Battery water questions and concerns

[wheelnsniper]

I just had a new set of trojan Rangers put in may cart a couple months back. My cart already had the hydrolink on the prior batterys so I had my dealer move those over to the new batterys. Being in a wheelchair I can't lean over and look in the batterys wells so I thought this would be hand. Indicator changed hook up the hand pump and go. Well I have charge daily and left on charger DPI. And noticed a couple times a dew small puddles of liquid on a couple batterys. Didn't think much of it. But being that I have charged a bunch and being new both batterys and myself I thought I would just top off with the pump. I primed it, hooked it up as per Trojans instructions and began pumping. Instructions day pump until it is firm and won't pump anymore. Well it got more firm but never stopped and I noticed a little water come out of one of the batterys. I stopped immediately. Questions

1. Did I just screw up the new batterys and electrolyte levels?
2. Would the hydrolink caps be faulty? I didn't think they were suppose to leak especially thinking back to seeing a couple small puddles. Nickel size.

Thoughts. Please tell me I didn't screw up these new expensive batterys. Thank u

Wheels

[Hecky50]

This is my experience with SPWS. MY system is made by Flow-rite. I to got new batteries and transferred my system to the new batteries. They to had some small leaks, I rechecked everything and reset the valves. It turns out according to a flow-rite engineer that these valves are good for only about 5 years. So I bought some extra and have replaced 2 so far. Double check all the hoses and make sure the caps are pressed all the way down. If they still leak you may need to replace a cap. The trojan systems uses a full cap while the flow-rite uses individual valves. Good luck. Soak up the liquid , you didn't hurt anything.

[wheelnsniper]

The more I read about these hydro links the more scared I am and think I would just like to put standard vent caps on. I assume master vents? Where can I buy just these. I doubt my dealer still has the ones that came with my batterys. I should have asked

[Hecky50]

These caps are like anything else, they save time and keep the batteries clean . But every once in a while you need to pull them off and check the batts the old way. A lot of folks here don't like them but a lot of new carts come with them installed. You will get both side of the story here. But with your situation they will come in handy.

[Clemsoncartguy]

The little bit of water on new batteries could be from slightly over filled batteries from factory. And they were about right.

Maybe if you can lean in far enough to get the caps off you could use a mechanics mirror on a stick to peek into the holes easier.

[tag50]

Because of lighting and being without a flashlight, sometimes I've used an unused chopstick as a dipstick. Whatever is used, it can't leave anything in the cell.


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[davjohn28]

sorry to resurrect an old thread but ive got a 2016 cart with T87s ad the Hydrolink watering system installed. Mine leaks slightly from the fill valve i'll call it. I dont plan to use the hydrolink as im going to pop off all battery caps regardless to check levels.
Anyone ever removed the hydrolink system? i can tell how easy it is to do or if any additional parts may be needed.

[cgtech]

I totally agree with your theory of "just check em yourself", any cart shop will have a pile of used batteries to score caps off from. They shouldn't mind if you "swap them out" for your caps. The recycler wants caps on them, but they don't care what type they are. (Good for you). DOT transport wants caps, but they don't care what type either for recycle cores. I prefer the "single cell caps", but the "4 gang" caps are just as suitable for the job. (I probably prefer the singles because the spikes on the "4 gang" cap have put the grind on my fingers so many times) . Actually I like the single caps because they let you see which one is clean/not clean. And cleanup is easier.. Message to every electric cart owner, it's your responsibility to keep up on those batteries (not just the 6-month/yearly service).. Yes, we do keep maintenance on your batteries, but you have to keep an eye on them too.. That never happens! Ignorer maintenance is the norm. As a service guy, I actually give a "commendation" to the people who keep their stuff proper (those are maybe 15% of total), it has declined drastically over the years. Makes me sad, (because the people who get 8 years from a set is getting less common). I have seen 10 year packs, but it's not common. Crappy maintenance is common, and that equals a 3 year life. I also believe that 10 years is a thing that Trojan & the others is something they wouldn't want, they need you to buy a set of new ones. The lead-acid battery hasn't gotten that much better over the last 100 years, but it's sales pitch sure has.