Burnt out UPS batteries

[Poults]

Cleaner reported a burning smell in the morning, case was a big clogged with dust in the vents and burning hot to touch, stayed hot for about a day which I assume was the batteries having a reaction. I eventually got the batteries out and they look like the picture attached, is this just cheap batteries or do you think the ups is faulty and caused it? The fuse hadn't blown and it had our phone bcm as the only load on it. It was a Smart ups 1000, I've no idea how old the batteries are.

[MatthewL]

Cheap batteries are never a good thing. Issues like this for a start. Buy cheap buy twice. At the end of the day you have a UPS for a reason and shouldn't skimp of things for this is my though process.

[unixman_again]

It has been my experience that batteries in UPSs swell over time and, I guess, eventually end up like yours. I've had a couple swell but never to the point of yours. Generally when the batteries start to swell, the UPS doesn't UPS any more.

[difinity]

It could be overcharging due to a faulty UPS or it's possibly down to a shorted cell or the age of the batteries.

[Oddbod]

Ooh! They’re not far off from exploding… PAT test every year, change batteries every four years. Don't buy cheap as MatthewL says… Good replacements I've used in the past were yuasa - made in Swindon or Sonnenschein - made in Germany. Check on rs-components for these…

http://rs.com/

[Michael]

The crucial thing (I have this exact problem at one school), the battery has more than likely been replaced, but according to the APC PowerChute software, the battery is 12+ years old which is ridiculous. Always remember to update the battery age within the APC software, otherwise it's just pure speculation as to when it was replaced.

[southhamster]

+1 for Yuasa although APC seem to use average spec. Batteries themselves. I've seen ups where we had to bend the frame to get them out!

[Poults]

These were a hell of a job to get out, the ups is now completely dismantled. I have been here nearly 3 years and they have never been changed so they are probably about due anyway, I'm just thankful they didn't explode or cause anyone harm! Thanks for the suggestions of replacements too.

[Oaktech]

The last set of APC batteries I bought were yuasa, they came in an APC box and had all of the APC instructions, but the actual batteries had a small APC sticker on the front but on the side had Yuasa printing on them.

 

I've always bought genuine batteries from the manufacturer of the UPS and I've still had something similar happen on more than one occasion. I think it's a heat thing more than a brand thing.

[Sagima]

I would says age/cheap batteries are more likely to be the problem than the ups

[PotNoodleTech]

I would suggest this would probably be a case of overloading the UPS combined with old batteries, so that when it went on to battery power the battery's couldn't supply enough current and reacted accordingly.

 

Could also be over charging due to battery degradation/age.

 

I wouldn't use a 1000va ups for more than one server. What did you actually have attached to it?

 

I run my UPS's at about 25% capacity max to give longer runtimes ~30 mins with less stress on the batteries.

 

Plugging 1000w of stuff into a 1000va UPS will give you 4 minute run time and dead batteries.

[Sagima]

I would suggest this would probably be a case of overloading the UPS combined with old batteries, so that when it went on to battery power the battery's couldn't supply enough current and reacted accordingly.

 

Could also be over charging due to battery degradation/age.

 

I wouldn't use a 1000va ups for more than one server. What did you actually have attached to it?

 

I run my UPS's at about 25% capacity max to give longer runtimes ~30 mins with less stress on the batteries.

 

Plugging 1000w of stuff into a 1000va UPS will give you 4 minute run time and dead batteries.

 

This is also how I have mine set up

[Poults]

I would suggest this would probably be a case of overloading the UPS combined with old batteries, so that when it went on to battery power the battery's couldn't supply enough current and reacted accordingly.

 

Could also be over charging due to battery degradation/age.

 

I wouldn't use a 1000va ups for more than one server. What did you actually have attached to it?

 

I run my UPS's at about 25% capacity max to give longer runtimes ~30 mins with less stress on the batteries.

 

Plugging 1000w of stuff into a 1000va UPS will give you 4 minute run time and dead batteries.

 

I don't believe there was a power cut as all our fire doors were still open whereas they would be shut if the power had gone. It was a phone bcm, the ups would keep it running for about 4 hours when the power died so overloading can be ruled out too. I think it was age and heat judging from what others have said.

[PotNoodleTech]

Ah fair enough probably not even 5% load then!

[DMcCoy]

Let me guess, a scheduled self test isn't enabled on the ups.

[Tall_Paul]

I've been told that you are supposed to change UPS batteries every three-four years and the entire UPS about every seven or eight years.

 

Apparently modern UPS' are nothing like as well built as they were and the circuit boards start to degrade.

 

Last time I used Value Power Systems who were incredibly helpful.