Customer Reviews for Basement Watchdog Big Dog CONNECT 3500 GPH Submersible Battery Backup Sump Pump with Smart WiFi Capable Monitoring Controller and Charger

This is my third unit, not because of any problems but upgraded each time. Started with the “Special” but after a major Northeast storm that took down power for a week I upgraded the Big Dog with dual batteries. Bunch of years later it was time to replace the batteries so I upgraded again to the newer Big Dog that can use the AGM batteries (2 of them) and the WiFi module. Gave the old one to my wife’s coworker. I had to replace the old main pump today. The backup handled the pumping just fine.

Easy set up and works well! I’ve been using the Basement Watch Dogs for over 20 years! Solid product, works well and reasonably priced! Mike

I've owned this thing for a few years, and thought all was well. I've checked it from time to time, and it always says everything is fine. While the pump works fine, and I do catch the pump being tested from time to time, I found the maintenance of the battery is horrible. Evidently, it must overcharge the battery, as all through the water level indicator showed good, I decided to check anyway, and found the battery 1/2 gallon low. Ergh! I call and the tech says the water level indicators are notoriously unreliable so you have to check the batteries every 3 months. Well, how about fixing the sensor so it actually works right? Or, remove the feature so people don't rely on it. So I fill up the battery, charge them over night with my automotive charger, and let it rest a bit and find it's only holding around 12.2v. Great, a ruined battery. So, before I go to buy a new one, I hook up back up just to have something in the interim, and find that the system is indicating 12.2v is 100% !!! What? 12.2v fully charged is less than 25% capacity bordering on junk! Wow, it's pretty clear the charging and maintenance portion of this unit is garbage. I'd suggest that you do NOT rely on the battery level sensor and check it manually - and frequently. Then I'm going to find a way to disable the charging function and just use a battery tender so I'm sure they are being properly charged. You know, the thing that really gets me is, you spend top dollar because you want the piece of mind that your finished basement is protected. It's really irritating when you find out that your investment is just a mirage, as although it's showing all's well, the reality is, if I had had a long outage, this thing probably would have only lasted a few minutes due to improperly maintaining and ruining the battery. IMHO, you are much better off just getting a manual switched system, and use a battery tender as all of the fancy features of this expensive unit don't work correctly once you peel back the flimsy veneer. Better yet, use the ~$600 you'd spend on this system with the required battery and tax, and use that as a down payment on a NG backup generator that will offer real protection. When you factor in burning through $150 batteries every couple of years, its a no brainer. I've attached a photo of the control panel showing all's well, and the battery charge level is 100%, while the next photo shows the connected battery only has 12.20 Volts. Junk, Imho.

Works but over priced

Got it installed. Luckily it has not been tested by nature that I know of.

My second Basement Watchdog. My first lasted 19 years faithfully standing watch. It did every weekly test. Then blew a fuse so I retired it. Went through 3 batteries. It was a no brainer to upgrade to the newer version BWD Big Dog. When the fuse blew on # 1,I contacted customer service who responded right away with a few things to try. Can't beat that support.

Great product. Had one at my old place and now buying for new place. Would highly recommend

Our plumber recommended the watchdog back up sump pump and he quickly installed the pump without any problems

Let me list of the issues with this system… First of all, you get a battery with no acid in it. Do you have to buy battery acid and mess around with that to fill up the battery to get it to work. Second, only one of the caps that were supposed to come with the battery was included. It needs six, so it was inoperable. I hooked it up to a different battery that I had only to find out that the back up pump just keeps running - The float switch didn’t work properly. So the summary here is this thing is a total piece of junk. You are much better off to just get a back up power supply that will take over if the power goes out than to mess around with this stupid system. Save yourself a bunch of time and money and go in another direction. You will thank me.

Rating provided by a verified purchaser

This the second time we have updated our "basement Watchdog" Sump Pump pit has two Sump Pumps. One Clear Water and one BACK-UP as in your Picture! We also the sump pump on the FLOOR to discharge the washing charge from the washing machine! Great !

Had a little problem getting it onto my internet WiFi but once I figured it out it works as advertised

I had the early model of this system which probably lasted for over 25 years. Only had to replace the low water probe. Now if this Big Dog performs as good as my last one I will be very happy. I never had an urge to look for a different replacement.

Rating provided by a verified purchaser

Home Depot review 8/24/2020 for the Basement Watchdog Big Dog CONNECT 3500 GPH Submersible Battery Backup Sump Pump with Smart WiFi Capable Monitoring Controller and Charger. The expectations of most homeowners might not line up quite perfectly with this product, particularly with respect to charging. Eventually, I experienced overcharging which ruined one battery. Solution was to send the unit back to Glentronics for calibration which fixed the issue. Most homeowners would be unable to diagnose this as all system indicators were normal on the display. One tipoff was very frequent charge cycles every few minutes. A voltmeter across the battery indicated overcharging. The Glentronics personnel were fine with confirming my analysis over the phone and suggesting to send the unit back to them for calibration. The unit was out of warranty, so I sent it back at my expense, paid a nominal fee for calibration and return shipment. It took a couple of weeks, and I was performing this during a dry season with little to no risk of needing the battery backup unit. After calibration, it continued to work fine. Looking at the reviews, I do see at least one other person who experienced issues with overcharging.

Easy to instal

I had this unit installed to replace a 15 year old Watchdog that stopped working. The Watchdog worked very well for the past 15 years...kept working through many power outages. Have not had an seepage in the basement thanks to Watchdog. I had to replace the battery about every five years but that is normal. Great product.

Paid heavily to get the best backup system. At $500, you would think everything would be in the box. Installed the unit only to have it start beeping at me - check home circuit breaker or fuse. Check AC fuse on back - there wasn’t a fuse to check as it wasn’t installed. I had to steal it from the unit being replaced. Was this made on a Monday morning? Glentronics - please make sure all the parts are in the spots they are supposed to be before you close the box.

Overall, a good system crippled by one flaw: When replacing the backup battery- which you'll need to do every few years- you're REQUIRED to buy the battery from the original manufacturer ONLY. Otherwise, you'll get false "battery problem" alarms at some point because- according to the manufacturer- the system is "calibrated to work only with their battery." Which is a 12V deep cycle battery like you'll find at any auto parts store. While not EXACTLY apples to apples- because a deep cycle battery is a bit different from an auto battery- imagine if you have a Ford and they tell you if you don't replace the battery at the dealership you'll get a check engine light. Except that for this pump, it's a false alarm in the middle of the night!!! And according to their tech support on 5 Feb 2020, this applies to EVERY backup system they make.

The system was easy to install..

Rating provided by a verified purchaser

This is our 2nd watchdog since we have a lot of water coming into our sump pit. It’s great knowing we have a great product to keep our basement dry.

Rating provided by a verified purchaser

Rating provided by a verified purchaser

This was my second unit in many years. This unit operates better than the first one but they both worked very well.

Installation took longer than I expected but the instructions were clear and detailed. I hope it never has to run but if it does, I’m confident our basement will stay dry.

Excellent product, and I know from prior ownership that customer service is excellent. It was an easy replacement installation, and worked fine. I do recommend the sealed battery - adding your own acid is an awkward process. Sealed battery has a shorter usage rating, but I have a portable generator, so I'm not too worried about keeping it going in a prolonged power outage.