Battery replacement for my UPS APC ES700 BE700G-SP

[Nmaster88]

I have an UPS APC ES700 BE700G-SP which i'm looking for a battery replacement.
I've done my searching and i found that they recommend the battery RBC17 (12V 9AH F2)

APC, a flagship brand of Schneider Electric

APC, a flagship brand of Schneider Electric, provides clean battery back-up power, surge protection, and IT physical infrastructure inside and outside the traditional IT environment to deliver ‘Certainty in a Connected World’

www.apc.com

The price of that battery looks very expensive. So i've been looking for an alternative.
I've come across this FIAMM battery

FIAMM Recambio de Batería para SAI APC Back-UPS ES700 : Amazon.es: Informática

FIAMM Recambio de Batería para SAI APC Back-UPS ES700 : Amazon.es: Informática

www.amazon.es

FIAMM FG20722
It has a good price, the only bad thing about it, is that it appears to be 7AH.

I have 2 questions, about the battery replacement.

Is there anyone that can confirm that this UPS has only 1 battery? I didn't find this information.

Is there a more adquate battery that i can buy with a reasonable price in Europe, or the difference between 7AH to 9AH is not a problem?

Thanks for the answers.

 

[R-T-B]

You'll lose runtime with a 7ah. It may work, but I'd advise sticking to the same or greater ah rating.

 

[Shrek]

If this is it
(2) How to Replace APC Back UPS ES700 battery - Bing video
one battery.

If you are using less than 200W (the ES700 is 405W) and want to try something new, a lithium battery is an option
Dakota Lithium 12v 10Ah Battery - Half the Weight & Twice the Power

 

[silentbogo]

From my personal experience I can tell you that brand-name batteries aren't really better than anything else on the market.
I'm always buying the cheapest ones, and rotate them approximately every 3-4 years (local brand, 2 year warranty, costs around $16/ea).
If you want to be on the safe side - just get CSB. Those are basically a to-go battery for SMB in my area, cause they also don't want to spend a shitton of money on brand-name APC batteries either. Just make sure you get the AGM version. 12V 9Ah AGM usually goes for ~$30-35 ($10 more expensive than sealed lead-acid), but it'll last a bit longer and won't be as dangerous if for some reason it leaks or buldges.
There are also quite affordable UPS-compatible LiFePO4/Li-Ion batteries, which should be even better (in theory). I've heard some nice feedback from reviews and few of my brave friends, but haven't tried it personally [yet].

 

[Shrek]

With the uptick in electric vehicles I am expecting trouble with the electric supply and might have to bring some of my old UPS units back into service.

 

[Bill_Bright]

You won't only lose runtime, but you may lose load capacity too. Not good. You can always go with a larger Ah rating, but should never go smaller.

You must match voltage - in this case, 12Volts.

The F2 is the terminal size. There are F1 - F2 (and F2 - F1) adapters but it is always best to get the correct one because the battery compartments in UPS are very cramped and may not have enough space for the adapter too.

From my personal experience I can tell you that brand-name batteries aren't really better than anything else on the market.

I never buy branded replacement batteries by the UPS makers. They always charge way too much. In fact, I peeled the labels off the APC, Cyberpower, TrippLite and other brand UPS batteries, and found industry standard, UPS batteries, like this one. Those companies are UPS makers, not battery makers.

With the uptick in electric vehicles I am expecting trouble with the electric supply and might have to bring some of my old UPS units back into service.

Umm, this really makes no sense. Large wattage appliances (ovens, refrigerators, AC units, electric clothes dryers, etc. ) cycling on an off all the time most would be more troublesome than those very high-tech charging stations used for EVs.

 

[maxfly]

If your uncertain go to a local battery replacement shop and see what their prices are like. They are likely going to carry the same thing you would buy from APC (as Bill mentioned) for much less. Being local, if you have an issue you wont have to pay an arm and a leg for shipping. They may even install it for you

 

[Caring1]

If this is it
(2) How to Replace APC Back UPS ES700 battery - Bing video
one battery.

If you are using less than 200W (the ES700 is 405W) and want to try something new, a lithium battery is an option
Dakota Lithium 12v 10Ah Battery - Half the Weight & Twice the Power

Most people don't want to sell a kidney just for a battery, try to be realistic.

 

[Shrek]

Let's see now, it is warranted for 11 years so may last longer... in which case it may actually be the cheaper option.

 

[erocker]

Last time I had to replace mine I went to a local Batteries Plus Store (I think that's it's name) and it turned out to be way less expensive than anywhere online.

 

[Caring1]

Last time I had to replace mine I went to a local Batteries Plus Store (I think that's it's name) and it turned out to be way less expensive than anywhere online.

They are still slightly higher here than a local auto parts store that carries a range of batteries. But that may be dependent on location.

 

[Bill_Bright]

It is important to remember that the OP is off in foreign lands. So a local battery store may be wishful thinking, at best.

 

[R-T-B]

Last time I had to replace mine I went to a local Batteries Plus Store (I think that's it's name) and it turned out to be way less expensive than anywhere online.

I do this, but only because it's only $5.00 more than online and they warranty it locally (~$35.00 IIRC) which is nice.

It is important to remember that the OP is off in foreign lands. So a local battery store may be wishful thinking, at best.

Indeed. It is worth remembering that warranty of these online batteries is iffy at best, so no reason to spend extra on that when shopping online. In his case, I'd just go for the cheapest and watch after it.

 

[Bill_Bright]

I do this, but only because it's only $5.00 more than online and they warranty it locally (~$35.00 IIRC) which is nice.

And they often recycle the old ones for free - also nice.

Yeah, I would not pay extra for any warranty.

 

[R-T-B]

The good news on that front is SLA batteries are pretty old and mastered tech that most any battery maker can do decently... seriously the amount of failed in < 1 year batteries (my criteria for defective) I can count on one hand, and I have three UPSes using a total of 10 9ah SLAs in my network.

 

[Shrek]

I don't like the short lifetime of SLA batteries and tried to find a way to extend their life
Desulfation in Lead-acid Batteries; a Novel (resistive) Approach : 3 Steps - Instructables
without much success.

 

[caroline!]

Most people don't want to sell a kidney just for a battery, try to be realistic.

$99 for a single LiFePo battery isn't selling a kidney at all.

THIS is selling a kidney. These are for the SURTD3000XLI from APC, I've bought it used about 6 years ago even though it wasn't working, some resistors and caps were blown and one of the outlets was burnt to a crisp due to an overload, not sure what kind of equipment was wired to it when that happened but I've only seen heaters damage an outlet like that. You know users....

Now I've read in the article linked above that if a resistive load is applied and then released, a high over-voltage pulse results at the battery terminals which makes me wonder if someone had tried to do that with the UPS and ended up damaging it because I'm guessing that load should be applied to the battery itself and not the whole unit, maybe I'm overthinking it and the reason was the typical user that thought it was a simple power strip (they also set those on fire...) but bigger.

 

[Shrek]

Are you sure you don't mean an inductive load?

 

[ThaiTaffy]

Stick to the specs... If it uses a 9ah battery then buy one.
it's been said a lower amperage battery will decrease your run time and load capacity and unless the ups is fitted with an optional battery input a larger amperage battery can play havoc with the charging circuit.
Lead acid batteries can pretty much be constructed by neanderthals so aslong as it's within specs the brand really doesn't matter.

 

[Bill_Bright]

makes me wonder if someone had tried to do that with the UPS and ended up damaging it because I'm guessing that load should be applied to the battery itself and not the whole unit

Huh? "To the battery itself"? What does that even mean? The load plugs into the UPS (AKA, the "whole unit"). Always! By suggesting you plug the load into the battery, you are suggesting you plug the 110VAC device into a 12VDC battery. That would make no sense.

What should be avoided is buying a cheap UPS. You want a "good" UPS with AVR (automatic voltage regulation). It is important to note it is the AVR that makes a "good" UPS so invaluable. Remember, a power strip or surge and spike protector does absolutely nothing low voltage anomalies like dips (opposites of spikes), sags (opposite of surges), and brownouts (long duration sags). And for excessive high voltage anomalies (excessive surges and spikes), "if lucky" they kill power to the connected devices before damage results - hardly a desired action for your data.

And the UPS needs to have enough capacity to easily support the connected equipment for a minimum of 3 - 4 minutes, at least. Long enough so either the user, or the UPS software can "gracefully" exit all running programs, shutdown the OS, then power off the computer before the batteries runout.

and unless the ups is fitted with an optional battery input a larger amperage battery can play havoc with the charging circuit.

Sorry but is nonsense. People, including techs like me, have been replacing the OEM batteries in UPS with larger Ah capacity cells for decades with no issues. Why? Because it is the voltage that matters. So just make sure the cells are the same voltage.

All the larger Ah capacity means to the charging circuit is that it will take a little longer to fully charge. No big deal.

There are people on this forum who have very successfully replaced the 12V OEM cells with 12V car batteries! It works great and gives many hours of battery runtime. Google it! There are lots of how-to videos.

What is a trickle charger but a tiny charger for a monster battery. No problem. People replace their car batteries (which are SLA batteries too) with larger capacity (higher CCA ratings) all the time!

If a larger amperage battery plays havoc on the charging circuit - that charging circuit is faulty! And it would play havoc on the OEM batteries too.

 

[caroline!]

Are you sure you don't mean an inductive load?

Well it says resistive on the article.

It was found that if a resistive load is applied and then released, a high over-voltage pulse results at the battery terminals and an oscilloscope plot is attached showing a more than 15V over-voltage pulse (which is above and beyond the 12V of the battery).

As well as being simpler and cheaper than an inductive approach, it can run up to 1000 times faster.

"To the battery itself"? What does that even mean? The load plugs into the UPS (AKA, the "whole unit"). Always! By suggesting you plug the load into the battery, you are suggesting you plug the 110VAC device into a 12VDC battery. That would make no sense.

Battery terminals, obviously you can't wire a 110 or 240 VAC load into a DC battery, load should be 12VDC (if that's the battery voltage) as well. At least that's how I'd do it, why stress the rest of the components if the goal is to desulfate the battery?

AVR that makes a "good" UPS so invaluable. Remember, a power strip or surge and spike protector does absolutely nothing low voltage anomalies like dips (opposites of spikes), sags (opposite of surges), and brownouts (long duration sags). And for excessive high voltage anomalies (excessive surges and spikes), "if lucky" they kill power to the connected devices before damage results - hardly a desired action for your data.

That's why I have it, lost 2 power supplies and got several other appliances damaged due to spikes and sags because my mains voltage is a f*cking rollercoaster most of the time, it's supposed to be 240V but if I probe any outlet with a multimeter it'll constantly move between 190 and 215V, UPS outlets though have a stable output of 240V, that input is probably stressing the AVR to its limits, that's bad but there's nothing I can do on my end since it's the company that's having issues, infrastructure is ancient at this point.

To avoid derailing the thread... larger capacity batteries won't wreak havoc in the charging circuit, it'll only need more time to recharge the batteries.

 

[Bill_Bright]

That's why I have it, lost 2 power supplies and got several other appliances damaged due to spikes and sags because my mains

Well, sadly, some feel if their main grid is stable, they don't need to worry about power line anomalies. But that is not true. Damaging surges and spikes don't have to originate off the grid. A defective $15 1500 hair dryer can inject destructive anomalies on the circuit. Every time the refrigerator or AC cycle on and off, anomalies are introduced on their circuits. These can take a toll on other devices over time.

Battery terminals, obviously you can't wire a 110 or 240 VAC load into a DC battery, load should be 12VDC (if that's the battery voltage) as well. At least that's how I'd do it, why stress the rest of the components if the goal is to desulfate the battery?

My comment was due to you saying "if someone had tried to do that with the UPS". You don't desulfate a battery while it is still in circuit or connected to a load as the desulfation pulses could damage the connected components. So one would not desulfate a battery when it is still installed in the UPS.

it's supposed to be 240V but if I probe any outlet with a multimeter it'll constantly move between 190 and 215V

Yeah, you need to contact your power company. While fluctuations are common, you should still be sitting up closer to 230 - 240V most of the time. It sounds like a tap on your neighborhood transformer is bad. It probably is putting extra wear on your UPS - but also every other electronic device in your home too. Check your neighbors' outlets. If theirs is that low most of time too, have all your neighbors call too. Multiple complaints will get a response much quicker than just you complaining.

 

[lexluthermiester]

If this is it
(2) How to Replace APC Back UPS ES700 battery - Bing video
one battery.

If you are using less than 200W (the ES700 is 405W) and want to try something new, a lithium battery is an option
Dakota Lithium 12v 10Ah Battery - Half the Weight & Twice the Power

Never ever replace a lead-acid battery with a lithium-ion. Doing so is asking for a fire and/or explosion. I have seen this happen in person. Lead-acid charging circuits work in a different way than Lithium-Ion and are not compatible.

You'll lose runtime with a 7ah. It may work, but I'd advise sticking to the same or greater ah rating.

This. The charging circuitry is expecting a certain capacity battery and is calibrated for it. More will never hurt a charging circuit as it will trickle charge anything above what it expects, but less can kill the battery and the whole UPS.

 

[Bill_Bright]

Never ever replace a lead-acid battery with a lithium-ion. Doing so is asking for a fire and or explosion. I have seen this happen in person. Lead-acid charging circuits work in a different way than Lithium-Ion and are not compatible.

It should be noted that there are some Li-Ion batteries that are designed to be direct replacements for rechargeable SLA batteries.

The one Andy linked to above is such a battery.

 

[Ferrum Master]

Low voltage in rural areas is a normal sight. There is nothing you can do.

I had great success using AGM from the same FIAMM maker for motorcycles, if they fit, it is okay and they are dirt cheap and found in any larger shopping center for household items.

Don't put smaller capacity, due to charging current. Coulomb rules change putting a smaller one, you can charge with less current a bigger one, not vice versa, usually, but practically it rarely causes trouble as only the life span will shorten because of that.

I haven't seen a UPS accepting two battery types either. The replacement Lithium then has a BMS, basically like a common drill... not sure how economical it is... lithium remains lithium and that's around 500 cycles. Great for the seller ain't it, like shampoo.