Battery auto fill pump

[Ed & Diane]

My battery auto fill is on a gravity feed. When I open the valve, the water does not flow to the cells, not much head pressure since I moved the tank to the door. I believe the Limited's have a pump inline on their system. What is the name or part number and a source for this pump. Will any low pressure pump from the local auto supply store work?

[Jim A]

The fill system on my '04 was a windshield washer tank and pump. It even had a washer symbol on the cap. A local repair shop was nice enough to fill mine with blue windshield washer fluid for me!!! Fortunately I saw it before I pushed the button.

I suspect your local auto parts store will have a suitable pump.

[EngineerMike]

Ed- My gravity feed tank is hung on the batt compartment door as well, with the bottom of the tank just above top of battery caps. I originally thought the flow was way slow, so I left the valve open for maybe an hour or two; that produced some leaking caps & a mess. And i was thinking of trading the system out for something better but way more expensive.

I got really intimate with it recently (head inside the bay nose to nose w/the caps) and turned the valve. 5 caps short of the last cap, the white float indicator wiggled within seconds of turning the valve. I had to be right on top of it to see the movement.

The trick is to figure out which cell out of your 6 or 8 batteries is your "indicator" cell, i.e. is the one that boils off fastest. When that float is down enough to bother w/opening the valve, then watch it while you crack the valve. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised that the trickle flows fast enough to do the job. Then you shut the valve off as soon as the indicator cell is full. Mine hasn't leaked a drop since I started that process.

[C&H from NorCal]

If you are using the Battery Fill Systems caps on your batteries you should know that WRV, not BFS, added the windshield washer reservoir and pump.

Tyler Owen, BPS's tech (877) 522-5431 does not recommend a pressurized system like WRV used on the 2005-6 and later coaches, unless a valve is installed to bleed off the pressure the pump applies to the valves - otherwise the valves can stick.

BPS does not sell a pump system. They use either a hose end nozzle or a gravity feed tank..

Harold

[Jim A]

The WRV system was far from a pressurized system. The fill tube flowed right back into the tank, so it could not build up any significant pressure at all. I was taught (possibly by Ron Doyle himself at a show) to push the button and watch the water level in the tank. When it stopped dropping, the cells were full. The water was just flowing in a loop. (It turned out they weren't full, but that is another story.)

[C&H from NorCal]

I agree Jim. I too watch the reservoir to confirm the water is returning. I explained all this to Tyler, I'm not sure why he ojected to the electric pump system. Could there be a "water lock" between the pump and one of the cells if the float stuck without the bleed valve?

Harold

[EngineerMike]

If a cap thinks it is "full" because the float sticks in the up position, water should flow on by that cap to the next one, or to the return line. In any case there will be a small amount of water in the fill line when finished, which should be dribbled into the cells fairly soon.

The only guarantee that a cell is getting water is to remove that cap & look. Second best is to watch the little white indicators on top of caps to find movement, and you have to get close & wipe off the caps to see that.

[Jim A]

I wouldn't have thought a stuck valve would do anything to require a bleed valve.

But I have to confess that I replaced my batteries with AGM's when I found a couple of dry cells in my 3+ year old batteries. The tank and pump are still there, just not connected to anything now.

[jerry davis]

I have the electric pump system in my 05 and still have the original batteries. It seems to work as advertised as long as you watch the white floats while pushing the fill switch.

[Ed & Diane]

I appreciate all the great input and discussion. Typically, just after I turn on the water fill valve, I give each of the caps a good thump or two, to be sure the floats are not stuck. Water should drain through and as the cells fill up, the excess water should return to the reservoir. My system lately seems to have an air lock or the line is plugged and none of the floats move, even after leaving the valve open overnight, the water level has not changed in the tank. I think the windshield wiper pump is the right solution for me. I may also replace some of the tubing since the length between the caps do not allow you to remove the caps, or with great difficulty. I plan to also add a couple of tees on the fill and return lines, creating two individual loops of 4 batteries. Hopefully, this will further ease the flow of water to the cells.

[htg3]

My pump failed a few years ago. After much searching and finding out it was going to be about 80 bucks, I put in a squeeze bulb for an outboard motor gas tank. Works fine.

[dgerstel]

Ed,

I would be concerned about a parallel flow system. There is a very good chance that one side won't fill completely. If you want to do this, use a 3 way valve in the fill line, so that you can do one bank at a time.

[OldForester]

Or you could just forgot the whole fill system and install AGM batteries like we did and ignore worrying about water. Our wet-cell batteries lasted 2 1/2 years before they began to swell and became an issue. There's just a lot less fuss with AGM batteries, like Lifeline.