Replacing an APC UPS battery pair labeled CP1290 12V 9AH.
The unit has two confusing labels: on front is XS1500 and on back is
BX1500. Was this a transition unit, insides BX1500?

Need recommendations of battery brand and type.
Battery type includes high temperature batteries.
Is this a better battery overall?

Buying batteries from Amazon.

Batteries in the unit are swollen and cracked but not leaking.

They are fastened together with a cable coming out between the to
batteries that are mechanically packaged top to top.

Not sure if I can easily get apart and reuse that mechanical setup.
Suggestions please.

--- news://freenews.netfront.net/ - complaints: ---

O wrote:

Suggestions please.

Run, do not walk, to the nearest trash bin and toss that thing out, all of
it, the batts, ups, everything.

Those things are total junk.

I bought around 10 of those (apc xs1500/bx1500) back when they came out
(2005?) and none of them are still around.

Half of them, when the time came to do something (like supply backup power),
arc'ed like a lighting strike, released the magic smoke and went dead.

The others that didn't have that feature, ate batteries like candy, I don't
think any lasted 2 years. As you noticed, there are two batteries taped
together and are somewhat bonded by a plastic frame and more tape.

There is nothing special about the batteries, like you, I replaced/rebuilt
the carrier with ones from amazon (and a few from Microcenter) but like the
originals, the lifespan was incredibly short.

I ran across a web site a while back where someone analyzed that series and
discovered its the self-test killing the unit off. Instead of running the
self-test every week to 10 days, that test runs every 24 to 36 hours and
those short tests, after just a year, already killed off 50% of the usable
life. After 14 months, the battery is practically useless (at 35%) and
pretty much DOA at 18 months.

Add in the fact that the battery pack is wedged into a metal chamber with
little to no air flow, it's just not a well designed ups.

http://www.pcliquidations.com/p15050-apc-back-ups-xs

If you look at the picture, on the front where the red APC letters are, that
is actually a door that slides down. I think those were the first consumer
level ups's that had "user replaceable batteries" and they designed the
cabinet for safety when being replaced (thus the metal battery chamber).

Those batteries are $35-$40 each and what I'm saying is, that ups is not
worth the $70-$80 and your time to rebuild the pack assembly. It's probably
not going to work when you need it anyways.

Piece of ****.

-bruce

On Tue, 15 Dec 2015 11:48:05 +0000 (UTC), Bruce Esquibel
wrote:

http://www.pcliquidations.com/p15050-apc-back-ups-xs

I have one of those and can confirm that it eats batteries and doesn't
run very well. However, my total experience is with one unit, so
treat it as anecdotal.

Are you sure that's the UPS that the OP owns? It might also be this
model:
http://www.kwaree.com/blog/2008/05/30/apc-back-ups-xs-1500/
I have two of them that run without problems. I also have about 5
customers that have them. Batteries have been lasting about 5 years
and no lightning bolts or smog problems.


--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

On 12/15/2015 11:49 AM, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
On Tue, 15 Dec 2015 11:48:05 +0000 (UTC), Bruce Esquibel
wrote:

http://www.pcliquidations.com/p15050-apc-back-ups-xs

I have one of those and can confirm that it eats batteries and doesn't
run very well. However, my total experience is with one unit, so
treat it as anecdotal.

Are you sure that's the UPS that the OP owns? It might also be this
model:
http://www.kwaree.com/blog/2008/05/30/apc-back-ups-xs-1500/
I have two of them that run without problems. I also have about 5
customers that have them. Batteries have been lasting about 5 years
and no lightning bolts or smog problems.



I have three UPS Back-UPS 750s, rebadged as IBM eServer UPS 750T.
They're really cheap on eBay, and run great. I had one overheat about a
year ago, so I threw it out, but the current three have been running
flawlessly for years and don't eat batteries at all.

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

--
Dr Philip C D Hobbs
Principal Consultant
ElectroOptical Innovations LLC
Optics, Electro-optics, Photonics, Analog Electronics

160 North State Road #203
Briarcliff Manor NY 10510

hobbs at electrooptical dot net
http://electrooptical.net

On 12/15/2015 12:11 PM, Phil Hobbs wrote:
On 12/15/2015 11:49 AM, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
On Tue, 15 Dec 2015 11:48:05 +0000 (UTC), Bruce Esquibel
wrote:

http://www.pcliquidations.com/p15050-apc-back-ups-xs

I have one of those and can confirm that it eats batteries and doesn't
run very well. However, my total experience is with one unit, so
treat it as anecdotal.

Are you sure that's the UPS that the OP owns? It might also be this
model:
http://www.kwaree.com/blog/2008/05/30/apc-back-ups-xs-1500/
I have two of them that run without problems. I also have about 5
customers that have them. Batteries have been lasting about 5 years
and no lightning bolts or smog problems.



I have three UPS Back-UPS 750s, rebadged as IBM eServer UPS 750T.
They're really cheap on eBay, and run great. I had one overheat about a
year ago, so I threw it out, but the current three have been running
flawlessly for years and don't eat batteries at all.

Misspoke. They're rebadged SmartUPSes, not BackUPSes.

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

--
Dr Philip C D Hobbs
Principal Consultant
ElectroOptical Innovations LLC
Optics, Electro-optics, Photonics, Analog Electronics

160 North State Road #203
Briarcliff Manor NY 10510

hobbs at electrooptical dot net
http://electrooptical.net

wrote:
Replacing an APC UPS battery pair labeled CP1290 12V 9AH.
The unit has two confusing labels: on front is XS1500 and on back is
BX1500. Was this a transition unit, insides BX1500?
Need recommendations of battery brand and type.
Battery type includes high temperature batteries.
Is this a better battery overall?
Buying batteries from Amazon.
Batteries in the unit are swollen and cracked but not leaking.
They are fastened together with a cable coming out between the to
batteries that are mechanically packaged top to top.
Not sure if I can easily get apart and reuse that mechanical setup.
Suggestions please.
--- news://freenews.netfront.net/ - complaints: ---

If you have a Interstate Battery nearby, they keep lots of UPS batteries in stock.


--
Usenet Reader for Android
http://android.newsgroupstats.hk

On Tue, 15 Dec 2015 13:07:15 -0500, Phil Hobbs
wrote:

Misspoke. They're rebadged SmartUPSes, not BackUPSes.

For those not familiar with APC marketspeak, the SmartUPS series are
all sine wave generators, most with continuous backup (i.e. no power
transfer relay). The BackUPS series are modified sine wave, also
known as step wise stair case generators, usually with a relay to do
the power transfer. The SmartUPS series does a better job tolerating
the crappy waveforms produced by emergency generators than the
BackUPS.

I just looked at my pile of dead and semi-dead APC UPS's. All have
one thing in common... no batteries. If I sell one, I buy the
batteries. Looking at the pile, there are 10 UPS's, only one of which
is a SmartUPS. The SmartUPS's are all in service. The BackUPS's all
sit on my shelf.

I get quite a few SmartUPS's from the local recycler. People recycle
them when the batteries die because they don't want to replace
expensive batteries. I buy the electronics and supply my own
batteries. So far, they all have worked just fine.

--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

Jeff Liebermann wrote:

Are you sure that's the UPS that the OP owns? It might also be this
model:
http://www.kwaree.com/blog/2008/05/30/apc-back-ups-xs-1500/
I have two of them that run without problems. I also have about 5
customers that have them. Batteries have been lasting about 5 years
and no lightning bolts or smog problems.

No clue unless the OP chimes back.

In the post he said it was XS1500 on the front and BX1500 on the back, which
was how the ones I had were marked. Since the one you show is also an
XS1500, maybe the BX is something with year or series type. I do notice
though, some of the current ones are BX1500G, so maybe they are all like
that. No letter is maybe the first run?

It still doesn't change the fact those white ones were crap.

-bruce

On Tue, 15 Dec 2015 08:49:28 -0800, Jeff Liebermann
wrote:

On Tue, 15 Dec 2015 11:48:05 +0000 (UTC), Bruce Esquibel
wrote:

http://www.pcliquidations.com/p15050-apc-back-ups-xs

I have one of those and can confirm that it eats batteries and doesn't
run very well. However, my total experience is with one unit, so
treat it as anecdotal.

Are you sure that's the UPS that the OP owns? It might also be this
model:
http://www.kwaree.com/blog/2008/05/30/apc-back-ups-xs-1500/
I have two of them that run without problems. I also have about 5
customers that have them. Batteries have been lasting about 5 years
and no lightning bolts or smog problems.

So much for 5 customers without problems. Last week, I checked out
the various UPS's at a customers site, and that all of them were APC
XS 1300 or XS 1500, all indicating dead batteries. When I installed
my sacred pair of known good 12v 9A AGM batteries in one unit, it ran,
but refused to recharge the batteries. Same with another set of known
good batteries. No error messages on the LCD or lights. I found the
same problem in 4 other units and one APC XS 1000. Something is
seriously broken in the electronics.

Fixing these UPS's is a financial loser. A set of replacement
batteries costs about $43.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001NJ3H0C
My guess is about 1 hr labor at $75/hr for a total of $118. I can buy
a new UPS for that amount. That also doesn't include any replacement
parts, pickup, delivery, and runtime testing. A smart person would
send them all to the recycler, which is what I suspect everyone else
with the same problem probably does. However, I have an aversion to
tossing things that can be fixed, so I decided to recharge my karma
and perform the money losing repairs.

http://www.11junk.com/jeffl/pics/repair/APC%20XS-1300/index.html
Once I got it apart, the fix was both easy and obvious. C69 22uf
400 VDC electrolytic was bulging.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/271859006825
The original brand was CapXon which is known for its ability to self
destruct after a few years. I replaced the capacitor, and now the
batteries are charging. I now have a total of 5 UPS's repaired.

Unfortunately, leaving AGM batteries in a discharged state for
extended periods is not a great idea. Out of 14 batteries, only 3
tested marginally good. The rest were dead. I would guess that
someone that simply replaced the batteries, didn't notice that they
weren't getting recharged, and came back in a few weeks to find that
the batteries were ruined, would not be very thrilled.

However, the hapless repairman that actually tried to open the plastic
box is in for yet another surprise. It's designed to be difficult or
impossible to open. The problem is the snap in front panel:
http://www.11junk.com/jeffl/pics/repair/APC%20XS-1300/slides/XS-1300-04.html
is easily installed, and a major PITA to remove. I had to crack the
case (see other photos and look for the red circles for screw
locations), partly separate the two halves of the case, and then pry
around the edges of the front panel with a stiff putty knife
(mega-spudger). I managed not to break or destroy anything during the
struggle. The APC XS 1000 was much easier to disassemble.

After I'm done with this customers 6 assorted UPS's, I have 4 more
customers with about 10 additional UPS's that will probably need
pre-emptive repairs. That should recharge my good karma for at least
another month of debauchery and depravity.


--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558