Dead UPS Battery recovery

[Crazy Buddhist]

I have three UPS's. They all power up but are dead. It's probably because they sat in an office charged for a couple of years and were never used. I suspect the batteries have deep sulfication problems.

Anyone have any experience with recovering UPS's in this condition? I have heard pulse charges can do the job but am wondering about the risks of taking the UPS's apart to do this.

Thoughts on a postcard or reply here of course ...

CrazyB

[crenn]

Easiest way, buy a new battery, anything else, I'm not sure.

[Crazy Buddhist]

That is what I want to avoid for financial and ecological reasons. I think these batteries are recoverable.

[nevermind1534]

Once it's unplugged and the battery dead, they should be fine to open. They are just sealed lead-acid batteries. I would suggest getting bigger batteries for them, such as car/marine batteries. Also, make sure that they are deep cycle batteries. They should last a lot longer.

[xmastree]

What size batteries are they?

Lead acid batteries can be revived in certain circumstances. You need to cycle them.

Charge them up, then attach a load such as a 12V bulb. If possible, time the duration of the light. Then repeat the charge/discharge a few times. If it's working you should observe a longer duration before the light dims.

I've revived a motorcycle battery this way, but I don't think SLA's are quite as resilient. If you notice any bulges in the sides, they're dead.

I work with these things (fire alarms and emergency lighting) and we replace them after four years in service.

[Crazy Buddhist]

Thanks for the tips xmas I will take a look :up:

I have one that looks like this style design and weighs a Tonne:

http://i.dell.com/images/global/products/pedge/pedge_apcups_quarter_314xva.jpg

and two of these that weigh a good part of a tonne:

http://g-ec2.images-amazon.com/images/I/514H28TSKVL._AA280_.jpg (http://www.squidoo.com/UPS-Battery-Backup)

[xmastree]

At a guess, I'd say they would have two 12V 7Ah batteries in each. this place (http://www.toolstation.com/index.html?r=a&feature=79562&rr=HK557v1pdLAtdkR9&gclid=CMqTm7jY3JMCFShUEAod_mEJZQ) has them for £12.43 each. Not too bad.