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rl153 Serious Thumper Offline S40 Just right! Posts: 906 Bloomfield,CT Gender:	battery 05/31/09 at 10:58:14 My battery is low ,should I refill it with acid or distilled water .What is best?
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verslagen1 YaBB Moderator ModSquad Offline Where there's a will, I want to be in it. Posts: 28886 L.A. California Gender:	Re: battery Reply #1 - 05/31/09 at 11:17:25 distilled H₂O
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rl153 Serious Thumper Offline S40 Just right! Posts: 906 Bloomfield,CT Gender:	Re: battery Reply #2 - 05/31/09 at 11:59:17 Why do you think it's better to use distilled water than battery acid?
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bill67 Serious Thumper Offline old tired Posts: 8517 genoa city wisconsin Gender:	Re: battery Reply #3 - 05/31/09 at 12:01:00 I've never heard of putting Battery acid in an up and running battery.
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John_D FSO

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Re: battery
Reply #4 - 05/31/09 at 12:08:38

bill67 wrote on 05/31/09 at 12:01:00:

I've never heard of putting Battery acid in an up and running battery.

I don't know if he does anymore, but Dad used to add acid to his, depending on what the pH on the battery tester (hygrometer?) said. I don't think you can even get into a lot of newer batteries, but he's got a lot of old 6v's on old tractors that you can.

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rl153

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Re: battery
Reply #5 - 05/31/09 at 12:14:04

I bought some battery acid .I thought it might be best to use .Do you think it could actually be counterproductive to an up and running battery? Also I have a 20 year old 1 amp trickle charger that I think works fine .I know new ones are cheap but I hate to thow this one out it looks like new .How can you test them and how long should you charge a battery with a one amp trickle charger? Thanks

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John_D FSO

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Re: battery
Reply #6 - 05/31/09 at 12:25:26

Whether or not you add acid or water depends entirely on the pH level of the battery. Check an auto parts store. Even in this day of maintenance free batterys you can still get one at NAPA's website for less than $2. The ones I've seen are similar to antifreeze testers: a tube with a squeeze bulb to suck up the fluid in the battery.
http://www.napaonline.com/MasterPages/NOLMaster.aspx?PageId=470&LineCode=BK&P...

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rl153 Serious Thumper Offline S40 Just right! Posts: 906 Bloomfield,CT Gender:	Re: battery Reply #7 - 05/31/09 at 12:35:03 So what do you do ,if the ph is low like 1 or two balls ,you add acid and if its 4 you just add distilled water ? Can it cause a problem if you add acid and it has 4 balls? I think the acid I bought is like 65% dsitilled water .
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Charon

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Re: battery
Reply #8 - 05/31/09 at 13:15:30

The electrolyte in the battery is a mixture of distilled water and sulphuric acid. The sulphuric acid takes part in the reaction in the battery in such a way that, as the battery discharges, the acid becomes more dilute (the sulphate ends up on both the positive and the negative plates). A fully-charged battery has a more concentrated solution of acid. As the battery reaches full charge, part of the water is dissociated into hydrogen and oxygen. This mixture is explosive. It bubbles up through the acid, giving the appearance of boiling. The acid becomes more concentrated as the water departs, and of course the electrolyte level drops. You need to replenish the water, not the acid (unless there has been a spill), so add water, not acid. The reason for using distilled water instead of tap water is because of the minerals usually dissolved in tap water, which can contaminate the battery.

By the way, those battery testers do not measure pH. They measure specific gravity. Sulphuric acid is heavier than water. The acid solution becomes more concentrated as the battery charges, so the specific gravity of the mixture increases. In short, the more fully charged the battery, the heavier the electrolyte and the more balls float.

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Re: battery
Reply #9 - 05/31/09 at 13:29:21

Thanks for the in depth explanation Charon, much better than my stumbling account. Grin

Been ages since I've actually messed with one.

As to whether to add acid or water depending on the amount of balls floating, I imagine that the tester has a guide that either came with it, or is on the side of the tester itself. As Charon stated, most likely just water will be all that's needed.

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rl153

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Re: battery
Reply #10 - 05/31/09 at 13:30:38

Charon wrote on 05/31/09 at 13:15:30:

The electrolyte in the battery is a mixture of distilled water and sulphuric acid. The sulphuric acid takes part in the reaction in the battery in such a way that, as the battery discharges, the acid becomes more dilute (the sulphate ends up on both the positive and the negative plates). A fully-charged battery has a more concentrated solution of acid. As the battery reaches full charge, part of the water is dissociated into hydrogen and oxygen. This mixture is explosive. It bubbles up through the acid, giving the appearance of boiling. The acid becomes more concentrated as the water departs, and of course the electrolyte level drops. You need to replenish the water, not the acid (unless there has been a spill), so add water, not acid. The reason for using distilled water instead of tap water is because of the minerals usually dissolved in tap water, which can contaminate the battery.

By the way, those battery testers do not measure pH. They measure specific gravity. Sulphuric acid is heavier than water. The acid solution becomes more concentrated as the battery charges, so the specific gravity of the mixture increases. In short, the more fully charged the battery, the heavier the electrolyte and the more balls float.

Thanks,I returned the battery acid and bought some distilled water .

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ALfromN.H. FSO Serious Thumper Alliance Member Offline Dragon Slayer Posts: 1421 Rochester, New Hampshire Gender:	Re: battery Reply #11 - 05/31/09 at 13:56:37 two words " Big Crank"
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Phelonius Serious Thumper Offline SuzukiSavage.com Rocks! Posts: 1897	Re: battery Reply #12 - 05/31/09 at 17:55:35 Distilled water is for the battery, distilled ethanol is for you. Phelonius
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John_D FSO Serious Thumper Offline Ridin' and smilin' Posts: 1658 Vancouver, WA Gender:	Re: battery Reply #13 - 05/31/09 at 19:18:35 Phelonius wrote on 05/31/09 at 17:55:35: Distilled water is for the battery, distilled ethanol is for you. Phelonius Words to live by!
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