Pro UPS APC Batterie exchange options " economic solution "

I have one APC SUA1000 XL usb .

I got it some years back , that financially i has in better shape .

This UPS because of the XL logo , uses two batteries of 12V 18Ah its one , also the same battery can be found as 12V 17Ah .
Its in total one 24V source .

The APC XL devices , can use also external power pack of batteries , in my model i can use ten of them.


That sum of ten power packs, can keep alive one loaded system for about 32 hours on battery.

End of the prologue ..

My main battery pack called as RBC7 , the smart APC corp , have in the UPS software,
one pest , that notify it , if the customer has need for replacement battery , and the mail spam starts automatically .

APC has tremendous high prices , and for my model the prices float around 150 - 170 EUR .

Equal or better ones ( Panasonic 10 years longevity ) can be found from 80 - 100 EUR .

Currently , as my main pack failed , i use two smaller ones in line , 12V 7Ah the common type found in many or all small UPS systems .

I have a minimum run time of 14 minutes or so , and the UPS software fails to finish the run time calculating test ( APC probably has a fixed amount of time so to report good news, at lower from it , you get multiple nags on your event log ) .

Any way , i am looking for other options , car batteries or you name it .

If you have something in mind , let me know ..

The large run time , its not what i am looking at , even if the 57 minutes run time that this UPS offer as new device , it is sweet .


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I am still puzzled of what battery set, to get ...

Originally the UPS came with a set of Long WP18-12

Other brands found are 17Ah 12-volt CSB

I need something good that will last ..

After many days of research , about batteries - technical data - specs - ebay availability ,
i managed to find one good seller in Germany and make one order,
for two Panasonic LC-XD1217P .

Panasonic is the only one worldwide , that offers latest technology batteries ,
that can survive for 10 - 12 years ...

The new batteries must have the XD logo ... LC-XD1217P


There are new regulations about batteries in European union since 2006 .

The " Eurobat " ( that every battery must have a specific life cycle so to enter on the European union )

And Germans lately ( 2007 - 8 ) added and another domestic regulation called as " VDS "
(under the VDS regulation , batteries must have better case , that protects them from the symptom of dis forming , and better power connectors .)

In simple words the batteries that got marketed in the German market this days ,
are the top of the cream , in all the EU union .

About 16 makers have comply with all this new regulations , and this products could be called awesome .

The catch is that there is lots of stock , from old ones , so the buyer must be very careful ..


Right now Panasonic is the No1 that offers this special long life battery code .

ABUS , an EU alarm security distributer in Germany , made a contract with the Chinese Sun battery maker , and offers one model called as BT2180 with 1000 cycles of charge recharge .
When all common batteries have about 400 .

Currently , all brands offer batteries that can last 3-4 years .
Panasonic offers three generations or types of batteries .
Normal ones 5 - 6 years
Best ones 8 - 10 years
Excellent ones 10 - 12 years


By having in mind the cost of the batteries , how long they live , how secure they are,
and how eco friendly , the best choice looks to be Panasonic , with second best the ABUS Sun battery for the German market .

I wish one day all the battery makers , to build such wonderful products , so no one to need to dig up about 30 technical documents , so to find the truth about batteries .

Today delivered the old ones , in a recycling company , and i feel well about it .

Ok i have an additional info for all the owners of APC UPS,
that offered with the APC PowerChute Business Edition software .

The basic free license , does not allow you to manually update the inner date ,
of a new battery exchange .

Your options to do that , are the old Serial cable and some hard to use ancient Serial port commands ..

Or the PowerChute Business Edition Deluxe .

I had to find some one else that had the software , so to reprogram my UPS too.

After my findings ... i do not feel that happy with this APC tactics , after all i payed my large share of cash too .

Any way ..

Last post about my story , just got my packet today from Germany .

The two batteries are LC-XD1217PG , the last letter indicates freshest German coding.

The batteries are made at 10 October 2008 , so its only six months old .

I took some pictures , so to share my joy , and educate the future d buyers ,
so to invest correctly their cash , in a future buy .

I added also one external pack of CS3 small batteries (7.2Ah) Plus the 17Ah of Panasonic, offered together about one Hour and 10 minutes on UPS time .
That is fantastic , as the default pack offers as 47 minutes .

At the CS3 batteries the production date are on the bottom.
At the Panasonic its at the side, next to the positive pole .

I am truly happy today , first because my UPS are Good as New ,
and secondly because its better than new with the Panasonic pack.

Enjoy the images , and thanks for your time , it was worthwhile invested ,
for the health of your wallet in the near future.



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