SMX120RMBP2U unavailable for 3 months?!!

[Anonymous user]

I bought an SMX2000RMLV2U and placed an order for 3 SMX120RMBP2U external battery packs at the beginning of May. I was told at the time that the battery packs were "constrained" by the manufacturer, and am now told it will be late July before they are available. APC's website won't even let you add them to the shopping cart. This is a mature product-- neither brand-new or an old out-of date part. It's just a lead-acid battery. There is no global lead-acid shortage due to Taiwanese flooding or anything, so what is going on? It's just mind-boggling to me that one of the biggest UPS companies in the world can't manufacture a UPS battery. Is there some engineering defect being investigated? Should I stop using my UPS which has the same internal batteries as these external packs do? Sorry for venting, it's just been frustrating.

Anyone know why the SMX120RMBP2U are unavailable and when they really will be?

[Anonymous user]

It seems these are still unavailable, I have a client who has been after two of them for a couple of months, they were due in this week and now been pushed back to the end of October. Is there some major issue with supply?
edit Just to say I am based in the UK, we can find none available anywhere, well, there are some on eBay but god knows what would turn up...

Message was edited by: RJC

[Anonymous user]

We have had long delays in getting the SMX 120 volt battery modules as well...the word I got was APC ( and likely other UPS vendors as well) had "major" issues with supplies from some Asian battery manufacturers. As anyone who has opened up or replaced a battery module in an APC ups knows, APC gets their batteries from a number of different vendors - some in China (CSB brand), some now come from "LeLong" in Vietnam, others include Vision, BB battery, etc. But given lead times all it takes is a hiccup at any one of these sources and there will be delays...

[Anonymous user]

I am told my clients battery packs should arrive tomorrow, which raises a simple question I cannot see in the documentation. Can you plug these in whilst the systems are live and do we need to do anything to make the UPS notice them?

[Anonymous user]

"Constrained" makes me think you ordered them from Tech Data (or a reseller who gets them from Tech Data). When TD uses that word, it can mean any one of a number of things, including "very popular and on allocation", "built-to-order", "really heavy and drop shipped by the manufacturer" etc. Indeed, checking that part at Tech Data shows none in stock at any location, but 128 on order, due in June 17th, to their New Jersey warehouse.

I did a Google product search for SMX120RMBP2U and found a number of places that claim to have the item in stock, some for a good bit less than the Tech Data price.

As for why it is out of stock at a number of places, I could only guess as I'm just another end user, not affiliated with APC or TD. However, this item seems to be a bit more than a naked battery. Presumably there's a minimum quantity that need to be built at once in order to keep the enclosure price reasonable, and it is probably a unique part (or set of parts) made just for/by APC. If it was simply a naked battery, you are correct that APC could source it ready-made from any of a number of battery manufacturers.

[Anonymous user]

Thank you Terry, it is interesting to hear some insight on how vendors use the word "constrained". I was actually ordering through CDW, but noticed that even directly on the APC website that they will not allow you to add this part to your shopping cart, and that as you noted it is out-of-stock at many locations. Yes, it is more than just a battery--it is actually two batteries in a rack mountable enclosure that provide extended run-time to some APC UPS models. I was hoping some insider might know the cause of the manufacturing hold-up.

It is also worth noting to those considering the purchase of an extended-runtime UPS from APC, that you might consider a model that utilizes a battery enclosure that is not "constrained".

[BillP · Accepted solution]

They are hot swappable.