drilled holes in battery caps to refill water, how to reseal? RTV? Plastic tape?

[Kira]

Since you're here, please tell the brand of battery.....just so we know.
I suppose I could just look at batteries and see which are "inaccessible", but the brand name might be helpful.

When my pal lost a tiny piece of his face and some hair while making a hydrogen generator, I developed an appreciation for the ....Hindenburg Effect...a well documented phenomena.
And just like the Hindenburg, he's not sure how it ignited.

 

[SHOZ]

Just a dab or RTV black would work.

 

[vavavroom]

Somehow this thread reminds me of the truck tire that had been plugged by the bold driver with a dozen construction screws. Why not hammer wooden dowels into the battery housing? Seriously, I like my idea of EDM hole plugs.

 

[SHOZ]

We used Dow clear silicone by the barrel with acid and plastic.

 

[nomas]

Three pages .... only BITOG .

 

[Donald]

My Mastiff chewed on the top of my boat battery. I replaced it.

 

[spasm3]

Still want to see pics of this.

 

[Leo99]

My Mastiff chewed on the top of my boat battery. I replaced it.

Dog or battery?

 

[JimPghPA]

Loctite glue EA E-20NS wouldt definitely work, however you need the dispensing gun, and of course the glue. The dispensing gun is worth buying because with it you can use many loctite glues. Devcon glues also fit that gun, but they literally stink to high heaven and when I tried them I could only use them outside. Devcon might grip a little better, but loctite grips plenty strong enough.

 

[sdowney717]

Here is a picture.
My wife says she wants a new battery, worried about it not starting for her, this is her car. Which means I will have to get one.
Thinking of Walmart Everstart. I will keep this one, I have other old batts for a core.
Now it is a 40R.
Will see if I can adapt to use one of their $69 batteries, maybe a group 26R.

Having bought lots of batteries over decades, I found the cheapest battery you can buy is best as something always goes wrong regardless in a few years.

 

[Donald]

Dog or battery?

Battery

 

[NibbanaBanana]

JB Weld
Liquid Nails Fuze it Max
RTV

 

[KE7JFF]

Hot Glue?

 

[meep]

The battery likely is on its last legs anyway with that much water needed. Try using a screw to fill the holes in the caps. Tape won't work.

^^^ yup. I forced the caps off a sealed battery years ago when I first noticed it was getting sluggish. Pro tip - it did not help. (But good effort)

 

[sdowney717]

A Walmart 26R fit. Had to remove the dumb Ford wire battery cable clamps that hold the wire to the battery tray to allow wires to move up as a 26R is taller than a 96R. A 26R is the tallest that will fit this car.
Old bat was a 96R, had a date of 8/2018, so it made it 6 years.

Was nice that a cheap common battery can fit, saved $, $110 for 96R, $69 for 26R.
A 24F at $69 would not fit, too tall.

This is for a 98 Ford Contour with V6 engine. It only has 110,000 miles.
Those battery wires are so stiff, they are coated in plastic and preformed into a shape and look to be joined together like an extension cord.

I told wife when she inherited from her dad, if it ever has a major mechanical problem, I am not going to fix it. It goes down the road, but I do not like it.

 

[Bladecutter]

Here is a picture.
My wife says she wants a new battery, worried about it not starting for her, this is her car. Which means I will have to get one.
Thinking of Walmart Everstart. I will keep this one, I have other old batts for a core.
Now it is a 40R.
Will see if I can adapt to use one of their $69 batteries, maybe a group 26R.
View attachment 228806Having bought lots of batteries over decades, I found the cheapest battery you can buy is best as something always goes wrong regardless in a few years.

Your wife is a smart person.
I'm glad you listen to her.

Are you sure you're not GHT?
Are you sure it's not a Volvo you're working on?

 

[zzyzzx]

Glad you replaced it. Had a rat chew parts of the top of my battery and used clear silicone sealant to glue on a piece of plastic (donor was a food container). It's held for at least 4 years.

 

[SHOZ]

Threw away a good battery. Must go to car shows????

 

[SubLGT]

Simply the battery was low on water as it has been a few years of use. And bat took 1/4 gallon of DI to fill up

What was the specific gravity of the electrolyte after adding a quart of water and charging the battery?

 

[SHOZ]

Who has a hydrometer any more? If you want to lengthen the life of a lead acid battery then get a bigger than needed and then reduce the SG down to 1.240sg. or so. From the factory probably 1.265-1.275sg.

When they car batteries are done with their final conditioning charge they go on a line that inverts them, dumps out the acid for reuse and then fills with the correct final specific gravity.