Replace a bulged battery in an APC Symmetra

Recently we had a battery go bad in our APC Symmetra. I found that there was absolutely no way the battery was coming out because it had bulged. To make matters worse, the battery above it was bulged also (but still working). I had to figure out how to get the battery out, so I thought I'd document it here.

You are probably not going to muscle this thing out if it is bulged very much at all, so don't try. Instead, you need to take the top off. This can be done without powering it down, but please follow proper safety procedures and don't do anything stupid. These instructions are not sanctioned by APC or any other authority, and I accept no responsibility for consequences of you following these instructions. And I have no idea what the official names of parts are, so whatever...

Here is our APC:

The first thing you need to do is take the front vent(s) off. You may need to disconnect the console so you can get the top vent cover off.


To get the very top cover off you need to remove four snap on plastic plates, four long bolts, and three screws in the back:

There is a notch where you can insert a flathead screwdriver to pry off the plates - they come off easily (you kind of have to slide them horizontally once you pry them up) so don't force it.



The bolts are the height of the actual symmetra, so you need 54" of clearance above the APC to get them out. I actually had to move it beneath a fluorescent light (recessed in the ceiling) that gave me a little more height.


I'm assuming you know how to use the console to figure out which battery is actually bad, so I won't go over that - it's pretty self-explanatory. With the top off, it should look something like this:



The basic idea here is that with the top off, you can lift (just enough) the part of the APC above the battery you are trying to get out. With the top off and the long bolts removed, you should have enough give without having to remove anything else to get the clearance necessary to remove the battery. Of course, follow all APC safety guidelines for removing the battery (use two people, support the full weight of the battery when lifting past the second safety stop, etc.) In my case I had to lift the top level slightly to get the top battery out, then lift the top two levels to get the battery out in level 3 (from the top). It didn't take much lifting of the levels - I only need a quarter inch or so.

Put it all back together again and you're done. Did I mention I take no responsibility for you hurting yourself or damaging your APC? Proceed at your own risk.