unit supporting the old telephone system. It had no problems with being hit by surges from the phone lines, it was just there. It was there because it was needed. Turned out I had two, the other was powering a hard drive and a Linksys NSLU2. Same deal, it just worked for MINUTES :D
And super easy battery change. You'd just open a small flap on the bottom , the battery slided out and that was it.
 
Also, don't forget one ups can have the capability to produce more power from a given battery than another. Efficiency applies.
 
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