Top 5 Battery Picks for the Pump Sentry 822PS and 1622PS

Yesterday, as I finished writing my exhaustive article about How to know which Pump Sentry model you need for your existing sump pump, I felt like the next logical step was to write about battery compatibility for the two Pump Sentries.

Not all batteries are created equal, and some batteries work better with the Pump Sentry 822PS and 1622PS than others. Yet others will not even be compatible at all. 

So, to find the best battery for the Pump Senty 822 and 1622, I first went to the source, as is appropriate. This of course is SEC America, the manufacturer of the Pump Sentry.

You probably already know that you should buy a deep cycle marine battery for your Pump Sentry. But there’s a little more to it than just that, if you want to ensure compatibility. Please note that while this article is written for the Sentries, these batteries are a great fit for virtually any backup system for your sump pump, not just the Sentries.

Let’s have a look.

What type of battery is compatible with the Pump Sentry 822 and 1622?

So, what battery type does SEC America recommend to be used along their sump pump battery backup system?

In the Pump Sentry Installation instructions, they provide the requirements for batteries that must be charged and used by the Sentry. Here are the specifications:

• The battery or battery bank must have a nominal operating voltage of 12V
• Single or combined A-hr. rating does not exceed 250 A-hr
• Battery must conform to the BCI group size of 27 and larger, up to 31
• Must be a deep cycle battery, wet cell or AGM, and can be marine

Top Batteries that are suitable for the Pump Sentry

The following batteries all abide to the four requirements from the pump sentry installation manual. 

Note that they are compatible with both the 822PS and the 1622PS. 

Battery	Price on Amazon	Battery Type	A-hr < 250	BCI Group 27-31	Maintenance free	12 Volt
Mighty Max ML100-12	View Price	AGM Deep cycle marine battery	100	30	Maintenance free	Yes
Lifeline GPL-31T	View Price	AGM Deep cycle marine battery	105	31	Maintenance free	Yes
UPG UB121000	View Price	AGM Deep cycle marine battery	100	27	Maintenance free	Yes
Interstate DCM0100	View Price	AGM Deep cycle marine battery	110	29	Maintenance free	Yes
Optima 8027-127 D27M	View Price	Starting + Deep cycle marine battery	66	27	Maintenance free	Yes

Mighty Max ML100-12

This battery ticks all the checkboxes for compatibility with the Pump Sentry models 822PS and 1622PS. It’s maintenance free, so you won’t have to bother with changing liquids. In addition to its great specs, I also really like this battery because if you, for whatever reason, are unsatisfied with the battery, you can ask for a refund in the first 30 days. After that, you’ll still be assured of a 1-year warranty. 

Performance

This battery is designed to last up to 10 years, but lifespan is of course also contingent on frequency of use.

As a group 30 battery with a A-hr of 100, it should roughly be able to keep your 6A sump pump in operation for about 30 hours if it runs for 10 seconds every 3 minutes. During heavy rainfalls, where the pump only shuts off for a minute between duties, you’ll still get a generous 10 hours of water level protection with this battery powering your sump and Sentry. 

For sump pumps that run at 9A, you’ll keep your system up for about 24 hours if the sump pump runs for 10 seconds between 3 minute breaks. If the sump pump kicks after every minute, this number drops to somewhere in the ballpark of 8 hours.

For precise estimations of running hours of your Pump Sentry on batteries of certain BCI groups or A-hr., you can check out this resource released by the SEC America. 

Lifeline GPL-31T

This is a very powerful battery, classified as a BCI group 31. It, of course, is a deep cycle marine battery, so it’s designed to draw deep into its stored energy without damaging the battery. 

Performance

How long the Pump Sentry will be able to keep your sump pump running with use of this battery, depends on the Ampere usage of that sump pump. Typically, a ⅓ HP or a ½ HP sump pump runs in the ballpark of 6A, while stronger sump pumps typically approach or sometimes even shoot past 9A. Chances are, you’ll be able to find the running ampere of your sump pump in one of the charts of this page.

The Lifeline GPL-31T battery is slightly more powerful than the Mighty Max, and should be expected to keep your Pump Sentry going for perhaps an extra hour, depending of course on the frequency of it kicking on. 

UPG UB121000

This battery, the Universal Power Group 12V 100Ah is one of the sweethearts available on Amazon. You can read the reviews yourself of people who have specifically used this battery as part of their sump pump backup system, exactly here. It’s a good way to quickly get a feel for how their experiences have been with this particular battery.

Performance

This battery will back your sump pump system up long enough for most situations. It is, however, a little less powerful than other batteries on this list. 

Under normal conditions, it should lavishly be able to keep your Sentry and pump working for an enitire day at 3 minute intervals between duties; if your sump pit is emptied out within 10 seconds. 

If you live in an area with heavy rainfalls and frequent, long lasting power outages, you may want to go for a bit of a stronger battery, though. I personally like my 8 hours of sleep, and at the 1 minute interval between pumps, this battery could fall short by an hour or so. 

Other than that, the Universal Power Group has made a great battery with the model UB121000.

Interstate DCM0100

This battery stood out to me, as it is the battery with the highest A-hr on this list (but still well below the maximum of 250 A-hr that’s required for compatibility with the Pump Sentry 822 and 1622). I also like the 1 year free to 80% capacity warranty that comes along with it.

I would comfortably go to sleep for 8 hours during a power outage if this is what charges my pump sentry and sump pump. The downside is that it has a price, though. 

Performance

These 67.50 lbs of pure AGM battery will keep your system running for a good amount of time. It is estimated that it’ll run for up to 35 under normal conditions at a draw of 6A, at an interval of 3 minutes between 10 second emptying cycles. At 9A, so for heavier duty sump pumps, it’ll approach the 8 hour mark during the tough conditions where it kicks in for 10 seconds after every minute.

Optima 8027-127 D27M

You probably already know Optima as a trusted battery brand. With the model 8027-127 D27 they have made a fantastic deep cycle marine battery that you can use as a power source for your Pump Sentry backup system. 

Let’s have a look at its performance.

Performance

As a 27 group battery with a modest 66 A-hr, you may be tempted to think this battery is inferior to others on this list. Especially since it’s also on the pricey side.

Sump pumps are bound to give off vibration and the Optima 8027-127 is specifically built to be resistant to that, thus increasing its potential lifespan. As a consequence, many owners of this battery who use it for their sump pump backup system have indeed been amazed by how many years this battery has proven to last.

With a CCA of 800 Ampere it should be able to trigger your sump pump even in cold conditions. 

So it has got a lot going for it. My evaluation is that this is one of the best batteries you can get for your Pump Sentry. The one downside of it compared to competitors is that you won’t maximize the length of time your system can consecutively run during power outages. But it will likely keep working for many a year.

Which batteries does SEC America recommend for the Pump Sentry?

So the above batteries are my recommendations. But you may be wondering “What does the manufacturer of the Pump Sentry recommend as a battery?”.

I have not seen SEC America literally recommend specific batteries. That is of course why I have composed the list above. Nevertheless, they do mention a couple of them. The 5 batteries mentioned in the manual as being compatible with the Pump Sentry are:

• Die Hard Model 27524 
• Exide Model NC-27 
• Interstate Model SRM-27 
• Metropolitan Model 27T-36 
• NAPA Model 8270

Unfortunately, this list is not as helpful as I hoped it would be. Many of these batteries are either very hard to find online or simply out of stock. While it may be good to know these batteries are compatible, it’s not that much of an actionable list. If you can find one of these batteries and like it, by all means, go for it. If you can’t, you’re probably equally well off if you just use the first list that I’ve provided, as they are also popular batteries that tick all the checkboxes for compatibility that we identified.

AGM or deep cycle marine batteries?

In the Pump Sentry manual, SEC America writes the following:

“(wet cell or AGM type) The marine-variety is acceptable.”

While in the following video, they say:

“We recommend using deep cycle marine batteries to power the pump sentry, however, AGM batteries work just as fine.”

So in the manual, they seem to prefer the AGM type, calling the marine type ‘acceptable’, while in the video they say that they prefer the marine type.

In truth, both of these types work fine. Most contractors I’ve found say they recommend a deep cycle marine battery. In our list, we’ve found nice combinations of these battery types.

Why Deep Cycle Marine Batteries Are Good For Your Sump Pump Backup System

Normal batteries can easily be damaged when they’re fully discharged. Deep cycle batteries are designed to be discharged up to 80% (‘deep’) without being damaged. As the battery backup for your sump pump should be expected to be able to keep the pump running for hours during power outages, this feature of a deep cycle battery makes it a really attractive option for your sump pump.

Now, the term ‘marine’ is used for a lot of different types of batteries and is therefore a bit more elusive. The main takeaway about marine batteries is that they’re somewhere in between a deep cycle battery proper, and a starting battery. That’s excellent for sump pumps, as they require more cranking amps than running amps. 

So you can see that getting a deep cycle marine battery is a good idea to use in your sump pump battery backup system. 

Why you’ll want a maintenance free battery for your Pump Sentry

In comparison with maintainable batteries, maintenance free batteries do not need to be refilled periodically as they lose their electrolytes at a much slower rate. The reason for this is that they are completely sealed, and do not lose electrolytes due to evaporation. 

For you as a sump pump owner, this is great. You won’t have to worry about your system so much when you have a maintenance free battery, and since batteries contain chemicals that you don’t want to get into contact with, reducing your exposure to handling the battery is a definite upside.

Conclusion

In this article, we’ve identified 5 great batteries currently on the market that work well together with your Pump Sentry. We’ve based our list on the specification requirements provided by the manufacturer of the Pump Sentry. Note that the requirements are the same for both models of the Sentry: the 822PS and 1622PS.

While the manufacturer mentions 5 batteries that work well with the Sentry, these batteries are hard to find. That’s why I hope you’ll find it useful that I’ve provided you with 5 extra batteries that fill the requirements for a battery to be used along your Sentry backup system. Good luck with making your choice! As always, remember to read the instructions very carefully or hire an electrician for the installation.