Dead batteries... aren't very much fun (was: Re: [TriLUG] UPS Batteries)

William W. Ward wwward at pobox.com
Thu Aug 29 13:16:27 EDT 2002


Doug -

This is a home unit, so I'm not worried about making the office go kaboom.
But that said, and although I am also not a trained electrical guy - it is
safe to put a larger capacity battery on a UPS provided the voltage is the
same (or within tolerance of the machine.)  It's like installing a larger
tank on your water cooler.  The battery can maintain 24Ah of electrical
potential, versus the 7.2Ah normally stowed in the smaller units.

The difference between the two is the amount of time required to charge the
battery.  Obviously, since the 24Ah cell is larger, it will take
substantially longer to bring back up to full.  Generally a UPS isn't always
called into action immediately, so this is generally not a problem.  As the
voltage is the same, the larger capacity doesn't stress the charger any
more, just makes it run longer (if it is a smart charger, many UPS use
'always-on' trickle chargers, so they run continuously no matter what state
the battery is in.)

I'd appreciate some validation of my claim by a more wizened electrical
person, but my own experiences with amateur radio have exposed me to
batteries frequently, and selecting them for various 'home brew'
applications.

Bill

----- Original Message -----
From: "Douglas Brown" <dugbrown at email.unc.edu>
To: <trilug at trilug.org>
Sent: Thursday, August 29, 2002 1:09 PM
Subject: Re: Dead batteries... aren't very much fun (was: Re: [TriLUG] UPS
Batteries)


>
> not being a EE (like some on this list) I would be afraid of that
> route... burning down the office and getting an early test of the DRP
> are not things on my "to do" list... ;-)
>
> "William W. Ward" wrote:
> >
> > Doug -
> >
> > The other fine option in UPS battery replacement - bigger batteries.  I
> > purchased a 24Ah unit to replace the twin 7.2Ah cells in an APC 1000
UPS.
> > The battery certainly doesn't fit inside, but the run time is
outstanding
> > (in its field.)
> >
> > Bill
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Douglas Brown" <dugbrown at email.unc.edu>
> > To: <trilug at trilug.org>
> > Sent: Thursday, August 29, 2002 12:42 PM
> > Subject: Re: Dead batteries... aren't very much fun (was: Re: [TriLUG]
UPS
> > Batteries)
> >
> > >
> > > I've had great luck with batteries plus - took a load of dead UPS
> > > batteries over and got new ones fairly inexpensively - watch
dimensions
> > > on the new ones, I have a big APC matrix unit w/o a top because of the
> > > size of the new batteries... but it works great.
> > >
> > > -doug
> > >
> > > "William W. Ward" wrote:
> > > >
> > > > I don't think they handle disposable batteries (that is to say,
> > batteries
> > > > that are manufacture with the intention of being chucked in the
> > landfill,)
> > > > but they do take nickel cadmium and lithium-ion and nickel metal
hydride
> > > > cells.
> > > >
> > > > The link below should take you to their store locator page.  Call
them
> > and
> > > > ask, it would seem desirable to recycle all types of batteries if
such a
> > > > process were practical.  I know the larger lead-acid cells have been
> > > > recycled for many years, and there is a big campaign by some
> > organization to
> > > > coax people into recycling their consumer electronic battery packs
as
> > the
> > > > metals within are more troublesome than the traditional alkaline
cells.
> > > > http://www.batteriesplus.com/locator.html
> > > >
> > > > I'm not specifically interested in promoting this store above
others,
> > but I
> > > > don't have any experience or knowledge of other vendors in the
area -
> > and my
> > > > experiences with this particular vendor have been very good.
> > > >
> > > > Bill
> > > >
> > > > ----- Original Message -----
> > > > From: "John Franklin" <franklin at elfie.org>
> > > > To: <trilug at trilug.org>
> > > > Sent: Thursday, August 29, 2002 11:37 AM
> > > > Subject: Dead batteries... aren't very much fun (was: Re: [TriLUG]
UPS
> > > > Batteries)
> > > >
> > > > > On Thu, Aug 29, 2002 at 10:53:56AM -0400, William W. Ward wrote:
> > > > > > As a related aside, Batteries Plus also accepts old rechargeable
> > > > batteries
> > > > > > of all types for recycling, including cell phone packs, laptop
> > batteries
> > > > and
> > > > > > individual rechargeable cells you might use in place of alkaline
> > > > > > disposables.
> > > > >
> > > > > Will they take regular batteries (alkaline or otherwise) for
> > recycling,
> > > > too?
> > > > >
> > > > > jf
> > > > > --
> > > > > John Franklin
> > > > > franklin at elfie.org
> > > > > ICBM: 35043'56"N 78053'27"W
> > > > > _______________________________________________
> > > > > TriLUG mailing list
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> > > > > TriLUG Organizational FAQ:
> > > > >     http://www.trilug.org/~lovelace/faq/TriLUG-faq.html
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > _______________________________________________
> > > > TriLUG mailing list
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> > > > TriLUG Organizational FAQ:
> > > >     http://www.trilug.org/~lovelace/faq/TriLUG-faq.html
> > >
> > > --
> > > Douglas Brown
> > > Manager of Security Resources
> > > UNC Chapel Hill
> > > Abernethy 105
> > > _______________________________________________
> > > TriLUG mailing list
> > >     http://www.trilug.org/mailman/listinfo/trilug
> > > TriLUG Organizational FAQ:
> > >     http://www.trilug.org/~lovelace/faq/TriLUG-faq.html
> > >
> > >
> > _______________________________________________
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> > TriLUG Organizational FAQ:
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>
> --
> Douglas Brown
> Manager of Security Resources
> UNC Chapel Hill
> Abernethy 105
> _______________________________________________
> TriLUG mailing list
>     http://www.trilug.org/mailman/listinfo/trilug
> TriLUG Organizational FAQ:
>     http://www.trilug.org/~lovelace/faq/TriLUG-faq.html
>
>



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