Well, yes and no... because even a "damaged" battery will still work correctly, and will probably not "fail" (according to the UPS definition of failure) while under the warranty period... you will just have to replace the battery sooner than if you bought a fresh one. I'm also fairly certain that APC warranty, like most, requires you to send back the 'defective' merchandise and with a heavy battery which is just not economically feasible for anybody.alanbrenton wrote: ↑Thanks for the succinct explanation Jay. I guess so long as the product is covered by the manufacturer based on purchase date, then all is fine.
Bottom line is, buy UPS in-store when you can so you can pick the fresh one off the shelf or at the very least buy online from a store that has a convenient brick and mortar location to exchange if needed. The last one I got was from FS online, it was like 9+ months old when delivered... I still had to go to the store and exchange it, and found one there that was only manufactured 2 months prior.
BATTERY SHELF LIFE
In general, when lead acid batteries of any type are stored in a discharged condition for extended periods of time, lead sulfate is formed on the negative plates of the batteries. This phenomenon s referred to as “sulfation”.
Since the lead sulfate acts as an insulator, it has a direct detrimental effect on charge acceptance. The more advanced the sulfation, the lower the charge acceptance.