Hydrolink battery watering system?

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biggerhammer
biggerhammer Registered Users Posts: 10 ✭
in Off Grid Solar & Battery Systems #1
(I searched for threads and found none within the last few years)

Has anyone used the Trojan HydroLink battery watering system with L-16s? Trojan's webpage says that they are compatible.
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  • BB.
    BB. Super Moderators, Administrators Posts: 33,447 admin
    #2
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    Re: Hydrolink battery watering system?

    My concern with automatic watering systems... There have been a few reports (don't remember brands) of watering systems that have failed and over flowed the cells.

    Having a sump area to catch/redirect spills would be helpful.

    Would having a valve to turn on the auto watering manually once a week to once a month? Would that be better? Don't know.

    -Bill
    Near San Francisco California: 3.5kWatt Grid Tied Solar power system+small backup genset
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  • jcheil
    jcheil Solar Expert Posts: 722 ✭✭✭
    #3
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    Re: Hydrolink battery watering system?

    I looked into getting it, but it was not cheap for 16 batteries.

    And, to me, I check my SG's every week or 2 anyways, which means I would have to remove every cap regardless.

    It's no biggie to add water after checking the sg's. And with the watering system caps, they are more difficult to remove (albeit not much more difficult).
    If the watering system was only like $100 for all 16 batteries, maybe I would have done it, but it is 3-4 times that cost and I just couldn't justify it.
    Not to mention I like to KNOW that i am full (by LOOKING at it). Not sure I would trust a $400 watering system with a $5000 battery bank :)
    Off-Grid in Central Florida since 2005, Full-Time since June 2014 | 12 X Sovello 205w panels, 9 X ToPoint 220w panels, 36x ToPoint 225w panels (12,525 watts total) | Custom built single-axis ground mounts | Complete FP2 Outback System: 3 x FM80, 2 x VFX3648, X240 Transformer, FLEXnet-DC, Mate-3, Hub-10, FW500 AC/DC | 24 x Trojan L16RE-B Batteries 1110ah @ 48v | Honda EU7000is Generator and a pile of "other" Generators | Home-Made PVC solar hot water collector | Custom data logging software http://www.somewhatcrookedcamp.com/monitormate.html
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  • waynefromnscanada
    waynefromnscanada Solar Expert Posts: 3,009 ✭✭✭✭
    #4
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    Re: Hydrolink battery watering system?
    BB. wrote: »
    My concern with automatic watering systems... There have been a few reports (don't remember brands) of watering systems that have failed and over flowed the cells.

    Having a sump area to catch/redirect spills would be helpful.

    -Bill

    And THAT would be my biggest worry! I'd wake up at night thinking I could hear acid splashing down on the floor and wondering how much the cost of new batteries has gone up.
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  • solarix
    solarix Solar Expert Posts: 713 ✭✭
    #5
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    Re: Hydrolink battery watering system?

    We've used the Pro-Fill system by Flow-rite for customers that I get the feeling are not exactly hands-on people. It is not automatic in that they still have to go out and manually pump the water, but it makes it 10 times easier for them. Having them do that is better than neglecting the batteries altogether. It costs about $150 per set of 8 batteries so is not cheap either. I think maybe this is the same thing Trojan sells, but the time I tried to buy it through my battery people, they had a hard time getting distribution on it.
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  • biggerhammer
    biggerhammer Registered Users Posts: 10 ✭
    #6
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    Re: Hydrolink battery watering system?

    I am fairly hands-on but partially blind. I don't mind spending the time filling batteries but have had a lot of trouble getting enough water in the batteries without overflowing them. Watering cans that stop when full exist, but I figured that getting them all done at once would speed things up a bit.

    I would be checking/logging SG every month anyway, so a failure in the watering system would not go unnoticed for long.
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  • Blackcherry04
    Blackcherry04 Solar Expert Posts: 2,490 ✭✭✭
    #7
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    Re: Hydrolink battery watering system?
    Watering cans that stop when full exist
    That all depends on the depth of the well and the length of the spout. Batteries are different in the well depth and the level of the electrolyte that is acceptable. There is no consistency in the manufacturers and even in batteries within there own lines. The level you could fill say a GC-2 and a L-16 battery are totally different. One may have a small rise when charging or doing a EQ and one could rise almost a inch.
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  • 2manytoyz
    2manytoyz Solar Expert Posts: 373 ✭✭✭
    #8
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    Re: Hydrolink battery watering system?

    I don't have the HydroLink system. My golf cart came with a setup from the Battery Filling System company. VERY easy to use...
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnNcku2sldE

    I filled all 4 batteries in less than a minute and a half. No mess. The fill jug is disconnected afterwards.

    I'd really like to use a system like this on my RE setup too, but these are cost prohibitive... but someday!
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  • jcheil
    jcheil Solar Expert Posts: 722 ✭✭✭
    #9
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    Re: Hydrolink battery watering system?
    solarix wrote: »
    We've used the Pro-Fill system by Flow-rite for customers that I get the feeling are not exactly hands-on people. It is not automatic in that they still have to go out and manually pump the water, but it makes it 10 times easier for them. Having them do that is better than neglecting the batteries altogether. It costs about $150 per set of 8 batteries so is not cheap either. I think maybe this is the same thing Trojan sells, but the time I tried to buy it through my battery people, they had a hard time getting distribution on it.

    Yes that is almost exactly the Trojan system. It's a manual pump (or an optional electric pump that you turn on manually). And about the same cost too.
    Just too much $ IMO.
    Off-Grid in Central Florida since 2005, Full-Time since June 2014 | 12 X Sovello 205w panels, 9 X ToPoint 220w panels, 36x ToPoint 225w panels (12,525 watts total) | Custom built single-axis ground mounts | Complete FP2 Outback System: 3 x FM80, 2 x VFX3648, X240 Transformer, FLEXnet-DC, Mate-3, Hub-10, FW500 AC/DC | 24 x Trojan L16RE-B Batteries 1110ah @ 48v | Honda EU7000is Generator and a pile of "other" Generators | Home-Made PVC solar hot water collector | Custom data logging software http://www.somewhatcrookedcamp.com/monitormate.html
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