BFS battery filling system question

[Rickochet]

Originally Posted by OldKen

Okay, this is embarrasing, but also funny:

Rickochet and Swan: When I first looked at the watering system I was tempted to take it off and fill the batteries manually like y'all suggest. Only problem is the rear caps on the back three batteries are located under the body of the cart. Not sure how I would get to them, let alone see when they are full. Any suggestions?

The bulb has a long stem on it making filling the cells under the seat easy. Shining a flashlight at the cell while filling it makes the water level more visable.

[rib33024]

That black piece of plastic covering the 3 rear batteries, it lifts up so you can get to the rear batteries



Click on pic to enlarge

IMG_3182.JPG

Originally Posted by OldKen

When I first looked at the watering system I was tempted to take it off and fill the batteries manually like y'all suggest. Only problem is the rear caps on the back three batteries are located under the body of the cart. Not sure how I would get to them, let alone see when they are full. Any suggestions?

[Swan]

I use this , I just put a piece of shrink tube on the shaft to cover some of the holes


http://www.ebay.com/itm/Weston-Nicke...item51bb83d40b

[JohnnieB]

I not very fond of the Single Point Watering Systems for individual cart owners, but aware they can appear to be a convenience to fleet managers that are spending OPM (Other People's Money).

Battery explosions are not all that common of an occurrence, but they do happen and if the batteries are tied together with a SPWS, they can all go boom rather than just one.

A more common problem is the SPWS not filling the batteries correctly. Granted, with proper maintenance they may just fine, but having to maintain them more or less defeats the purpose of their existence. The time spent maintaining a SPWS would be better spent with a flashlight and red rubber bulb manually filling the batteries, as well as being less expensive for an individual cart owner.

If you have been following cartboy's epic saga (recent entry quoted below), you know that the fleet he is part of the maintenance crew for, has gone through pallets of replacement batteries and over half of the watering systems may be replaced because they are over-watering the batteries.

Originally Posted by cartboy

Yesterday was battery watering day, and 35 carts had autofill valve failures and overfilled cells.

The guy helping me said our tech told him he's just going to replace all the autofills. I haven't confirmed that.

That is a lot of OPM.

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Some people have trouble using the battery filler I use. The trick is that the spout has to be kept vertical when it is in the filling port. Keeping it vertical is challenging on two of the 21 cells in my battery pack, so I don't use the auto shutoff feature and eyeball the fill level on those two.

[cgtech]

Originally Posted by Hecky50

I am a fan of the SPWS in carts. It's like everything else in this world,pay attention,read the instructions, get your head out of your *** and most likely you won't have a problem.Think back before TPMS. Because people never checked there tire pressure almost every car now has TPMS. Not a bad thing!! Next will be Back-up cameras and cars that stop themselves. I'm sure there are ten of thousands of SPWS in carts, forklifts, Scissor lifts that work without issue. Just my .02.

The battery explosion is the most extreme example of the damage caused by water systems. I couldn't even count the number of batteries and pallets of batteries have had to be replaced due to float sticking in the up position and never getting any water. All water system should have a hole in the cap or you can pull a sample with your hydrometer. At least it would be simple to verify that electrolyte is present. I hate removing every fill system to check water when its time for a discharge test. Most manufacturers require SG readings for warranty battery replacement (as if i could change the individual bad cell anyway)... Just my .02.

[oldnavycdr]

They certainly aren't fool proof but I've had 2 of the same brand -- BWS on different carts and appreciate the convenience. It also keeps the tops clean (except when I need to hop the gravities). I noticed sticking floats on the first system. Rather than pop the caps off and defeating the purpose of the system I made it a practice to take the cart for a short run over some bumpy ground before I checked the indicators. This has always freed up any stuck floats. I've not had the overfill issue with either cart but I do keep an eye out for it just the same. I won't say I'm a fanboy of these but I appreciate the convenience. As for price, I order the second one from the battery manufacturer and got it at their price -- MUCH cheaper than I found anywhere. Now, if the batteries blow, I may rethink my position. Thus far, no complaints.