Packard Forum Index » General

My (not very) old 6 volt battery was accidentally tipped on its side. A fair amount of electrolyte spilled. A box of baking soda in a gallon of water took care of that problem, but I thought the battery was a goner. Oddly it still holds a charge. Turned out to hold plenty enough to turn the Packard over. My question: would it be safe to buy some battery acid (electrolyte) from the parts house and top the battery off? I'm concerned about whether this might be dangerous to do to a charged battery. We top 'em off with water all the time, but I'm not sure about adding the acid solution.

This seems to be one of the questions with many opinions.

Some of the battery maintenance sites say only add water to a charged battery as adding fresh electrolyte would disturb the chemistry. Other sites say a small amount is permissible but they don't define small -- and they suggest if for some reason more electrolyte is needed in only one cell to redistribute the existing so the same amount of new is added to each cell to keep them chemically balanced. On the conditions where a lot of electrolyte is needed such as possibly your situation the opinions are more to drain the remaining electrolyte and completely refill with new and then charge the battery.

You might do a search for "adding electrolyte to battery" and read some of the comments before deciding.

It should be ok to replace the lost electrolyte. The advice not to add acid to a battery, assumes it has just lost water which is a normal side effect of use and charging.

The battery needs the correct concentration of sulfuric acid. Evaporation loses only water so you add water. I've tipped a battery and added electrolyte. If you go to make it you must understand the high heat of mixing and what to do as a result. Just knowing the recipe will get you hurt. If you buy the electrolyte wear neoprene glove and safety glasses to add it. Neutralize spills with baking soda

Since battery is "not very old" then need to follow HH56's advice. Empty battery and replacce with new acid.

If it were an older battery nearing its last year u could just top it off with acid, ala VX7 product.

This mite be a good study topic.
Double check but iIRC electrolite is only about a 7% acid solution and 93% water. Would have to do some math on that one. Mite not really matter one way or the other. Top it off or dump it out. Mite not matter.

Be very careful handling concentrated sulfuric acid. Need neoprene gloves and splash/eye protection.

Adding conc. acid to dilute is OK. The other way is dangerous and will cause uncontrolled heating and boiling.
The old chemist saying - add acid to water, not water to acid.
Probably best to buy or make up a batch at the correct concentration and add back to refill the battery to level. From the recommended specific gravity, the correct concentration can be determined. Prolonged use with insufficient acid will cause it to fail prematurely/not deliver the correct ampacity.

Or simply go buy a new battery, now or when it dies. Just depends how much you want to fool around to save a few dollars. Garages used to do this, but today, I don't anyone handling battery acid routinely. They just sell new batteries. They used to sell hydrometers to test the acid, but I haven't seen those around much either. I think mine died of hard-rubberitis a long time ago.

I remember in the 1960s when replacement batteries were sold dry and fluid was added when the battery was sold. This was to insure the customer got a fresh battery and not one of the traditional pre-filled ones that aged while being on the shelf for several months. The acid was in plastic bags with a sturdy cardboard box to hold it. We did not take any particular caution when filling the batteries but that was then and this is now.

I wonder why this way of storing and selling batteries was stopped? JWL

I was a Chevron dealer from 1977 to 1987, all the Atas batteries we stocked had battery and acid separate. When a battery was sold, the battery caps were removed from the battery, the cap at the end of the rubber fill tube was cut off, the liquid was added to each cell to cover the plates in the battery up to the full line, one hour on a 40 amp charger, load tested and installed in the car. Don't recall any problems with this but I think that safety was the reason batteries were changed to being factory filled and charged. During the 70's and 80's gas stations were slowly moving from gas and service bays to gas and stop and go food/snack stations, along with the demise of the "full service/self serve" gas pumping and the reduction of TBA sales (tires, batteries, accessories) the thought of selling batteries to the general public that required the exposure to lead and acid probably had the Chevron "in house counsel" recoiling with moderate TIA's and heart attack symptoms.
Steve

Try a sealed battery next time. I could turn my Optima battery upside down and no problems.

Thanks for all the input gents. I was planning on buying battery acid which is already mixed with water to the correct specific gravity, then adding it to my battery which is already fully charged. I believe a fully charged battery's electrolyte specific gravity should be the same as that of the off-the-shelf solution.

There is little danger with no charge on the battery; that was standard practice for decades (with safety glasses and gloves). I'd think topping off a fully charged battery with electrolyte would theoretically be no different than topping off with water to make up for water loss, but I wanted to check to see if anyone thought/knew whether adding off-the-shelf acid/water solution to a charged battery carries any additional safety risk.