On 10/10/2012 2:46 PM, Phil Hobbs wrote:
On 10/10/2012 03:45 PM, mike wrote:
On 10/10/2012 9:48 AM, Phil Hobbs wrote:
On 10/09/2012 08:20 PM, mike wrote:
On 10/9/2012 1:02 PM, Phil Hobbs wrote:
On 10/09/2012 03:50 PM, Dave Platt wrote:
I had to do an emergency replacement last weekend. The bad
battery was:

12vdc, 4 amp hour gell cell

All I could find locally was:

12vdc, 5 amp hour gell cell


The batteries are identical except for the amp hour ratings.

I don't *think* moving up an amp hour should be a problem with this
type of battery. Am I right?

Very probably. It is *possible* that the new battery may have
slightly different charging requirements than the old one, if you
want
to get the maximum service life out of it, but that's by no means
certain. Aside from that, the two should be compatible.


Watch out for gel cells that aren't rated for SMPS service. Those
suckers get drawn down _fast_, and lots of the cheaper ones won't
survive. (Ask me how I know.)

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

I've had that same question. I get that cheapo batteries are typically
lower quality. But how do you tell that an expensive battery isn't just
a cheapo battery with a higher price tag? They all seem to have the
same
specs.
Any advice on brands?

I've had good luck with the on-shore and European brands, e.g. Varta.
IME usually there's a sticker inside the unit or a table in the manual
that gives recommended battery types.

I tend to buy used IBM e-server UPSes, which are rebranded APC SmartUPS
units, and seem to go much cheaper than the APC-branded ones. I've got
three 750 VA ones for $50 each, so even with a $60 battery it's still
pretty affordable. (The supplies themselves seem pretty bulletproof.)

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

I buy my UPSes at garage sales. They're the cheapo consumer toys that
went
dead and were left in the garage a few more years. Batteries are always
toast.
Power around here rarely goes out for more than a second. If it's out
longer than that, it's probably gonna be out for longer than an
affordable
UPS could handle. Current system is down to about a minute run time.
Should replace the battery.

I'm not a big fan of the consumer models, e.g. the APC BackUPS. The
SmartUPSes connect to the server, and in Gnome, the battery icon on the
desktop automatically tells you what the UPS is doing. I assume Windows
does something similar. They're also much better built, so for $50,
they're an excellent deal.

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

APC would be a step up for me ;-)
I have no need to know what the UPS is doing.
The lights going out are my clue that something
happened.
It's always good to match the tool to the job.
For me, a free garage sale ups that keeps my system
from resetting on a 1-second power glitch gives
me all the bang for none of the buck ;-)
But it is time to get a new battery for it.