Basement Watchdog Battery Problem
I have a basement watchdog pump (black pump called special). I test the pump couple of times a week. Recently I wanted to give it a real life test. When it was pouring outside I started to get lot of water in the pit so my main pump kept running frequently. Then I decided to disconnect the main pump so the watchdog pump can take over. It did for about 5 minutes. I think it ran for about 6 or 7 pumping cycles and the battery alarm started beeping and the pump makes noise but wouldn't pump much. I called Glentronics (manufacturer of watchdog)... This is a scary situation. My point is 1) the controller is constatntly checking the battery but never complained. 2) My frequent tests did not reveal that my battery is running out. The tech support person told me to run a load test which of course did not pass. I don't think this is good. The controller did not catch the problem until I took the battery out to autozone and load tested. I don't trust this system any more. But in any case, to put my system back on track, either I have to completely replace this system with a more reliable one or just replace the battery and buy some time for total replacement. I decided to replace the battery for now. But I don't want to use the battery that is sold by Glentronics. It is expensive and at the end it is not giving me any peace of mind any way and I don't care about their battery fluid sensor. I can live with out it by checking manually. My question is what would be a comparable replacement battery? Deep cycle Marine battery group 27 or 31 ok? Also, the manufacturer doesn't recommend maintenance free battery. Why not? Any comments on this aspect. If the battery is 12 volts then you can replace it with any common 12 volt automotive/marine battery. The marine or deep cycle batteries are recommended. The maintenance free battery actually does lose water gradually, and you can't refill it. As the water level goes below the tops of the plates inside, the battery starts to lose its charge. Just because the battery has gone bad does not mean you have to replace the whole system. This post is a good read....NOT this one, but the previous one, the response.. Everything(nearly) pertains to me. Now, with the batteries, they must be vented...No problem with a car or boat, but, with the home, its different. Hydrogen gasses are emitted....this I have read....and these must be dissipated... For a utilities only basement, this is no problem. But for a finished used by man basement, the corrosive gasses must be vented from the battery box to the exterior,much like any exhaust system..... Or, imagine that same battery inside the cab of a car or boat.....of course, no-one does this....not anymore.. So, of course, I agree with the use of an marine battery....vented if necessary... I have a MidAtlantic sump pump system....at this point in time it is NOT recommended....dispite costing the OO $$$.$$ or more... HF sells a generator for about the same price as a battery....maybe I'll use this and the Simer as back up..Then I'll toss the MidAtlantic pump,inverter, charger and batteries. Both the pump and batteries have failed.
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