I have a Zoeller Aquanot II battery operated sump-pump. We had a aquanot battery that has since ran dry and no longer works. I called a local plumbing place that has the battery for $220. The sales man said that I could just use a marine deep cell battery from anywhere and that I didn't have to spend that much money. I then went to sears and found a
Diehard Marine Deep Cycle/RV $79
Power Level 500 CCA
Group Size 24M
27494
The guy at Sears said this should work fine.
I came home connected it to my Zoeller Aquanot II charger and then the charger started making a grr noise about every 2 seconds and after waiting about 2 hours, all my lights are on on the charger indicating that it is charged. But when I try the sump-pump nothing happens.
I have since gone online and tried to research my problem and the only thing I can find is that the battery should be a group 27 or 31( and another number that I have forgotten).
Does anyone have any suggestions for me? I can take a picture if needed but it looks like there isn't a way to post it on here.
Thank you so much and I look forward to your replies.
Rob Neuzel
I don't have an immediate answer for you but I can tell you post pictures. (This is a generic paragraph I use.)
To post pictures you need to first upload the pictures to a photo hosting site such as photobucket.com or villagephotos.com. and then post the public URLs for the pictures (or album) here. More pictures are always better than fewer. Please have CLEAR pictures and have both close up pictures and ones from a far enough distance that we can see how the various parts are interconnected.
Thanks. Let me try this:
Sorry the images are so large. Not sure make them smaller except thumbnail view.
The picture size is fine but for future use (and not just for the forum) try Image resizing, do it with PIXresizer. I use it all the time.
Now for your problem, I see some bit of corrosion on the positive lugs of your wiring to the battery. For low voltage applications such as this you really need the connections to be as close to perfect as possible. Use a wire brush and if necessary some sandpaper to get those terminals shiny.
Something else is that a marine battery is not the same as a deep cycle battery. A true deep cycle battery is made to supply a low-to-medium current for a long period of time and also to be able to be discharged to about 20% of the total charge available. The marine battery on the other hand is made to start an engine yet also be able to be discharged much more than an automobile battery, in other words it is a cross between an automobile starting and ignition battery and a true deep cycle battery. As a compromise it really doesn't do a good job on either service.
Another thing is that a group 24 battery is not only physically smaller than a group 27 it also has a lesser capacity for the long haul, especially in deep cycle service so the person who told you the marine battery was the same as the original gave you bad information. Nonetheless, the battery you have should run the pump albeit not for as long as the correct battery. You may have a bad (although new) battery or it could be that you have a problem with the pump itself.
If you have a multimeter try measuring the voltage at the pump switch with the pump switch in the off position and also with the switch in the on position. Measure also at the battery under the same conditions. If the voltage drops significantly at the switch when the pump should be running but not when measured at the battery it signifies a problem with the wiring. If it drops significantly at both the switch and the battery then it signifies a problem with the pump or motor.
Furd,
Thanks for the reply and thanks for the info about the images.
I just went down and cleaned off the lugs and it is now working. I am still getting the rummm-rummm sound(I'm sure that is a bad discription ) When the pump just ran the rummm sound lasted the entire time the pump ran. When the pump stopped the rumm sound stopped and then started doing the every other second or so. Is that the charger constantly trying to charge the battery? What can I do to get the noise to stop? And will it ever? All my lights are on indicating that the battery is charged.
Sounds like I did get bad info. Sears did have a bigger battery that was a M-3. Not sure what that means except it was $20 more. The guy said the one I bought would work just fine. I'm guessing it was a group 27. But I don't know that for sure, just a guess. Should I try and take the battery back to sears and get the m-3 battery. Would that make my rumm-rummm sound go away?
Thank you for all your help. I really appriciate it. This is one of those cases where my wife said to spend th $220 and get the right battery and I said oh no, we shouldn't have to pay that much for this battery .
Rob
Since I have absolutely no idea of what your rummm-rummm sound is or even where it is coming from I have nothing more to offer.
Sorry, maybe someone else will be able to help.
Yea, I figured that wasn't a good discription but wasn't sure how else to discribe it. I have since determined that it is a vibration within the charger. Took the charger apart and make sure all screws/bolts were tightened down. Still get the vibration and not sure what exactly is causing it. Plan on calling Zoeller on Tuesday when they open back up.
Thanks for all you help.
Rob
Tags: zoeller, aquanot, sump, pump, battery, cycle battery, deep cycle, deep cycle battery, marine battery, problem with, that battery, with pump, Zoeller Aquanot
