Preferred Choice to Replenish Liquid Level in a FLA battery

OliLt

Member
The recent posts on lead / acid batteries have been very informative. What is the preferred choice to replenish the liquid level in a flooded lead / acid battery: distilled water alone, or a combination of acid and water?
 
While you can sometimes shop around and buy "acid" for lead acid batteries, it is rarely the level of the acid that is the problem. The liquid inside has to be made up of a percentage of acid (sulfuric, I think?) and water; can't remember the preferred range offhand. Over time the water can boil off, leaving only the acid.

If your level is low, add distilled water and charge to between 13v and 14v. Charging higher than 14v is not good for the battery, and can destroy certain other batteries such as lithium. Slow charge wins the race! There "are" times when you would want to charge very quickly and at a higher voltage, but those times are rare and one should always know what they're doing (and why!) before taking that path.
 
Next time you are at your docktors office ask 5he person who does the
blood and fluid tests for a couple of pipettes. Then you want to add
straight distilled water. Add just enough so you cover 5he plates
about 3/8 of an inch deep. That is deep enough. GENTLY charge the
battery. I keep telling people to pick up one of those Schumacher
charger maintainers. Best money you can spend.
a162608.jpg
 
Hello OliLt

Distilled water is what you add, rain water second. tap water is the last choice.
A small hole in a water bottle cap makes a free topper upper,

Guido.
 
Hello kcm.MN

The electrolyte is a solution of 65% water and 35% sulfuric acid, or about 76% water and 24% acid by volume. For tropical climates they supposed to have a specific gravity of 1.250, while in artic condition the specific gravity is supposed to be 1.285. all are read at 80*F.
That regular,65% water and 35% acid solution/mix, results in a specific gravity of 1.265 at 80* F. .

Guido.
 
Flooded as in been totally and completely under water long enough to have fill the with flood water??

If that is what your saying then dump it wash it out with distilled water then fill with new acid and hope it will take charge
 
If it just needs low amounts for occasional topping off Id use distilled water, but if its extremely low then Id add acid and distilled water in the proper mixture.

John T
 
Thank you Guido. I used to know that stuff, but like most other things, it's vanished from between my ears....as if by magic! :shock: ROFL
 
Hello kcm.MN,

I said it some many times in a class, that a those numbers are like tattoos in my brain. ROFLMAO!

Guido.
 
Guido, you forgot to mention that the specific gravity goes down when the state-of-charge does. Always test batteries at full charge! An added point: lead-acid batteries like to be kept at full charge, so if your battery is dead, don't just store it and expect to charge it and go--it might just not charge. Also, water levels rise with state-of-charge, so if you have a dead and dry battery, only add enough water to cover the plates, then charge it and top it off. Otherwise you run the risk of the electrolyte running out the vent holes.
 
Hello kevinthefixer,

No I did not, as it is not what I was trying to convey. Gravity testing is useless as you know. You are
right about the water level. There are so many other coutions to be taken,from proper charge rate to proper
load test. We can talk for hours,

Guido.
 
True enough. And try explaining all that to someone who just laid out ten grand on a new golf cart expecting to never even have to look at their batteries--the salespeople won't tell them, might lose sales that way.
 

I believe that adding acid to water, is a huge NO-NO... it can have a violent reaction and explode back into your face.

However adding water to an acid solution is ok...

This was a memory from chemistry.. can anyone confirm???? or did I remember wrong??
 
To each his own opinion on what type of water to use in batteries. Ive had many thoughts on the subject my self. So one day I posed the question to my son who has a PhD and is a chemistry professor. He said if the water is fit to drink, it is fit for a battery. So I'm going with his recommendation. Ive had not had battery trouble in years.
 
Old,

"Flooded" Lead/Acid Battery refers to the fact that each cell is "flooded" with electrolyte above the Plates of the individual cells. NOT that the battery has been IN a flood.
 
Tony -- I've seen water that was "supposedly" fit for human consumption that I wouldn't have let a dog drink!

...Think I'll stick with distilled. :wink:
 
Most tap water in the country, pretty much all of it west of the Big Muddy, is hard, that is, has alkaline minerals in it. The chemical factory inside a lead-acid battery, if you hadn't guessed, is acid-based. Alkalinity will kill it. In practical terms, adding tap water or "purified" bottled water (has minerals added for taste) drastically shortens the life of deep-cycle batteries. Automotive batteries simply don't need much, if any, water these days, over their projected lifetime.
 
Hello Tony in SD,

That is not my opinion, just standard industry practises. Any water will do, better the a dry cell,

Guido.
 
(quoted from post at 09:21:02 06/12/17) Hello Tony in SD,

That is not my opinion, just standard industry practises. Any water will do, better the a dry cell,

Guido.
ou let the tap water (county water supply co) here sit in a glass overnight & there will be solids on the bottom by morning. I use distilled, in battery & avoid drinking tap without a filter.
 
You got it backwards - you want to slowly add the acid to the water. If you add water to a strong acid like sulfuric acid the exothermic reaction will cause the water to boil and splatter which will also splatter acid.
 
Hello sotxbill.

Yep, you remember right. You can add water to acid, but not acid to water. That is how I remember too!

Guido.
 

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