Symmetra LX - All Battery Modules Fail

[Anonymous user]

Back in 2009, after happily running our Symmetra LX UPS for a couple years, the unit performed one of it's bi-weekly self tests and low and behold it found ALL four battery modules were bad. Incredulous, we opened a case with APC. Surely, all four SYBT5 battery modules could not have gone bad at once! What's the point of having individual hot-swap modules, if all of them go bad at once, leaving the load unprotected. APC technicians didn't seem to believe it either, and proceeded to drag us through a firmware upgrade and dump of MIM data to analyze the system. However, when all was said and done, they agreed that it was just a case of "bad luck" and that all the batteries were indeed bad and needed to be replaced. At great expense we had 4 new SYBT5 modules shipped 2-day, and was left to operate the load for 2 days without protection. Oh well, must have been sun spots. . .

Except, now it's 2011. . . We had a 10 minute power outage Friday night which was handled perfectly by the Symmetra. Critical load never went down. But, 1/2 an hour after the power was restored ALL FOUR battery modules are again reporting bad. Again, my critical load is unprotected while we wait for battery modules to be rapid shipped (at a ransom).

Apparently, I'm an idiot for thinking that the battery modules should fail sequentially, thus giving you the opportunity to replace a single module while still protecting the load (albeit at a decreased runtime).

APC recommends SYBT5 modules should not be stored uncharged for longer than 6 months. So, I can't stockpile the modules for 2 years, while I wait for this to happen again. So, what should I do?

1. Just get in the habit of buying 4 new SYBT5 modules every 6 months?
2. Periodically replace "some" number of good SYBT5 modules in the frame so all four are not the same "age" and there is always a mix of newer and older batteries?
3. Look for a new UPS solution?

Thanks,
Patrick

[Anonymous user · Accepted solution]

What you say is probably true. Even though the UPS is reporting all four batteries failed, there is actually a little life left in them, and it would protect the load, albeit at a decreased runtime. It is a real shame the user isn't given this information. Instead of "battery degraded - decreased runtime!," we get "batteries failed - 0 min runtime!" - accompanied by incesent beeping and sending alert emails every 30 seconds. It tends to make you freak out!

It's also a shame that there is no battery calibration information available to the user. You say each battery stores calibration information. Why are users not entitled to see this on a module by module basis? Wouldn't this give the user some valuable predictive information on which battery module may be getting weak. Thus, allowing us to replace proactively? Why hide behind the jumble of cryptic "raw data?" I mean, other than to protect APC's support revenue streams?

Heck, for that matter why forbid the SYBT5 units to be re-leaded? Why put some silly "obsolescence" chip in the unit to permanently render the module useless, even though the cells have been replaced? Why can't it be recalibrated? It's obviously designed to protect APC's revenue, not to protect customers. I can locally source cells, in an emergency.

As for the extended warranty. . .
It makes me think of an expensive Maserati, which is a great car as long as you take your Italian mechanic everywhere you go. Why should I have to pay for extra support to manage what (at the time of the sales pitch) was touted as field replaceable modules? It would be like buying expensive maintenance on a printer to help you replace toner cartridges? Again, I fully expect battery modules to fail, just not all at once!

Thankfully, our new battery modules arrived today and they are in and running. Since it seems that we only get two years out of them, I have made a note to replace at least one every year, regardless of whether they test 'OK." This way, we'll always have a variety of battery ages. Hopefully, this hedges against having all the batteries fail simultaneously.