Question Battery Replacement for APC BE850M2

[Crag_Hack]

Hi I have a quick question about my APC UPS. I bought it 7 years and need to replace the battery. I don't want to buy a new UPS unless necessary and APC no longer sells replacement batteries for my model UPS. I have found a bunch of third party batteries on Google though. My concern is that they are of dubious quality and I'd be better off buying a new UPS. Definitely don't want to jeopardize the health of my $2500 computer. Below are a several I found. Which path should I take? upsbatterycenter.com (the first company) says "We are a leading manufacturer and supplier of sealed lead-acid batteries." and they're based in New York which is a seductive option considering they're US based. Thanks!

https://www.upsbatterycenter.com/apc-back-ups-850va-be850m2-compatible-battery

APC Back-UPS 850 (BE850M2) High Capacity 9 Amp Battery Replacement kit

Our Brand New APC Back-UPS 850 (BE850M2) High Capacity 9 Amp Battery kit Compatible UPS Replacement Battery Cartridges incorporate a synergistic blend of materials and special design features that provide Superior Performance, Durability and Reliability for demanding High Rate and long duration...

www.refurbups.com

https://batterysharks.com/apc-back-ups-be850m2-ups-battery-replacement.html

 

[Lutfij]

IMHO, I'd contact the folks there and see if they stand behind their products, meaning if anything does go awry, that they are going to cover your PC's damages. That's my understanding. If your pricey build needs more in order to operate in terms of an UPS, I'd advise on upgrading the UPS.

What sort of specs does your $2500 system have? Please list them like so:
CPU:
CPU cooler:
Motherboard:
Ram:
SSD/HDD:
GPU:
PSU:
Chassis:
OS:
Monitor:
include the age of the PSU apart from it's make and model.

 

[geofelt]

A strange battery will not cost much, and if it damages anything, the first to go would be the UPS itself.
Still, you do not want to damage your pc, and that would be a possibility.

That said, 7 years may be a bit old to think of keeping it.
I might contact APC customer support and see if they can help.
My guess is that they might offer you a replacement unit at an attractive price.

 

[bill001g]

I am surprised you got 7 years out of UPS batteries. I generally have issue in 3-5. Then again you might not have noticed that it does not last as long if you do not have many outages.

I have UPS much older than yours and have swapped the battery multiple times.

APC does not actually make batteries...well not these little ones. They contract out with some other vendor to put their name on the battery.

What is key is the physical size of the battery. Almost all UPS use the size battery you list but check the sizes. You will find huge numbers of different batteries that will work on amazon.
The only other thing to be careful of is the terminal size are either t1 or t2. I have not looked you battery up to know but if you screw up they make little metal adapters that convert from t1 to t2.

Do not get tempted to use lithium batteries that are the same physical size. The UPS is not designed to charge these.

I can't tell what makes the difference between battery brands. I have bought a fairly large number over the years (I have many UPS). There seems to be no method to determine batteries that die after only 3 years and other than last over 5.

 

[Crag_Hack]

Thx guys. I'll probably lean towards a new UPS and call APC for a deal ... hopefully.

@bill001g Do you agree that there is a possibility of damaging connected devices when using third party batteries?

 

[NedSmelly]

@Crag_Hack these are generic pattern SLA batteries that are multi-application, and used for many other things besides UPS. They have a duty life of 5 years. Normal wear part, which can be replaced with any generic SLA supplier. You could even try a local auto parts store.

I used to have photographic studio flashes that used this type of battery in its power pack.

 

[Crag_Hack]

@NedSmelly Sounds like it's relatively safe to use a third party battery correct?

 

[NedSmelly]

@NedSmelly Sounds like it's relatively safe to use a third party battery correct?

Yeah it should be fine. As others mentioned, it’s more an issue of choosing the right retailer with good after sales support, in case you get a dud.

Edit: I probably should mention that majority of these are imported, regardless of where the distributor is based. But 12V 9Ah is pretty much standard for alarms, RVs, etc.