Battery Watering Systems

Our batteries are not easily accessible. I have seen advertised watering systems which would make topping off the batteries much easier. Has anyone installed such a system? Please enlighten me as to pros and cons, brand names etc.
Thanks

petdoc4u said:

Our batteries are not easily accessible. I have seen advertised watering systems which would make topping off the batteries much easier. Has anyone installed such a system? Please enlighten me as to pros and cons, brand names etc.
Thanks

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I have the same issue as you. The system I installed is called Absorbed Glass Mat!!! Sorry, maybe you are at a point where your batteries have a lot of life left in them and too expensive to replace. But I replaced mine for the same reason....and they have been trouble and maintenance free for almost 3 years now.

petdoc4u said:

Our batteries are not easily accessible. I have seen advertised watering systems which would make topping off the batteries much easier. Has anyone installed such a system? Please enlighten me as to pros and cons, brand names etc.
Thanks

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I had one, can't recall the brand sorry, worked great.

AGM batteries do not require water addition unlike flooded cell batteries (the ones with water filler caps). They also can also be charged faster if you have the charging capacity. But they cost 3 times more than flooded cell batteries.


If you have a modern shore power charger, you probably only have to check the water level in flooded cell batteries 2-3 times each year and add water maybe once or twice.


So, unless it is a real pain to access your batteries I would keep the flooded cell batteries.


If it is a real pain then I would swap them out with AGMs rather than add an automatic watering system- too much complexity and possible reliability concerns for me.


David

Greetings,
Mr. 4. Welcome aboard in case I missed you. A number of years back we saw a watering system (can't remember brand, of course) that consisted of what appeared to be a maze of plastic tubes connected to a reservoir/pump system. Holy cow!
Mr. FF (esteemed long time member) mentions a battery cap that retains liquids thus minimizing/eliminating top-ups. (Of course THAT brand name is gone from my data base as well) Hydro-caps, perhaps...

When I replaced my battery bank of 6 golf cart batteries I added a Pro-fill system that allows filling all the cells of the bank simultaneously with a squeeze bulb. It works well and only takes minutes. Neglect by the PO killed the bank.
In an old thread Jeffery from Active Captain pointed out that the watering systems may mask a cell that is going bad.

Trojan makes a nice system; I've seen it on a few boats.

One of my checklist items in the process of eventually buying my Hatteras was ease of access to the batteries (and those i would be adding for my Inverter bank) for maintenance and replacement. Made a huge difference.

Most golf cart retailers carry the fill kits. I've seen two types, pressure fill using a squeeze rubber bulb taking a suction from a bottle of distilled water and gravity type requiring the distilled water container to be filled. The battery caps have fill level indicators with a supply clear plastic tube to each cell level indicator.

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I was looking into watering systems when we first got our boat because golf cart house bank batteries and a big starting battery were mysterious to me. As it turns out (with our system at least) the batteries need watering much less than I thought they would.

To see into the battery in confined spaces, and for peaking into other inaccessible spots, an extendable adjustable mirror is great;

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...and to fill the battery without overfilling when you can't see what you're doing, one of these came with our boat;

https://www.golfcarcatalog.com/products/Golf-Cart-&-Utility-Vehicle-Battery-Filler-Bottle.html

Having said that, Water Miser battery caps do look interesting;

http://www.flowsystemsusa.com/water-miser-vent-cap.html

I had Hydrocaps on my previous batteries and they worked great and as advertised. You need some extra height above the bank b/c they are taller. They only make the threaded type so don't fit the batteries I am using now.

I tried the Watermisers and saw no difference made compared to cells on the same battery with a standard cap. Hydrocaps are the way to go.

On a side note, my 2007ish visit to Hydrocap "headquarters" in North Miami was one of the more interesting and entertaining afternoons ever. It was a scene almost like something out of Dickens novel, with a Dickensian character to match (helluva a nice guy though).

av8r said:

When I replaced my battery bank of 6 golf cart batteries I added a Pro-fill system that allows filling all the cells of the bank simultaneously with a squeeze bulb. It works well and only takes minutes. .

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I installed one of these kits as well...Mostly because my access is severely limited in the area i installed my 4 GC Batteries. Small hatch and very imited space above the batteries. Very slick, and simple to top up as a regular maintenance item..

Robot Check

Before the install:

"They only make the threaded type so don't fit the batteries I am using now."

I have a set that uses the flat plastic bar and a 1/4 turn to lock in.

I have 10 Trojan 105"'s as a house bank. They are mounted at the back of the engine room, with storage built over them. I fitted a Pro-fill system a year ago. Best thing I did. The Trojan T105 have a large capacity for spare electrolyte over the plates. I connect the fill every 2-3 months and pump away. What used to take an hour accessing etc now takes minutes.

My system is called AGM and I will never again accept batteries that need water.

I've also seen Water Miser Caps - no actual experience -

I have also gone to AGM's for other reasons - can't remove 8D's in fall every year and don't like leaving FLA's over winter (7-8 most) w/o ability to top off charge.
First year AGM read 12.5 - 12.7V when uncovering in April.

eyschulman said:

My system is called AGM and I will never again accept batteries that need water.

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How often do you look at your batteries?

I have flooded cell batteries and watering systems. I do not remember who made them but I recall buying them on ebay. Comes with the check valve float caps and tubing and a squeeze bulb pump. About every three months I get a gallon of distilled water from my dehumidifier and water the batteries. My batteries are vey hard to get to so the watering system makes it easy. Hook up the pump and squeeze till it wont take any more water and done. My fist set of batteries after using the watering system lasted 7 years. I transferred the watering system to my new batteries about a month ago. I fully expect another 7 years.

caltexflanc said:

How often do you look at your batteries?

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My AGMs are 3 years old and are not in engine room. They are in a dry environment and are monitored. I still get to look at them about once a month and have not seen any signs of corrosion or deposits on terminals. My previous three boats had AGM batteries and never gave me any grief. I have had many wet cell units and I would not go back on that path again by choice, unfortunately my cat boat has a wet cell and it is a PITA to pull it out of its cubby hole to maintain. When that battery shows signs of age it will be replaced by AGM.