Should you ever add acid to a battery?
- Thread starter Bamaro
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as long as they are compatible I don't see why not, but all it is , is to provide an initial charge on the battery to get it started if i'm not mistaken. the water you put in turns into the same thing essentially. I could be wrong, so wait for someone that 'knows'
44H
44H
No, the battery already has the ideal mix of chemical soup in it. Adding acid to a low battery will raise the concentration of the acid, probably not a good thing.quote:
Originally posted by Bamaro:
I had some left over from a lawnmower battery I bought and was wondering if it would be OK to use instead of plain water when adding to my cars battery.
Most "acid" you get when buying a battery is already mixed with water. Regardless, it should never be added to a functioning battery (even a moderately discharged battery) in place of distilled water. Never use tap water or de-ionized water to fill a battery.
For severely discharged wet-cell batteries that won't come around after water top-off and extended low-amperage or pulse charging, you can dump the old acid out and try adding new, yes. Chances are this won't bring the battery back to life for more than a short period, but sometimes that's enough. If it won't hold a charge though, it's toast and time to buy new.
Additional acid or water should never be added to a maintenance-free (absorbed glass mat or AGM) battery, regardless of their status. The seal-strip on these batteries is there for a reason. More water or acid can cause AGM batteries to swell and crack, so once they're filled and fully charged, that's it.
For severely discharged wet-cell batteries that won't come around after water top-off and extended low-amperage or pulse charging, you can dump the old acid out and try adding new, yes. Chances are this won't bring the battery back to life for more than a short period, but sometimes that's enough. If it won't hold a charge though, it's toast and time to buy new.
Additional acid or water should never be added to a maintenance-free (absorbed glass mat or AGM) battery, regardless of their status. The seal-strip on these batteries is there for a reason. More water or acid can cause AGM batteries to swell and crack, so once they're filled and fully charged, that's it.
IVM, I'm with you on that, but do you know what bad happens when you do add acid to an in service battery?
adding acid instead of water to top it up will increase the acid concentration.
this will cause excessive grid and strap corrosion.
the gridwork of the plate looks like a molded plastic flyswatter and is what carries the current to the posts from the paste that is pressed into it.i have dissected a few junk batteries and most often this grid is reduced to mud.
only time it is ok to add acid is if you spilled some.and then only if you know the battery was fully charged or you adjust the s.g afterwards if not.
this will cause excessive grid and strap corrosion.
the gridwork of the plate looks like a molded plastic flyswatter and is what carries the current to the posts from the paste that is pressed into it.i have dissected a few junk batteries and most often this grid is reduced to mud.
only time it is ok to add acid is if you spilled some.and then only if you know the battery was fully charged or you adjust the s.g afterwards if not.
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The electrolytic spec grav is ideal for the chemical exchange. Back in my time (in skewl) there was such a thing as "tropical" electrolyte which had a higher spec grav.
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