Your UPS Can Leak Acid

 

Last week, I woke up one morning to see my custom-made work-table profusely wet with a viscous fluid. We wiped it off using a wet cloth. My wife and I spent 30 minutes arguing if it was a leak from the UPS on the table or not. I said it was a sealed UPS and should not leak. However, as it happens often, I was wrong!

We called the customer service of the company who asked for the product number which is displayed on a difficult-to-access part of the UPS. It is difficult to turn the UPS when it has many connectors tying it down, and is leaking acid!

Buried inside the product number are two digits showing the year of manufacture. The service man pointed out that the device was seven years old. He said that batteries develop trouble after three years of use. They bulge, crack and leak battery acid. The acid can hurt sensitive skin and eyes. Fortunately it is not full-strength acid, but a version diluted with a silica-based gel.

The service man had thoughtfully brought a new battery and we bought it.

Moral: You don’t buy an UPS and live happily ever after! Its battery is waiting to give you a surprise at the end of three years!

Srinivasan Ramani