Maintaining UPS/car batteries

[hash4u]

my battery (phoenix 170 amp) and homage UPS is almost 3.5 years old (but very sparingly used as i live in Bahria town)
now the it seems the UPS charging never stops and battery gets hot when i touch it . is it dangerous?

time to replace the battery?

[tayyabihsan]

AoA All,

Fix your UPS Battery.

Don’t throw or sell your old UPS or Car batteries for few hundred when you have an option to restore.

UPS/Car battery performance decreases due to sulphation coating on lead plates. To desulfate a lead acid battery use ‘Battery Energizer’ liquid. It removes the sulphur deposits from lead plates and restores your battery like new. You can get Battery Energizer www.gobuy.pk, shipping is free all over Pakistan. I have tried this and it works and also very cheap in cost.

[talhawaleed]

my battery (phoenix 170 amp) and homage UPS is almost 3.5 years old (but very sparingly used as i live in Bahria town)
now the it seems the UPS charging never stops and battery gets hot when i touch it . is it dangerous?

time to replace the battery?

Check the Voltage across terminals, I am very positive that it never hits 14 Volts during charging or it takes very long time to hit 14 Volts and second thing which you need to check is once it hits 14 Volts then does the UPS stops charging or not. If settings of UPS is fine and it is boiling the electrolyte then that is another sign that batteries are gone. Yes. It is dangerous and 1) in worst case scenario it can explode 2) you are wasting lot of electricity 3) battery will lose electrolyte in very rapid pace 4) once that happens then battery will start to expand 5) hydrogen gas produced during electrolysis can catch fire as well. You can also verify the charging rate if you have the right equipment. Last of all, load testing is the right procedure to test a battery but I don’t think so you will be having the load tester.

[talhawaleed]

Thank you Talha for a quick replyI am worried about charging, as it is not getting fully charged, today I observed five hours and still battery was charging. I have visited two battery shops all don't have any branded Electrolyte instead they are locally made and they all admitted that they use tap water. Please suggest me some good electrolyte and where I may put the electrolyte, already in the battery, is it same to put in drain?

First step is adjustment of your UPS system and then second is electrolyte. You are jumping on second and getting worried rather than correcting the primary issue. UPS should stop charging the battery once Voltage across terminals reaches 14 Volts. You verified that charging rate is 10 Amperes then why is it charging continuously for 5-6 hours. Take readings???

[mfdarvesh]

First step is adjustment of your UPS system and then second is electrolyte. You are jumping on second and getting worried rather than correcting the primary issue. UPS should stop charging the battery once Voltage across terminals reaches 14 Volts. You verified that charging rate is 10 Amperes then why is it charging continuously for 5-6 hours. Take readings???

Yes verified, charging rate is 10 Amps, as it has setting lever with two settings, 10 and 20 AMPs, now searching AMP-Meter to take voltage also search branded electrolyte for flush

[mfdarvesh]

AoA All, Fix your UPS Battery. Don’t throw or sell your old UPS or Car batteries for few hundred when you have an option to restore. UPS/Car battery performance decreases due to sulphation coating on lead plates. To desulfate a lead acid battery use ‘Battery Energizer’ liquid. It removes the sulphur deposits from lead plates and restores your battery like new. You can get Battery Energizer www.gobuy.pk, shipping is free all over Pakistan. I have tried this and it works and also very cheap in cost.

Junab where is that liquid, the website is only selling UPS?

[whiteangel]

I bought a 200AH Osaka battery a few days ago. I attached it to the second UPS in my home. The first UPS battery was a 150AH Exide. After 13 months of use, back-up was reduced considerably. A flush was performed a few months back but the backup timing did not improve.

For the second battery, I did not get electrolyte from the battery shop. Instead, I sourced electrolyte from Pyro Chemicals. They have discontinued sale of 500ml bottles and now they only sell 30kg container for Rs. 620. Surprisingly, the 200AH battery consumed almost half the electrolyte!

Keeping fingers crossed and hoping this new electrolyte will be better than what people use in battery shops. As for the first battery, i got some Epsom salt and now I am going to try to de-sulphate the first battery and see if its timing can be improved.

But for de-sulphation, I need a slow charger, does anyone know of a good slow charger. Will a simple 12 volt charger be able to do the job or should I get something that is specifically made for slow charging?

[talhawaleed]

I bought a 200AH Osaka battery a few days ago. I attached it to the second UPS in my home. The first UPS battery was a 150AH Exide. After 13 months of use, back-up was reduced considerably. A flush was performed a few months back but the backup timing did not improve.

For the second battery, I did not get electrolyte from the battery shop. Instead, I sourced electrolyte from Pyro Chemicals. They have discontinued sale of 500ml bottles and now they only sell 30kg container for Rs. 620. Surprisingly, the 200AH battery consumed almost half the electrolyte!

Keeping fingers crossed and hoping this new electrolyte will be better than what people use in battery shops. As for the first battery, i got some Epsom salt and now I am going to try to de-sulphate the first battery and see if its timing can be improved.

But for de-sulphation, I need a slow charger, does anyone know of a good slow charger. Will a simple 12 volt charger be able to do the job or should I get something that is specifically made for slow charging?

30 Kg container for Rs 620 is a good bet provided electrolyte is prepared with distilled water.

[talhawaleed]

Number of different factors affect the performance and output from UPS. Quality of Electrolyte in new batteries are one thing and second is Tuning of UPS system its self.
UPS FACTOR:
If quality of electrolyte is good and tuning is bad then again batteries will die quickly.
Example: If UPS cuts off charging much below 14 Volts or keeps charging the battery over 14 Volts then Either batteries will remain discharged or cells will be fired because of overcharging.
Example: With 200 AMP-HR battery, you have set the charging rate till 8 Amperes and load shedding is so frequent that batteries does not get ample time to charge before it enters into the next cycle. Then this can be another factor
Example: If charging rate is too high such as 22Amperes and batteries are off 150 AH and this will throw the electrolyte out from batteries and fast charging rate is also not good.
BATTERIES FACTOR:
If UPS settings are good but electrolyte is prepared with tap water then obviously these batteries will be gone between 4 to 12 months time.
WORST OF ALL:
This happens in every house. BAD tuning of UPS and electrolyte prepared with tap water
DEAD CELL FACTOR:
If one of the cells is already dead and you decide to perform a flush then it may improve the charging time but wont be able to recover the dead cell.
BEST SENARIO:
Good electrolyte from very first day, good tuning of UPS system according to your requirements and intensity of loadsheddings in your Areas then regularly keeping a eye on UPS system will help you extract maximum from the system. P.S: if you are using the good electrolyte and one jug of Tab water being filled into the batteries by anyone will spoil the backup time and affects will be prominent within days.

[ahmad40]

Very informative thread, all thanks to Talha!

I am facing a problem with my ups battery, i bought it 3 months 120Ah for my 1kva ups (ups is 3yrs old). Old battery was the same as this one,it lasted for 2.5yrs. This battery is gud on backup mode with charging about 11.5-11.8 after a load of 2 fans, it should provide back up for 2hrs but after 50-55 minutes the voltage of the battery falls for 11.5-11.8 to 8.3-8.5 in a gap of about 2 minutes..Can anyone help me with this problem?

P.s the caps of the battery r a little black and about a month ago i sent it to battery waala for charging and then the problem was solved but only for 20 days...now again it has started..Help any one,,Thanks in advance

[talhawaleed]

Very informative thread, all thanks to Talha!

I am facing a problem with my ups battery, i bought it 3 months 120Ah for my 1kva ups (ups is 3yrs old). Old battery was the same as this one,it lasted for 2.5yrs. This battery is gud on backup mode with charging about 11.5-11.8 after a load of 2 fans, it should provide back up for 2hrs but after 50-55 minutes the voltage of the battery falls for 11.5-11.8 to 8.3-8.5 in a gap of about 2 minutes..Can anyone help me with this problem?

P.s the caps of the battery r a little black and about a month ago i sent it to battery waala for charging and then the problem was solved but only for 20 days...now again it has started..Help any one,,Thanks in advance

Voltage should not fall to 8.5 Volts and this happens once batteries are weak or have dead cells. If adjustment of UPS is fine then dry to drain the electrolyte and flush it for 3-4 times and again refill the electrolyte. This should improve the backup time and solve the problem.

[ahmad40]

Voltage should not fall to 8.5 Volts and this happens once batteries are weak or have dead cells. If adjustment of UPS is fine then dry to drain the electrolyte and flush it for 3-4 times and again refill the electrolyte. This should improve the backup time and solve the problem.

Thanks for ur quick response..
The cells r new, i saw it to a battery wala he said they r gud..What the battery wala advises is k apni battery ko merey se charge karaain thek ho jaye gi but he had no explanation that wat will happens if he charges it?

I'll follow ur advise and will flush it..One thing i need to ask, while flushing do i need to fill the water till the upper level mark and then drain it or can the water be filled till it overflows from the cells?

[mfdarvesh]

Dear Talha Bahi

I want to Flush my Volta 150 Amps Battery
Just for my review, please correct me

1. Battery should be fully charged.
2. Disconnect battery.
3. Drain all electrolyte from battery.
4. Wash and rinse thoroughly the battery with ordinary Tap Water.
5. Dry Battery.
6. Pour fresh electrolyte prepared with distilled water.
7. Put the Battery in idle state for at least 30 minutes.
8. Put the battery back with UPS and start charging.
9. After fully charge, switch UPS and use the battery.

Is this procedure is correct? or some thing is missing, please help?

[talhawaleed]

Dear Talha Bahi

I want to Flush my Volta 150 Amps Battery
Just for my review, please correct me

1. Battery should be fully charged. (yup)
2. Disconnect battery. (yup)
3. Drain all electrolyte from battery. (yup)
3. Wash and rinse thoroughly the battery with ordinary Tap Water. ( Dont do it more then 5 times)
4. Dry Battery. (I dont know what you mean by Dry Battery as we are talking about Lead Acid batteries. Once you are done with flush then put the batteries upside down and leave it like that for 1 hour)
5. Pour fresh electrolyte prepared with distilled water. ( See, if you have the electrclyte prepared with distilled water then thats the best alternative)
6. Put the Battery in idle state for at least 30 minutes. (Once you are done with flush then put the batteries upside down and leave it their for one hour maximum but that is before you put electrolute in it. Now goto step 5 again)
7. Put the battery back with UPS and start charging. (ok)
8. After fully charge, switch UPS and use the battery. (ok)

Is this procedure is correct? or some thing is missing, please help?

Kindly see th reply infront of your questions.

[talhawaleed]

Thanks for ur quick response..
The cells r new, i saw it to a battery wala he said they r gud..What the battery wala advises is k apni battery ko merey se charge karaain thek ho jaye gi but he had no explanation that wat will happens if he charges it?

I'll follow ur advise and will flush it..One thing i need to ask, while flushing do i need to fill the water till the upper level mark and then drain it or can the water be filled till it overflows from the cells?

fill it till it overflows but dont it more then 5 times.

[mfdarvesh]

Kindly see th reply infront of your questions.

Thanks Talha Bahi Yes at serial number 4, I was meaning, after flushing I have to dry the battery completely before filling new electrolyte. \The same has been cleared by you as to put the battery upside down for an hour, it will definitely dry the battery and leave any traces of water from it :)Thank you very much again, I will try it in coming week

[MoizIrfan]

can anyone tell me why does the ups switches constantly between charging mode and normal mode and vice-versa only on generator.
a fellow member suggestd me to reduce the input voltage variable resistor. how to identify that variable??

[talhawaleed]

can anyone tell me why does the ups switches constantly between charging mode and normal mode and vice-versa only on generator. a fellow member suggestd me to reduce the input voltage variable resistor. how to identify that variable??

This is can be because of following reasons 1) Voltage too low 2) Voltage too high 3) Fluctuations 4) Unable to provide power to the line while maintaining a charging state on batteries.
Normally on Wapda, once this happens then we put the entire load on UPS in-order to avoid a damage to UPS system

[MoizIrfan]

This is can be because of following reasons 1) Voltage too low 2) Voltage too high 3) Fluctuations 4) Unable to provide power to the line while maintaining a charging state on batteries.
Normally on Wapda, once this happens then we put the entire load on UPS in-order to avoid a damage to UPS system

i am getting it only on generator on kesc its working fine. It means generator is unable to provide a constant power to ups right???
so any possible solution?

[zahidiqbal179]

How did you produce that distel water in your lab I would really want to know that as I was from long wanting to do it.