On Tue, 22 Aug 2017 14:18:11 -0500, Doug McIntyre wrote:

> Dozens of APC SmartUPS units in data centers and in the field. Their
> batteries last between 3 and 5 years and require replacement in 100% of
> my units. I wouldn't say just APC is at fault, but this is just how long
> car and motorcycle/lawn motor lead-acid cells last that the standard
> UPS vendors use.

A car battery is lead acid but they have very different
characteristics to those used in UPS's or other applications that
require deep cyclic use. A car battery will not take kindly to a
single deep discharge and a handful of such cycles will almost
guarantee a car battery becoming useless.

> Much like my much bigger online UPS units. They all use car batteries,
> and have a definiate maintenance cycle for how often those batteries
> need to be replaced, just like in your car for it's lead acid battery.

Car batteries last much better than they used to. 20/30 years ago,
you'd expect to replace the battery after 5 years or so. Last car was
11 years old when I moved it on, still on orginal battery. Just don't
leave the lights on (if the car will let you...).

For deep discharge cyclic use you need a battery designed for that
use, sometimes known as a "leisure" battery,

--
Cheers
Dave.

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