Battery Compatibility between APC SMC1500rm2U & APC SMT1500rm2uc

[igrin52]

Hello All,

I have an APC rack mount SMC1500RM2U which will not work no matter what I have tried. I suspect the battery pack needs replacement due to its age (5+ years old but was working just  fine up until the end). The unit died during a heavy thunderstorm so I am unsure if the unit is fried from a possible surge. Also, 1 month prior to the thunderstorm the unit with its old batteries held up under a long mains outage and returned to normal service when mains were restored.  

I have purchased a new rack mount unit SMT1500RM2UC which I believe is the newer version to my old dead unit. I would like to use the battery pack from this new unit to test my old dead unit.

APC states the replacement battery for the old dead unit is APCRBC157. The new working unit has battery pack APCRBC159. 

My question is can I use the new battery back to temporarily install on the old dead unit to test it without damage to anything. Thanks for your help.   

[Teken · Accepted solution]

If the battery cartridge is wired to output 24 VDC and physically fits inside - No problem.

The only caveat is that the Anderson battery connector is the same colour and key way.

[igrin52]

Thanks for your reply. My new UPS arrived today and I tried to plug the new battery pack into the dead unit. Unfortunately, the key to the plug did not match, so I was unable to test the dead unit with the new battery pack. I plan to set aside the dead unit until I find a better way to test it. In the meantime, I will use the new unit as designed. If the dead unit can be repaired later, I will use it  to increase my backup time capacity. Thanks again for your help.

[Teken]

You have a couple of options if you would like to pursue this further. Option one is to simply take the new battery cartridge and swap the cable.

This will allow you to quickly check if the old system is still working or having problems. 👍

The second option is to purchase the two different (Anderson) connectors to make an adapter cable.

Going this route will allow you to test, validate, different battery cartridges should the need arise. Obviously choosing option one makes a lot more sense but option two will always be a tool you’ll have available when and where needed.

Give it a try and let me know and appreciate your feedback about the Anderson connector! 🤟