Zoeller Charger or battery or both?

Have a Zoeller battery backup system 585-0005 installed by first home owner
in 4/98. Have 2 connected sumps. First pump going strong (thank God) in flood riddled Chicagoland. Backup pump is weak and rarely goes on (not an alternating system). Battery is a 2 year old Interstate 27 Marine /RV type that took a half gallon of distilled water yesterday. Today the charger has only the red light lit (green and yellow are out) and is only putting out 5.5 volts which is what the battery also reads. Please advise next steps.

Thanks,

Eric

By not periodically checking the electrolite level in the battery you have cooked it!

It's a dead soldier!

Time for a new one and do check it frequently!

Thanks Redwood. Ordered a new battery today.

If you are not so inclined to check the electrolite level in the battery I would recommend going with an AGM (Absorbed Glass Mat) or, Gel Cell battery.

They are Maint. Free!

It would however be a better cost/performance equation if your checked the levels and used a normal deep discharge (not automobile) battery. They can also be paralleled for increased run time.

If you get AGM you will probably have to change the charger. I believe the charging protocols are different.

A side note: there are battery caps for big batteries (bigger than those we are talking about so far) that regenerate water from the exhaust from the battery. You might look and see if there is a cap for your battery. Or just get a big battery. Look at solar/renewable power sites for details.

Cheaper to simply establish a regular battery monitoring program.

Please note that lead acid batteries of all types hate to be completely discharged. It seriously damages them. If the system you have does not protect the battery from this you should look into a different approach for protecting it from discharge below about 50%.