What is meant by the PowerChute question "Connected Battery Packs"?

[Anonymous user]

I know this question has been asked and answered before BUT there are inconsistencies in the answers. Would someone PLEASE READ THIS QUESTION CAREFULLY and GIVE A DEFINITIVE ANSWER. Thanks!

I have an SU1400RMXL3U, a rack-mountable UPS which contains 4 small 12V batteries joined together physically and wired in series-parallel to create a 24V unit. (I am avoiding the use of the word “pack” at this point)

Attached to the SU1400 I have an SU24RMXLBP2U, a rack-mountable battery enclosure – again, I’m avoiding the word “pack” – which contains 8 small 12V batteries. These are configured as two units of four batteries each and with the same wiring configuration as the internal battery unit.

I am using PowerChute Business Edition. One of the configuration questions is (number of) “Connected Battery Packs”. It offers the following information which, I assume, the person writing the software thought would be helpful: “The count of battery packs connected to the system.” The drop down menu allows the number 0 to be entered.

Something is wrong here!!

I think my system has three battery packs, as the word pack is used in the PowerChute software: one internal 4-battery pack inside the SU1400RMXL3U and two external 4-battery packs inside the SU24RMXLBP2U enclosure. Is this correct?

Either way I think the question is so badly and ambiguously worded in PowerChute that a change to the software is indicated.

[BillP · Accepted solution]

hi

you'd want to think of it as "Number of connected EXTERNAL battery packs" - so the quantity of SU24RMXLBP2U units that you have attached to the unit.

other types of UPS units, such as the Smart UPS RT product line count their internal battery packs into this figure but they are the only ones that do so (so yeah it is a little confusing but its outlined in their manual). Regular Smart UPS units, like the 1400VA model you have, only need to have the quantity of battery packs EXTERNAL to the unit itself. so if i understand correctly, you only have one SU24RMXLBP2U unit there so you should enter "1" into that field.

hope that helps.