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Replace UPS Batteries


Most of you have a UPS protecting your computer. The ones I usually recommend are APC (American Power Conversion) Pro series. These will provide surge protection, battery backup if the power fails, and voltage regulation for low or high voltages which aren't strong enough to kick in the battery or surge protection.

APC recommends that you replace your batteries every 3 years. This seems excessive. It would be a good idea if you were somewhere that had many power outages, but most of us, have very consistent power. So, unless you have frequent power outages, I recommend replacing the battery after 5 years.

They are easy to replace, the biggest problem is figuring out which battery to get. For example, I have an APC Backups Pro 1000. But digging deeper, it is really a Backups Pro 1000G which uses a different battery than the newer Backups Pro 1000M that they are currently selling.

If you are using the supplied Power Chute software, it will interrogate the UPS and provide the correct model. However, APC seems to have multiple names for each model and will not accept some of those names. So, my Power chute says I have a Back-UPS RS 1000G, but entering that or any variation of it into their battery replacement selector returns an invalid entry. They think I have a BR1000G. I honestly have no idea how my RS 1000G becomes a BR1000G, but it does. For this reason, I suggest you call APC and let them figure it out. The model and serial number are on either the back or bottom of your UPS.

The APC brand batteries seem to be more reliable and last longer, so I suggest getting those. I paid $47.95 at Amazon for my APCRBC123 battery, but was forced to re-cycle the battery myself. Goodwill took the battery. APC charges $59.99 for that battery but includes a pre-paid return package and they handle the re-cycling. They will try to convince you to trade in your unit and get a special upgrade deal, which is usually more than a new unit would cost on Amazon. I've don't find their upgrade option useful.

These batteries are easy to replace and the units I recommend are hot swappable. I simply turned the UPS on its side, opened the battery door, pulled out the old battery, and inserted the new one. I never even turned off my computer since it was bypassing the battery and using the normal electricity from PGE.

My recommendation is to buy a new unit after 10 years. So when it is time to replace the replacement, just buy a new UPS.

The APC Support site is: http://www.apc.com/us/en/support/

APC Battery Replacement and upgrade selector:
http://www.apc.com/us/en/tools/upgrade_selector/

Their phone number for support: 800-800-4272




Date: August 2018


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