Must read before buying new battery (UPS or Car)

[helper_learner]

Their batteries were good in past. Bought phoenix batteries in 2016 that died in 2021 lasting 5 years.

+1

[dms664]

Dont tell me. I bought 2 phoenix ugs batteries a month ago after the old phoenix ugs couple died after 5 years. Now i am worried

[Xulfiqar]

There are only 2 or 3 battery makers who are selling batteries to all brands who then print their brand on the case.

99% of the times a bad battery in Pakistan is due to bad electrolyte and the rest 1% is bad battery or other issues.

[pwuser162557941033]

I had a Volta 6-GFM-45 sealed lead acid battery short one of its cells less than four months after I bought it. Max voltage 10.5v before it started to get really hot while charging (7.25A CC at 14.4v) and the internal valves would begin to vent audibly. Never seen it before, but batteries can sometimes be faulty.

Of course, neither Volta nor the distributor honored the warranty. "آپ نے غلط چارج کیا ہوگا"

[ch.talal]

I am pretty sure the batteries lasted 5 years also contained electrolyte made from tap water.

The domestic RO plant with 150 GPD capacity hardly costs 20 - 25000 rupees. And these local dealers won't even install that to get 0 TDS water. RO plant motor consumes 30 - 40 watts power only and if let running all night you could fill two or three large drums to use next day. But who would give these people wisdom.

Semi commercial RO plants also available with double capacity and they are also not expensive. But even battery manufacturers don't care what their dealers are using to prepare electrolyte. No check and balance in this country

[Xulfiqar]

Its not just the water but the acid too, battery shops buy oleum product which has a max purity of 66%

[dms664]

So its better to buy tubular batteries as they come pre filled from factory.

[Xulfiqar]

You can make the electrolyte yourself too, just need good materials.

The shopkeeper and the manufacturer in Pakistan dont care because they know that customers never question anything.

[Panther]

I too had a phoenix UGS battery bought in 2016. This June the backup time dropped to 35-40 minutes.
Had it replaced this time by Daewoo DIB-200 UPS battery. It sure is a very robust and high quality battery and am expecting it to last even longer.
I would recommend it every one.

[ch.talal]

Were they prefilled and boxed packed when you bought them?

[ch.talal]

I too had a phoenix UGS battery bought in 2016. This June the backup time dropped to 35-40 minutes.
Had it replaced this time by Daewoo DIB-200 UPS battery. It sure is a very robust and high quality battery and am expecting it to last even longer.
I would recommend it every one.

Yeah. Back then Phoenix batteries were made from high quality lead. So they are lasting 5 - 6 years.

I believe mine old phoenix batteries would have lasted 1 or 2 more years if 3 or 4 cells didn't start drying up from top. Those batteries lasted 5 years and died.

Now Phoenix is No No. They are the crappiest batteries now. Bought 2 Phoenix car batteries from same dealer and they started causing problems within 6 months.

[Xulfiqar]

Is your system able to bubble the battery cells? And what electrolyte are you using?

From personal experience of mine any generic brand of battery in Pakistan when prepped and readied by me would spin the engine like you doubled the batteries. They lasted for a good 5 years too, even in cartoon cars like mehrans and bolans.

My recipe was simple

Contact process product (brown glass bottle acid)
Vapour distilled water (nearly freezing cold when mixing)
1.265 SG (checked with scales when at room temp)
Glass container for mix and beaker to pour
Glass funnel
Boost charger to kickstart it

[Panther]

Yes. I just took it out of its packing and connected with UPS. Its very well manufactured. Will share the picture in morning

[crema]

Is your system able to bubble the battery cells? And what electrolyte are you using?

From personal experience of mine any generic brand of battery in Pakistan when prepped and readied by me would spin the engine like you doubled the batteries. They lasted for a good 5 years too, even in cartoon cars like mehrans and bolans.

My recipe was simple

Contact process product (brown glass bottle acid)
Vapour distilled water (nearly freezing cold when mixing)
1.265 SG (checked with scales when at room temp)
Glass container for mix and beaker to pour
Glass funnel
Boost charger to kickstart it

This is too much to maintain. Nowadays the battery chemical are handled in blue pvc drums and yellow grease buckets as shown below

[Xulfiqar]

I believe in the notion of

Garbage input garbage output

Good input good output.

[ch.talal]

So today I bought 2 AGS GX 135 (105Ah) batteries from authorised dealer and he was like "we prepare batteries with best quality tap water" 🤦🏻‍♂️

When I insisted why not use RO plant to get 0 TDS water then he said preparing battery electrolyte with tap water is better than using distilled/RO water.

Also he told me RO plant is very expensive. I said mine domestic RO plant costed me Rs 20,000 and consumes only 30 watts. He was speechless.

Then he claimed that 99 percent of battery dealers in Pakistan use tap water.

At least he was honest in telling the truth what kind of water they use to prepare electrolyte.

Still I bought batteries with tap water electrolyte because buying sulfuric acid and preparing electrolyte at home is a hectic and hazardous job. And there is not a single battery dealer in Pakistan who uses distilled water to prepare electrolyte.

[Xulfiqar]

And there is not a single battery dealer in Pakistan who uses distilled water to prepare electrolyte.

There were some in Karachi. But if you were walk in customer who was a typical bargain heavy person they would sell you a regular tap water and gutter cleaning acid loaded battery..

The reason was that they charged a bit more for prepping it properly and required a day's notice - but that one day was worth it because they would also make sure your battery cable terminals were perfect and crimp/install new ones as required. The tradeoff was a long lasting battery that could start your engine reliably in all sorts of weather and condition.

99.99999999999999% people in Pakistan purchasing car batteries only have one metric to judge it which is cost of purchase, so they would hear that the same battery has 2 pricing options and choose the cheaper one.

[Xulfiqar]

So today I bought 2 AGS GX 135 (105Ah) batteries from authorised dealer and he was like "we prepare batteries with best quality tap water" 🤦🏻‍♂️

When I insisted why not use RO plant to get 0 TDS water then he said preparing battery electrolyte with tap water is better than using distilled/RO water.

Also he told me RO plant is very expensive. I said mine domestic RO plant costed me Rs 20,000 and consumes only 30 watts. He was speechless.

Then he claimed that 99 percent of battery dealers in Pakistan use tap water.

At least he was honest in telling the truth what kind of water they use to prepare electrolyte.

Still I bought batteries with tap water electrolyte because buying sulfuric acid and preparing electrolyte at home is a hectic and hazardous job. And there is not a single battery dealer in Pakistan who uses distilled water to prepare electrolyte.

This arrogance and pomp is why Pakistani businessmen fail so often. They lie with full confidence.

[nasirjavaid]

if electrolyte level is good then you can try the following. First charge is at very small amps like 1-2 for like 6 hours. Afterwards adjust your UPS cut off point to a high voltage like 14.5 volts and let it charge for few hours. later on bring the cut off back to normal i.e. 14.1 and 13.6 float charge.

This technique can help remove desulfation. I revived my battery this way. After a couple of charge/discharge cycles you will see improvement in backup time. BUT if a cell is short, then your battery is dead.

Whenever you need to be away for eid holidays, remove battery terminals.

Its cell was short so no effort worked... had to replace with new one...
I usually turn off its button when leaving for long...

[nasirjavaid]

Now avoid Phoenix at all cost. Their batteries were good in past. Bought phoenix batteries in 2016 that died in 2021 lasting 5 years.

Keeping that in mind I bought phoenix replacement batteries last year and they have died in a year. They only reduced electrolyte slightly but they are dead. No backup now. UPS is fine.

Also I bought a phoenix battery for car a year ago and that turned out to be crap too.

Very poor quality. Never gonna buy Phoenix again.

I have heard that Phoenix manufacturing unit was sold and the new parent company has totally ruined its quality.

Oh never knew it...