SURT10KRMXL + SURT192XLBP => Giving me grief

[BillP]

This question was originally posted by Mike on APC forums on 12/31/2015

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SURT10KRMXL + SURT192XLBP

The unit has started throwing low battery alarms, yet when I measure the battery voltages (8 cartridges in total) they appear to be within spec.

107	108	108	108
108	107	106	105

Battery Capacity shows as 100% in the status overview, but the reported run-time on a load that varies from 34-37% is only about 6-7mins (2min low duration)

Clearly, something is wrong.

So... starting with the simple stuff...

UPS>Configuration>General>External_Batteries  = 1

Is this correct ??

[BillP]

This reply was originally posted by Tom on APC forums on 1/1/2016

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Hey Mike,

Check your custom alarm settings, sometimes these can be set to high. (simple, but not really what your looking for)

This KBase explains how to add external battery backs. It can be a little tricky and it is dependant on firmware version. 

http://www2.schneider-electric.com/sites/corporate/en/support/faq/faq_main.page?page=content&country...=en&locale=en_US&id=FA156601&redirect=true

Also you may want to try a run time calibration (this has worked for other customer of mine in the past). This Kbase explains some options, I would read the entire thing but "Option 3: Perform a Manual Runtime Calibration." is what im talking about. I stress that this is something you should do during down time. It has the potential to drop your load.

http://www2.schneider-electric.com/sites/corporate/en/support/faq/faq_main.page?page=content&country...=en&locale=en_US&id=FA156538&redirect=true

Tom

[BillP · Accepted solution]

This reply was originally posted by Mike on APC forums on 1/1/2016

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Thanks for that.

Yes, it's confusing as to what is 'external' and what is 'internal' given that the SURT10KRMXL is a single unit that includes a set of batteries, which it apparently considers to be 'external' !?

So anyway, I reset the External Batteries to 2 and now have a estimated run-time of 15mins.

I'm hoping that is real, as it at least provides for graceful shutdown, but will schedule a calibration test when I get a chance.

This is still well below the 30-35mins that the on-line charts indicate I should expect for that load, but I am aware that the batteries are approaching their end of their life.

Could battery age have any affect on the estimate, despite the measured voltage being within spec ?

Also, another related question...

UPS>Configuration>Shutdown>End_of_Shutdown>Minimum_Battery_Capacity = nn%

Does the UPS take this into account when calculating run-time ?

I wouldn't have thought so, but someone had set this to 40% and I noticed that when I dropped it to 0% the number of low-battery warnings suddenly dropped significantly... which I find strange. Perhaps it was just coincidence ??