[RE-wrenches] Battery Automatic Watering

Doug Pratt dmpratt at sbcglobal.net
Sun Dec 27 14:51:42 PST 2009


I'm with Kelly and Dick on this one. "Automatic" battery watering systems
are simply a disaster waiting to happen. Never leave one of these systems
pressurized and un-attended. However we've supplied many, many BFS
"Semi-automatic" systems over the years with quick-disconnects and the
little spinner flow balls. You connect the reservoir to the filler system,
and then stand there and watch it until the spinner stops. Then disconnect.
Never, never leave the filler system pressurized. Follow this one simple
rule and battery watering systems are great time and mess savers.

The BFS caps have a little fill indicator window. If it's white, the cell is
full, if it's black, the cell is low. A quick visual inspection will show if
you've got any non-fillers. (Floats stuck in the closed position, and yes,
they do occasionally stick, both open or closed.)

Cheers,
Doug Pratt
DC Power Systems


-----Original Message-----
From: re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org
[mailto:re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org] On Behalf Of Richard L
Ratico
Sent: Monday, December 21, 2009 7:27 PM
To: re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org
Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Battery Automatic Watering

Amen.

Dick Ratico
Solarwind Electric

--- You wrote:
All,
I'm a little late on this thread, but wanted to give some contrary
experience. We have, maybe, 15 BFS watering systems out there, dating back 5
to 6 years. Although I've experienced some issues in getting watering
systems set up properly, once they are set I haven't seen a problem develop.

Important issues include:
- Proper size float must be specified for the battery reservoir size. For
larger batteries, especially. If the float is too short it will not shut off
soon enough, or allow enough headroom for expansion.
- The caps must be carefully tightened, but not too much, as it can be
turned past the simple threads (and then be looser).
- Make sure when installing the tubing that the cap does not loosen. The
base of the cap swivels from the top, but not easily.
- We use the garden sprayer method, connected to the system. However, for
obvious reasons, we don't recommend leaving it connected. We use an in-line
flow wheel to gauge when the batteries are reaching capacity, stop pumping,
then disconnect. We use a quick coupling disconnect.
- It's important to balance the flow layout, especially with large battery
banks. Otherwise, the first cells in line can see higher flow/pressures than
the last cells in line, and it can be difficult to fill evenly.

Overall, I believe that the benefits of having a battery filling system
outweigh the potential problems. As few of our battery systems customers can
be said to be enthusiastically, and regularly, engaged with their batteries,
I think that a properly working watering system is good insurance toward a
healthy bank, and happy customers.

Kelly Keilwitz, P.E.
Whidbey Sun & Wind, LLC
Renewable Energy Systems
NABCEP Certified PV Installer
987 Wanamaker Rd, 
Coupeville, WA 98239
PH & FAX 360-678-7131
sunwind at whidbeysunwind.com


On 12/9/09 7:06 PM, "R Ray Walters" <ray at solarray.com> wrote:

> I have to highly recommend against Battery FIlling Systems. After 3 years
> trying to make their products work, we are pulling all watering systems
out,
> and offering full refunds.
> Some of the caps leaked at only 1 psi of pressure, some overfilled the
> batteries causing acid spills, and the worst: some caps never filled at
all,
> leaving some cells under filled.
> Repeated calls to their main contact Rob Source at Battery Filling Systems
> have gone unanswered.
> We're back to manual filling as we just haven't found anything reliable
enough
> to deal with this extremely important task.
> Of 10 service call backs, 8 were problems with BFS products. (and we only
made
> a couple of bucks per cell in the first place....)
> Please avoid this product like the plague!
> 
> R. Walters
> ray at solarray.com
> Solar Engineer
> 
> 
> 
> 
> On Dec 9, 2009, at 7:14 PM, Joel Davidson wrote:
> 
>> Wrenches,
>> 
>> We installed 48 each IBE 1-85N-15 cells (24 in series in 2 Direct Power &
>> Water battery boxes). We do not want to use Hydrocaps. Your suggestions
for
>> an automatic watering system would be most appreciated. Thanks in
advance.
>> 
>> Happy Holidays.
>> Joel Davidson 


 



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