Hello,

I have a Pro Series 2200 battery backup sump pump. The previous owners installed the pump, and I have been in the house for roughly 10 yrs (the pump/battery is at least 10 yrs old). A few days ago the alarm sounded telling me to add distilled water which I did. A day later the alarm sounded again but this time it tells me to check for corrosion on the battery terminals and/or replace the battery. I disassembled the connections, wire brushed the posts, and assembled. A day later the alarm sounded again with the same alert. I wonder/suspect the battery has lost it's charge (given the age, I am not surprised).

Can I replace the battery with any other marine-type battery? Do I need to purchase a new battery specific made for the Pro Series 2200? I am not certain what the local box stores might carry. Any information/advise provided is greatly appreciated ... thank you.

 

your system is essentially a basement watchdog system like you get at home depot (both made by Glentronics). it might have a better battery charger. the specs don't say if its a true 3 stage charger or a simple float charger like the other bwd systems.

I am surprised you got 10 years out of the battery. many many examples of these systems cooking the batteries in less than 2 years. even with their water alarms.

first to answer your question directly -- yes you can use a standard deep cycle marine battery from walmart - and I would recommend it if you choose to keep the system. get a group 27 or 31 deep cycle battery, whatever fits your battery case. 500 times (like a golf cart battery), while a "marine" deep cycle can only be deep discharged 100-200 times. but how often do you expect to run your pump till the battery dies??..... I have used both in a sump pump application, and the marine batteries work as well or better.

beyond all this, I would suggest you just rip out the whole system and put in real back up system consisting of a second AC powered primary pump and a battery powered DC-AC inverter to keep it running during power outage. a far better solution than the basement watchdog stuff. i've written several posts on this subject if you search....

 

WOW! Thank you for the detailed reply/information. This VERY helpful and much appreciated! I will go down the path suggested and grab a standard marine battery from Walmart or the like and tie off the water sensor. The Pro Series 2200 bad battery alert has been going off over the last 4-5 days and it is time to fix it. Quick additional question ... how will I know when to the replace the marine battery? I assume they are good for a few years? I can always manually test it once a year to ensure it is proper working order. Thanks again for you insight.

 

to test the battery. get yourself a $20 100 amp battery load tester from harbor freight or anywhere online. clamp it to the terminals and conduct the test. do it every 6 months or so. also pop off the cell tops once an year with a small flat head screwdriver and visually check to ensure the water level is covering the lead plates. you might also invest $7 in a simple digital volt meter to periodically measure the voltage (although the load tester does have its own volt meter). these simple checks are far better than relying on a water level sensor.

as an added bonus - the load tester can also be used to check your car battery, so you'll know if you need a new one if your car starts cranking slowly.

 

one more thing - to address the question of how long the battery should last. that all depends on the charger. if your system has a true 3 stage charger (which it might, given that you got 7-10 years out of the first battery) then a marine deep cycle should last 10-20 years --- so long as you periodically test it and check the water level, etc. it also helps to give it a "work out" every now and then by putting an extended load on it -- e.g. if you had a 12V spotlight or something to draw a bunch of power for 20 minutes or so.

if, however, your charger is a "float charger" that just holds the charging voltage somewhere north of 14.2V forever, then the battery will cook in its own juices and die an early death. this is the typical failure mode for the cheap box store basement watchdog systems. my old one actually held the voltage at 14.7v at all times -- way too high for a maintenance level charge. google battery charging technology for more info...

 

This thread has been incredible helpful . I purchased a marine battery Mar-2014 and tied off the sensor to the positive terminal. Everything was great until a couple of weeks ago when the alarm sounded (indicated corrosive terminals, etc.). The terminals look great so I reset the alarm. The alarm sounded again the next day. This time I removed the nut and re-attached the sensor, etc. I was good for another day when the alarm sounded again. This time I leveraged a volt meter and confirmed 12.5 volts which is solid. In addition, I tightened the nut. I was good for a few days when the alarm sounded again. I reset the alarm and checked the volts again ... looking solid at 12.5. Now the alarm is sounding every few hours after each reset . I am tempted to disassemble the unit and disconnect the alarm ... any thoughts?

Thanks again for this thread and your input.

 

When you measure the voltage on the connected battery it should be closer to 13vdc or just over. 12.5v is not enough to charge the battery.

 

Thanks for the quick reply ... much appreciated!

I just measured it again and it reads 12.43 (I believe it was just over 12.5 a few days ago). What should a new marine battery measure? Since the battery is only 9 months old, does this sound right? We have never lost power and the backup has only been tested once or twice by me ... all tested fine.

 

In Jan-2015 I decided to purchase a new marine battery which seemed to do the trick. Unfortunately, the same thing appears to be happening 10 months later (as of today, Oct-23). The alarm sounded which indicated a terminal issue, etc. I took a look at the terminals and both are fine. I reset the alarm and the next day the alarm sounded again. I will check the voltage later today, but I expect to see 12.5 or so. Should I hook the battery to a charger? I do not think I should be buying new batteries every 10 months or so. The battery is rarely used if at all ... any thoughts? Thank you.

 

A quick response for anyone else who might be reading this and finding themselves in a similar situation. After some additional research, I determine a small battery charger should do the trick. I purchased a Black and Decker battery charger/maintainer from a local box store. I connected the charger earlier today and it appears to be charging away. I will not know for certain if this is the answer until the next few days pass ... if no alarm sounds in the next week, I will consider this to be the answer. If this is not the answer, I will post back.