Maintaining UPS/car batteries

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mmotors (mmotors) 2011-02-02 02:22:20 +0500 #61

Dear Alls.

According to my information..every cell/battery has life time in term of no.Of charging not in months/years.It mean that If the battery is charged again and again then it will reduce its life...Is it Ok?

NightHawk (NightHawk) 2011-02-02 17:40:29 +0500 #62

@Xulfiqar

Can u plz tell me from where have u procured sulphuric acid and distilled water in karachi.

Regards,

talhawaleed (talhawaleed) 2011-02-02 19:12:21 +0500 #63

I think @Xulfiqar can help you as i am currently located in Islamabad.

I bought it from Pirwadhai Chook Rawalpindi near main bus station.

talhawaleed (talhawaleed) 2011-02-03 12:30:48 +0500 #64

Yes, you are right that every battery has a life which at times is quoted in number of times it is charged and discharged.
But maximum number of these batteries dies much earlier before reaching this limit. In case of UPS batteries it is good to discharge these batteries once per week and then charge it again. There are number of other reasons why batteries they die earlier

1) If battery is left in discharged state for longer duration of time
2) Over charging of batteries either by increasing the terminal voltage or charging a battery with high amperes.
3) Loss of electrolyte in the battery
4) Improper gravity of Acid
5) Adding tap water inside the batteries
6) Dirty battery terminals where UPS and car is unable to deliver the current required to charge a battery.
7) Short circuiting of one of the cells due to accumulation of deposits in between the cells because of all the above reasons.

You must be very luck and among 1 percent of people whose batteries if dead after completing its life specified by manufacturers.

juadjee (juadjee) 2011-02-03 16:42:21 +0500 #65

I bought a hydrometer today and upon checking the gravity in my UPS battery, i found it to be nill in all six of the cells - the tube inside the hydrometer which is supposed to float and show gravity didn't move at all.

The batter was disconnected at this moment. My question is, Does the battery have to be connected to the UPS in order to check the gravity in its cells?

fas133 (Farhan Ali Shah) 2011-02-04 03:08:35 +0500 #66

It is not necessary that battery should be connected to UPS while checking it's gravity by hydrometer.
Hydrometer also shows the charging position of the battery.If the tube is not floating then either your battery is not charged or you have not the proper mixture in your battery. In second case you have to drain the current mixture from your battery and then refill it with the mixture having specific gravity of 1280.

juadjee (juadjee) 2011-02-04 04:03:29 +0500 #67

Thanks, that's what I plan to do. Sulphuric Acid has been procured after a long hassle (nobody wants to sell it to a young guy). I will do the needful and then will report back with results in 2 days iA.

Also, what is the correct amount of liquid in the battery? Recently a UPS salesman told me that if you over-fill the battery, it will charge quickly and give you a poor back-up time. Comments from the experts?

talhawaleed (talhawaleed) 2011-02-04 09:11:14 +0500 #68

If gravity is very high like above 1280 then your batteries can die earlier. Most of the batteries within Pakistan die prematurely and in fact this is very true in other countries as well. If gravity is less then your UPS will be wasting a lot of energy trying to charge your batteries. You make an analysis where you will realize that Electricity in longer run is more expensive then your batteries. So maintaining your UPS gravity between 1250 to 1280 you are assuring the maximum efficiency out from your batteries.

Honestly if you do it right with these specifications then you can easily do 3 years and you can perform one minimum flush in between in order to remove any accumulated deposits in between plates. Most of the battery Maintenance guys are completely unaware of what is going inside the batteries and it is in their interest that you replace your batteries prematurely.

Don’t over flow your battery with Fluid, batteries have a mark on it which tells you once liquid is at maximum level. Batteries will not charge properly if you will overflow your batteries with Fluid and similarly you will suffer in terms of back up time.

juadjee (juadjee) 2011-02-04 11:14:45 +0500 #69

talhawaleed;2625752:

If gravity is very high like above 1280 then your batteries can die earlier. Most of the batteries within Pakistan die prematurely and in fact this is very true in other countries as well. If gravity is less then your UPS will be wasting a lot of energy trying to charge your batteries. You make an analysis where you will realize that Electricity in longer run is more expensive then your batteries. So maintaining your UPS gravity between 1250 to 1280 you are assuring the maximum efficiency out from your batteries.

Honestly if you do it right with these specifications then you can easily do 3 years and you can perform one minimum flush in between in order to remove any accumulated deposits in between plates. Most of the battery Maintenance guys are completely unaware of what is going inside the batteries and it is in their interest that you replace your batteries prematurely.

Don’t over flow your battery with Fluid, batteries have a mark on it which tells you once liquid is at maximum level. Batteries will not charge properly if you will overflow your batteries with Fluid and similarly you will suffer in terms of back up time.

Right. I'm going to mix the acid and distilled water tonight and leave it to cool until tomorrow before putting it into the battery.

Are there any tips for performing the flush - to remove the deposits i mean, do you use any soapy solution for this? Or just pouring in fresh water, shaking the battery and letting it out will do?

NightHawk (NightHawk) 2011-02-04 15:25:35 +0500 #70

@Juadjee

Can u plz tell me from where have u procured sulphuric acid and distilled water in Karachi.

Regards,

itsgumbys (itsgumbys) 2011-02-05 14:59:54 +0500 #71

Hi all,

i have got 2 108 AMP UPS batteries. They have served me very well for more then a year now and they are still going strong.

Now i want to preserver these batteries for indefinite period of time as i am not going to use them anymore.

My question is that how can i preserve the batteries after disconnecting them from UPS. As we all know that these batteries gradually loses charge and become dead if left unused for long period of time.

P.S i don't want to periodically charge them to keep them alive, rather i want to shelve them for longer period of time.

Experts advice required.
Regards,
Gumby.

AmeerUsman (AmeerUsman) 2011-02-05 16:17:20 +0500 #72

Very informative thread

talhawaleed (talhawaleed) 2011-02-05 20:51:28 +0500 #73

FLUSH
First of all never use soapy water, if you want to flush them then simply do it through tab water. Put it underneath the tap and let water fall on each cell with its natural speed achieved through gravity. Fill your battery with tab water and then put it upside down allow it to drain. Always perform flush once battery is in fully charged state and repeat this process for 4-6 times. Then put the new mixture of Acid prepared using distilled water inside the batteries and put it back on charging.

HOW TO PRESERVER THE BATTERY
I am completely unaware of any procedure that you can preserve the battery for indefinite period of time once it has already been used for month or two. Well honestly I have never thought about this before because I never felt the need to preserve the battery so I will have to get back to you on this.
As far as I know the best you can do is maintain the gravity of battery till 1150 and then charge the battery to 100 % and disconnect this from any external load. Then put the batteries back on charging after every three weeks.

Because it is very difficult to recover damages which is caused by keeping a battery in discharged state for longer duration of time.

juadjee (juadjee) 2011-02-06 00:24:17 +0500 #74

Yes, Thanks. That's exactly what I did. I used warm water and i flushed it so many times but the sulphate deposits just kept coming. I think i must've flushed it 12 or so times. The battery was flushed and new mixture put in and has been on its first charge for the last 12 hours. I'm looking forward to the results.

AmeerUsman (AmeerUsman) 2011-02-06 07:30:22 +0500 #75

I have heard that the use of rain water is very good for batteries. Is this right or not? coz one of my electrician told me this.

juadjee (juadjee) 2011-02-06 07:58:28 +0500 #76

Don't think so. Maybe because your electrician heard the phrase 'acid rain' some time in his life. From what has been discussed earlier on the thread, its established that its the impurities and deposits from the electrolyte solution that cling to the cells and hampers their function. So its very important to have pure distilled water (or as pure as possible)

juadjee (juadjee) 2011-02-06 14:57:17 +0500 #77

@Experts: After the new electrolyte solution was put in, is it abnormal that my battery's been charging since yesterday and its still charging - 26.5 hours now. I had the UPS serviced and the guy set the charging voltage to 14.1. the battery is 150 AH.

I can also here effervescing from inside the cell and the battery is now a bit warm.

juadjee (juadjee) 2011-02-06 14:57:34 +0500 #78

I can also here effervescing from inside the cell and the battery is now a bit warm.

itsgumbys (itsgumbys) 2011-02-06 15:24:02 +0500 #79

Talha,

Thanks for your reply.
I am waiting for your suggestion on how to preserve it without periodic charging.
Regards,
Shahid.

pakcomics (pakcomics) 2011-02-06 21:52:01 +0500 #80

The Water which comes out from the back of AC can be put in batteries.... and always check the water levels of battery

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