[bcemail]

Our crawlspace has a dehumidifier and sump pump and has the plastic wrapping on the walls. The company has gone out of business so can't call them to ask about what's going on.

The dehumidifier is running fine, and it has a PVC pipe that drain to a basin. The basin top looks bolted closed so I haven't tried to open that yet, but can if it would help diagnose things. There is an Intellishield pump control plugged in, and Google indicates that this turns the pump on when the water reaches a certain level. Then there is a battery backup system that looks just like this Myers MBSP-2:
Myers MBSP-2 - Classic Battery Backup Sump Pump System 600 GPH @ 10'

We are having problems with this battery backup. Every now and then (maybe once a year) it will start beeping that the batteries were no longer charging. This was either do to a major snow storm and we were out of power for several days (so of course it wasn't charging) or if the GFCI outlet tripped for some reason.

Lately, it's been alarming about once a week that it's not charging. When I crawl down there I just pull the power cord from the charger and plug it right back in and it switches to "charging." Hearing it beep through the kitchen floor and having to crawl down there is a real hassle. I think it's not the GFCI since the dehumidifier still runs and they use the same outlet

Any ideas what might be going on? It's been about 10 years so maybe the battery is no longer holding a charge, but I'm not sure why the battery pack would act this way. Maybe I just need a new battery pack? Or I'd be fine having it hardwired if that's an option. We only lose power for more than a few hours maybe once every year or two from a snow storm.

If more details or pictures would help, I can do that. Thanks!

 

[jmon]

Our crawlspace has a dehumidifier and sump pump and has the plastic wrapping on the walls. The company has gone out of business so can't call them to ask about what's going on.

The dehumidifier is running fine, and it has a PVC pipe that drain to a basin. The basin top looks bolted closed so I haven't tried to open that yet, but can if it would help diagnose things. There is an Intellishield pump control plugged in, and Google indicates that this turns the pump on when the water reaches a certain level. Then there is a battery backup system that looks just like this Myers MBSP-2:
Myers MBSP-2 - Classic Battery Backup Sump Pump System 600 GPH @ 10'

We are having problems with this battery backup. Every now and then (maybe once a year) it will start beeping that the batteries were no longer charging. This was either do to a major snow storm and we were out of power for several days (so of course it wasn't charging) or if the GFCI outlet tripped for some reason.

Lately, it's been alarming about once a week that it's not charging. When I crawl down there I just pull the power cord from the charger and plug it right back in and it switches to "charging." Hearing it beep through the kitchen floor and having to crawl down there is a real hassle. I think it's not the GFCI since the dehumidifier still runs and they use the same outlet

Any ideas what might be going on? It's been about 10 years so maybe the battery is no longer holding a charge, but I'm not sure why the battery pack would act this way. Maybe I just need a new battery pack? Or I'd be fine having it hardwired if that's an option. We only lose power for more than a few hours maybe once every year or two from a snow storm.

If more details or pictures would help, I can do that. Thanks!

I agree with you, time for a new one. Over 10 years old, age is catching up to it.

 

[bcemail]

I agree with you, time for a new one. Over 10 years old, age is catching up to it.

Thanks! From the webpage it looks like maybe this is just the housing for a battery and I can replace the battery inside?

 

[joed]

10 years is way long for a battery pack. I get about 5 years out of my UPS batteries. Almost certainly the batteries are not holding a charge any longer.

 

[bcemail]

10 years is way long for a battery pack. I get about 5 years out of my UPS batteries. Almost certainly the batteries are not holding a charge any longer.

That makes sense. I'm trying to find a well priced compatible battery online now. Wondering if we really need a battery backup, but I guess it's good insurance if there ever was a water problem and we lost power. Thanks!

 

[SW Dweller]

Battery backup is going to probably last minutes not hours. Would need all the information on the motor of the pump and the batteries to do a calculation. Look up UPS's and see what load a 1000w UPS can run on the batteries for the unit. Motors are worse on batteries because of the startup.

I would tend to look into a generartor and feeding the circuit when necessary. Your home your system, match the batteries as close as you can, the charging circuit can only handle so much.

 

[bcemail]

Battery backup is going to probably last minutes not hours. Would need all the information on the motor of the pump and the batteries to do a calculation. Look up UPS's and see what load a 1000w UPS can run on the batteries for the unit. Motors are worse on batteries because of the startup.

I would tend to look into a generartor and feeding the circuit when necessary. Your home your system, match the batteries as close as you can, the charging circuit can only handle so much.

Interesting. I don't know much about motors or pumps etc so I have trouble figuring out the loads. The manual for the backup system says that a 75Ah 12V battery will provide 10.3 hours of run time. Does that sound right? I'm guessing that the pump doesn't run very long each time. Sometimes I'll be near the output drain and it just glugs out some water for 5-10 seconds or so. I wish I had more info on the actual pump, but like I said the business closed and I haven't opened up the actual drainage basin yet.
Thanks!

 

[SW Dweller]

That is a lot more run time than I would have expected. Might be worth a new battery.
Do no throw the old battery out until you find that the new one is working fine.

 

[wrbrb]

We have a "Basement Watchdog" battery backup sump pump system that uses a deep cycle battery, and I can confirm it has worked for at least 8 hours after a power outage and pumped water every 15 minutes or so for that time. Saying it lasts for a certain amount of time would be a difficult claim, totally dependent on how many cycles it goes through in that time.

 

[crappiedude]

I've had battery back-up sump pumps for over10 years.
Like others have said, I believe you need a new battery. Even though the batteries can last a lot longer, 5 years is about normal. You can probably find a replacement battery at Batteries Plus or some of the big box building stores.
Also you can expect about 10 hours of service on a battery should you loose power. If you sump only runs occasionally it will last a lot longer.
If you really don't want to mess with it, most plumbing companies will do the work but be aware they are expensive.