UPS question

[Salamander]

I'm collecting parts for a new build, and am looking to get components when they are on sale when possible. If I get a UPS 4 or 5 months before I do the build, can I store it for that time without ever using it? Will that be a problem for the battery?

 

[billyb0b]

it will be perfectly fine, especially if you don't charge or discharge the battery during that time. most modern consumer-grade UPS give 3 years of battery life before needing to be replaced

 

[Charles Kozierok]

I'm collecting parts for a new build, and am looking to get components when they are on sale when possible. If I get a UPS 4 or 5 months before I do the build, can I store it for that time without ever using it? Will that be a problem for the battery?

You can do it, and the UPS will work, but you'll be aging the battery. Not a huge deal, but a bit of a deal.

If you do this, plug the UPS in when you first get it to charge the battery up -- batteries are best stored full. Plug it back in occasionally to top it up.

 

[Salamander]

Hmmm. Don't charge it? Charge it first and then plug it in occasionally?

 

[Arcanedeath]

battery's lose charge over time due to self discharge and if a battery gets to low it can be damaged in some cases or lose capisity. This is why it's a good idea to store them full and keep them charged.

 

[Charles Kozierok]

Hmmm. Don't charge it? Charge it first and then plug it in occasionally?

When a lead acid battery is fully or partially discharged, lead sulphate forms at the electrodes. If the battery is allowed to remain for a prolonged period in a discharged state or with a very low state of charge the lead sulphate may form into large crystals which are very difficult to convert back into lead and sulphuric acid by the charging process. The formation of these crystals is called sulphation and causes a permanent loss of capacity of the battery. To avoid this problem lead acid batteries should therefore only be stored in a fully charged condition and the charge should be topped up from time to time during storage to compensate for the self discharge of the cells.

To prolong shelf life without charging, the batteries should be stored at 10°C or less but the electrolyte should not be allowed to freeze. When the battery is fully charged the electrolyte is sulphuric acid solution and the freezing point is -36°C but it rises to 0°C in the fully discharged state when the electrolyte is simply water.

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http://www.mpoweruk.com/storage.htm

 

[Jeff7]

Hmmm. Don't charge it? Charge it first and then plug it in occasionally?

Yup, do this.

As others have said too, if the voltage drops too low, you can start to do some permanent damage to the battery, either by sulfation, or else by lightly reverse-biasing the weakest cell in the battery from deep discharge (a 12V battery is 6 2V lead acid cells in series), which will reduce the overall capacity and output voltage of the entire battery, and I'm not sure that it's possible to recover from this, unless you've got some kind of fancy industrial battery that allows for per-cell charge equalization.

I typically see 10.8V as the "dead" voltage for a 12V lead acid battery (1.8V per cell). At that level, it should be recharged.

 

[Salamander]

Yup, do this.

As others have said too, if the voltage drops too low, you can start to do some permanent damage to the battery, either by sulfation, or else by lightly reverse-biasing the weakest cell in the battery from deep discharge (a 12V battery is 6 2V lead acid cells in series), which will reduce the overall capacity and output voltage of the entire battery, and I'm not sure that it's possible to recover from this, unless you've got some kind of fancy industrial battery that allows for per-cell charge equalization.

I typically see 10.8V as the "dead" voltage for a 12V lead acid battery (1.8V per cell). At that level, it should be recharged.

I'm looking at getting a CyberPower CP1000. I believe the battery is enclosed already, and is supposed to be plugged into AC and then can be used immediately. I don't know how much of a charge they have to start with. Bsaed upon yours and others comments, I'm inclined to plug it in and fully charge it as soon as I get it!