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battery acid
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steammart



Joined: 11 Apr 2011
Posts: 27

PostPosted: Wed Apr 13, 2011 10:08 pm    Post subject: battery acid Reply with quote

Hi all

my car came with what i believe is an old (new) battery. can i put acid in the battery and begin to use it?

cheers

Martin
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Nic Jarman



Joined: 05 Oct 2008
Posts: 1031
Location: Stoke by Clare, Suffolk

PostPosted: Thu Apr 14, 2011 6:38 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

If it is a dry, charged battery then putting acid in it will do no harm. I do not know if they deteriorate over time and I would always give them a charge before using them. Try it and see, I was going to say "suck it and see" but that is not very sensible.
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paulbrook



Joined: 04 May 2011
Posts: 21

PostPosted: Wed May 04, 2011 3:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

If it is old old stock then it is unlikely to be dry charged and you will need to lift it up (there are guides on t'interweb). Its a sort of slow charge at varying rates to ensure that the plates dont get damaged and not too much gas boils up.

If it is newish but old (post 1990) then it may well be dry charged and you should find that the acid alone will activate it.

Take a lot of care in either case, as both quickly form gas and the the cells can spit.
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Peter_L



Joined: 10 Apr 2008
Posts: 2680
Location: New Brunswick. Canada.

PostPosted: Wed May 04, 2011 5:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

If you are thinking of "playing" with acid, this may be useful.

http://www.battery-acid.co.uk/battery-acid-safety

Back in the 60's 70's, when I worked in the mining industry, there was a department where replenishing batteries was an everyday job and Sulphuric Acid at the correct S.G was readily available. I remember extending the life of several batteries by replacing the acid.

Batteries were a real pain back then, I don't miss them one little bit.
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Jim.Walker



Joined: 27 Dec 2008
Posts: 1229
Location: Chesterfield

PostPosted: Wed May 04, 2011 7:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

paulbrook wrote:
If it is old old stock then it is unlikely to be dry charged and you will need to lift it up (there are guides on t'interweb). Its a sort of slow charge at varying rates to ensure that the plates dont get damaged and not too much gas boils up.

If it is newish but old (post 1990) then it may well be dry charged and you should find that the acid alone will activate it.

Take a lot of care in either case, as both quickly form gas and the the cells can spit.


We had dry charged batteries in stock back in the 1960s. The shelf life was claimed to be measured in years. However, we always found a topping up charge was advisable after filling and "soaking" time and the shelf life was much less than claimed.

My Dad supervised stock buying and ordered these, and he retired because of poor health in 1970. Which helps me with the dates.
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