Replacing the battery on Ecotech battery backup...

SchnitzelReef

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It was super easy, and cost me around $37. The battery was $34, and the machine screws were like $1.50. I was going to buy a brand new one, and then I realized that would be a huge waste of money. The power supply works fine, the battery inside the backup was just toast. After a little research I bought the new battery on amazon and i spent about 15 minutes changing it out.

Of course Ecotech rivets the case shut, probably hoping you won’t try to replace the battery yourself. Drill the rivets out, replace the battery and then use some 6-32x3/8 machine screws. Just tested it and it works great.

Here’s a few pics.

Original battery
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New battery
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FYI my backup was from 2013. Battery lasted about 5 years. Not bad
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Crabs McJones

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That's extremely interesting! I've never seen the inside of one of those units before. So it's essentially a deep cycle lawn and garden battery inside a housing. Good to know :D
 
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SchnitzelReef

SchnitzelReef

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Great advice!! It’s amazing how simple the battery backup is. I built my own using parts from eBay. Cost me like $40 bucks.

yes, after seeing how simple those are makes me really question the point in spending 4X that amount on an actual Ecotech one. Those parts could all be bought at Radioshack and the whole thing put together for $40. Thanks for sharing!

If you don’t already have an Ecotech backup, then yes a diy setup is the way to go. Literally save you a $100+.
 

tiggs

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My supplies came in yesterday and it was incredibly simple to change out the battery. It took a few hours to fully charge after replacement, but everything is now functioning like a brand new unit. In my case, I picked up a used "as-is" unit for $50, so between that and the replacement supplies, my total came out t0 $90. Not a bad way to save $75.
 
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SchnitzelReef

SchnitzelReef

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My supplies came in yesterday and it was incredibly simple to change out the battery. It took a few hours to fully charge after replacement, but everything is now functioning like a brand new unit. In my case, I picked up a used "as-is" unit for $50, so between that and the replacement supplies, my total came out t0 $90. Not a bad way to save $75.

Just saw this, Glad it worked out for you. My replacement battery is working great, not 1 issue. Hopefully more people read this and can DIY if/when their battery goes out.
 

tiggs

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Same with mine. Works just like a brand new unit and I'll be replacing batteries every 3 years instead of buying a whole new unit going forward.
 

AZMSGT

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Anyone have a source for a reasonably priced power supply/battery charger? I have a battery unit but no cables or charger.
Any 12V battery trickle charger will do the job. Get a Battery tender from Walmart or Autoparts store. You'll need to wire the correct end on to the charger to fit the plug.
 

Salacious Crumb

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Thanks guys. Been meaning to fix up a couple of these old backups with new batteries. Question for people who are smarter about this than me. Why do they die? Just cause no battery lasts forever? What makes them last longer or shorter?
Would shutting my pump off with a timer for 3 hours every few days so that the battery actually runs help at all?
Is there a “better” quality alternative that would last longer?
 

AZMSGT

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Exercising the batteries would not hurt to extend the life some. However these are cheap batteries and not really made to last forever. Typical life span is a year. For reference, these are the same type batteries used in computer style back ups.
 

Jon Fishman

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That's extremely interesting! I've never seen the inside of one of those units before. So it's essentially a deep cycle lawn and garden battery inside a housing. Good to know :D

Inside a really fancy housing.......
Wish they weren’t so expensive...... I need a bunch
 

AZMSGT

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Inside a really fancy housing.......
Wish they weren’t so expensive...... I need a bunch
Why not just DIY your own units? I'll be the first to admit that I bought into the Ecotech battery back up. Then I found a video on replacing the batteries. Makes me kick my self for buying the Ecotech.. So easy to build.
 

Jon Fishman

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How do you control them on/off and regulate power etc? If it were that easy I would run everything off of one big backup, via a couple power-strips
 

AZMSGT

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How do you control them on/off and regulate power etc?

The battery back ups power use is controlled by the MP pump controller. When the controller gets a power outage the controller automatically switches to the 12v Battery. If no battery is there then the pumps shut down. If a 12v source is there then it falls back to it’s program.

If it were that easy I would run everything off of one big backup, via a couple power-strips
It is that easy, some folks use huge deep cycle batteries. Ecotech has made it very easy to use something other than their battery back up.

Look at the first picture in post #1 there are no electronics what so ever in the back up. The first plug is for a 12v battery charger to charge the battery. The next to plugs are the ports to allow wires to connect to the battery from the pump controller. They are all wired in parallel.. very basic set up.

watch these videos


 
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