They need to be checked on a schedule just like a flooded battery.? If you can't do maintenance, don't even install them.
Some of the things that happen, just like a flooded battery, they will sulfate over time and swell, sometimes short a cell
then the rest of the cells will overcharge and overheat and swell.? SLAs are no more robust than a flooded cell and
certainly don't last as long in cyclic service.? The small plastic computer type back-up systems just aren't big enough?
for a battery that last more than 10-20min tops, so it is hoped that the generator always starts within 5 minutes or the
battery will be toast and you will have to make a trip to the hill and replace all the batteries in those little back-ups
I would never put one of those on a hill because you often don't know how often or long the power has dropped until
the propane bill comes.
Also, make sure these are not sitting down in the carpet and don't have the battery door in the bottom of the unit or
things will get destroyed from a leak or maybe burn if a cell shorts.?
I have a surplus 350w unit that I picked up 3 for $20 and it runs the PC AND the ham radio in the home shack, but it
runs with an external flooded group 27 marine/start battery and charging system and can run for 10 hours of operation,
so I should be able to pull myself away from a pileup to start a generator or throw out some solar panels during that time.?
I was actually surprised it could do that without getting warm but I has no problem with that load.? There is no reason to
buy a new one every 6 months if you are going to re-engineer the battery system anyway.?
Once upon a time, a large network of terrestrial base stations had large 1500-3000va APC units with additional battery.?
It was a must to inspect the back-up systems anytime the vault was entered and yes occasionally the batteries had failed
or leaked.?
There is a good case for the whole site being on an inverter type battery backup.? The combined current drain is usually
a much lower average, so you don't have to plan for the maximum for each individual UPS on each station, nor would you
have to replace every battery if the generator didn't start.? I saw this at a site that had no AC service at all and originally
ran for many years 24/7 on a diesel generator.? This was changed to the Inverter/battery/solar and back-up generator
system and was very reliable.?
