[lug] UPS Recommendation

[Quentin Hartman]

One note on the Werker brand from batteries plus is that their quality
seems to vary widely. The explanation I got from an employee (after a spate
of bad batteries) is that B+ doesn't have any standing ODM or OEM
relationships with manufacturers. They pretty much just troll the open bulk
market for unbranded batteries then brands and sells them. Sometimes they
are from good quality manufacturers (like Yuasa) and are quite a bargain,
sometimes they are pretty shoddy.

Of course this is all hearsay, but it's consistent with the experiences
I've had with them over the years replacing many many batteries with
them. If you happen to hit a store when they've just restocked you can
sometimes see that the "same" battery on the shelf is obviously different
in appearance, which also lends credence to the story.

QH


On Tue, Aug 27, 2013 at 10:23 PM, Jed S. Baer <blug at jbaer.cotse.net> wrote:

> 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!
>
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