Water Miser caps: Looking for positive and/or negative reviews

[Mike90250]

I bought some Water Misers.........but I really like that Battery Watering System.........down the road I guess, cause when my system is done, it's gonna have 32 batteries....which is a lot to keep tabs on water wise.......cause that's 96 vents to check........

z

Wow, I thought I was bad at 40 caps. Can you get larger batteries to reduce parallel strings ?

[Zardiw]

I spoke with the manufacturer of the watering system I have my eye on. http://www.batterywatering.com/

They claim less fluid loss using their system than stock caps. Said it has to do with the vacuum created between the valve/cap and watering tubes.

Has anyone noticed less water consumption using a watering system?

I'm still up in the air on these vs Water Miser caps.

I bought some Water Misers.........but I really like that Battery Watering System.........down the road I guess, cause when my system is done, it's gonna have 32 batteries....which is a lot to keep tabs on water wise.......cause that's 96 vents to check........

z

[Raul]

I have hydrocaps on Rolls. As Mike said, they keep mist to a minimum and the tops are clean. Stationary batterie have a large reserve of electrolyte to start with anyways, so watering for me is not a isue. I top up 3-4 times a year with moderate light use and acid mist is almost null.

[Zardiw]

THX.

What gets me is I work with Batteries professionally for 35 years in the Telecom and Utility sector and use to sit on IEEE committee 450/484 up until 2010 . There is no need to remove any caps to check water levels. You can look and inspect over 196 batteries in a minute or less. The battery jars are clear. Not only can you see the electrolyte level, you can inspect the plates, grids, and sediment setting in the bottom of the jars. All that is crucial. They all use Polycarbonate Thermoplastic as clear as glass. In fact it is used as glass in bullet resistant application like a bank teller window and armored vehicles.

Consumer grade batteries do not do that!

WOW........that would be so cool........why NOT make batteries out of clear plastic.....where can you buy these?

z

[Sunking]

Thanks for the feedback guys. I'm trying to learn all I can before I install these batteries and leave them for months at a time. My previous experience is with my 12v solar system on my travel trailer (two GC2 batteries and 160v panel).

I think I'll skip a watering system for now.

You are going about it the right way. But in my professional oppinion, I do not think you need to worry about a watering system. That is the least of your worries. You need to focus on proper charging and testing. First skill you need to master is how to use a Tempurature Corrected Hydrometer. It is the most important tool/test equipment an Off-Grider has and not many even know they need one or how to use it. They are less than $10, and very easy to use. Get one and start using on a car battery or any FLA battery you can. Be sure to keep a log. The hydrometer will tell you what the set the voltage too.

The other thing to pay attention to that causes the most problem, and they can be very serious is terminations and connections. 95% of DIY have no clue how to properly terminate a cable with compression lugs mostly because they do have the tooling to do it properly Kind of hard to justify a $1000 tool to terminate a $10 connector. Look into having factory made cables already terminated in the proper lengths and gauges. In addition to proper termination, take extra care when attaching cables to term post and connector blocks. You need to frequently check they are properly torqued and use the correct locking hardware.

One thing I really dislike about most of the equipment out there is they only use a Single Bolt or Screw which is unheard of in professional electrical systems as they use a minimum of 2-hole termination up to 8-hole using 1-inch hardware. 2-hole makes it very difficult for connectors to twist and become loose. An loose connection or improperly terminated wire can melt your battery term post off, burn up connections, and start fires. Really bad chit happens with high current and loose connections. All it takes is a flip of a switch and BOOM.

[hammick]

Thanks for the feedback guys. I'm trying to learn all I can before I install these batteries and leave them for months at a time. My previous experience is with my 12v solar system on my travel trailer (two GC2 batteries and 160v panel).

I think I'll skip a watering system for now.

[Sunking]

Hammick I think you might be worrying a bit too much. Some water use is normal and varies a bit depending on how often you go through a charge cycle, voltage settings, and temperature.

Assuming you cycle daily, room temps, and the proper voltage set points you SHOULD NOT have to add any water for 2 months. If you experience more than that is telling you have the voltage set points too high. In your case, leaving the system idle for winter water use is not an issue as it will be cool to cold, and no cycle use.

Personally I do not think you need any type of watering system. When you are there is weekends right? Just check the wtate rlevel when you arrive and leave. My bet is you might have to add a litle water maybe twice a year if even that often.

[organic farmer]

Is 'water-loss' actually an issue?

[hammick]

I spoke with the manufacturer of the watering system I have my eye on. http://www.batterywatering.com/

They claim less fluid loss using their system than stock caps. Said it has to do with the vacuum created between the valve/cap and watering tubes.

Has anyone noticed less water consumption using a watering system?

I'm still up in the air on these vs Water Miser caps.

[Sunking]

Sounds like a nice cart, do you have a pic of those lithium batteries in place?

You mean this?

golf cart.jpg

[Sunking]

I personally would not put one on a bank without regularly checking each cell which kind of defeats their overall purpose.

Well put Sunking....

THX.

What gets me is I work with Batteries professionally for 35 years in the Telecom and Utility sector and use to sit on IEEE committee 450/484 up until 2010 . There is no need to remove any caps to check water levels. You can look and inspect over 196 batteries in a minute or less. The battery jars are clear. Not only can you see the electrolyte level, you can inspect the plates, grids, and sediment setting in the bottom of the jars. All that is crucial. They all use Polycarbonate Thermoplastic as clear as glass. In fact it is used as glass in bullet resistant application like a bank teller window and armored vehicles.

Consumer grade batteries do not do that!

[solarix]

I agree with the auto watering systems being the way to go. Clean and convenient so the user will be much more likely to do maintenance regularly. Yes, may introduce some less reliability - but we're talking batteries right? I think batts will last longer if customers have an easy wall to water them than if the water system fails.

[hammick]

This is a good discussion. I can see if a float sticks in the up position that it could dry out a cell if the problem wasn't detected. On the watering system I am considering each cell would have it's own low fluid indicator. These systems are only to be used to water a battery after the batteries are fully charged. If a 6v battery had one or two cells indicating they needed water and the third cell indicates it is full, this would this would prompt me to check for a stuck float.

I agree that a watering system is not a good choice for someone who doesn't know their batteries inside and out and how to maintain them. Someone like that probably is going to eventually ruin their batteries anyway.

I am going to speak with Battery Watering Technologies on Monday. If they fail to convince me that their product is able to reduce fluid loss as claimed, I will go with the Water Misers. Reducing fluid loss is my main objective. Ease of watering would be a bonus.

[indie]

I know of quite a few people who have them in Golf Carts, and I use to have one in my racing golf cart until I switched to Lithium.

Sounds like a nice cart, do you have a pic of those lithium batteries in place?

[FlowSystems]

Usually... water bypasses the cell completely leaving it to go dry. Battery electrolyte really is a viscous, sticky substance that does not play well with small moving parts. Its just that I personally would not put one on a bank without regularly checking each cell which kind of defeats their overall purpose.

Well put Sunking....