UPS battery testing

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mover85

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#280741 7-Jan-2021 16:14

Hi everyone,

I have a large UPS which is mainly used to power medical equipment. I have Duchenne muscular dystrophy and have been on a ventilator 24/7 since 2006 which is why/when the UPS was installed.

This UPS has never had its batteries tested and I'm not sure if they need replacing.

Does anyone know of a company that does UPS maintenance for a reasonable price?

I live in Palmerston North with my parents and brother who has the same condition. Our financial situation is not that great so any help would be greatly appreciated.

The UPS is an Eaton 9130 2000VA with 40 batteries in a rack.

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#2631888 7-Jan-2021 16:41

The batteries will almost certainly need replacing after 14 years of standby, sealed lead acid have a 4-6 year life. They'll work longer, but capacity is reduced significantly. I'd suggest you contact whoever is responsible for installation / maintenance (DHB?) and point out the batteries have expired and should be replaced.

mover85

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#2631903 7-Jan-2021 16:50

Unfortunately we are the ones responsible (no funding from DHB) and the installer is no longer in business.

SomeoneSomewhere

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#2631912 7-Jan-2021 17:01

Can you find the part numbers on the batteries? It looks like something of a custom external battery setup.

It will be easier to find a UPS firm or electrician if you can say "I need 40x type XY batteries swapped".

Jase2985

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#2631914 7-Jan-2021 17:05

They will need replacing.

but you could check to see that automatic battery tests is enabled. Pg 39 of the user guide

https://www.eaton.com/content/dam/eaton/products/backup-power-ups-surge-it-power-distribution/backup-power-ups/eaton-9130-ups/eaton-9130-ups-pdm-user-guide-manual-164201798.pdf

Also be aware that the 9130 has reached end of life

sbiddle

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#2631986 7-Jan-2021 19:01

As already pointed out the batteries will have a pretty diminished run time after that long - such batteries would normally be replaced every 5 years or so.

Depending on the exact battery type these will range in the $25 - $50 each range depending on size, brand and supplier

mover85

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#2632006 7-Jan-2021 19:54

SomeoneSomewhere:

Can you find the part numbers on the batteries? It looks like something of a custom external battery setup.

It will be easier to find a UPS firm or electrician if you can say "I need 40x type XY batteries swapped".

I'll see if there are part numbers on the batteries, it is a custom external battery setup.

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Jase2985

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#2632031 7-Jan-2021 20:48

size, amp hour (ah), voltage (v), number of batteries would be a good start.

even 40x 12v 7ah batteries (most basic sealed lead acid battery) will be expensive at $30+ dollars each.

michelangelonz

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#2632034 7-Jan-2021 20:53

UPS Power Solutions

https://upspower.co.nz/

They are Eaton partners.

neb

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#2632455 8-Jan-2021 15:34

mover85:
Unfortunately we are the ones responsible (no funding from DHB) and the installer is no longer in business.

You may also want to consider a UPS-alternative like a Powerwall or equivalent, e.g. LiFePO4 + inverter, particularly if you can get it sponsored/subsidised by the power company as part of some power deal.

mover85

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#2632523 8-Jan-2021 16:56

neb:
mover85:

Unfortunately we are the ones responsible (no funding from DHB) and the installer is no longer in business.

You may also want to consider a UPS-alternative like a Powerwall or equivalent, e.g. LiFePO4 + inverter, particularly if you can get it sponsored/subsidised by the power company as part of some power deal.

That might be worth looking at, possibly add solar at some point.

mover85

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#2632958 9-Jan-2021 22:06

Jase2985:

size, amp hour (ah), voltage (v), number of batteries would be a good start.

even 40x 12v 7ah batteries (most basic sealed lead acid battery) will be expensive at $30+ dollars each.

The batteries are Panasonic LC-X1228AP 12v 28ah x 40

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Jase2985

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#2632960 9-Jan-2021 22:38

Geez thats a big battery pack.

they are about $200 each retail so about $8,000 in just the batteries then labor on top of that to removed and install the new ones.

A Tesla power wall will give you a similar capacity to what you currently have

MadEngineer

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#2632961 9-Jan-2021 22:51

^price checks out. Panasonic SLA Battery 12v 28Ah LC-P1228P | BatteryWorx

You could get JA Russell in Palmy to order them in for you

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SomeoneSomewhere

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#2632962 9-Jan-2021 22:56

It looks like that's a 96V battery bank, so you need a multiple of 8 12V batteries. Your current bank totals 140Ah per string, or about 13kWh total.

Does the ventilator have onboard batteries and how long do they last (and have they been changed recently)?

I would be giving serious thought to a ~3kVA electric-start generator and transfer switch with a ~2hr battery supply for in case it fails to start and you need to leave. That's going to give you a much longer runtime in the event of a long power cut, and probably will last longer and be a similar price.

SomeoneSomewhere

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#2632964 9-Jan-2021 23:47

Oops, missed some of the comments above.

If you get a sparky who's willing to rewire the pack, you may be able to get a similar capacity with 1-2 strings of batteries, for about $3-4k. I would probably not go with 28Ah batteries as that's going to cost a lot more than strings of ~75Ah or 140Ah batteries.

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