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[Weogo Reed]

Hi Folks,

Remember, batteries need maintenance too.

First, you may want to make a list of all your batteries:
Trucks
UPS battery backup units
Tablets
Gig laptops
Measurement devices
AA, AAA, 9V, etc.

For instance, lead-acid batteries are best stored near full charge.
As needed, disconnect or turn them off, remove parasitic loads.
Check voltage once a month, possibly more or less often.

 https://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/how_to_store_batteries

This might be a good item to set a reminder for doing this.

What additional advice can you share?

Thanks and good health,  Weogo

[Frank Koenig]

For instance, lead-acid batteries are best stored near full charge.

All the lithium chemistries are happiest sitting at around 50% state-of-charge, so far as I know. This is a bit of a mental adjustment for those of us who spent their lives keeping the lead-acids topped-off and, preferably, on a float charge. -F

[Ned Ward]

For trucks and cars that aren't driven much, I have found the Battery Tender solution works well, and they sell a quick connect weatherproof plug that can be connected to the battery terminals vs. using clips and opening the hood. Have one for my 67 Pontiac and got one for my parent's old Explorer that rarely gets driven.

[Scott Helmke]

All your gear that uses AA, 9v, AAA, etc. - if it's not being used or about to be used, take the batteries out. You never know how long something might sit on the shelf before you discover the batteries have leaked all over the insides.

[Frank Koenig]

For trucks and cars that aren't driven much, I have found the Battery Tender solution works well, and they sell a quick connect weatherproof plug that can be connected to the battery terminals vs. using clips and opening the hood. Have one for my 67 Pontiac and got one for my parent's old Explorer that rarely gets driven.

Agree. One of the benefits of the modern world is that you can buy cheap, efficient battery minders for lead-acid batteries that are properly engineered.  They pay for themselves many times over assuming you have a source of power available. I've had good luck with the "Schumacher" branded ones, although I imagine there are many that are equivalent. I don't put much truck in "desulfators", which subject the battery to pulsating DC rather than a steady current. I believe at best they squeeze a little more use out of an already damaged battery by getting the sulfated electrode material to fall off. They do not regenerate the battery. -F

[Dave Garoutte]

The solar powered minders are great for vehicles stored outside.

[Scott Holtzman]

Hi Folks,

Remember, batteries need maintenance too.

First, you may want to make a list of all your batteries:
Trucks
UPS battery backup units
Tablets
Gig laptops
Measurement devices
AA, AAA, 9V, etc.

For instance, lead-acid batteries are best stored near full charge.
As needed, disconnect or turn them off, remove parasitic loads.
Check voltage once a month, possibly more or less often.

 https://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/how_to_store_batteries

This might be a good item to set a reminder for doing this.

What additional advice can you share?

Thanks and good health,  Weogo

We have about 60 wireless lights.  They are all charged 100% right now.  Some are approaching 4 years old so will do runtime tests on them and see where I am at as far as needed replacements.

[Jonathan Johnson]

It's my experience (in the computer industry) that the sealed lead acid batteries used in UPSs (same ones used in alarm systems, power wheelchairs, etc.) have pretty near 100% reliability up to three years. Beyond that, lifespan varies. After 6 years, they're pretty much all shot.

Anything mission-critical -- in the A/V industry, that would be UPSs for consoles and other signal processing equipment -- should have the batteries replaced before the reliability curve starts droppping off. Pulling a number out of the air, if you have 80% survival at 4 years, you really don't want to discover in the middle of a show that your battery is one of the 20% that didn't make it that long.

I advise my customers to replace batteries every 3 years, even if a runtime test shows they're good. Once a battery starts going bad, it goes bad quickly.

[brian maddox]

It's my experience (in the computer industry) that the sealed lead acid batteries used in UPSs (same ones used in alarm systems, power wheelchairs, etc.) have pretty near 100% reliability up to three years. Beyond that, lifespan varies. After 6 years, they're pretty much all shot.

Anything mission-critical -- in the A/V industry, that would be UPSs for consoles and other signal processing equipment -- should have the batteries replaced before the reliability curve starts droppping off. Pulling a number out of the air, if you have 80% survival at 4 years, you really don't want to discover in the middle of a show that your battery is one of the 20% that didn't make it that long.

I advise my customers to replace batteries every 3 years, even if a runtime test shows they're good. Once a battery starts going bad, it goes bad quickly.

I'm not gonna throw the gear provider under the bus since it was partially my own dang fault for not doing a stress test before the gig but...

About a month ago I did a last minute pop up Fortune 100 level corporate meeting/webcast.  It was held at one of their smaller satellite offices so the whole gig was on generator power.  Long story short, huge buildup to CEO arriving and coming in to major hype loud music confetti cannon, etc.  Literally at the moment he walks through the door the generator quits and we discover the hard way that only one out of at least a dozen UPSes actually lasted more than 3-5 seconds [FOH died instantly].  The good news was that the one that worked happened to be running the comms system which certainly made the generator swap a lot more straightforward amid the chaos. 

[The other good news is the CEO grabbed a bullhorn and rolled with it and the gig still came off with a few minutes delay and nobody got fired...]

Of course we lost a bunch of stuff that couldn't have been backed up by UPS anyway [PA, Lighting, etc], but we certainly would have gotten back on track more quickly if at least SOME of the gear still worked.

Anyway, lesson for gear providers.  Please do your due diligence on battery maintenance.  Lesson for Show Crew.  Test your UPS BEFORE the rehearsal/show.

[John Roberts {JR}]

Last year my lawnmower battery died, this winter I charged it once and it seems OK.

I only drive my car for one 15 mile round trip grocery shopping each week, but car electronics drain the battery 24x7, I recharge the battery with a smart trickle charger each week.

JR

[Helge A Bentsen]

I only drive my car for one 15 mile round trip grocery shopping each week, but car electronics drain the battery 24x7, I recharge the battery with a smart trickle charger each week.

JR

My car disconnects the battery if it detects excessive current flows in the system. Saved me a couple of times when I forgot to unplug stuff.

[John Roberts {JR}]

My car disconnects the battery if it detects excessive current flows in the system. Saved me a couple of times when I forgot to unplug stuff.

My car is 22 years old... so not that clever....

JR

[brian maddox]

My car is 22 years old... so not that clever....

JR

Funny, I had that same problem when I was 22 years old

[Steven Cohen]

So what is everyone's advice on common consumer grade UPS storage for the type of shutdown we are in now. For example, we have several stand alone APC UPS that have batteries in use for a year or so 24/7. At this point I am just leaving them energized but with the main power switch off. Should I unplug and disconnect the negative side of the battery on the units or am I better off leaving them energized?

 

[Frank Koenig]

So what is everyone's advice on common consumer grade UPS storage for the type of shutdown we are in now. For example, we have several stand alone APC UPS that have batteries in use for a year or so 24/7. At this point I am just leaving them energized but with the main power switch off. Should I unplug and disconnect the negative side of the battery on the units or am I better off leaving them energized?

Assuming these UPSs use lead-acid batteries, keep them running all the time or, if don't like them buzzing away and can remember, run them once a week for 12 hours, or something like that. You want to keep the batteries topped off. -F

[ProSoundWeb Community]