APC SmartUPS 3000RM almost melts batteries

[Kirill Ponazdyr]

Hi,

We have a 3 years old SmartUPS 3000RM3U in our rack, so far the unit
was working flawlessly and we have installed a new set of batteries in
October 2003.

Today when I came into the office to pick up something, I immediately
noticed very strong smell of melted plastic, it came out that the UPS
is hot to touch and smells. I immediately bypassed and removed it from
service.

After opening the top cover, I was greeted by seight of bulged
batteries, the blocks infront of UPS are mostly bulged, the ones in
the end are almost normal. 2 hours after I opened the unit it is still
hot to touch and batteries make some "cooking" sounds.. I can only
hope to be able to remove them once everything cools down.

What could possibly cause such problem? Is that rather a broken UPS or
faulty Battery Pack(s)?

Best Regards

Kirill
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[Tim Perry]

Hi,

We have a 3 years old SmartUPS 3000RM3U in our rack, so far the unit
was working flawlessly and we have installed a new set of batteries in
October 2003.

Today when I came into the office to pick up something, I immediately
noticed very strong smell of melted plastic, it came out that the UPS
is hot to touch and smells. I immediately bypassed and removed it from
service.

After opening the top cover, I was greeted by seight of bulged
batteries, the blocks infront of UPS are mostly bulged, the ones in
the end are almost normal. 2 hours after I opened the unit it is still
hot to touch and batteries make some "cooking" sounds.. I can only
hope to be able to remove them once everything cools down.

What could possibly cause such problem? Is that rather a broken UPS or
faulty Battery Pack(s)?

Best Regards

Kirill

could be either or both. were the replacement batteries "approved" by the
manufacturer?

this company will not supply schematics or service information to the user.

 

[[email protected]]

It's not unusual to have the batteries swell over time. What you're
describing, though, sounds like a serious case of either overcharging
or something has shorted and the batteries cooked from excessive
current draw.

-Chris

 

[Kirill Ponazdyr]

Dear Chris,

That was defenately not normal swelling.. There was also no noticable
short in our systems as the last readings from UPS showed that it was
at 33% of its capacity.

So, I guess overcharging is the only reason which comes in question?
Or could that have been some error with batteries themselves?

Btw, that where original APC batteries, not 3rd party clones.

Best Regards

Kirill

It's not unusual to have the batteries swell over time. What you're
describing, though, sounds like a serious case of either overcharging
or something has shorted and the batteries cooked from excessive
current draw.

-Chris

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[Tim Morley]

Have you called APC? Can you get their guys out to check, especially if they
supplied the battery packs.

 

[Kirill Ponazdyr]

Dear Tim,

Yes I did call them, the tech support immediately claimed that this is
the problem with UPS charging circuit and has nothing to do with
battery packs. Thus, the warranty on battery packs are void.

According to them, we are out of luck since our UPS is over 2 years
old and they will not repair it. We have to buy new unit.

Have you called APC? Can you get their guys out to check, especially if they
supplied the battery packs.

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[Greg Mead]

Yeah, I got the same from them. I have a pair of Smart-UPS 100XL's to run
my gear on. They are about 4 years old. Both had their batteries replaced
with APC brand batteries about 18 months ago. About a year ago the first
one started making a noise periodically that was somewhat like the high-
pitched noise (rising in pitch) a camera flash makes when recharging it's
capacitors after taking a picture, only the sound lasted less than a
second. About 4 months later I woke up one AM and walked into my office
to be greeted by a strong smell that is very much like the gasses given
off by a charging car battery. Because of that I immediately checked the
UPSes and found the faulty one to be too hot to touch in the battery
area. I immediately yanked the plug and turned it off. When it cooled
down enough for me to touch I opened the cover and discovered the battery
had swollen so large that I had to dissasemble the UPC frame to get them
out. I stopped using the unit and called them only to be told to replace
the unit.

A few months ago the second unit started making the same noise. At first
every few hours. Today I noticed it was making that noise every 5 minutes
or so so I came up and checked the unit. It was hot on the side and I
smelled that smell again faintly. I shut the unit off and checked the
batteries. They are swollen beyond normal size.

I was looking to see if anyone else had seen this and happened upon this
thread. Seems like a fire hazard to me. Am I the only one who thinks this
is a design deficiency that is a little alarming? Seems there should be a
thermal shutdown or the like. Hell a pressure switch between the battery
and the case would work in this case. Isn't the gas given off by a
charging lead-acid battery explosive?

 

[jakdedert]

could be either or both. were the replacement batteries "approved"
by the manufacturer?

this company will not supply schematics or service information to the
user.

One thing I might add to this thread is to make sure the units are operated
their correct orientation. I once habitually charged a camcorder lead acid
battery in the unit...after all, it was easier to just plug it in, than to
remove the battery and place it in the charger.

Only after I was forced to disassemble the camcorder completely (to get the
swelled battery out) did I see the notice that it says the battery must
alway be charged in an upright orientation.

Unlikely that this is your problem, but....

jak