Sealed Lead-Acid Battery (Home) PC UPS seems to be bad for slightly weak lungs and allergic rhinitis patients like me

Last updated on 25th March 2015 

Important Note: This blog post is about a problem that I face due to some health issues that I have. Most other people may be completely unaffected by the Lead-Acid battery in Home PC UPS issue that I have mentioned in this blog post.

[25th March 2015 update: I have found a good working solution to the problem given below. Details of the solution are provided towards the bottom of the post.]

A few weeks ago my (home) PC UPS had a transformer burning problem due to which I ordered a new (home) PC UPS. I followed the advise of a UPS seller in my town which was to buy a 600 VA UPS from a well known multi-national company, as he had supplied that model to some persons in town, who seemed to be satisfied with it. Please note that, as far as I know, the usual (home) PC UPS models provided in India are all based on sealed lead-acid batteries, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lead%E2%80%93acid_battery.

After connecting up the new PC UPS (600 VA model) to my desktop computer I was happy to note that everything seemed to be working well. But over a few days I started noticing that I was facing a bad sore throat problem and even had a little of burning eyes sensation, leading to me feeling even a little feverish. As the UPS was the only new entry into my home environment during this period, eventually I began to zero in on this UPS as a possible source of this problem.

Around this time, or maybe some time later, I browsed the net to see if others faced a similar problem. I came across two useful links:
a) http://njnnetwork.com/2010/03/your-ups-battery-backu-may-be-killing-you/

Two short extracts from it:

I installed an XS900 ups backup one week ago. There was a smell of sulfur immediately on taking the ups out of the box. I thought is was the new cardboard smell. It has been getting stronger every day. Today my throat is raw and the air in my office is pungent.  Is this normal for the unit to vaporize odors?  What is the solution?
...
In the meantime, I got a pounding headache, my throat went from raw to sealed shut. I took the initiative and moved the UPS out of my office to the garage. Then I put myself to bed. I was sick. My fever went to 102 before it broke. I still have a hacking cough and hope to be better soon.
--- end short extracts ---

Ravi: This seemed to fit in with my experience with the new UPS.

The above article also had this line:
"Since I wrote this, better UPS backups have come on the market without this problem." Further, the author also states that he had been using UPSs at work for decades. So the above problem that the author faced could have been due to a defective unit.

b) http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-2106350.html

Few short extracts from it:

Today I received a new UPS, and since I'm obsessed with burn smells I "sniff" around the computer and important electrical things to detect any sign of malfunctioning ( my power supply suddenly went off and I don't want this to happen again ).

Now there is this strange smell, I can only smell it if I put my nose right on top of the UPS but it's very persistent because it then annoys me, it's like something is glued in my nose and throat and then it disappears.

Could it be some kind of toxic vapor of some kind?

...

I too am a person with a good nose and track down odd/strange smells. I am also a computer tech and have a lot of experience with APC/UPS units.

The battery type used in an UPS is called AGM (Absorbent Glass Mat), in which the electrolyte (acid/water) is held (wicked up into) glass mats instead of being a free liquid. This is so the battery won't spill, but like any other acid-based battery it will give off a small amount of gas as it charges and discharges. This gas is normal, expected and safe in the small amounts given off. When the battery is weak and/or failing, the electrolyte can overheat and give off a large amount of a different gas, much of it comprised of vaporized sulfuric acid and hydrogen. This has a strong odor of rotten eggs with a tang/burn to it that you can feel in the back of your throat and in your sinuses/nose. Keep breathing this unnoticed and you may think you are getting a cold, especially in the late fall/winter/early spring when the home is usually closed up often. It can also damage your lungs if ingested for too long and in too large of an amount.

--- end extracts ---

Ravi: The above explanation seemed to be a plausible one for my problems with my UPS unit.

I spoke to my small town UPS seller about my sore throat, burning eyes etc. problem which could be due to some fumes/vapour from the UPS unit. I also asked him whether he had received such complaints about the model he supplied to me from others. He said that he is hearing about such a problem for the first time! As the UPS unit uses sealed (lead acid) batteries he seemed to find it rather difficult to believe that the unit can create such a problem.

I thought maybe my somewhat weak lungs and allergic rhinitis problems made me more sensitive to possible gas/vapors being given off by the new UPS unit. ["Allergic rhinitis is an allergic inflammation of the nasal airways. It occurs when an allergen, such as pollen, dust, or animal dander (particles of shed skin and hair) is inhaled by an individual with a sensitized immune system.", http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allergic_rhinitis.]

Then I switched to using my recently purchased DELL mini-laptop (meant to be my alternative computer device when my desktop PC had problems) and not using the UPS (and so desktop PC) at all. That straight-away helped in not making the sore throat and burning eyes problem worse. Some minor medication helped in reducing these problems over a few days. [Update: I am not sure about this but I have a suspicion that working on the laptop for long is also creating a sore throat & burning eyes problem for me, but a much milder one than with the Home PC UPS. I am feeling very odd about this as browsing on the net did not give me results about other people facing similar problems with Lithium-Ion battery powered laptops. Am I imagining this laptop battery issue? I need to spend more time on this matter to be sure. Maybe my suspicion is ill-founded. Maybe there is some other factor that is creating the sore throat & burning eyes problem. However, I must say that I am sure that the two different units of sealed lead-acid battery Home PC UPS, one mentioned earlier and one below, does create sore throat and burning eyes problem for me as the effect is quickly seen.]

That confirmed it for me. This new UPS unit was not good for my health. However, proving this issue and demanding money-back or a replacement unit from the manufacturer was not something that my small town seller could handle. He was willing to sell this unit to other customers (at reduced price I presume) if he got some order for it. His view was that as this same model had not given problems for other customers of his, my problem with it is unique to my health problems.

Meanwhile I was able to experiment with exchanging my new home UPS with a different model home PC UPS (similar to my old PC UPS unit whose transformer got burnt) with somebody living nearby. I informed him and his mother of the health issue that I faced and told them to inform me immediately if they faced any problems of that kind. They have been able to use it and did not face any health issues like me. They are happy with it! Maybe they don't use their PC so much and are not sensitive to the gas given off by the UPS. However, I am not comfortable with the idea of them using it for long. I plan to re-exchange the UPS units between us, and then initiate a return to manufacturer of the new unit, even if they don't offer me a replacement. Let them check the unit and do what they want with it.

With the exchanged home PC UPS unit I did not face the severe problems that I had faced with the new unit. But I observed my health carefully as I used this exchanged home UPS unit. I found that extended usage of the UPS did lead to slightly strained breathing. Ensuring that the ceiling fan was on and the room was well ventilated with open doors/windows reduced the discomfort. So I now suspect that even the exchanged unit (from friend/neighbour) does release some amount of gas. I then switched back to using the DELL mini-laptop and not using the UPS. This time, I noticed that my breathing had become a lot freer. So now I am quite convinced that the sealed lead-acid battery of even the exchanged home PC UPS unit does release some gas that affects my slighly weak lungs & allergen-sensitive ENT organs.

This led me to think about the period when my allergic rhinitis problem surfaced sometime in 2011-12 with some ear discharge and increased tinnitus symptoms. After Aug. 2011 I started working primarily from home and that meant extensive usage of home desktop PC and home PC UPS. Now, in my small but right-size-for-me flat, my computer desk is next to my bed. Extensive usage of the UPS would have led to significant vapors/gas from UPS lead-acid battery accumulate in my computer-workroom-cum-bedroom. That, over the months, would have been a significant contributory factor to triggering off my allergic rhinitis, louder tinnitus and ear discharge problems.

When the doctor had diagnosed the allergic rhinitis problem, he told me that I need to figure out what I was allergic to. At that time, after examining various things, I had zeroed in on cotton mattress, skin-oil patch on the wall (moss perhaps?) as well as VOC content in wall paint. I made suitable changes to reduce the allergy issues and I did get some amount of relief. But now I think the home UPS sealed lead acid battery gas was also a significant contributory factor.

OK. Now what? Well, I think I must stay away from any lead-acid battery equipment. Laptops use lithium ion batteries, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium-ion_battery, with which I may not have any breathing/sore throat/eyes burning issues. [See update above.]

But does that mean I have to do away with my beloved desktop which has served me so well over the past maybe seven to eight years? Clearly, I should simply steer clear of lead-acid batteries due to my allergic sensitivity to them. Is there a lithium battery home PC UPS model? http://www.zdnet.com/article/schneider-electric-adds-lithium-ion-batteries-to-latest-apc-ups/ talks about one such model from APC introduced in USA in 2013. Even if this model is available in India I think it will be too expensive (300 USD converts to Rs. 18,000 at Rs. 60 to 1 USD).

Another option is to move the home PC UPS to the balcony (sit-out) and run a long power cord from the UPS to the PC. I can close the door between the bedroom and balcony so that any/very limited amount of acid gas/vapours come into the bedroom. As the balcony is open to the surroundings the acid gas/vapours should easily get into the open area outside and get carried away by the wind.

Yet another angle is that as my usage of the computer now has become more of an Internet browser and blogger, I think I can quite comfortably migrate to a laptop instead of a desktop. But I do watch a lot of videos including music videos (mostly spiritual but popular music too, at times). I wonder whether the laptop will render music videos (on 19" TFT monitor as secondary monitor instead of the small laptop monitor) with audio on connected Logitech speakers, well

Important Note Repeated: This blog post is about a problem that I face due to some health issues that I have. Most other people may be completely unaffected by the Lead-Acid battery in Home PC UPS issue that I have mentioned in this blog post.

 ------------------------------------------------------------
Update on 25th March 2015 (around a month after the blog post was originally published):

Have found a good (so far at least) solution

Experimentation with placing the PC UPS (exchanged unit of friend mentioned above) in my sit-out/balcony (which is open to the atmosphere outside), running a long power cable (10 metres) from it to my PC, and keeping the door between my balcony and bedroom-cum-PC-room almost shut except a tiny bit for the cable to go through when I was using the UPS & PC, worked out very well. I did not face any of the sore throat or burning eyes problems even when I used the PC for quite long (say 10 hours with short breaks in between). [I needed only a 5 metres power cable but was able to procure only a 10 metre one in my small town (I did not want to buy it over the Internet).]

I then decided to go for a more permanent solution which was put in place a few days ago. I discussed the matter with my regular electrician who set up a permanent power cable from the PC to the wall in my balcony/sit-out. This power cable is enclosed in a plastic casing which is screwed onto the wall. I had read somewhere on the Internet that running a long power cable from a PC UPS may run the risk of the cable getting overheated/burning. My electrician told me that people who set up home power inverters (in Puttaparthi) use long cables and that he himself has done a few such installations. So there is need to worry about it. But if at all that happens with this power cable extension, the plastic casing will melt and I can easily spot the problem. That has made me quite comfortable with this arrangement.

My carpenter made me a wooden box, made of water-proof wood, which is mounted on one of the balcony walls with screws as well as an aluminium bracket below it, for support. The PC UPS is placed inside it. The box encloses a mains power point and switch, which is used to supply mains power to the PC UPS, and has a plug from the power cable extension which goes into one of the UPS output sockets. For ventilation the box has angled-down holes (to avoid rainwater going inside the box) on one side and bottom. Further, when I am using the PC UPS I keep the door of the box open. Here is a Google+ album having 8 photos of/related to the PC UPS box in my balcony/sit-out, https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/109605005465092301005/albums/6130094365277641553.

I have used this more permanent solution (PC UPS box and wall mounted power cable extension) for maybe over a week now. It is working like a charm and I am very happy that I can use my old desktop PC without concerns about lead-acid gas vapours affecting my sensitive lungs and allergen-sensitive ENT organs.

The next remaining step, which I plan to do over the next few days, is to order a new PC UPS like the exchanged with friend unit that I am using now. Then I can return my friend's unit back to him, take back the unit I had purchased earlier (which gave me lot of problems) and send it back to the manufacturer, irrespective of whether they give me a refund or not. BTW I have been checking regularly with my friend and family (last was about 2 to 3 days ago) about any health or other problems they faced with my unit. They said they have not faced any problem whatsoever, and are very happy with the unit! However, they don't use it much.