Tiny AGM, short life - not RV

theoldwizard1 wrote:

wa8yxm wrote:
Many confuse GEL with AGM ...

I always thought those small UPS batteries were GEL cells. 5 years is a reasonable life.

AGM batteries in UPS units are a more recent thing. Within say the last 10 yrs or so AGM prices dropped enough to be close to Gelcell batteries to be not much more cost and perhaps a bit cheaper with AGM. Basically manufacturing costs have dropped making AGMs attractive to OEMs.

The OEM batteries in my newer UPS units are AGM, it is plastered on the sides of the batteries.. The oldest UPS I have is a APC from the 1990s came with Gelcells which also is plastered on the side of the battery.

theoldwizard1 wrote:

Folks who have larger size UPS should know that most we designed to NOT run continuously ! They shutdown either from time or temperature even if they have sufficient battery power remaining.

That is a myth perpetuated forever on the Interweb.

None of the UPS units I have encountered, have any such time or temperature limitations and are designed to run the full time with full load until the battery charge expires.. There are UPS units which have external battery terminals which allow you to add on additional batteries to expand the run time.

Smaller UPS units in small packages (like the surge protector style) tend to have very small batteries which means they will run for a much shorter time. They are all designed to operate the full time without overheating or shutting off before the battery runs out of charge.

I think where this myth originated from was folks "modifying" small surge protector style UPS units to run from an larger capacity external battery without the understanding that the small package of the unit was going to limit how much heat the unit was able to dissipate over time..

I have done that external battery mod many yrs ago on a APC 450VA UPS successfully. Used it to power equipment for many hrs at a time at flee markets. Powered PCs and stereos all day long and the unit never overheated or failed.. Still have that unit laying around since it was one that ran from 12V it was easy to mod.. Of coarse the APC unit I used was not a small compact surge protector style so the UPS had lots of ventilation.

wa8yxm wrote:
Many confuse GEL with AGM ...

I always thought those small UPS batteries were GEL cells. 5 years is a reasonable life.

Folks who have larger size UPS should know that most we designed to NOT run continuously ! They shutdown either from time or temperature even if they have sufficient battery power remaining.

Almot wrote:
There is no test button on this one. I'm positive that it's been dead for a while - as I wrote, there was no power outage for a few years.

Cyberpower consider battery in this model to be non-replaceable - well, it was fine while new UPS cost $30 but now it's $80. Amazon have a battery, says it fits this particular Cyberpower but Chinese sellers are lying - not surprisingly. It protrudes out of the casing, have to wrap it with a duct tape.

That is because you bought the "surge protector" style.

To me, surge protector style are 100% worthless to start with, too small of a package, too low of wattage and way to small battery = not enough load support or battery run time.

Move over to a larger UPS..



1300VA UPS for $160

and you WILL get your "test" button and much, much more..



Those are what I moved to after my 20+ yr old APC units started to have hardware failures instead of battery failures.

They are big and heavy and sadly I have had to replace the battery in one of them twice now since I bought it.

The bigger battery gives me a lot more run time to go out to my unattached garage and start the gen and then down to the basement to flip the manual transfer switch to gem.

Have one on entertainment stuff like sat and 50" TV, desktop PC I edit pictures and videos with, one in office for DW to run her PC for work, one in basement to keep water softener system powered.

We get a lot of random quick on/off power blinks pretty much all the time and a few long multiple hr long outages every few months.. Lost a TV over one of those on/off blinks that damaged the tuner memory, lost memory and when you try to scan and store it never stores.. Use that one for a computer monitor now..

Almot wrote:
Battery is a few AH, costs ~$20, no big deal but 5 years with zero cycles?

Test the battery at least once a year. Or replace every two.

Turn the computer off and plug in a 100w incandescent lamp for a test.

I use much bigger UPS Cyberpower 1500 units that take two GEL batteries. Mine get cycled several times a year and last around 5 years or more. Last batteries I bought were $20ea. Does seem like they use to last longer.

There is no test button on this one. I'm positive that it's been dead for a while - as I wrote, there was no power outage for a few years.

Cyberpower consider battery in this model to be non-replaceable - well, it was fine while new UPS cost $30 but now it's $80. Amazon have a battery, says it fits this particular Cyberpower but Chinese sellers are lying - not surprisingly. It protrudes out of the casing, have to wrap it with a duct tape.

Many confuse GEL with AGM they are dang near polar opposites.
Though Many claim AGM outlasts flooded wet.. NOT my (or your) Experience.

One thing you do not know is how long that thing sat on the shelf at the store.

5 yrs, you are a winner.

I was used to older 1990s UPS units which used Gelcells, those easily lasted 6-7 yrs.

Fast forward to my newer UPSs which have AGMs, 3 yrs to the day tops.

Almot, most UPS units do have a test button. Press the button and the UPS simulates a power outage by cutting power temporarily and switching the load to the inverter. This puts the batteries under not only the inverter load but the additional load you have plugged in to the unit.

If no button, simply unplug the unit once a month or so to test it, if it doesn't fail within a couple of minutes you are good to go for another month..

Additionally higher wattage APS, Tripplite UPS units (and most likely Cyberpower) UPS units run a test schedule typically on a weekly basis doing basically a silent background test to check the battery condition.. Typically find that on 1200W and higher UPS units.

Warranty is 3 years and only had 2 minutes run time at full load.

Hi Almot,

I wish they had a "test" button.