That old server room smell got me thinking about battery backups

Last week I was swapping out a dead UPS in a client's basement server room. The thing was a 1500VA model from 2016 and it hadn't been tested once. I overheard the office manager say "it's been beeping for three months but we just unplugged the alarm." The batteries had swollen so bad I could barely get the front panel off. Made me wonder how many people are running gear on batteries that are way past their useful life. What's your cutoff for replacing UPS batteries, 3 years or 5?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_barbara16d ago

Buddy of mine had a UPS catch fire last year because he forgot to change the batteries for six years.

black.patricia16d ago

Forgot to check mine for years too, @the_barbara, but luckily nothing caught fire. A buddy of mine actually had his whole home server setup die because the batteries leaked acid everywhere inside the case. He didn't notice until the UPS started making a weird buzzing noise and the smell of burnt plastic filled his office. Had to toss the whole thing and replace all his drives because the corrosion was so bad. Still makes me nervous every time I walk past mine now.