APC AV J15 replacement

[jk02140_apc]

Hi, I've got an APC AV J15BLK unit, about 11 years old now.  It appears to be failing, cutting power to  attached devices several times during its daily (?) test cycles.   I know it has been discontinued for some time and assume there is no way to repair it (although I'd be happy to be wrong).   Can anyone recommend a replacement device or arrangement that would provide both the power conditioning (including line noise cleanup) and battery backup?

[Teken]

If the unit is cutting power during the self test it’s more likely the batteries are expired and need to be replaced.

The service life of the battery cartridge (RBC) is 2-5 years based on usage, temperature, and environmental conditions.

The unit takes four 12 VDC 9 AH cells. If after replacing the battery cartridge doesn’t solve the problem than you can purchase any pure sine wave UPS.

You may consider the following 1-1.5 KVA APC Series UPS: SMT, SMX, SRT 

Questions Ask - If not and this answered your question please consider marking this reply as a solution. So it may help the next person asking the same. 👍

[jk02140_apc]

Thanks.  It had not occurred to me that could be a battery problem given that the status display shows a 79 minute runtime and I'm used to clear notifications from the collection of SmartUPS and BackUPS units I have in use for other purposes.   Replacing the battery is clearly a better option than replacing the unit even though it is a fairly expensive experiment.   New battery is on order; will leave this ticket open until it shows up and I see if it works.

[Teken]

You can quickly test this theory out by simply removing AC power from the wall outlet.

If the unit turns off immediately based on a defined load - Replace.

If the batteries provide a substantially less operational runtime based on their defined load vs the APC Runtime Calculator - Replace. 

In both instances replacing the RBC (Replacement Battery Cartridge) is the solution.

I would also suggest that you remove the RBC from the unit and measure the surface voltage and write it down. Leave the RBC on the table / bench for 72 hours and measure the voltage again and report back the readings.

I believe this system is configured to be a 48 VDC system. As such the expected voltage at rest would be 51.5X VDC or 12.87 VDC for each individual cell when separated. 

If after 72 hours you measure the series pack below 51.5 VDC call out what the reading is. 

A healthy RBC will not lose any voltage besides the initial surface charge. As such a 0.1 ~ 0.2 VDC is normal & expected.

A drop in 1 ~ 2.XX VDC is not fine over a 72 hour period. If you’re equipped you may consider performing a load test on each cell based on the battery manufacturer’s specification data sheet which indicates the load, duration, and temperature.

Given the APC Self Test is failing everything on the surface is pointing to an expired RBC cartridge.

What does the cartridge say is the production date along with when did you install / purchase it?!? If this is the original RBC it’s long expired! 🤦‍♂️🤣

Questions Ask . . . 👍

[jk02140_apc · Accepted solution]

I think we are making progress.   It did turn off immediately when unplugged.  I can't find a production date on the battery that was there, but it was installed 29 Dec 2021 so about 3 1/2 years -- lower end of the range indicated above, but not unreasonable.  However, there was no "replace battery" indication on the display. which is what I had relied on the past -- I assumed that, if it was off and the display was showing a long run time, the battery was ok.  Apparently not..   

The APCRBC107 is a large, heavy, fully-enclosed unit with a Wire Connector plug arrangement: None of the usual tabs or any way to separate cells and test them separately without taking it apart, something its label warns against.   That connector plug has three terminals, red, green, and a center pin whose surround is black like everything else.   A VOM connected Red-Center shows 24 volts, as it does with Green-Center -- therefore presumably the expected 48 volts.  However, the display for the old (now-removed) battery showed exactly the same voltages, nearly the same expected run time and "Fuel" indicator bar at 100%. 

So something is not quite right but, thanks to your suggestion of just pulling the plug, seeing what happened, and replacing the battery if the unit immediately shut down, I think I'm back on track for a few years ... and know what to do if the AV unit fails entirely.

Thanks.