# Purchasing Replacement APC Batteries



## IronMac (Sep 22, 2003)

Hi everyone,

Does anyone know where I can get a replacement battery for an APC Back-UPS Pro 650 in Toronto for a reasonable price? I've ordered before from APC but, as usual, it's pretty expensive. Thanks!

P.S. Suggestions for recycling of the old one would be appreciated too.


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## FeXL (Jan 2, 2004)

A few years back, I replaced the batteries in an APC Back-UPS with units I picked up at a local car battery dealer. Don't recall the model # of the UPS (no longer have it), but the batteries worked fine.


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## saxamaphone (May 18, 2004)

IronMac said:


> Hi everyone,
> 
> Does anyone know where I can get a replacement battery for an APC Back-UPS Pro 650 in Toronto for a reasonable price? I've ordered before from APC but, as usual, it's pretty expensive. Thanks!
> 
> P.S. Suggestions for recycling of the old one would be appreciated too.


I looked into this the other day for my APC 500 and found the replacement battery at london drugs for around $30 !! i was surprised it was so cheap.


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## gmark2000 (Jun 4, 2003)

IronMac said:


> P.S. Suggestions for recycling of the old one would be appreciated too.


I think that MEC has a bin for them...


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## capitalK (Oct 21, 2003)

Carbon Computing carries them, though it may be a special order. Give them a call and I'm sure they can have them in within a day or two.


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## 8127972 (Sep 8, 2005)

Intuitive Solutions Group In Markham is where I got mine.

http://www.intuitivesg.com


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## Pylonman (Aug 16, 2004)

Found theses guys on google.ca http://www.infinitecables.com/ups_apc-smartups.html

When I purchased a replacement battery for my wife's Lombard (can't remember the retailer) I saw APC batteries for $39.00. I'll try to find the name.


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## HowEver (Jan 11, 2005)

The cost of these batteries often exceeds the price of a new APC backup UPS...


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## Bighead (May 3, 2005)

HowEver said:


> The cost of these batteries often exceeds the price of a new APC backup UPS...


From my experience, that is very true.


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## CanadaRAM (Jul 24, 2005)

Huh?
APC sells the batteries direct off their website, for less than dealers can buy wholesale, and they ship for free. 

For example, the BackUPS Pro 650 uses the RBC4 battery. Wholesale is $51 before shipping, retail from APC is $56.92 delivered to your door (+ tax)
With pricing like that we gave up trying to sell them. The shipping kills.

You have to get the right battery for the backup unit, of course. Getting the wrong battery may be cheaper  .

You're not gonna get a new BackUPS Pro 650 for anywhere close to that... The Pro series has the voltage regulation onboard, it's way better than the personal and entry-level office backups.


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## Deep Blue (Sep 16, 2005)

CanadaRAM said:


> Huh?
> APC sells the batteries direct off their website, for less than dealers can buy wholesale, and they ship for free.
> 
> For example, the BackUPS Pro 650 uses the RBC4 battery. Wholesale is $51 before shipping, retail from APC is $56.92 delivered to your door (+ tax)
> ...


Useful info.

Furthermore, how does one know when to replace the battery? Is there a requisite time (eg. three years) or does one get a signal?

(I have two APC backups)


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## IronMac (Sep 22, 2003)

Thank you *everyone* for your replies!  

First off, I knew that MEC took batteries but wasn't sure they would take the brick that's inside the UPS.

Second, I'll give Carbon a call to see what their price is. I had no idea that they carried them.

Third, I had checked APC's website earlier but was hoping to get a cheaper price. They do include a shipping label so you can return your old battery which is great.

Fourth, my unit has been beeping every five *freaking* hours telling me that the battery is dying. It's supposed to keep this up for two weeks so that I would get the hint.


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## 8127972 (Sep 8, 2005)

Deep Blue said:


> Useful info.
> 
> Furthermore, how does one know when to replace the battery? Is there a requisite time (eg. three years) or does one get a signal?
> 
> (I have two APC backups)


I was told by an APC rep that you should swap the battery (or at least think about swapping it) if it is more than two years old. The APC PowerChute software on the PC side will tell you when it is time to swap it based on info it gathers from the UPS. But he wasn't sure if the Mac version of PowerChute did the same thing. I'm tempted to install it to find out. 

(As an aside, APC seems horribly uninformed about anything that isn't Windows. They can't seem to answer questions about non-Windows products even though they write software for Mac, UNIX, LINUX.)


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## Mississauga (Oct 27, 2001)

DO NOT install PowerChute! Too many issues have been reported regarding conflicts with this software. I can confirm this, having tested it in the past. Once the APC UPS is connected to your Mac via the USB cable, battery life is shown in your System Preferences/Energy Saver under the pull-down menu for "Settings for:".


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## 8127972 (Sep 8, 2005)

Mississauga said:


> DO NOT install PowerChute! Too many issues have been reported regarding conflicts with this software. I can confirm this, having tested it in the past. Once the APC UPS is connected to your Mac via the USB cable, battery life is shown in your System Preferences/Energy Saver under the pull-down menu for "Settings for:".


I have it installed on my Windows Box, but I don't on my Mac as there's no need to as you have already said. I didn't know about the "issues" that exist with this software, so that is useful info.


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## HowEver (Jan 11, 2005)

Some people pay far more than they need to for these items, both batteries and the UPSs themselves.





CanadaRAM said:


> Huh?
> APC sells the batteries direct off their website, for less than dealers can buy wholesale, and they ship for free.
> 
> For example, the BackUPS Pro 650 uses the RBC4 battery. Wholesale is $51 before shipping, retail from APC is $56.92 delivered to your door (+ tax)
> ...


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## saxamaphone (May 18, 2004)

HowEver said:


> The cost of these batteries often exceeds the price of a new APC backup UPS...


...not my experience

My APC ups 500 was 130$ new 7 years ago and the replacement battery was less than $40 retail.


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## HowEver (Jan 11, 2005)

saxamaphone said:


> ...not my experience
> 
> My APC ups 500 was 130$ new 7 years ago and the replacement battery was less than $40 retail.


I paid $49.99 for the APC 750VA UPS a few months ago, so the batteries look pretty expensive to me.


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## 8127972 (Sep 8, 2005)

I've never paid more than $60 for a replacement battery.


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## SkyHook (Jan 23, 2001)

>


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## Deep Blue (Sep 16, 2005)

Mississauga said:


> DO NOT install PowerChute! Too many issues have been reported regarding conflicts with this software. I can confirm this, having tested it in the past. Once the APC UPS is connected to your Mac via the USB cable, battery life is shown in your System Preferences/Energy Saver under the pull-down menu for "Settings for:".


I've got Powerchute installed on two Macs. No issues to date


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## contoursvt (May 1, 2005)

UPS for Less
http://www.upsforless.ca/

They carry replacement parts and sell refubrished and new units. I purchased 2 from them in the past and all is good.


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## Mississauga (Oct 27, 2001)

FYI:

Futureshop has the APC Battery Back-Up (BX1200-CN) currently on sale for $149.99.


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## saxamaphone (May 18, 2004)

Mississauga said:


> FYI:
> 
> Futureshop has the APC Battery Back-Up (BX1200-CN) currently on sale for $149.99.


sure makes a 40-50$ replacement battery seem cheap!


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## CanadaRAM (Jul 24, 2005)

HowEver said:


> I paid $49.99 for the APC 750VA UPS a few months ago, so the batteries look pretty expensive to me.


Yes, but that is their bottom of the line model, and you bought it on a loss-leader sale at FutureShop or Costco or somewhere . (The VA ratings for UPS's long ago departed from reality and are now more of a marketing number than a comparison of the runtime or quality of different units). It still doesn't follow that the battery should be any cheaper. These are essentially sealed lead-acid motocycle-type batteries, which is why they are heavy and a pain to ship, and why there's going to be a floor price for these things.

For the OP's battery (12 V 12 A) I found prices between $41.95 plus $15 shipping for third-party to $50 plus unknown shipping, to $56.something with free shipping for APC genuine, to $79 plus $16 shipping for a third party battery. I did not find anywhere with the correct spec battery for $30 as we suggested earlier. Depending on where you live, you maybe able to find a replacement at a battery supply house or an automotive parts store. Some provinces will have an additional eco-fee on the purchase.

The life of your battery will depend on the 'experience' of the UPS with your AC power. Plan on replacing batteries every three years no matter what.


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## HowEver (Jan 11, 2005)

You nailed it. I got it from FutureShop, and shipping was free. I got several. I could take the battery out of one spare unit and that would still be less expensive than most new batteries plus shipping (if you live somewhere that requires shipping).

I think there are several models below those I obtained so I may have the model number wrong. In any case, it serves my purposes, home stuff grounded against most spikes and surges and some battery backup for saving and logging out.

I bought a top of the line APC UPS many years ago, and finding the (motorcycle-type) batteries for that are daunting. That's another good reason for replacing these batteries every 1-2 years, if not the entire unit if that is more cost effective.



CanadaRAM said:


> Yes, but that is their bottom of the line model, and you bought it on a loss-leader sale at FutureShop or Costco or somewhere . (The VA ratings for UPS's long ago departed from reality and are now more of a marketing number than a comparison of the runtime or quality of different units). It still doesn't follow that the battery should be any cheaper. These are essentially sealed lead-acid motocycle-type batteries, which is why they are heavy and a pain to ship, and why there's going to be a floor price for these things.
> 
> For the OP's battery (12 V 12 A) I found prices between $41.95 plus $15 shipping for third-party to $50 plus unknown shipping, to $56.something with free shipping for APC genuine, to $79 plus $16 shipping for a third party battery. I did not find anywhere with the correct spec battery for $30 as we suggested earlier. Depending on where you live, you maybe able to find a replacement at a battery supply house or an automotive parts store. Some provinces will have an additional eco-fee on the purchase.
> 
> The life of your battery will depend on the 'experience' of the UPS with your AC power. Plan on replacing batteries every three years no matter what.


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## dmg (Feb 4, 2003)

*one SUA 1500 and currently replacing SU 1000*

My Smart UPS 1000 is now 11 years old and has had its battery replaced once in that time. The unit now beeps to indicate a battery replacement is required.

APC will not sell me a replacement battery as they argue that after 11 years the unit should be replaced entirely. So I've ordered a new SUA 1500 from a local reseller.

This will be my second SUA 1500. I'm getting a discount by using the APC Trade-UPS programme. I buy a new unit up to twice the capacity of my old one and I get a discount.

The reason I'm not getting anything larger than an SUA 1500 is simply that above that capacity the units require a higher current power outlet than the standard 15 Amp ones found in most homes and offices.

As you can see from my signature, I have a large investment in computing equipment and I'd rather suffer overkill on the UPS than risk damaging any of it.

But that's just me. 

~dmg


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## CanadaRAM (Jul 24, 2005)

Oh, another hint. If you have a printer, especially a laser printer, don't plug it into the UPS. THere's no point in being able to print while the lights are off... and lasers suck way to much wattage to be practical on a battery BU.

Also, don't let your close relatives plug a vacuum cleaner into a power bar or battery backup. It'll trip the breaker and suck the battery dry instantly, and crash your servers. Ask me how I know this....


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## jamied (Nov 19, 2002)

IronMac said:


> They do include a shipping label so you can return your old battery which is great.


I just replaced my dead APC battery with one ordered from insight.ca - cheapest price I could find. Unfortunately, the "pre-paid" shipping label that came with the replacement battery was only valid in the US.

j


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## Abysmal (Mar 14, 2005)

*Try these guys..*

http://www.upsforless.ca/


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## contoursvt (May 1, 2005)

Abysmal said:


> http://www.upsforless.ca/


hehe. I thought I was the only one that knew about these guys. Pretty good place. Picked up a few things in the past from them.


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## IronMac (Sep 22, 2003)

jamied said:


> I just replaced my dead APC battery with one ordered from insight.ca - cheapest price I could find. Unfortunately, the "pre-paid" shipping label that came with the replacement battery was only valid in the US.
> 
> j


APC's original prepaid shipping label was also for US customers but I had them send me a Canadian one. If they hadn't, that battery would still be sitting in the middle of my living room floor right now!


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## IronMac (Sep 22, 2003)

Abysmal said:


> http://www.upsforless.ca/


Hey, thanks for that info! Looks like my options are increasing.


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## wasntme (Nov 14, 2016)

*Tried these guys.*

Lex Tec - 6V - 12V UPS Replacement Batteries, Battery Packs and Fuses for APC, Tripp-Lite, Belkin, Powerware, Exide

They had stock and someone to help me.
In and out fast.
They're located in Markham.


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## gmark2000 (Jun 4, 2003)

Way to resurrect a decade old thread!


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