[John V.]

Posting this as a PSA for whatever it might be worth.

I have an old APC Back-UPS Model ES 500 that I bought new. I have purchased generic replacement SLA batteries for it from time to time. The first time was in 2009, I went to a local battery store and they sold me a 7Ah battery. On the receipt, I wrote that the "original was 8 Ah". I have no idea how I knew that rating, can only guess that it was noted on the OE battery. I think I was concerned that 7 Ah wouldn't work as well.

There was a plastic protector cap on the OE battery positive tab stuck on by double sided tape. I recall peeling it off the OE battery and I've reinstalled it on each replacement battery thru the years. Still have it. I know I replaced the battery 2-3 more times since then, don't really remember the last time. The current battery is a UPG brand 1280k rated 8Ah. My guess is that it is at least 4-5 years old.

I'm pretty sure for the 2nd replacement I went back to the 8Ah believing it was "better" than the 7Ah that I had been sold in 2009.

3 years ago we moved into our current house. Former owner left behind two APC Model ES 550 Back-UPS.

No idea how old they are. I've been using one of them for the past 3 years along with my own ES 500.

The ES 500 recently signaled the need for a new battery.

One of the ES 550 units is also signalling the need for a new battery (perhaps just dead from no use, I plugged it in today to see if it will charge). The other unit that I've been using doesn't seem to need a new battery yet according to the status indicator light but I'm suspicious that it might need a new battery any day now.

When I pulled the battery out, both of the ES 550 units still have a sticker indicating they are an APC brand battery. I assume both are the OE batteries.

There is a separate serial no. sticker on each battery that might be coded for a date but I couldn't make sense of it. Curiously, the label indicates CSB, a battery manufacturer.

APC doesn't give you the battery specs, they just tell you to replace them with their recommended APC battery, in the case of the ES 550, an RBC 110 per the User's Guide. Note, I do not find this no. on the battery itself.

For the ES 500, the User's Guide says replace with an RBC 2.

I found a cross reference guide that shows the specs for both are identical.

I then found a YouTube video that showed that when you peel back the APC sticker, the actual battery manufacturer brand and battery specs are printed right on the battery!

He was comparing an OE APC RBC 17 to a "generic" CSB equivalent, a Model GP 1272 F2 battery. With the label peeled off, the printing on the battery case showed the same CSB brand and Model No., he said the original was rated 7.1 Ah. His OE battery showed the same CSB GP 1272 F2 Model No. and I'm not sure if APC told him it was 7.1 Ah or if CSB told him that (he talked to both), the Ah rating is not actually printed on the battery. He said CSB told him you can't get a 7.1 Ah battery direct from CSB but CSB told him the 7.2 Ah would work fine, just that you might get an unnoticeable longer run time. He concluded that the APC battery was a slightly different spec but the CSB would work just fine at a lower price.

When I peeled the label off my supposed RBC 110 battery, it showed the identical CSB brand Model 1272 F2 battery. The model no. translates to a 12 V, 7.2Ah SLA battery with F2 style terminals manufactured by CSB which explained the serial no. sticker on the end of the APC battery.

The main difference he found was the "generic" CSB battery did not have the protective cap on the positive terminal which he deduced was added by APC to protect from arcing when connected.

APC sells their labeled batteries for a premium.

I found a CSB Model 1272 F2 battery on line for about $25 including tax and shipping. I ordered two.

On the APC website, the RBC 110 is listed at $69.99 plus tax and delivery.

Amazon has the genuine APC RBC 110 for $62.87 plus tax and free shipping, the price is currently discounted 9% from list. But the identical RBC 17 and RBC 2 are also on Amazon for cheaper, less than $40 discounted price today for the RBC 2. Without removing the APC label, I can't know if these APC batteries are all manufactured by CSP and share the same Model No. Just seems odd that they are dimensionally identical and likely have same electrical specs but widely different pricing.

You can decide for yourself which battery to buy for your APC Back-UPS. The generic 12V, 8 Ah batteries that I have bought in the past seemed to work just fine in my ES 500 and I could buy the same brand and model as my last purchase for about $20 plus tax on eBay.

The biggie for me was learning that you can peel the APC sticker off and discover the actual Manufacturer and Model of your OE battery.

Personally, I suspect APC sets the specs such as 7.1 Ah and CSB and whoever else might supply batteries to APC can meet those specs with a standard production battery, in the case of CSB, a 7.2 Ah battery. My opinion is that CSB does not make a special version of their 7.2 Ah battery for APC rated for 7.1 Ah. JMO.

I found some folks who felt the cheapest generics didn't last near as long as their OE APC batteries. If you want to stick to an OE battery, it looks to me you can do that without paying APC to relabel it.

Oh, and keep your protective cap for the positive terminal and reuse it.

I won't know how my replacement batteries will perform until they are in service for 3-5 years. But for me anyway, I now believe there is nothing special about the APC RBC (Replacement Battery Cartridge).

You can decide for yourself. I was frustrated because I couldn't find actual specs for the APC branded battery on the APC label or in the User's Guide. But when I discovered what was behind the APC label when it was peeled off, I thought it was worth mentioning that little trick.

[poncho-mike]

I work for a company that sells industrial and commercial UPSs. We use a lot of batteries, ranging from the small 7ah batteries all the way to huge batteries with an automotive footprint and weighing in excess of 100 lbs. In general, there are only a couple of different battery manufacturers and CSB is one of the major producers.

One of the main things that kills a UPS battery is frequent rapid discharges. The UPS specifications generally specify a given run time for a specific current draw. If you lose power, I recommend you start shutting down devices attached to the UPS as soon as possible to slow the current draw. If you discharge a battery quickly, it shortens the life.

The battery industry has been consolidating over the last few years. Due to all of the environmental regulations dealing with lead acid batteries, I suspect you will find most batteries are now produced outside of the UPS.

[Keith Seymore]

I'm sorry guys - what are we talking about here?

Household smoke detectors? Stud finders?

Hearing aids?

K

[John V.]

UPS = Uninterruptible Power Supply.

A fancy battery back up/surge protection device for electronics like computers and such. Mine have 4 outlets for battery back up and surge and 4 outlets for surge protection only.

APC is the brand.

They use a 12V Sealed Lead Acid Battery for the back up in the event of a power outage.

Prevents your desktop computer from suddenly shutting off due to a momentary power interruption while in the middle of posting on PY.

https://www.apc.com/us/en/product/BE...tlets-4-surge/