Water Miser Caps, Pros and Cons?

[Bill NC]

I just did a search and got no hits for "water miser".

Any comments on the cons of using these would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Bill NC

[northerner]

I just did a search and got no hits for "water miser".

Any comments on the cons of using these would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Bill NC

I have used these on 2 of the 3 banks of Trojan L16's, and I personally wouldn't bother with them. I noticed that after a couple years or so, they began passing electrolyte through the top pores, making a mess on the battery tops. Not sure if the regular caps would have done the same, but I wound up replacing them with the original caps, and so far they are staying clean.

[Mike90250]

There are 2 types of caps. Hydro Caps and Water Miser

The hydro caps have a platinum catalyst and recombine the H & O2 back into water They last a couple years before they fry, and must be removed for EQ cycles.

The water miser caps have an air chamber filled with little beads to intercept the acid mist being carried out with the bubbles, and collect and let the acid drip back into the cells.

I can imagine both kinds accumulating residue and messing up the tops of the cells, but I belive they are better than the factory caps. Maybe a rinse will help with the residue issues. I have to rinse my NiFe flip top check ball caps every year.

[FlowSystems]

I have used these on 2 of the 3 banks of Trojan L16's, and I personally wouldn't bother with them. I noticed that after a couple years or so, they began passing electrolyte through the top pores, making a mess on the battery tops. Not sure if the regular caps would have done the same, but I wound up replacing them with the original caps, and so far they are staying clean.

This is Drew from Flow Systems manufacture of the httpCOLON//www.flowsystemsusaDOTcom/water-miser-vent-cap.html : Water Miser Battery Vents. I'm not sure why you are experiencing electrolyte passing through the top vent holes after several years. The caps are actually designed to specifically prevent this from happening. Typically, these vent caps function to reduce your overall battery watering as well as keep your batteries free from accumulating electrolyte.

There are a few reasons why this might be happening with your particular situation. 1) Batteries are being over watered....No cap will contain over watering. 2) Caps are not snapped down and sealed correctly. 3) Unbalanced charging equipment leading to overcharging, which produces excess bubbling forcing electrolyte through the vents. 4) Batteries approaching the useful end of their life cycle. 5) Excess residual lead oxide (grey sticky residue some batteries produce).

Again, its unclear exactly why you are having this issue but, if you let me know more about your particular situation, I may be able to help diagnose this problem.

Otherwise, the Water Misers should in fact, outlast your batteries. We have several that have been in the field going on 15+ years.

As Mike90250 commented, rinsing the Water Miser's or any battery vent for that matter is always a good idea. All battery vents contain a spark / flame arrestor filter that may loose its effectiveness if not cleaned every so often. Try soaking them overnight in a 10/1 baking soda-water solution. This will neutralize any acid and free up gumminess that might have accumulated in a batteries vent caps. Then you want to force water through the bottom of the vent so water comes out the vent holes in the top of the battery vent. All vents have different vent hole configurations so be sure all vents are clear.

I hope this helps and feel free to ask any other questions you might have.

---Mod Note: While we appreciate your help, we have a forum policy limiting clickable links in cases like this, so I have modified your link info to be invisible to search engine scans.
Thanks for your information though, Drew!

[northerner]

This is Drew from Flow Systems manufacture of the Water Miser Battery Vents. I'm not sure why you are experiencing electrolyte passing through the top vent holes after several years. The caps are actually designed to specifically prevent this from happening. Typically, these vent caps function to reduce your overall battery watering as well as keep your batteries free from accumulating electrolyte.

There are a few reasons why this might be happening with your particular situation. 1) Batteries are being over watered....No cap will contain over watering. 2) Caps are not snapped down and sealed correctly. 3) Unbalanced charging equipment leading to overcharging, which produces excess bubbling forcing electrolyte through the vents. 4) Batteries approaching the useful end of their life cycle. 5) Excess residual lead oxide (grey sticky residue some batteries produce).

Again, its unclear exactly why you are having this issue but, if you let me know more about your particular situation, I may be able to help diagnose this problem.

Otherwise, the Water Misers should in fact, outlast your batteries. We have several that have been in the field going on 15+ years.

As Mike90250 commented, rinsing the Water Miser's or any battery vent for that matter is always a good idea. All battery vents contain a spark / flame arrestor filter that may loose its effectiveness if not cleaned every so often. Try soaking them overnight in a 10/1 baking soda-water solution. This will neutralize any acid and free up gumminess that might have accumulated in a batteries vent caps. Then you want to force water through the bottom of the vent so water comes out the vent holes in the top of the battery vent. All vents have different vent hole configurations so be sure all vents are clear.

I hope this helps and feel free to ask any other questions you might have.

Thanks for the response Drew. I don't think over watering is the issue, as I have followed the battery manufacture's recommendations for the electrolyte level.

I do notice plenty of residual lead oxide debris, particularly in the weakest bank, where the problem with bubbling through the vent holes is most severe. It sounds like a combination of problems by the recommendations you give.

1) the battery charging is imbalanced causing more gassing in one bank than in others

2) there is lead oxide debris in the electrolyte

3) the caps need cleaning and rinsing

I will clean up the caps as you suggest, thank you!