Do i need to put a Symmetra LX 16kva UPS into bypass to change batteries

[Anonymous user]

Do i need to put a Symmetra LX 16kva UPS into bypass to change batteries while still running a full load?
After a power outage it has 4 failed batteries i want to reseat them before logging a support call, will i need to put the UPS into maintenance mode to do this?
Thanks

[Anonymous user]

You should be able to replace the batteries without going to bypass - all that will happen is that runtime will decrease if there's a power failure while you are replacing the batteries. If you go to bypass and there's a power failure, the connected equipment would lose power. Note that this is only true for batteries - if you remove a power module without going to bypass, the remaing power modules may not be sufficient to support the load, depending on the UPS configuration and load size.

I do want to caution you regarding simply removing / reinstalling the same battery module. The UPS will see this as a new battery module and assume it is in good working order. You won't discover that there is a fault with it until the next power failure or self-test/calibration run. This can give a false sense of security. Also, if you have several bad battery modules, I would check the serial numbers on all of the battery modukes to see if any of the others have similar date codes (the YY part of the xxYYxxxxxxxxx serial number). If they were all purchased at the same time, it is likely that the other battery modules are reaching the end of their useful service life as well.

[BillP]

i agree with terry. it is not a good idea to reseat the battery modules. i'd contact tech support before you do that to avoid any problems and yes, in general, batteries are hot swappable. if no batteries are in the system or are not "good," the UPS is designed to go to bypass in that instance.

[Anonymous user]

Thanks for the input. All was running fine then the power went out and ran the unit dry, when the power came back on the unit started of as normal but started reporting 4 bad batteries. Batteries are only 3 years old and haven't really been used expect for this outage. They are reporting to have 9 min run time which is normal for the load. I will remove and reset them then run a self test and see what the state is after that, if they come up bad i'll buy new batteries. Any other suggestions?
Cheers

[BillP]

no - that's fine but batteries like this do generally last for 3-5 years so depending on the location and environment, even if they have not gone through a lot of deep discharges, 3 years sounds normal to me.

[Anonymous user]

Cheers

[Anonymous user · Accepted solution]

I was hoping to find an answer to a question I had within this discussion, but didn't. Will the Symmetra LX charge batteries while in Maintenance Bypass?