so excited i can barely contain myself

[Hugh]

this company that I'm associated with is moving, and offered me there back up power system. The system hasn't been used since 2005, however it hasn't been abused either.

 There is a full log of regular maintenance of the system up and until June of 2005.t They are still hooked up and are in a climate controlled area, they just haven't been on charge. The system was the back up of over 200 work stations in a high profile company.

Before I commit to taking them I would like to know if there still usable. Any input would be greatly appreciated. I have one week to decide.

Hugh

[SparWeb]

Take only what you can use.  Bear in mind that they may be bound by a recycling contract that they are ignoring "cuz you're a nice guy".

There's no way to guarantee the state of a battery without doing a deep-discharge load test on it.  Its external condition can be misleading.

[Volvo farmer]

I'd see what voltage they're at now. Anything over 10V and it would go home with me for charging and load testing.

I was at the place that buys aluminum cans last week and I saw they were paying about two bucks for a car battery. So even if you can't use some or all of them, they do have some scrap value.

[fcfcfc]

If they are deep discharge and not AGM's, assuming they were new in 2000 or later, they are probably in very good condition considering they have probably spent most of there life on float. Even good gell/agm combos will usually do 10 years on float only. I would snatch them up, especially if they are reg wet cells....

[Hugh]

paranoia can be a terrible thing, however I always keep it in mind

[Jeff]

I'd snatch them all up regardless! Wally-world (WalMart) is now giving $9 per battery trade in! I'm still using 4 old AGM batteries, each with one dead cell, to power all my 9 volt devices. They only put out 10volts, but two of them power everything for a month (3 smoke alarms, a cordless phone/answering machine, and a life-alert system), while the other two are charging.

[fcfcfc]

That is just too funny....LOL.. there are so many ways to take that, which makes it even funnier....

[WindHarvester]

I agree with Volvo Farmer! Either way you might be pleasantly suprised and have a new battery bank or you can always get scrap value.

I just called our local scrap yard and they are giving $3.00 bucks a piece. I have three or four car batteries in the building so I think I'll take a little road trip, It should at least cover my gas and a six pack(with gas prices at $3.20 I may have to skip the six pack).

Glad to hear about these being offered to you and hope they work well for many years or you make a few bucks

Lonnie