PC backup batteries.....

[Bill Huber]

If you don't have one you should.....

I have a small APC UPS on both of my computers and the batteries finally went south.

So I can get a battery from APC for around $60
Batteries Plus wants $29

But I can go to Cabelas and get a deer feeder batter for $19.

So if you need a 12v 7.5ah battery and have a Cabelas close $19 is cheap for 2 or 3 year of use.

[Don Abele]

Bill, I have 8 desktops, 4 servers, and a home movie theater that all have UPS's attached to them. So I have them coming out of my...well, my wallet. It gets very expensive to replace those batteries every 3 years or so. In the past I have used many different companies (NEVER APC though) to purchase replacements.

Please let me know how the deer feeder battery works for you as I'd love to be able to save on replacements (especially since every UPS takes at least two, the servers and home theater take four!).

Be well,

Doc

[Bill Huber]

Bill, I have 8 desktops, 4 servers, and a home movie theater that all have UPS's attached to them. So I have them coming out of my...well, my wallet. It gets very expensive to replace those batteries every 3 years or so. In the past I have used many different companies (NEVER APC though) to purchase replacements.

Please let me know how the deer feeder battery works for you as I'd love to be able to save on replacements (especially since every UPS takes at least two, the servers and home theater take four!).

Be well,

Doc

I have one on a PC of my daughters that has been there for about 18 months and it is still going fine.

[Rick Moyer]

Maybe I shouldn't post this (knocking on wood) but our APC is nearly five years old I think, and the battery is still fine. What is the life expectancy of these batteries? Am I due?

[Darius Ferlas]

What is the life expectancy of these batteries? Am I due?
Usually it will be 3 years but it's not a rule cast in stone. If you install the UPS monitoring software that comes with the batteries then it should be able to tell you how long the batteries will keep the system running. If the only reason you use a UPS is to avoid unexpected power failures then, under a worst case scenario, a couple minutes of juice is all you need.

I try to never go below 10 minutes though.

[Dan Friedrichs]

These batteries should really last more than a few years. They're AGM (like the lead-acid in your car, just with a gell electrolyte, not liquid), so they really should last, well, about as long as a car battery would!

Hint: Lots of those emergency backup light fixtures you see in malls/schools/hospitals/etc use the same type of battery. Code requires them to be changed much more frequently than they actually need to be. Make friends with the guy who changes them, and you could probably get as many as you could ever need, and they still have a few years of life left in them....

[Don Abele]

These batteries should really last more than a few years. They're AGM (like the lead-acid in your car, just with a gell electrolyte, not liquid), so they really should last, well, about as long as a car battery would!...

Dan, I agree but can tell you that is not the case. I have owned UPS's for a very long time (almost exclusively APC) and they seem to have an average three-year life. The OEM APC batteries are the worse. Some after-market batteries have faired much better lasting upwards of four years.

In the beginning I paid my UPS's no attention what so ever. Now I monitor them with the Smart-UPS technology software that tells me a lot about the condition of the battery. The units also cycle the batteries now as well. Hopefully that will lead to better life as these batteries are REAL expensive.

And remember - don't throw them away - recycle them.

Be well,

Doc