[lug] UPS Recommendation

[Jed S. Baer]

On Tue, 27 Aug 2013 20:57:44 -0600
Sean Reifschneider wrote:

> On 08/24/2013 07:57 AM, Jed S. Baer wrote:
> > This particular UPS is several years old, and I replaced the battery
> > just a couple years ago. I'm highly skeptical that the battery itself
> > is bad.
> 
> "just a couple years ago"?  What is the rated life of those batteries,
> because a couple of years sounds about right to me.  You can,
> apparently, get 10-year rated batteries, but they are a lot more
> expensive from what I've heard.  A 2 to 3 years is about as much as I
> get from APC batteries before the self-test starts showing them as bad.

Well, it turns out the battery was bad. I was surprised by this, as the
first battery (I think it was a Yuasa) certainly lasted a lot longer than
that. I did try to find info on the rated life, but the web is flooded
with sales info claiming "long life" etc., so the best I could find was a
3-year warranty, which is a good proxy for rated life, or that's my
understanding from automotive batteries anyway. The replacement was, and
is, a "Werker".

This old UPS doesn't have any snazzy metering. I suppose I can set an
alarm in my phone so I start looking for a better replacement in 2 years
or so. With more time to shop, I should be able to find a Yuasa at a
cycle or scooter shop.

The landlord suggested I just get a SLA automotive battery. Wouldn't fit
in the case, but wiring is easy.

So anyway, rule #1: check your assumptions!