Offtopic: Question about UPS's

[Tom Metro]

Dan Ritter wrote:
> Matt Shields wrote:
>> About a year ago I purchased 6 x APC SmartUPS 3000's...
>> If they've been sitting on a shelf since then, will they
>> still work and are the batteries still good?
> 
> They should be in approximately the same state as when you
> bought them: if the controllers were good then, they'll be good
> now, and if the batteries were good then, they are only slightly
> less likely to be good now.

Probably true. Particularly if the batteries were charged when put into 
storage and kept relatively cool.

Generally, it is recommended to charge lead-acid batteries every 3 to 6 
months. More on storage here:
http://www.powerstream.com/Storage.htm


> Connect a small load -- say, a 100W lamp -- to the UPS, and fire it
> up.

Sounds fine. I wouldn't recommend doing a full discharge runtime test. 
(Apparently some people do that on a regular basis and APC has taken to 
printing warnings in their literature not to do this, as it shortens the 
battery life considerably.)

  -Tom

-- 
Tom Metro
Venture Logic, Newton, MA, USA
"Enterprise solutions through open source."
Professional Profile: http://tmetro.venturelogic.com/