What Battery Do I Need for a Tripp Lite UPS? RBC Cartridge Cross-Reference for Canada

Why the old battery label is the wrong place to start

Almost every wrong battery order starts the same way: someone opens the unit, reads the number printed on the pack that is already in there, and buys that. It fails for two reasons. The same physical 12 V block appears inside cartridges built for completely different machines and sold under several brands, so a block number tells you almost nothing about the finished part. And Tripp Lite changed the cartridge for some models between hardware revisions, so two units carrying the same model number on the front can take different cartridges.

The reliable sequence is short. Read the exact model number from the rating plate or the front panel display. Note any trailing letter in the model string, because that letter is the revision. Match the cartridge by the chassis DC voltage and the rack-unit height. Then check the part physically against the unit before it goes in.

What an RBC actually is

An RBC is not a bare battery. It is a complete assembly in which the 12 V sealed lead-acid blocks, their interconnections, the connector and the mounting tray are already configured for the target models, so the swap is a plug-in operation rather than a wiring job. Eaton assigns each supported Tripp Lite UPS a cartridge and publishes a UPS Battery Finder that returns the correct part once you pick the exact model [1]. Every cartridge in the table below carries a one-year limited battery warranty on its own Eaton product page [2][3][4][5][6][7].

The 12 volt rule that lets you check any quote

Every one of these cartridges is built from series-connected 12 V blocks, so the nominal DC voltage of a cartridge is always 12 V multiplied by the number of blocks. That single relationship is the fastest way to catch a wrong part before it is installed rather than after.

Use it on the quote in front of you. If a supplier offers a two-block 24 V cartridge for a unit whose chassis runs a 36 V string, the mismatch is visible on paper. If a listing gives a voltage and a block count that do not multiply out, stop and confirm the part against the unit's own label and Eaton's Battery Finder before ordering [1].

Verified cross-reference for SmartPro and SmartOnline

These are the two families where Eaton publishes a clear model-to-cartridge mapping on the cartridge pages themselves. SmartPro is the managed line-interactive tier using the SMART and SMX prefixes, with RM designating most rack units. SmartOnline is the double-conversion tier using SU and SUINT prefixes, with RT for rack or tower units.

Table 1: Tripp Lite by Eaton RBC cartridges, verified against each cartridge's own Eaton product page on 18 September 2026. If your model is not listed, confirm it in Eaton's UPS Battery Finder rather than assuming it is unsupported.

Cartridge	DC volts	12 V blocks	Form	Models listed on the Eaton cartridge page
RBC51	12 V	1	Single block	Cross-brand single 12 V 9 Ah block with F2 terminals. Confirm quantity and model in the Battery Finder [7].
RBC24S	24 V	2	Cartridge	SUINT1000LCD2U [8]
RBC1500	24 V	2	Tower	SMART1200LCD, SMART1500LCD, SMART1500LCDXL, SMX1500LCD, battery-door versions only [2]
RBC36S	36 V	3	Cartridge	SUINT1500LCD2U [9]
RBC93-2U	36 V	3	2U	SMART1500RM2U, SUINT1500LCD2U [3]
RBC94-2U	48 V	4	2U	SMART1500RMXL2U, SMART2200RMXL2U, SMART3000RM2U, SUINT1500LCD2U, SUINT2200LCD2U, SUINT3000LCD2U [4]
RBC72S	72 V	6	2U	SU3000RTXL2U, SU3000RTXLCD2U, SU3000LCD2UHV, SUINT3000RTXL2U and related SmartOnline units [5]
RBC583US	192 V	16	3U	SU5KRT3U and SU6KRT3U families, plus the BP192V12RT3US external pack [6]

The revision trap, in one line

Eaton lists SMART1500RMXL2U against the 48 V RBC94-2U [4] and the 36 V RBC93-2U covers SMART1500RM2U [3]. Those two model strings differ by two characters on the rack ear and by twelve volts in the string. The RBC1500 makes the same point differently: it fits SMART1200LCD, SMART1500LCD, SMART1500LCDXL and SMX1500LCD, but only the versions of those models that have a battery access door, and the earlier versions without that door are not compatible [2]. Read the whole model string, including any trailing letter, before you order.

Tripp Lite battery kits stocked in Canada

The kits below ship from our warehouse in Delson, Quebec, so there is no cross-border battery freight and the spent cartridge stays near a Canadian recycling stream. Specifications in this table are as published on each product page.

Table 2: Tripp Lite by Eaton replacement battery kits stocked by UPS Plus Battery, with the voltage, block count and listed fitment taken from each product page. Canadian list prices on 18 September 2026; all carry a one-year warranty.

Kit	Type	Voltage and blocks	Listed fitment	Price (CAD)
RBC51	Compatible	12 V, 1 block, 9 Ah	Tripp Lite units specifying RBC51. Confirm quantity per unit.	$107.99
RBC24S-COMP	Compatible kit	24 V, 2 blocks, 9 Ah, F2	SUINT1000XLCD	$74.99
RBC36S-COMP	Compatible kit	36 V, 3 blocks, 9 Ah, F2	SUINT1500XLCD	$99.00
RBC72S-COMP	Compatible kit	72 V, 6 blocks, 9 Ah, F2	SUINT2200XLCD, SUINT3000XLCD	$169.00
SMART1500RM2UL-BAT	Genuine OEM, lithium	48 V, LiFePO4, 16 cells, 5 Ah, Molex	SMART1500RM2UL, SMART2200RM2UL, SMART3000RM2UL	$699.00

The full range, including kits for the tower and OmniSmart units, is on the Tripp Lite replacement batteries page. If the unit itself is the problem rather than the battery, the Tripp Lite UPS range covers the SmartPro and SmartOnline replacements. For one very common rack model we have a full swap walkthrough in the SU2200RTXLCD2U battery replacement guide.

Genuine or compatible: how to decide without guessing

Both are on the market and both can be correct. The boundary is an engineering one rather than a marketing one. UL guidance is that a UPS battery should be replaced with the battery types identified by the manufacturer on the equipment and in its instructions, and that substituting a different battery type is a modification whose continued safety listing is not established unless it is investigated [10]. A compatible kit that matches the identified voltage, capacity, construction and connector sits inside that boundary. A change of battery chemistry or type does not.

Two practical points decide the rest. Eaton states that its genuine replacement batteries can extend UPS runtime by up to 30 percent compared with many third-party alternatives, which is a runtime and support argument rather than a safety one [1]. And where a unit is still covered by an Eaton warranty or a service contract, confirm the battery-source terms before fitting a non-genuine kit. Outside those two cases, a correctly matched compatible kit is a normal maintenance part.

How long a Tripp Lite battery lasts

Eaton puts the expected lifespan of the sealed lead-acid batteries used in its UPS at three to five years, shortened by the number and depth of discharge cycles and by heat, with an ideal storage range of 15 to 25 degrees Celsius; lithium-ion UPS batteries are put at five to ten years or more [11]. Age bands, not fixed dates, are the honest planning unit. A unit in a cool, quiet room reaches the top of its band. A unit in a warm closet does not, and the first evidence is usually a failed self-test rather than a calendar reminder.

That matters for how you buy. A cartridge bought during an outage costs the same as one bought in advance but arrives after the damage. If several units in a fleet passed the three-year mark in the same quarter, they will reach the end of the band in the same quarter too. Our note on lead acid against lithium-ion UPS batteries covers when a chemistry change is worth the price step rather than another lead-acid cycle.

What to check before the cartridge goes in

1. Voltage on the kit equals 12 V times the number of blocks, and matches the chassis string voltage.
2. Block count, terminal type and connector match what came out.
3. Tray and height fit the bay, including rack-unit height on 2U and 3U cartridges.
4. The model on the rating plate, with its revision letter, is the model the kit lists.
5. The unit is not reporting a fault code. A replace-battery warning that returns days after a known-good cartridge points at the charger or measurement path, not the cells, and a second cartridge will not clear it.

The safety boundary scales with voltage. A single 12 V RBC51 block is a low-voltage item, while a 72 V RBC72S or a 192 V RBC583US carries a shock and arc-flash hazard and a heavier tray, so confirm the installer's qualification and personal protective equipment in the unit's manual first. A UPS battery stays energized when the utility feed is off, so switching off the input does not make the unit safe. Treat any swollen, hot or leaking cartridge as a handling hazard.

Order the right kit, or have it done

If you know the model, the matching kit is on the Tripp Lite replacement battery page and ships across Canada from Delson, Quebec. If the model is unclear, the unit is reporting a fault, or the string is large enough that the swap is not a plug-in job, that is service work: GDF Technologies provides UPS battery repair and replacement and Tripp Lite UPS maintenance and service across Canada, including identification, supply and installation. If you are cross-shopping brands first, our comparison of APC against Tripp Lite for a network closet and the APC RBC and CyberPower cross-reference cover the other two families we stock most.

Sources

1. Eaton (Tripp Lite by Eaton), UPS Battery Finder. Model-to-cartridge lookup and the genuine-battery runtime statement. Accessed 18 September 2026.
2. Eaton, RBC1500 UPS battery replacement. Compatible models and the battery-access-door revision condition.
3. Eaton, RBC93-2U, 2U 36 VDC replacement battery cartridge, set of 3.
4. Eaton, RBC94-2U, 2U 48 VDC replacement battery cartridge, set of 4.
5. Eaton, RBC72S, 72 V replacement battery cartridge for select SmartOnline UPS.
6. Eaton, RBC583US, 3U 192 VDC replacement battery cartridge.
7. Eaton, RBC51 replacement battery cartridge. Single 12 V 9 Ah block with F2 terminals, cross-brand.
8. Eaton, RBC24S, replacement battery for UPS model SUINT1000LCD2U, 24 V.
9. Eaton, RBC36S, replacement UPS battery for model SUINT1500LCD2U.
10. UL Solutions, Uninterruptible power supply (UPS) system: retrofitting or replacing with new batteries. Battery-type substitution and listing considerations under UL 1778.
11. Eaton, Replacement UPS batteries explained. Sealed lead-acid service life of three to five years, the 15 to 25 degree Celsius ideal range and lithium-ion life of five to ten years or more.
12. UPS Plus Battery product pages for each kit listed in Table 2, accessed 18 September 2026, for voltage, block count, terminal type, listed fitment, warranty and Canadian list price.