8 years is a *very* long life for a lead-acid automotive battery. I wonder if adding water will just kill it.
Have you ever added water to the car battery?
- Thread starter MoneyJohn
- Start date
"NO", prt of the ele charging process looses H2O (& "off gasses").
I'm waiting for maintenance free carpet, kitchen, bed and clothing...
Till then I'll cont to do different maint. tasks with my batteries~
Above I state 're-conditioning' batteries that will no longer takea charge (hold) w/the stick welder. There I use a process to 'clean' the plates covered by waste so as to B available for contact w/the acid/H2O to carry charge again. @ that point I take a turkey baster type thing (hydrometer?) to ck the solution for correct balance. Store bought acid (labeled "Battery acid for cars") might B added @ this point. A few folks round here have 'lifetime batteries' altho in their 80s (driving since 20 y/o so a 60 y/o battery).
I'm waiting for maintenance free carpet, kitchen, bed and clothing...
Till then I'll cont to do different maint. tasks with my batteries~
Above I state 're-conditioning' batteries that will no longer takea charge (hold) w/the stick welder. There I use a process to 'clean' the plates covered by waste so as to B available for contact w/the acid/H2O to carry charge again. @ that point I take a turkey baster type thing (hydrometer?) to ck the solution for correct balance. Store bought acid (labeled "Battery acid for cars") might B added @ this point. A few folks round here have 'lifetime batteries' altho in their 80s (driving since 20 y/o so a 60 y/o battery).
Last edited:
I say check it annually, but don't expect to add water. My current car battery yes, I had to add water. A rat chewed through it and I lost some acid, enough so I had to top off. Yeah, I glued on a piece of plastic to keep the battery acid from leaking out more.
The green eye was part of Delco's warranty procedure. Green ball showing means the battery is charged enough to load test. Eye is dark means the battery is run down-- charge first then load test. Eye is white means too much fluid is gone -- battery can't be used.
It was necessary because Delco's batteries did not have vent caps so a hydrometer could not be used to check the state of charge.
Back when I was broke I bought a well used looking junkyard battery for my mid-80's Bronco II -
don't think I ever added water to it, but that darn thing would crank the engine just fine 10 years later when I junked the car. There were no stickers on it when I bought it so I have no idea how old it actually was.
don't think I ever added water to it, but that darn thing would crank the engine just fine 10 years later when I junked the car. There were no stickers on it when I bought it so I have no idea how old it actually was.
B II = 2.8 bent6
Bronco I = 2.8 i6
The 1 I own ('66 - '77) a 1st gen bronk, hasa 170ci ThriftPower (1 of 6 of them) while the "Bronco Two" ('84/90) has the
bent6 Cologne and a mazda 5 speed like the Ranger (just the same vehicle w/different skin a la Explorer/Flex). If 2WD they
left the transfer there but just slipped the gears out so U hada easy swap (to 4WD) if U could get the gears (@ yer local JY).
Bronco I = 2.8 i6
The 1 I own ('66 - '77) a 1st gen bronk, hasa 170ci ThriftPower (1 of 6 of them) while the "Bronco Two" ('84/90) has the
bent6 Cologne and a mazda 5 speed like the Ranger (just the same vehicle w/different skin a la Explorer/Flex). If 2WD they
left the transfer there but just slipped the gears out so U hada easy swap (to 4WD) if U could get the gears (@ yer local JY).
Yep, did that on my 8 year old BMW battery.
After the top off, the car started like it had a new battery.
Completely changed the character of the car (for the better).
When not it use, the battery sits outside in an area that has about 3-4 hours of sunlight with a trickle charger.
I attribute that to the cause of the water evaporating.
After the top off, the car started like it had a new battery.
Completely changed the character of the car (for the better).
When not it use, the battery sits outside in an area that has about 3-4 hours of sunlight with a trickle charger.
I attribute that to the cause of the water evaporating.
Modern flooded lead acid automotive starting batteries have lead plates that are alloyed with calcium which greatly reduces the amount of water lost to off-gassing. If your "maintenance free" battery is losing water, it means the battery is mostly likely getting over charged.
Back in the day before "maintenance free" batteries were a thing, all starting and deep cycle batteries had lead plates that were alloyed with antimony instead of calcium. Antimony was used to strengthen the soft lead plates. Lead-antimony batteries will gradually lose water during normal operation. Today, only heavy duty deep cycle batteries such as 6v golf cart batteries still use antimony in the plates as they stand up to deep discharges better than the calcium types.
So.... all that to say, one should rarely need to add water to regular starting batteries, but will need to add it regularly for deep cycle RV house or trolling batteries. In any lead acid battery you only should add enough to barely cover the plates if it isn't fully charged, and after charging, add just enough to cover the plates by about a quarter of an inch or half a centimeter.
Back in the day before "maintenance free" batteries were a thing, all starting and deep cycle batteries had lead plates that were alloyed with antimony instead of calcium. Antimony was used to strengthen the soft lead plates. Lead-antimony batteries will gradually lose water during normal operation. Today, only heavy duty deep cycle batteries such as 6v golf cart batteries still use antimony in the plates as they stand up to deep discharges better than the calcium types.
So.... all that to say, one should rarely need to add water to regular starting batteries, but will need to add it regularly for deep cycle RV house or trolling batteries. In any lead acid battery you only should add enough to barely cover the plates if it isn't fully charged, and after charging, add just enough to cover the plates by about a quarter of an inch or half a centimeter.
I took some photos of Walmart batteries today. It was a mix. Not one of them were labeled as maintenance free.
I found some had the traditional 3 + 3 lift rectangular caps. This I am most used to.
Last edited:
Some had something new. There were 6 individual caps that could be unscrewed with a large screwdriver. Having 6 removable caps is not new but I thought the large diameter flush cap with the Philips head was new.
Last edited:
And some, had no caps visible but I could make out the indentation of a flush caps or plugs.
Last edited:
just like the use of 'torque' heads, an attempt to dissuade.
Ck if it is labelled a 'maintenance free' versus...
Some I've even ripped offa strip of case (not glued label) to
do my thing. ANY battery I can get an 8 yr life, then my own
life time (C earlier posts).
Ck if it is labelled a 'maintenance free' versus...
Some I've even ripped offa strip of case (not glued label) to
do my thing. ANY battery I can get an 8 yr life, then my own
life time (C earlier posts).
I’d have to say two thirds of the batteries seen today at Walmart in Cranbrook, BC could have water easily added to them. None said maintenance free.
Also, I saw a 8/21, a 3/22 and a few 12/22 stickers. Of the 12/22 stickers, one appeared maintenance free and one had round screwdriver caps. I guess I need to check again.
Also, I saw a 8/21, a 3/22 and a few 12/22 stickers. Of the 12/22 stickers, one appeared maintenance free and one had round screwdriver caps. I guess I need to check again.
Last edited:
I bought this “maintenance free” battery from Canadian Tire but nowhere did it actually say “ Maintenance Free”. To the left you can see one of 6 outlines of a plug. I have no intent to try open them up and intend to treat this as truly maintenance free. I’ll see how it does.
Looks like an East Penn battery and they've had the 6 individual caps that can be unscrewed with a large screwdriver on the H5/H6/etc sizes for at least 15 years now.
the original battery in my 2014 desert sw snowbird toyota yaris lasted to 2021. i kept it on a battery tender and regularly added distilled water as needed, which it sometimes did in its hot & dry home. it never died on me but i figured that 7 years was enough. sadly its replacement is a sealed walmart maxx everstart battery, all that was available. i like checking fluids under the hood.
