Do we need to cycle our mini DC UPS's...

Rickster

Rickster

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...during long periods without load shedding?

I got a Gizzu mini AC-DC UPS, not sure if its charging the battery constantly or if it goes into bypass battery when AC is connected.

Should we unplug the AC input for a few hours each week?
 
As far as i have it a lithium won't accept charge once full ie the charge current drops to 0A

It does depend on the charging circuit design

ie if the charging circuit is designed to settle to a float voltage that is = resting voltage it should not be a problem

Though mamy say lithium is best left 50-80% if not being used

I am of the belief that low SOC is more detrimental to batteries

Some say keeping at full voltage is bad.

If it floats at charge voltage then it would be bad according to some myth/fact depending which it is

Thus The only way to do this right with these opinions

is to unplug and not use the device at all while no shedding and check SOC lets say every 6 months
 
I would not cycle the device

ie anything that causes battery to discharge and recharge

ie unplugging the AC

As cycles definitely matter why cause a cycle if not needed

So either leave it plugged in or not used
 
That sounds like a pain in the arse and not worth the "potential" R800 loss. I have multiple (wifi and cctv) and they are all still fine like 3 years on.

I do cycle my Bluetti every once in a while and try keep it between 50-80% because that will be a lot more painful to replace.
 
Wow. They are now R400.

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Even less worth babying them.
 
Brawler said:
That sounds like a pain in the arse and not worth the "potential" R800 loss. I have multiple (wifi and cctv) and they are all still fine like 3 years on.

I do cycle my Bluetti every once in a while and try keep it between 50-80% because that will be a lot more painful to replace.
Click to expand...
Yeah the one from 2019 still going
 
Rickster said:
...during long periods without load shedding?

I got a Gizzu mini AC-DC UPS, not sure if its charging the battery constantly or if it goes into bypass battery when AC is connected.

Should we unplug the AC input for a few hours each week?
Click to expand...
No just leave it alone and forget about it.
 
Slightly off topic:
My neighbour just asked for help, saying his ONT and Wi-Fi were not working. Found mains power had tripped. Turned on mains power, and still nothing. Mini-UPS probably drained battery while mains power was off. Insufficient capacity to immediately reboot ONT and Wi-Fi when power was restored. Asked him to test the original power supply adapters. All good now. Lessons learned...
 
Just unplug it and plug in the original power adapters. You know what to do when LS returns.
Rickster said:
...during long periods without load shedding?

I got a Gizzu mini AC-DC UPS, not sure if its charging the battery constantly or if it goes into bypass battery when AC is connected.

Should we unplug the AC input for a few hours each week?
Click to expand...
 
BBSA said:
Does not sound like a good idea, you can get power outages unrelated to loadshedding.
Click to expand...

Yes, but perhaps not allow the Mini-UPS battery to drain completely, as I described above. Or at least monitor it's status, and occasionally test the battery capacity.
 
BBSA said:
It will only drain if it doesn't receive power.
Click to expand...

I think the problem in the case of my neighbour, was that because he saw that the Wi-Fi was on, he assumed that there was power in the flat. He didn't check any other devices or lights, and I presume that the mini-UPS did not trigger an audible alert.
 
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