Hey everyone! I'm wondering if there's a way to charge the batteries of my UPS using an external charger. My local power supply is pretty unreliable, and I want to run my 3D printer completely off the grid. I know that a double conversion online UPS is ideal for this, but those are really expensive—almost as much as the printer itself! I'm planning to disconnect the UPS from the AC supply to get a pure sine wave for my printer. My main concern is how to recharge the UPS batteries without having a mains connection, since I heard that using an external power source might cause a fault in the UPS.
1 Answer
Yes, you can manually charge the batteries in your UPS, especially if they are 12V sealed lead acid (SLA) batteries which are common. Just be careful with the charge rate—ideally, keep it under 5 amps to avoid boiling the electrolyte, which can be dangerous. You can also use a solar panel for charging; it takes longer but it's another option. And if you're trying to maximize print time, consider turning off your bed heater after the first layer. That should help.
Great tips! I have a good 12V charger and some spare 12V batteries, but I'm still looking for a UPS. I can run the printer on 24V DC, but yeah, I’ll need AC for the heat bed. Turning off the bed heater sounds smart, thanks for that!