[GRLUG] Local APC UPS Repair

[Adam Tauno Williams]

On Tue, 2013-04-30 at 16:00 -0400, Mark Farver wrote:
> What you need is a "traction" battery.  Something capable of high peak
> currents, and deep discharges.  In the lead acid world these are sold
> as golf cart, floor sweeper or forklift batteries.  They are almost
> always "wet" cells, and as such are not ideal for indoors.  They are
> also large, and heavy.  On the plus side, they are rugged, and you can
> often find ones that are no longer suitable for their intended purpose
> but still have plenty of capacity for your needs.  Think of a forklift
> battery that no longer runs an entire shift.  (A friend once used a
> 2000lb used forklift battery in his garage to run his house off grid
> for a week at a time.)  Unfortunately lead commodity prices have risen
> a lot in the last 7 years, and lead batteries are not as cheap as they
> once were.

Yep.  And 2000lb sounds about right - they are heavy.

My employer would be happy to sell you forklift batteries, possibly used
ones.

The latest generation of forklift batteries have computerized monitoring
and discharge control in every cell - the charge times are VERY fast and
the efficiency unbelievable.  They are also extremely expensive and
completely proprietary.

I do not believe there is any problem operating a "wet" cell indoors so
long as it is properly maintained and regularly inspected; tens, if not
hundreds, of thousands of such batteries are in use indoors at any given
moment.  Improperly maintained a forklift battery is a potentially
dangerous device no matter what or where you are using it.

-- 
Adam Tauno Williams <mailto:awilliam at whitemice.org> GPG D95ED383
Systems Administrator, Python Developer, LPI / NCLA