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Cheap UPS solution?

I'm tired of buying a new 12 V battery every 1-2 years. I have about 4 small (rated ~ 300 W [not VA]) UPSes with 7 Ah, 12 V, maintenance free batteries.

I'm thinking about replacing them with one, powerful unit. But the more powerful the unit, the more it costs - non-linear.

Do you have experience with some DIY solutions? Like 12V DC to 230V AC inverter, battery charger, some UPS controller (simple relay?)?

Or maybe you have some other idea that is cheap(ish)?

36 comments
  • if you're running batteries down often enough to need battery replacements that frequently, you may be going 'too cheap' (poor quality and/or not enough capacity) to begin with, and would need an upgrade not another 'cheap' solution.

    • Maybe this is a combination of cheap battery and temperature. I feel the chassis is a bit warm.

      Mains is very stable here, only very short breaks like fractions of a second. So no deep cycle.

      Thanks!

  • I doubt there is a much better solution, the huge rack mounted UPS are just tons of 12v batteries wired together. I would question why your batteries are dieing so frequently, I expect to get 5+ years out of mine with light use.

  • I wonder why they're only lasting 1-2 years. How often do they kick in in your area?

    DIY is going to be more expensive, and much less safe.

36 comments