School me on batteries

[Exterous]

TBH I debated between posting here and in the home and garden forum but chose here since it involveds marine/RV batteries.

Basically I bought a sump pump with battery backup and now need to buy a battery. Doing some research it seems like I want a deep cycle AGM battery. But I'm not sure if those are the same as Marine/RV batteries and I'm having some difficulty navigating the lack of battery detail on some websites.

Some specifically labeled sump pump batteries like Wayne's looked like they carry a premium and I'm not sure I trust Basement Watchdogs based on some of the recent complaints about the company's quality control so I'm trying to see if I can use alternatives like Duracell, diehard etc

Thanks!

 

[NutBucket]

Head to Costco and buy golf cart batteries. They have 6V and 12V versions. Done and done.

 

[feralkid]

Deep Cycle is what you want. They are capable of many charge/discharge cycles without undue deterioration of their service life.

Golf cart, marine, RV batteries that specifically say "Deep Cycle" are fine. Do not buy the ones that say marine "Deep Cycle/Starting". they are a compromise/hybrid type for purposes other than yours.

You want the ones that are 100% Deep Cycle for maximum life.

AGM is a sealed type of lead/acid battery, but that is not mandatory for your purposes.

 

[mindless1]

Gulf cart or trolling motor battery, capacity/size depending on how long a runtime you want to pay for.

It needs not be a major (alkaline? ) battery brand. Duracel and Diehard do not make their own deep cycle batteries AFAIK, so same situation different day, you'd be paying a premium for their name as some level of assurance of quality or something.

Batteries are heavy and cost a lot to ship so I would head over to your local Walmart or Costco to see what deep cycle batteries they offer. Those two B&Ms in particular, seem to be okay with making less profit on same thing other retailers sell for more money.

I wouldn't pay more for an AGM unless you expect to have frequent power outages where it will matter. Otherwise a standard flooded cell on a maintenance charger will usually give you a lower cost per year. On my last flooded cell deep cycle battery for my sump pump, the battery outlasted the charger and the charger failing, killed the battery. Charger had a 6 cent transistor fail. !@!#$$! replaced it with a 10 cent transistor upgrade, still working today.

 

[BoomerD]

Youse guys are giving "The Ballers of Anandtech" a bad name...

https://www.costco.com/lion-energy-safari-ut1300-2-pack.product.100663833.html

 

[IronWing]

Check your connector type before heading to the store. Some deep cycle batteries use a different style connector than a regular auto battery.

 

[NutBucket]

Youse guys are giving "The Ballers of Anandtech" a bad name...

https://www.costco.com/lion-energy-safari-ut1300-2-pack.product.100663833.html

Sell me on the cost/benefit analysis of this given size is pretty much irrelevant in the OP's application.

 

[Exterous]

Thanks guys!

 

[Raizinman]

What battery came out of the sump pump? Was it an AGM? AGM batteries should not be free swapped with regular car batteries. AGM batteries charge at a higher rate as their standing charge is 12.8 to 12.9, whereas car batteries are more like 12.6. Check your sump pump manufacturer to see what type of battery they recommend. Obviously people here on this forum are anxious to give advice but don't really know what the manufacturer of your sump pump requires.

 

[mindless1]

What battery came out of the sump pump? Was it an AGM?

....Check your sump pump manufacturer to see what type of battery they recommend.

The way I interpreted it was this is a new kit and hasn't had a battery yet. I agree that a close look at recommendations is prudent, the type of battery at least, though sometimes they are not quite clear on the charger capabilities.

Mine, it has a range and senses current, so it drops down to maintenance mode once the current drops, but still pulses at 13.(something)V so it would be capable of maintaining an AGM too.

It's old school, has the sensing electronics (separate wire lead goes back to the sense feed from the battery wiring harness), but is a linear transformer based design, not SMPS based... which ultimately means it "should" have a longer lifespan but lower efficiency doing so.

My charger is made by Schumacher, looks like the following (the casing but the front panel and max curent/feature is different), came with Flotec branded sump pump kit.

The battery recommendation was quote

Recommended - 105 to 140 amp Deep Cycle Marine Battery
Max Battery Size: 12-5/8" L X 7" W X 9-3/8" H (320.7mm X 177.8mm x 238 mm) Including Terminals

That size basically just being the biggest that would fit in the included plastic battery container, it needs nowhere near the peak current that size has... the fuse on the motor is 15A.

 

[Exterous]

What battery came out of the sump pump? Was it an AGM? AGM batteries should not be free swapped with regular car batteries. AGM batteries charge at a higher rate as their standing charge is 12.8 to 12.9, whereas car batteries are more like 12.6. Check your sump pump manufacturer to see what type of battery they recommend. Obviously people here on this forum are anxious to give advice but don't really know what the manufacturer of your sump pump requires.

That would have been easy but the manufacturer has no recommendations. I had to dig into the box dimensions to even figure out it was a size group 27 enclosure. The one battery they sell separately is a 75 amp hour one so I bought a comparable one after doing the rough calculations from CCA