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Winter is coming, the season that taxes our batteries the most and the time of year when most car batteries are replaced.
I don't know if this merits opening a thread but after a phone conversation with one of our members, I learned that he had no idea that modern 'maintenance free' lead-acid car batteries have filling caps. He was under the assumption that these batteries NEVER need make-up water.
My experience is, in the first few years these maintenance free batteries are just that. After a few years (or so) the caps on top should be removed and the water level should be checked. The plates inside need to be totally submerged in sulphuric acid.
If make-up water is necessary, I have always used distilled water because it contains no minerals or metals to cause shorted cells at the bottom of the battery case.
If the internal plates are exposed, add only two ounces of water in each cell each day between charging intervals. The charging process turns water into sulfuric acid. If the battery acid is too diluted from adding huge amounts of water, the chemical change process takes a long time.
Just like in the 'old days', the liquid level should be maintained just to the split ring. Oh, and that little green light on some batteries... doen't work correctly when the acid level is too low. - Dave
I don't know if this merits opening a thread but after a phone conversation with one of our members, I learned that he had no idea that modern 'maintenance free' lead-acid car batteries have filling caps. He was under the assumption that these batteries NEVER need make-up water.
My experience is, in the first few years these maintenance free batteries are just that. After a few years (or so) the caps on top should be removed and the water level should be checked. The plates inside need to be totally submerged in sulphuric acid.
If make-up water is necessary, I have always used distilled water because it contains no minerals or metals to cause shorted cells at the bottom of the battery case.
If the internal plates are exposed, add only two ounces of water in each cell each day between charging intervals. The charging process turns water into sulfuric acid. If the battery acid is too diluted from adding huge amounts of water, the chemical change process takes a long time.
Just like in the 'old days', the liquid level should be maintained just to the split ring. Oh, and that little green light on some batteries... doen't work correctly when the acid level is too low. - Dave
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