Are the RBC2 and RBC17 batteries interchangeable for Back-UPS CS?

[Anonymous user]

I have a APC Back-UPS CS 500VA (BK500EI) that has a RBC2 battery inside that needs replacing. Can I put in a RBC17 (used in the BK650EI) and enjoy the extra power? The two batteries appear to be dimensionally the same size and look the same. The RBC17 is also priced less than the RBC2.

[Anonymous user · Accepted solution]

{color:#000080}Given the cheaper cost of the RBC17 and higher capacity, yeah, I'd suggest getting it{color}. APC doesn't recommend a lot of things, including using some other name-brand battery in their UPS's. Using a higher-capacity battery at worst is going to give him a little more run-time or longer battery life ('or' can also mean 'and' when used without 'either').

The UPS with the standard 7ah battery may have a timed maximum cut-off as part of the charger-logic, where it simply won't charge more than a given amount of time, and if it reaches the maximum light the 'Battery replace', in case the battery or a cell inside it are sucking down power (converting it to heat, bad cell/battery), although that is unlikely such a timer to be set to such a close tolerance that the additional 2ah in the 12v/9ah cell would not charge close to or at full capacity.

The general charging circuit is going to use delta/voltage levels to determine whether a battery is full and how close it is to empty.

If it were me I'd replace that 7ah with the 9ah no problem. There is a remote chance you won't benefit from the additional run-time of a deeper cell (more ah) although this is very unlikely. If you are staying on the several States, power there is awful, in which case, yeah there is an obvious benefit, even it only means the new battery will last longer, as it may have that 2ah reserve. Otherwise if normally the supply circuit has split-second interruptions which only drain the battery a few percentage points max, the extra 2ah is not going to make much difference, still, it's a cheaper battery,{color:#ff0000} so hands-down I'd get it if it were me.

{color:#00ff00}It could void your warranty using a different battery, but probably now your UPS is so old it is out of warranty anyway.{color}{color}

Message was edited by: smooth_power

Forgive the {tag} errors, the forum software does not work correctly for editing messages.

[Anonymous user]

I have a APC Back-UPS CS 500VA (BK500EI) that has a RBC2 battery inside that needs replacing. Can I put in a RBC17 (used in the BK650EI) and enjoy the extra power? The two batteries appear to be dimensionally the same size and look the same. The RBC17 is also priced less than the RBC2.