Replacement Battery - Compatible with APC Back-UPS ES 550VA

I've been using UPS backup power for several decades now and I've found that frequently, the most frustrating thing with a good UPS is finding a replacement battery that actually fits and is configured like the original. They are often too wide, too tall, or the leads are in the opposite configuration. Good news, this product fits perfectly. It is EXACTLY the same size and configuration as the original battery in my APC ES 550 UPS and installed in less then a minute. Added bonus - it sells on Amazon for 40% less. After 3 months of ownership, this battery is still maintaining 100% charge and can power my computer and monitor for up to 15 minutes unplugged. When it's time for my next replacement, I will be ordering this again. Nothing else to say other than you absolutely won't regret buying this battery.

I bought my APC Back-UPS ES-550 in 2010 for $55, used it for 6 years and then put it in storage for 4 years. When it came out of storage the battery was completely dead. I figured it was worth trying a replacement battery for $22. Contrary to many of the comments here I found the installation pretty easy. The connectors are a tight fit, as they should be, and there's enough room in the case and enough slack wire to make the connections.Now to see if the battery performance and life is as good as the one that came with it...

Update: Bought in April 2020. It's now Oct 2024 and the UPS self-test indicates the battery will need replacing soon. Almost 4.5 years service is pretty good.Original: Fit perfectly in my APC Backup 550. Connectors are the correct size and orientation. My monitoring software told me it was 80% charged when I installed it. It has since topped off at 100% and the health monitor says it's a good battery with approximately 60 minutes of runtime. Only had it for a few weeks so can't comment on longevity but so far it's acting just like the original.

I have bought a succession of these, and never had one last longer than three years. My only complaint is that I then have to figure out what to do with the old battery. I would support legislation or regulation to force all battery manufacturers to required to take used batteries back from consumers, even if they have to charge a higher price to make this economically feasible.

UPDATE November 2024 -- I just had another one of these batteries fail. This one only lasted 18 months. Buyer beware!This battery and vendor has been my go to for many years. I will no longer purchase these batteries from this vendor for two reasons.1) The vendor shipped me batteries that were 18 months old. They gave me a partial credit on the order and I kept the batteries. When I followed up and asked what their policy was on battery dates (both by a phone call and via email) they did not respond. Apparently they have no policy on out-of-date batteries. With short battery life (see point two below) the freshness of the battery is important.2) The battery life of these batteries is substantially less than that of the OEM battery. You may get 3 years out of these batteries, if you're lucky. OEM batteries may do 5 years. However, these are a third the price of the OEM batteries.I'm not going to go OEM, but I will try to see if a different vendor and battery will give me fresher batteries with longer lives.

Considering the cost of this battery compared to the APC batteries, I went with this battery. I wasn't sure what the problem was with my APC unit, so figured I'd go with the battery first. Battery was a direct replacement, and solved my issue, and continues to perform flawlessly. As of this review, I have had zero issues with this battery. The longevity remains to be seen, however, at this price, and as of this date, I am very happy with this battery.

I purchased this battery as a replacement for ES500. It fits battery slot fine, works Ok from beginning. I do not have any tools to test the actual capacity so can't state anything about it, but the battery is really heavy as it should be with this capacity. The only difference with stock battery is that stock one has plastic frame around positive contact, that reduces a risk of occasional short circuit when you store a battery outside of an UPS, and this one does not have such frame. But you buy one to install it immediately, not to store with metal parts, don't you? :)

As others have said it is sometimes difficult to get the terminals of the battery to connect to the APC, but I just took off the clear plastic terminal covers on the battery and it was a cinch to connect. I used the 'PowerChute" Personal Edition APC program to watch the progress of it charging from 67% to 100% and to modify certain setting and am glad that I have this battery at 45% of the cost of an OEM battery. Plus, it has more energy than the OEM and the fit is the same, thus the battery goes in very well. I have an APC Back-UPS 550.