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Post by papaof2 on Jul 19, 2022 23:49:08 GMT -6
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Post by bluefox2 on Aug 1, 2022 19:49:04 GMT -6
Question, my company has some Cyberpower UPS units and extra batteries sitting out in the garage area that look like ones that have been replaced. If those units and extra batteries still have any life in them could I use them to power like a small portable tv? Or might they still be useable for my laptop and the wife's desktop? I suspect they might have been replaced due to age but I haven't asked the boss yet. He has a tendency to put things out there instead of throwing them out.
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Post by papaof2 on Aug 1, 2022 20:45:23 GMT -6
Get the number off the label. If they're the GX1325U, get them and don't look back ;-) I'm very pleased with mine and it can power the 50" plasma TV (100 watts) and the DVR (20 watts) for a little over 30 minutes. We have frequent hits on the power - being two miles of tree-lined roads from the electric substation provides a lot of potential nature-based power problems. That UPS is almost always the first one to detect a glitch in the power and its switch to UPS mode is in the specified xx milliseconds - never a flicker in the TV image. The GX1325U uses two 12 volt, 7 amp hour AGM batteries in series for 24 volts. AGM batteries should be topped off every 3 months when in storage so batteries that have NOT been kept charged may be unrecoverable. I found some used 12 volt, 100AH AGM batteries at a good price but some of them were at 8 volts and I told the seller I'd give him $5 each for those to have "cores" the next time I bought new batteries because they were probably too damaged to recover. I was correct, as only one of the four batteries could be resuscitated :-( Do NOT go to the manufacturer for batteries. The aftermarket dealers are almost always cheaper for the same or a similar battery. batterysharks.com batteryspec.com batterywholesale.com apexbattery.com upsbatterycenter.com in order of usually increasing price. Do watch for sales and close-outs - some of the UPS batteries are very common and are always available but others are not. batterysharks has a pair of 12 volt, 7.5AH batteries that look like the correct size (check the dimensions against the batteries in the GX1325U) for $46 including shipping. www.batterysharks.com/Set-of-2-12V-7-5AH-F2-Batteries-Free-Shipping-p/12v-7.5ah-f2-2-f_ups12-7_x2.htmIf you're a DIY person, see my experience building a replacement pack for a different UPS when the manufacturer wanted $50 for a 12 volt, 4.2AH battery: pawfiction.proboards.com/thread/1566/expensive-ups-battery-project |
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Post by bluefox2 on Aug 1, 2022 20:58:09 GMT -6
The extra batteries that I have looked at all appear to be sealed ones so not sure how I could top them off. Is it possible to recharge them using a regular car battery charger? Or should I just not try? Also if you are looking for batteries, there is a place here in Kansas city Kansas called Wholesale batteries that might be in line with what you look for. Just a thought As for powering a tv all I would run off of the outlets is a small portable that can be run off a battery or plugged into an outlet. I have toyed with trying to build a spare battery pack but not sure I have the skills.
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Post by papaof2 on Aug 1, 2022 21:30:51 GMT -6
"Topped up" for sealed batteries that are not in use is in the sense of being brought up to the correct charge level quarterly - typically 13.8 to 14.2 volts or so (most small AGM batteries have that info on the case) - as unused batteries do self-discharge at some rate. Batteries that are left discharged for an extended period will suffer from sulfation, a failure that often cannot be recovered from, even with repeated charge/discharge cycles and using a desulfator device. It's cheaper to just plan to recharge any not-in-service batteries on a regular schedule. Be careful of car battery chargers because they can cook the small AGM batteries - some of those batteries have a maximum charge rate of 1 amp but many car chargers have a minimum charge rate of 2 amps and they charge to 14.4 volts or higher. Yes, I have an expensive alternative charger but I can set the maximum volts and amps so I'm being kind to the batteries. That does pay off - the original set of AGM batteries in my small solar backup system (8 to 20 hours of fridge, freezer and furnace, depending on season) were spec'ed at 3-5 years service life. I replaced those batteries just before they turned 9 so I must have done something right ;-) With a working UPS, it will recharge the batteries in a matter of hours. Some UPS units have a runtime chart or graph in the user manual or online. The Cyberpower units have it online. The GX1325U is here: www.cyberpowersystems.com/product/ups/battery-backup/gx1325u/just click on the Runtime tab. 85 minutes at 50 watts sound OK? If the TV runs off 12 volts, YouTube has lots of videos on building a "portable power" unit or a "blackout box" to have a small amount of portable power. The various "solar generator" products (Jackery and a dozen others) have "loaf of bread" sized units that could power a 12 volt TV for hours. First you determine what the TV needs for power, then you look for a matching solution. I've been researching having portable AC power for 50+ years so I have a lot of answers - even an 80 watt unit that uses an electromechanical vibrator to chop the 12 volt DC to provide enough AC for an electric shaver or a small TV. In current technology, I have a 300 watt pure sine wave inverter that's about the same size as that ancient 80 watt unit (possibly from the 1950's ?) |
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