APC Matrix 5000 question(s)

Thu Jul 27 21:13:55 UTC 2006

On Jul 27, 2006, at 12:25 PM, Robert E.Seastrom wrote:

>
>
> up at 3.am writes:
>
>> I've had this APC Matrix 5000 with 3 XR battery packs for almost 6  
>> years
>
> As others on the list have noted, your batteries are almost certainly
> ready to head off to the battery recycler.
>
> In terms of what to put inside the XR packs, they're Group 24 AGM
> batteries, 12v, 75 AH, and if my recollection is correct they have lug
> style terminals not threaded studs like a marine battery (verify
> before you buy).  Others (hi, Steve) have reported success with the
> PRC-1290S.  If you are handy enough with a wrench to change the
> battery in your car, you can change the batteries in the UPS too
> (powered off, of course).

[non-operational anecdote AKA: Looking for any excuse to avoid  
writing documentation]
Be careful when doing this...

A few years ago I was working for a company that had a small  
enterprise datacenter. We ran out of space and so got a new, better  
space made and then started migrating into the new space. We shut  
down the UPS in the old space, pulled all the batteries (so we could  
move it) and moved all the bits on a pallet-jack to the new space. I  
showed someone how to hook up a battery and slid it into the bay  
closest to the ground (no fool I!), then let him get on with  
reinstalling the rest of the batteries while I cabled up the network  
gear.

After a while I hear some cursing and turn around -- he has managed  
to get the one of the sets of DC cables between the battery casing  
and the sheet metal and is sitting on the floor trying to force the  
battery in with his feet! Before I can say anything he pushed really  
hard and the sheet metal casing slices through the insulation,  
shorting out the battery.... I never did figure out how much current  
the battery could supply into a direct short (a good car battery can  
supply 1000 CCA), but it was enough to vaporize a chunk of metal  
around 8" x 8" from the side of the UPS, blow a large piece of  
plastic out of the side of the battery and warp the plates....

Also from the same place:
Pointy Haired Boss type reads an article in NetworkWorld on physical  
security and hires some consultant who comes in and sells some really  
expensive proximity card reader system. They install the PC that runs  
the whole system (running Windows 98!) inside the new datacenter  
space -- entry to with is protected by, you guessed it, the proximity  
card system.....

After a few months, the proximity card machine locks up... Of course,  
by then no-one can find the keys to the lock on the door ("Why would  
we keep that? There is a proximity card reader on that door..").  
Apparently there was an option for a master card, but it was "too  
expensive"....

There are countless more similar stories from this particular place....
W

>
> You can get these from your local industrial battery supplier (in the
> yellow pages under "batteries").  If you have them shipped to you,
> you'll earn the emnity of your UPS man (no pun intended) since their
> shipping weight exceeds 60 lbs and you need a bunch of them.  If
> you're an amateur radio operator be sure to mention this to the guy at
> the battery store; a lot of the proprietors seem to be hams and since
> hams are big battery users they'll often give fellow hams a discount.
>
>                                         ---rob
>
>

-- 
Never criticize a man till you've walked a mile in his shoes.  Then  
if he didn't like what you've said, he's a mile away and barefoot.