APC Back-UPS Pro 900 Gets New Batteries & Re-calibration - Rebuilding Battery Pack, Yuasa NP7 Cells
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- Опубліковано 15 лип 2024
- In this video I switch out and rebuild the original battery pack of my APC Back-UPS uninterruptible power supply backup unit. This is a Back-UPS Pro 900VA model that had been sat unused for a couple of years. When plugged in the beeper was sounding the display showed an empty battery error so I placed an order for some new cells.
I replaced the batteries with some brand new Yuasa NP7-12 (12V 7Ah) cells. These are my favorite brand to use as I've never yet to date had any battery acid leak, bulges or splits occur on this brand. They cost a little more to purchase but the extra investment pays off in the long run in my opinion as they seem to last longer, too.
Normally when replacing the cells in APC battery backup units you then re-calibrate them with an appropriate fixed load attached to ensure that the unit only sounds the low battery alarm only goes off when it should. If you don't re-calibrate the unit then you will find the alarm keeps beeping constantly even when the batteries aren't actually running low.
This applies more to the older units without displays, but is good practice to perform regardless.
In this video I log and document that process which will hopefully help somebody out in the future who is looking to do the same thing.
Spending time to rebuild the battery pack yourself is also considerably cheaper than purchasing a pre-made RBC battery pack and allows you to choose the cells it contains.
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Recorded Using A Samsung Galaxy S5 (SM-G900F) in 4K Ultra-HD. - Наука та технологія
Thank you, this has been very useful. I've gone on this path instead of buying a 2-battery-pack from APC. You've just saved approx. €40 for me :)
A couple of recommendations for when you'll be doing this stuff next time:
1. New batteries need to be charged for at least 8 hours before they'll be fully charged. 16 hours would be even better. 30 minutes is nothing.
2. Try not to flip the battery completely upside down. The acid inside can leak through the vents like this. AGM batteries can only be upright or on their side.
3. Your new batteries have size F1 terminals. The original batteries had size F2 (larger) terminals, and that's for a reason. Those bigger terminals can safely pass higher currents through them than the smaller ones. This being a 24V battery pack, you were pulling around 6.4A from each battery which is completely fine. But it might cause a problem if you'd had a bigger load connected to that UPS. So, next time you're looking for new batteries, try to look for those whose terminals are of the same size as the dead batteries had. And I would also like to recommend you to get the 9Ah batteries - higher capacity, more runtime, more lifetime, just a tiny bit higher price.
4. The proper way to calibrate the UPS's estimated runtime and battery capacity is to send the unit off to a service center, which we obviously don't want to do. Then there's the program "apctest" which comes with the app "apcupsd". You can do lots of stuff with that tool, including the ability to run manual self tests and battery runtime calibrations.
5. Please, go and clean that leaked battery acid up with baking soda. It will neutralize the acid and thus clean up the mess those bad batteries made.
6. Next time you see this in a UPS, wear some gloves for your safety, sulfuric acid is very toxic and corrosive. Carefully tapping it around on the table is not an argument for not wearing gloves.
This was a great and a very helpful video. Those batteries have failed spectacularly! I wonder why the vents did not release the pressure... Maybe your UPS could have gone bad and started overcharging your batteries.
best advice i've read on youtube in awhile, just one thing.
the Back UPS 900 Pro uses the RBC123 7Ah batteries identical to the ones he got by factory spec. and yes, they do use F2 Terminals.
www.apc.com/shop/ee/en/products/APC-Power-Saving-Back-UPS-Pro-900-230V/P-BR900GI
Hi! Can u tell me please were i can get the program apctest. Can u calibrate battery runtime whit this?
@@earavasio APC website has the software, and calibrating is better done with the methods described above
@@CapStar362 above in the video ir above in point 4? Becouse in point 4 says that the proper way is send it yo official service...
@@earavasio yeah, if you want to pay for it especially if its out of warranty.
you can calibrate it as the end user. follow the info i posted. thats basically the same thing they do.
the UPS just needs to 're-learn' the battery endurance times and thats exactly how it does it.
Thanks for this one. Ordered a pair, and did the entire process.
Only the stickers were a pain to pull off and the glue only came partially with the "sticker". Just used some ordinary glue stick and put it on these annoying bricks.
With my last full-battery pack I've gotten a foam-frame like for desktop pc's top and below. Simply put it in there as I waited some time to give the glue some rest.
My only mistake was, that I put the stickers in reverse. So red is now = active
Well batteries work and passed the test. Thanks for the vid!
CSB is the oem supply for APC. Your unit may have been rebuilt before. The batteries you put in are of high quality. Good job.
The supplier depends on where the ups is build..if its produced in the Indian factory. It's generally exide battery. If it's produced in thiland factory it's generally "long" battery. But mine is produced in India but came with long battery anyways. So they do mix up all the time. There is like 3 4 suppliers of apc.
You were lucky with how cleanly those stickers came off, I've literally just done one of these using the same Yuasa batteries you used except that my stickers separated from the glue layer so I gave up and used gaffa tape to firmly bind the new pack together. Not as pretty but functional! Nice vid - very helpful for the calibration method.
I was indeed dreading the stickers. It always depends on the adhesive they use. Perhaps they changed them at some point along the line - I am not sure how old this pack is/was exactly. Tape definitely does the job though and that is my go-to when rebuilding packs for the older Smart UPS units with larger cells / batts.
Glad to be of help regarding calibration, so many people don't know you need to perform one, and that you can indeed do it without software!
Thanks! --Nathan
@@NathanPH the pack was made 2012 week 25 serial xxYYWW
This date format is used on all the APC products, Batteries, UPSes and Network MGMT cards, like the AP960 cards.
@@NathanPH re calibration, do you have to fully recharge the batteries to complete the process, or is the steady continuous discharge enough on its own ?
Thanks for the video! Looks like we can put in much better batteries for half the price of the APC replacement battery. I did some research and it looks like the long-life CSB HRL1234WF2 9Ah battery is probably the best option, they claim to have an expected battery life of 10 years! The original ones only lasted 3 years, which is a shame (I didn't take it apart yet so don't know what brand was in it, but I bought it brand new). My battery in my old APC that I bought in 2004 lasted for more than 10 years.
Muy bien ‼►
Next time try the Yuasa NPW45-12 it's exactly the same size but higher capacity and is rated for a higher discharge. Also the have longer life spans and don't cost that much more.
I’ll tell you right away the video is informative and useful, there is one thing, but the author forgot to show that on these uninterruptible voltage devices, after replacing the batteries, it is necessary to calibrate through the program on the PC, the name of the POWERCHUTE program, if you don’t calibrate, errors and incorrect work are possible, I hope this will help someone
Hi Nathan PH
My apc ups battery backup 1500 why take long time to charge every time the power is fail for a couple of seconds, If the batteries are new, thanksss
Can I replace with any UPS 7AH 12 volt battery or any other specification also need to be consideration.
7Ah seems to be the default for these replacement batteries. Usually what comes with the unit is higher though and hence more money.
9ah or 10ah is the absolute highest. Apc has different battries for different regions.
My one is the br1000 indian model and it came with 9ah battery..but the same model in usa comes with 7ah battery. With totally different construction. Mine has a smps based inverter and smps charger while the usa model has a big transformer. There are pros and cons of each topology but the smps is better in efficiency and do not make the battery puffup and crack by overcharging.
Is the device online and is the device clean or not? Thank you
is it ok to use the ports while calibrating , i need my pc to be running for work
How long do these batteries last you, on average?
So, two years later, did you have any trouble?
I replaced my batteries and the run time on the unit is still the same. I get less than one minute of run time and the computer shuts down? Brand new batteries! Is there some sort of rest that needs to be done?? Help. I have two of these units both need batteries.
How to drain new batteries at 30% if I do not have anything to drain them with? Do not have standard lightbulbs, nor cable like that. Only thing I can connect is PC and maybe TV.
Where do I get to the fuse on this pro 900.got a feeling my fuse is broken
Would be very nice to upgrade it to lithium battery's I reckon you would probably get a lot more capacity out of them
If a UPS battery leaks, what would it look like? What color is the material? Thanks
colorless
Peace be upon you. Is this device a pure or non-pure orientation?
I have the 1000va or 600w model of this ups. Although from the same line of ups the br1000g and br1500g is very different. Both uses high frequency dc to dc inverter. Instead of the classic low frequency pushpull on a huge transformer inverter..so it is lot more energy efficient.
Mine has a external battery port and apc sells a 24v 18ah (total 4x 9ah battery inside) module for 110$. I did not buy that. Instead i got 16 x 6000mah Lifepo4 32700 cells for less than 50$. Made a 25.6v pack and the ups runs 45min on 300w load with that battery pack alone. And it will outlast the lead acids 2 or 3 times i hope. I don't have too many power cuts the battery has been discharged to 0 only 3 4 times in a year in real power outage.
Lithium batteries are getting cheaper and cheaper..i just saw battery hookup selling a lot of 18650s for 58$/kwhr and you can build a 7s9p pack with it that would have nearly have 541w/hr for 30$ on the 18650s ! It would last atleast 6-8 years.
Is it advisable to have lead acid batteries vertically mounted???
They are sealed leaded acid and can be stored and/or used in any orientation.
Saan nakakabili ng battery
I cannot believe those A-holes use a standard 7ahh battery and charge so much for it! Do you know if I can use a 7ah Lithium battery instead of a lead-acid battery?
Yes it's pretty insane the markup that they apply to these things. 🙄
I'm honestly not sure about the swap to Lithium, you'd have to do some digging into it and speak to somebody a little more well-up on different battery technologies.
--Nathan
Thanks for that. Regarding calibration, I believe APC has software to do it. Is there a reason you chose not to use it and do it manually instead?
The fan runs continuously all the time when powered on. What to do?
I have the 1500 va unit.
@@kb2564 the fans always run when its on or plugged into the wall, it is normal, but they're dual speed fans, if running on batteries or charging the batteries the fan runs at a higher speed for cooling.
@@johnstouchpad6437 Thanks for replying. It's been 4 months and I have learnt to live with the noise. I kind of don't even notice it when I am gaming..😂
@@johnstouchpad6437 I got the f02 error 2 times because I had 2 rigs plugged in to the unit. Total was about 650 to 700 watts. And I got that error when I am gaming on my primary and streaming or recording on the secondary. So I bought another ups, and plugged the other rig in the 2nd ups. I bought the apc line interactive 900va ups.
@@kb2564 the 1500va shouldn't be noisy when fully charged and in use.
24V
how do you calibrate the ups battery
he mentioned that at the end of the video: charge it up fully, plug in a load, unplug mains, let it drain the battery to zero. The brains will learn the new battery endurance and will be calibrated.
I changed to battery with a fully charged on and the battery still blinks. Empty
You've not followed the recalibration process as shown in the video if that's happening. You need to re-learn the battery capacity by running it down with a large load.
It reads zero battery.. it turns off right away when unplugging it@@NathanPH
I hate this unit its so hard to change the battery's its not like most where you can change both battery's without ripping the sicker off i miss the old apc ups where they did not care what you put into it also the apc ups battery's are a rip off too as they are using crap battery's nd a high price tag but anyway good video mate i did this and mine did not like the old ones i put in so to stop the pain of the apc ups battery change i am getting cyber power i hope its not so picky
Yes I can definitely agree with you on the older units being more user friendly to service and less messing around. I do however like the LCD display addition on this model.
I have built many packs for the older, all-metal construction Smart UPS 750, 1400 and 1500 models which I've also done videos about previously. I always use Yuasa branded cells as I've never really had any issues with them. They last a good few years (generally over 5 years) before requiring replacement and don't really tend to leak when they do go bad.
I don't think I've ever had a factory fitted battery pack that hasn't leaked, bulged or failed in an undesirable way. All of them seem to have had LONG branded cells in though so perhaps they do use other cell brands that are better but I keep getting units with the bad ones...
I don't have any experience with any other brand but APC personally for UPS units but I have heard some good things about Cyber Power.
Glad you enjoyed the video though! Thanks for watching.
--Nathan
@@NathanPH they are good units apc good display but too much money to buy now a days for a unit that's not so good no more also I have herd that most apc battery's leak bady because they use bad battery's