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El Jefe
Super Nomad
Posts: 1027
Registered: 10-27-2003
Location: South East Cape
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Battery watering
I bought one of these a few months ago;
http://www.powrparts.com/deionizersystem.aspx
It runs your house water through a filter that makes it good for filling your off grid batteries. This is a game changer. No more trips to Formula Uno
to buy expensive distilled water by the gallon. And with the pistol grip you fill until it shuts off by itself. No more flashlight needed to see if
you got enough in there. So easy. I just filled all my batteries with a big smile on my face.
Everyone in my little neighborhood wants one. Several have gotten them. I guess this is what the golf courses use for cart batteries. I hook mine up
to the garden hose as I need to. EZ and fast.
Check it out.
No b-tchin\' in the Baja.
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Alm
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 2725
Registered: 5-10-2011
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Golf courses use a garden hose right from the tap, what filters... 
Btw, you don't have to water batteries with distilled water. Reverse Osmosis system (agua purificada that they fill garafones with) is good enough.
Filters of any kind are inferior to RO.
Another alternative is to use more expensive AGM batts, they don't need watering. This is what I have, though my system is small, an equivalent of 3
golf-cart batts. Don't need more with my low loads. What people often don't realize is that you need to feed energy to batteries to prevent
self-discharge even when you don't run any loads. The more batts you have, the higher is self-discharge current. You don't want to keep more batts
than you really need.
[Edited on 5-9-2015 by Alm]
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rts551
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6699
Registered: 9-5-2003
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Jefe. nice product, but I can buy a lot of water for 230 dollars. 14 batteries and I use about 8 gallons per year.
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Alm
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 2725
Registered: 5-10-2011
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14 batteries is pretty big bank. Even then, 8 gal of agua purificada @2 peso/gal is less than 2 dollars a year.
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Bob and Susan
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8813
Registered: 8-20-2003
Location: Mulege BCS on the BAY
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Mood: Full Time Residents
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I use 6 gallons a month...
you CANT use purified water here...still "junky"
I like this...and I agree...golf course guys don't care...the hose is fine
the course leases carts and they are gone in 3 years anyway
I like this idea...i'll do some research
i'd like to see a report in a year
"how the batteries are holding up"
at $1000 a battery I need to be careful
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Alm
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 2725
Registered: 5-10-2011
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Bob and Susan,
One golf cart battery costs way less than $1,000, unless you're talking pesos. Your battery bank that needs 6 gal/month is probably bigger than a
dozen of golf cart batts. It's counter-productive keeping more batts than you need. Maybe you really need that big bank or maybe you don't, depends on
your situation. Many households can do with as little as 6 GC batts or 4*L16.
Also, the amount of watering depends on what you do with them. More charging, or overcharging - more water. A battery in average-good shape doesn't
need to be boiled for more than 60-80 minutes after it's reached 14-something volt Absorption stage.
RO water comes same clean as distilled. Contamination is introduced later, in hoses and taps they use to fill garafones. Yes, they don't care about
keeping it clean.
Filtered water will never be as clean as RO, and again, there will be a contamination added with garden hose and pistol.
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rts551
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6699
Registered: 9-5-2003
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Quote: Originally posted by Bob and Susan  | I use 6 gallons a month...
you CANT use purified water here...still "junky"
I like this...and I agree...golf course guys don't care...the hose is fine
the course leases carts and they are gone in 3 years anyway
I like this idea...i'll do some research
i'd like to see a report in a year
"how the batteries are holding up"
at $1000 a battery I need to be careful |
I know you guys know what you are doing and have a large system...but man, 6 gallons a month is a lot.
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Alm
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 2725
Registered: 5-10-2011
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Some of them do, yes 
Often, yes.
I would say, for retiree homes in this area this is abnormally high. Sounds more like commercial operation, a hotel or something.
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rts551
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6699
Registered: 9-5-2003
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| Quote: Originally posted by Alm |
Some of them do, yes
Often, yes.
I would say, for retiree homes in this area this is abnormally high. Sounds more like commercial operation, a hotel or something.
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They can explain it ...but yes. from their post at the bottom.
http://www.mulege.org/
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Bob and Susan
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8813
Registered: 8-20-2003
Location: Mulege BCS on the BAY
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Mood: Full Time Residents
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we have golf cart batteries...but...we use them in the golf cart
it's solar powered too...
I been given lots of BAD info in the past...
with the golf cart "they" told me I couldn't "solar power" it without spending $2000usa...wrong...$200usa and the batteries are always charged
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Bob and Susan
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8813
Registered: 8-20-2003
Location: Mulege BCS on the BAY
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Mood: Full Time Residents
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now for reverse osmosis water in the batteries...
I think i'll pass...
there are still minerals in reverse osmosis water
distilled water has NO minerals
here is what happens when electricity and water mix...
imagine these are your battery plates
reverse osmosis water may work for awhile but it WILL catch up to you...then...$$$replace$$$ those batteries
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Robertofox
Junior Nomad
Posts: 92
Registered: 10-19-2006
Location: Leucadia & Pta Chivato
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Mood: One more for the ditch !
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Hey, the vent caps work great too. I've been using them for years on US 6volt Batteries. Don't have to water as much!! I like that!! Worth a try for
the money. Can't go wrong....
Happy Trails....
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Robertofox
Junior Nomad
Posts: 92
Registered: 10-19-2006
Location: Leucadia & Pta Chivato
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Mood: One more for the ditch !
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Its the water miser vent cap. Sorry. They have 8 kinds.
Happy Trails....
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Bob and Susan
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8813
Registered: 8-20-2003
Location: Mulege BCS on the BAY
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Mood: Full Time Residents
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vent caps...the people here are taking them off
they make the top of the batteries kinda wet (like humidity)
and the cables corrode
I never bought them because they cost a lot and I have a lot of batteries $$$
I figured water was cheaper and i'm here all year to watch the levels
[Edited on 5-10-2015 by Bob and Susan]
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Alm
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 2725
Registered: 5-10-2011
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| Quote: Originally posted by Bob and Susan |
we have golf cart batteries...but...we use them in the golf cart
it's solar powered too...
I been given lots of BAD info in the past...
with the golf cart "they" told me I couldn't "solar power" it without spending $2000usa...wrong...$200usa and the batteries are always charged
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Not necessarily "bad info", just too many variables. If you are talking about one golf cart , not a solar home - it's different from other setups
here. Besides, it should be clarified what to call "charged". Often people mean "battery maintenance", like in storage, not a sustainable charging off
solar. Or - topping it up after generator charged it to 90-95% already.
The cost of components today is ~$1.5 per watt. $200 will buy you a small panel about 100-120W size, and a very basic charger.
120W panel on a golf cart will charge (or keep charged) a pair of 6V batts only if you're using about 30 AH daily. So - yes, you'll get some mileage,
and solar will bring it up to full on a sunny day. Provided, you are not driving it right before sunset 
If the goal is daily using and charging of residential system, the rule of thumb is 1W of panel per 1 AH of the bank. This is a broad rule. In small
banks the wattage should be increased to 1.5-2.0W per AH.
Ex, somebody living in a trailer - let's talk about "living", not "running a cart" - with a pair of 6V GC, total 225 AH, would need at least ~300W
array with the total cost ~$400, not counting the batteries. Living on 300W would still require a lot of energy conservation, I've seen few people
living on that little, but not too many.
Watering from garafones - well, I would do this in a pinch if I had to, but not too often. But there is no need. It takes very little to water it with
distilled. That is - with residential solar. The bigger is the array, the less water is needed, because on solar it evaporates less than when you run
a generator.
Water miser caps - I never had much luck with those, they clog and stop working.
[Edited on 5-10-2015 by Alm]
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Justbozo
Nomad
Posts: 139
Registered: 11-20-2012
Location: Lake Michigan/Bahia Concepcion
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Mood: Got my little stone hut on the bay
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Rather than speculating as to whose water is what get one of these.
I just grabbed this randomly, any brand is ok as long as it works.
You want your water to read 5ppm or less on this meter for use in batteries. The purifying process dosen't matter.
Take it from someone who has been making pure water (0-5 ppm) for high pressure and temperature boilers at the rate of 240 gallons per minute since
1970.
PS: If you have a really good ohm meter you can use that.
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rts551
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6699
Registered: 9-5-2003
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| Quote: Originally posted by Justbozo | Rather than speculating as to whose water is what get one of these.
I just grabbed this randomly, any brand is ok as long as it works.
You want your water to read 5ppm or less on this meter for use in batteries. The purifying process dosen't matter.
Take it from someone who has been making pure water (0-5 ppm) for high pressure and temperature boilers at the rate of 240 gallons per minute since
1970.
PS: If you have a really good ohm meter you can use that. |
Huh? forgot something I think.
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Justbozo
Nomad
Posts: 139
Registered: 11-20-2012
Location: Lake Michigan/Bahia Concepcion
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Mood: Got my little stone hut on the bay
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Oh ya...link...thanks
http://www.amazon.com/HM-Digital-TDS-EZ-Measurement-Resoluti...
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monoloco
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6667
Registered: 7-13-2009
Location: Pescadero BCS
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I'm with Bob, I'd never consider putting anything besides distilled water in an expensive house battery.
"The future ain't what it used to be"
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Alm
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 2725
Registered: 5-10-2011
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In "expensive" one - sure .... Golf cart batts cost about $130. Could become
expensive when you have to replace several of them though. This is another reason for not keeping more batts then you have to.
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