Battery water

[Skyryder]

Isnt boiled water as good as anything ie distilled?

Only if you collect the steam. Essentialy distillied water is recycled water from condensation. Then the water is the distalate.

Skyryder

[Ixion]

Sells distilled water esp for batteries. It comes in a sipper bottle which is rather handy for filling up the batteries through the small holes.
From my understanding, a new battery needs to be filled with acid, I don't remember the correct chemical composition at this time of day. ..

New batteries require to be filled with electrolyte, which is basically sulphuric acid diluted with water.

Because a battery gets quite warm sometimes over time a certain amount of water will evaporate leaving too strong an acid . So you add distilled or deionised water. This would not normally be very much (a few cc) and never at all with a sealed or gel battery

If the electrolyte level is low because some has spilt, you need to top up with electrolyte (acid) not with water

[KahuRangiKea]

It is always best to use distilled water. Rain water is said to be useable if distilled is not available but it is not as good especially if there is air pollution in the area. I doubt whether even Christchurch tap water would be suitable. Using tap water won't kill a battery but it will reduce its life.


Only add acid if there has been a spill - it does not evaporate.

Water needs topping up because it gets lost through electrolysis 2H2O -> 2H2 + O2 . This only happens when the battery is overcharged. Some overcharging is good as it helps prevent sulphation, the major killer of batteries and it mixes the electrolyte when it bubbles preventing stratification. But overcharging also causes degradation of the lead plates. Overcharging is a compromise, and about 10 minutes of bubbling at the end of a trickle charge is considered about right.

If a vehicle is only used occasionally it is best to charge it weekly, or at least monthly. When battery performance starts to degrade due to sulphation you can greatly extend the life by using an anti-sulphation product like "recharge". Comes in two sizes a $25 container and a $55 container. The larger one is best value and costs about $1 to condition a motorcycle battery and $4 for a car battery. De-sulphation is best done as soon as battery degradation is noticed or it will not be so effective.

[slofox]

You will need to get the right stuff from a battery shop If you put water into your battery you will water down the mix so you need to get a mix of water & acid from the Battery people or your battery will slowly shit it's self as there will be more water than Acid . SENSEI

Not true - the reason the electrolyte level drops in a battery is that some of the WATER evaporates through charging/discharging, not the ACID. This leaves the electrolyte more concentrated than it should be. Adding water brings the concentration back to where it should be....'tis basic general science.......

[vifferman]

Rain water is not as clean as the advertising dudes make out. Noo Zilund has a maritime climate, so the rainwater has a relatively high salt content, especially close to the sea, and especially when it first starts to rain. There is also a lot of pollen, dust, etc. in rain water. You're actually better off using tap water than rain water.
I buy distilled water from the supermarket in 10L casks - it's cheaper'n all that bottled stuff. I used to use it in my bike batteries, but now all of our vehicle batteries are sealed so I use it only in the steam iron (stops scale build-up) and in the bike's radiator when I mix up coolant.