Sump Pump Battery Help
March 6, 2019 11:47 AM Subscribe
The backup battery for my sump pump has an alarm that won't stop going off. Help.
OK, so the power went out some time last night and presumably the battery backup for the sump pump was running the pump. I don't 100% know, I was asleep. I woke to the sound of the little box on top of the battery screaming its alarm tone. It has a switch with two settings: "Reset Alarm" and "Off". It was on "Reset Alarm" so I switched it to "Off," which thankfully stopped the screaming. However, turning it back to the original "Reset Alarm" position resumes the alarm. There are also two lights on the box, one of which says "Low Battery" and is on (the other says something about the battery lines being switched, but that one's off). I'm not sure what to do.
Clearly leaving it on "Off" is a bad idea because it will not do its important function. I should say that since the power is on, the sump pump appears to be functioning normally (I can hear its glug-glug sound), so nothing is in crisis at the moment. Is the "Low Battery" light just temporary while it recharges, and once it goes off I can turn back on "Reset Alarm" and it will be happy? Or should I be concerned the battery is kaput and will need replacement? I suppose i can just wait and see, but I thought I'd query the hivemind in case anyone out there actually knows what standard operating procedure is in this scenario.
OK, so the power went out some time last night and presumably the battery backup for the sump pump was running the pump. I don't 100% know, I was asleep. I woke to the sound of the little box on top of the battery screaming its alarm tone. It has a switch with two settings: "Reset Alarm" and "Off". It was on "Reset Alarm" so I switched it to "Off," which thankfully stopped the screaming. However, turning it back to the original "Reset Alarm" position resumes the alarm. There are also two lights on the box, one of which says "Low Battery" and is on (the other says something about the battery lines being switched, but that one's off). I'm not sure what to do.
Clearly leaving it on "Off" is a bad idea because it will not do its important function. I should say that since the power is on, the sump pump appears to be functioning normally (I can hear its glug-glug sound), so nothing is in crisis at the moment. Is the "Low Battery" light just temporary while it recharges, and once it goes off I can turn back on "Reset Alarm" and it will be happy? Or should I be concerned the battery is kaput and will need replacement? I suppose i can just wait and see, but I thought I'd query the hivemind in case anyone out there actually knows what standard operating procedure is in this scenario.
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Turn off the alarm, wait 24 hours, and check. If the alarm is still on, the battery may need to be replaced.
Do you have sealed batteries or regular lead-acid batteries? Sealed ("SLA") batteries tend to have a limited lifetime, perhaps five years, and will need occasional replacing. Regular lead-acid batteries need to be maintained, I find approximately quarterly, topping off their water and doing a test. These seem to age somewhat better but are still likely to need a replacement at some point.
posted by jgreco at 12:17 PM on March 6, 2019 [1 favorite]