How do you increase the life of a battery?

[canidoit]

I have my UPS that uses those expensive batteries. Curios to know at what point does battery life decrease?

I see many batteries at the store on the shelf for years that are still being sold as new. So does battery remain fully charged until it is connected?

Even if it is connected, is it possible to drain the battery?

I have noticed on torches that I never turn on with batteries inside, that in a month it is flat and that is when it is not even used. I do notice that somehow it does not affect alkaline batteries??

 

[Tubemooley]

All the different battery chemistries out there now have different "lifespan" characteristics. Some of the lithium batteries are shipped from the factory charged. They drain rather quickly while sitting on the shelf. Some batteries, once they drain to 0.0 volts, are dead forever and cannot be re-charged. Alkaline batteries are better than some (most?) at retaining a full charge for quite a long time (a year or more) before starting to discharge. Buyer beware is my best advice.

 

[trobbins]

Would your UPS use VRLA batteries (eg. 12V 7Ah style monoblocs)?  How old is your UPS, and have you changed the batteries at some time?

 

[canidoit]

My batteries are those 12v 9ah types. Don't know if thats what they call VRLA??

Well the batteries are 4 years old, so I am wondering whether I should change them.

Why do rechargeable batteries all of a sudden can not be recharged and will regular use prolong its life?

 

[trobbins]

In a typical home/small business UPS, the batteries are normally valve regulated lead acid (VRLA) of a size like yours and are maintained on a float voltage.  Often the 12V monoblocs are connected in series (and parallel) to give 24V or higher supply voltages for the UPS to work with - higher power rated UPS would typically need a higher DC voltage source.

Unfortunately even 24VDC actually means 12 cells in series, and over time the individual cells diverge in their performance.  Although you may think the batteries are expensive and hence should be highest quality, in general batteries for that market are at the low end of quality and hence 3-4 years service life is typical.  There is not much you can really do to enhance service life.  Temperature above 25C is a contributing factor, but often you don't have much say in that as the batteries are enclosed within the UPS, and the UPS is tucked away in a server rack or under a desk.  The bottom line is you've made a commercial decision to buy a ups, and you need to budget for battery replacement every few years.