How to Find a Free Deep Cycle Battery

Maybe you are looking for a set of deep cycle batteries to replace your old ones. Maybe you want to find a free deep cycle battery to try desulfating it so it is near new and then try to sell it. Some people are even getting a large deep cycle battery and removing all the good cells so they can sell them for renewable energy systems.

A home renewable energy law using wind or solar needs anywhere from 12 volts to 48 volts. Each cell from a deep cycle battery is about 2 volts, so it takes 6 cells for every 12 volt section. If you were to buy these cells new, then they cost between 0 - 0 each. A small 12 volt 650 amp hour battery setup would cost about ,800 for the forklift battery cells. You could use golf cart batteries at about each and 220 amp hours each. It would take 6 of them to do it and it would cost about 0.

Solar Battery Charger 12 Volt

Here is the kicker, though. A deep cycle battery cell from a fork lift battery lasts about 4 times as long as a golf cart battery. You could refurbish the cells out of the forklift battery and sell them for 0 each. They would beyond doubt last twice as long (or more) as the golf cart batteries and you could make a handsome profit for doing it.

How to Find a Free Deep Cycle Battery

My first pair of forklift batteries that I got for free happened to be Yuasa batteries, but all kinds are available. What I discovered is that commonly most cells in the battery are still pretty good. commonly it is one or two bad cells. Most places just have their batteries picked up for recycling when the battery doesn't make it though a 8 hour shift. These two batteries to the left had all good cells except 3 of them. There are 12 cells in each (these are 24 volt, 700 amphour), so that gives me 21 good cells.

So, if you're selling these cells, you can make up to ,100 profit. If you keep them for your own use (which is what I did), then you could make 3 banks of 12 volts at 600 amp hours each, or 12 volts at 1800 amp hours total. I say 600 amp hours instead of 700 because even after checking fluid levels and using my homemade desulfator, the amp hour capacity never gets up to brand new levels. But you can commonly get 70% to 90% capacity, especially if you remove the bad cells. In the above example, you will use 18 of the cells total, leaving 3 good ones. You will probably have to just recycle those last 3 cells.

To get the batteries free, just call around to anyplace with a storehouse that uses forklifts. The first two in the picture above were picked up at the local post office main hub. You could just go straight through the yellow pages. Ask if they use galvanic forklifts, if so, do they plan on replacing their batteries in the near future. If you have a pickup truck, I would stick with the 12 or 24 volt ones. You can tell them that you can take them off their hands for free and that you will sign any environmental forms that they require.

There is another way to get forklift batteries but it costs a wee money. Just look in the phone book and find the local forklift company. Roughly all of them sell new batteries and deliver them as well. But they will also come and pickup old forklift batteries to recycle. They always have some sitting around. On Vancouver Island in Canada, the local business gets about 3 cents per pound from the local recycler. I can go to the forklift business and pick the best of the used ones and pay by the pound. A 24 volt like the one above weighs about 1,100 pounds or so. I can move those with a machine hoist and my V6 nissan pickup. Any bigger and you need other arrangements. They will also deliver the batteries to my home and plop them wherever I like. At 3 cents a pound, I could pay for the two batteries in the above picture. Then they would fee about per hour for the delivery. Let's say, worse case, it cost 2 hours in labor, that is 6 for both batteries. If I sell personel cells in 12 volt groups, then I could sell 18 of them (3 cells were bad) and make ,800. That gives me ,600 profit. Not bad.

How to Find a Free Deep Cycle Battery

Backup Sump Pump describe - What is Right For You?

What is a Backup Sump Pump?

A backup sump pump is an additional one pump that is installed to control should the primary sump pump fail. Surprisingly sufficient there are many reasons a primary pump may fail including: electrical power outage, float or switch failure, broken impeller or drive shaft, clogged intake screen.

Solar Battery Charger 12 Volt

What Factors Should Be Reviewed?

Backup Sump Pump describe - What is Right For You?

There are eleven major factors to think when comparing backup sump pumps: power source, charger strength, trigger, dependability, material used in construction, operational capability, dimensions, size of discharge, protection against solids or sludge, alarm notification, and manufacturer warranty.

1. Power Source

The backup law installed should be sourced by something other than electricity.

What are the separate types of power sources used?

• A Battery provides the power to enable a backup sump pump plugged into it through the use of a wired housing case to perform the pumping cycle for the discharge of the water from the pit. Twelve or twenty four volt battery power is used. The voltage and type of battery required varies by manufacturer.
• Water Pressure provides the power to keep a backup sump pump running. The water used must come from a municipal source and have a pressure between 40 and 100 Psi (pounds per quadrate inch).
• A portable generator provides power through the conversion of gas or propane into energy. The pump must be plugged into the generator.
• Automatic start standby generator provides the power when the sump pump is plugged into it.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of the separate power sources?

• Batteries want monitoring to make sure they are operational in the time of need. Most backup systems have an alarm that lets the owner know when a battery requires maintenance or replacement and is being used by the backup pump. Batteries are rechargeable.
• Water power requires no batteries and has no inspiring parts. Carrying out of watered power systems requires a Psi water pressure between 40 and 100 Psi (pounds per quadrate inch). Private well water cannot be used and the municipal provided water must have dependable water pressure. It takes 1 gallon of municipal water to take off 2 gallons of sump pit water so can be high-priced to operate.
• Portable generator: The generator must be located outside. It must be started manually. Most control from propane tank.
• Automatic start standby generator: They are costly to purchase and setup (four to ten times more costly than battery power) but are very reliable. This type of generator runs off of natural gas or propane tanks and can provide power to complicated household appliances during power failure.

2. Charger Strength

This term applies when batteries are used as the source of power.

• The higher the charger power the faster the battery will be recharged after usage.
• Charger power varies from.4 to 20.

3. Trigger

Each backup law has a trigger that activates the non electrical power source to begin operation.

What are the separate triggers?

• For battery powered backup sump pumps, when the water level raises the float, the battery is activated into operation.
• For water powered backup sump pumps, when the float raises, a valve allows pressured water to flow down to the pump. The flowing of the pressured water activates the backup law into operation.
• An automated start standby generator is activated when the transfer switch senses a utility power interruption.
• A conveyable generator becomes operational when a human starts it.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of each trigger?

• The transfer switch for the standby generator is the most dependable and quickest way to launch the Carrying out of a backup system. The backup pump is operational as soon as the power goes out.
• Battery and water powered systems are not activated until the water rises to the height of the float. That means water has already collected in the pit.

4. Dependability

• Batteries deplete and loose charge.
• Municipal water pressure is not constant. A drop below 40 Psi means the backup law is not operational.
• The float-switch mechanism, impeller or clogging of the backup sump pump plugged into a battery or standby generator source of power could fail.
• The tether switch is not as dependable as the vertical switch.
• Dual vertical switches offer twice the reliability.

5. Materials Used in the construction of Backup Sump Pumps

What are the separate materials used?

• Thermoplastic: Outer casing is made of a hard, durable plastic.
• Cast Iron and Stainless Steel: The outer casing and bolts are made of metal.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of the separate materials?

• Plastic weighs less and is cheaper.
• Cast iron and stainless steel lasts a lifetime, weighs more and is constructed to cope heavy duty usage. This material is more expensive.

6. Operational Capacity

What are the volumes at which backup pumps can discharge water?

• Pumping capacity is measured by number of gallons per small or hour at a exact rise.
• Capacity is determined by size of motor and source of power.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of operational capacity?

• Larger motors using battery or generator power move more water during operation.
• Smaller motors move less water during Carrying out and want less battery or generator power.
• The number of water moved during Carrying out of a water powered backup sump pump is determined by the municipal water pressure. The greater the pressure the greater volume of water that is discharged. Generally water powered pumps have a lower operational capacity.

7. Dimensions of Backup Sump Pump and Pit

Each backup sump pump has unique measurements.

• A sump pit with an 18"diameter basin or larger provides the most flexibility in being able to fit a primary and a backup sump pump into the pit.
• A tether float requires a larger diameter-based pit than a vertical float.

8. Size of discharge Port Diameter

What are the separate sizes?

• The size is either 1 ¼ or 1 ½ inches in diameter.
• Most backup pumps have an adapter to adapt either size of Pvc piping.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of the separate sizes?

• The potential to adapt to either a 1 ¼ or 1 ½ inch size Pvc pipe is very beneficial.
• A size of 1 ½ inches is required to cope heavy volumes of water.

9. protection against Debris, Sludge, or round Solids

• Backup pumps use screens to safe against particles.
• Those with the further protection of float cages are built so the cage lowest concaves causing particles to run off.

10. Alarm notification

Each of the battery backup sump pump systems have audible alarms that sound when the battery is activated when backup sump law is running. The alarm also sounds when the battery is discharged.

The Basement Watchdog Backup series also has an audible alarm when the battery fluid levels are low.

11. manufacturer Warranty

What manufacturer warranties exist?

• Some have no warranty
• Others have one, two or three years

What are the advantages and disadvantages of a warranty?

• No warranty may mean industry are very positive of goods quality.
• The purchase price of the pump may be higher because the cost of warranty is included.
• Limited warranties will not pay the entire cost to fix or replace.
• The length of warranty is commonly based on the length of time most of the pumps like it are known to control without failure.

How Can You decree Which Backup Sump Pump law Is Best for You?

The following Faq are provided to help you make your decision.

Are you involved about other household circuits, contact electricity failure oftentimes and for long periods of time, and have no ordinance limitations regarding the placement of a 48" (L) x 25" (W) x 29" (H) box outside your home?

• The automatic start standby generator can provide the most dependable power for a backup sump pump law as well as other household items.

Is your water provided from municipal water source and it is reasonably priced?

• Water powered backup systems only work with municipal water source not Private well sources.
• It takes 1 gallon of municipal water to pump out 2 gallons of sump pit water.

Are you involved about backup sump pump float-switch failure during operation?

• The Watchdog Big Boy, Watchdog special and Watchdog emergency Backup systems have a vertical dual float switch. If one float-switch fails the second one begins operation. The float-switch mechanism can also be substituted without removing the backup pump from the pit.
• Wayne, small Giant and Zoeller use vertical switches which are more dependable than the tether floats used by Simer Ace in the Hole and Flotec.

Are you involved with time required to recharge the battery after usage?

• The Watchdog Big Dog provides the quickest recharging. It has a 20 amp charger.
• Little Giant and Simer Ace in the Hole have 2 to 3.5 amp charger.
• Flotec and Zoeller have 8 to 10 amp charger.

Are you involved about notification of battery depletion or failure?

• All major brands include this feature.
• Watchdog Backup systems provide the most detailed warnings regarding the battery backup system.

Is a warranty important?

• Wayne offers the longest warranty of three years.
• The other major brand warranties range from one to three years.

Are you involved about how many hours the battery will run continuously?

• The continuous run time for all the major brand battery backup sump pump systems is within the range of six to nine hours.
• Simer Ace in the Hole runs continuously for six hours; small Giant runs for nine hours; Wayne, Zoeller and Watchdog run for almost seven hours.

Do you have a sump pit diameter under or over 12"?

• The Watchdog pumps have the smallest width (9") and want only ¼" further for the vertical switch.
• In most cases backup sump pumps are installed on top of the primary sump pump so size is not as much of an issue.

Do you want to replacement a faulty float/switch mechanism without having to take off the entire pump from the sump pit?

• The Watchdog sump pump float/switch mechanism is external to the pump so the float-switch can be substituted without removing the pump from the sump pit.

Check Out These Backup Sump Pump Systems Today

Your home is an important asset. Make sure it is protected against water damage. It is cheaper to buy good backup sump pump systems than to clean up after a sump pump failure during a heavy rain storm. Be prepared before those heavy rains come.

Backup Sump Pump describe - What is Right For You?