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UPS charger woes

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Older UPS and modern low-end UPS takes about half a day to fully charge a battery, but higher end UPS's are offering faster charge time. I took a measurement and they push as much as C/3 to C/2.5 . Which seems to be right at or sometimes exceeding the maximum charging current recommended on the battery.

How badly does this affect battery life and what's with this? Is it their plan to wreck the expensive batteries(~$100 isn't unusual even for 1000VA model) in a hope they'll make money on replacement batteries?

Reply to
~Dude17~
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I would be more concerned with the temperature of the batteries at the charge cut-off point. However, I've read that at an excessive charge rate, the plates of a lead acid battery (if that's what's being used) can warp.

We can worry about anything!

Dave M.

Reply to
Dave M.

I don't know if this guy discusses the effect of high charge or not. I think he recommends C/10 for deep discharge types.

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Reply to
HRL

When the replacement battery is $125+ S&H, there's every reason to worry whether the battery will last 2 years or 5 years.

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Reply to
~Dude17~

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I don't think any lead acid battery takes quick charging as kindly as NiCd or NiMH. It's not a big deal whether or not that one time "free instant charging" from parts store reduces the life of your $30 EverStart in your car by a year or not, but it's a big deal if frequent quick charging shortens useful life of a battery pack that costs $140 to replace.

Reply to
~Dude17~

Don't press me for details but I remember reading that some "car" batteries MUST be initially charged at a moderately high rate (20 amps?) or it will forever have reduced capacity.

Reply to
John Gilmer

Never heard that but it is said they should be "broken in".

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Reply to
HRL

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