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Old 05-04-2013, 08:55 PM   #1
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Spilt battery acid from trojans

Hi all

Looking for some advice here, unfortunately our beloved Trojans tipped over when in the back of the truck and some acid came out. Not too much about 1/4" from each cell. Hydrometer also bust .... So do I just add a little more distiller water and hope all is good or is there someway of replacing the acid ?
Advice daly recieved
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Old 05-04-2013, 09:00 PM   #2
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Should be good by just adding the distilled water.
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Old 05-04-2013, 09:04 PM   #3
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Acid at the same SG as the battery. Use a real hygrometer and mix some acid with distilled water until you get a match.

Not easy
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Old 05-04-2013, 09:48 PM   #4
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You can buy "battery acid"
BATTERY ACID PACK 21 OZ : Amazon.com : Automotive
As garbonz mentioned you gotta blend it properly.
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Old 05-04-2013, 09:55 PM   #5
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I lived off the grid for 6 years with deep cycle batteries (12 x 2 volt 2450 amp/hr batteries) All that I ever put in them was distilled water, the chemical reaction caused when charging creates the acid.

Just add distilled water and save our money!
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Old 05-04-2013, 10:07 PM   #6
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HE SPILLED ACID OUT SO ADDING WATER WILL REDUCE THE CAPACITY. In this situation you have to add acid back in of the same specific gravity.

Realt
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Old 05-04-2013, 10:13 PM   #7
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Garbonz...the only thing in a battery is "acid". The battery doesn't know if you spilled it out or if you lost some naturally during the charging cycles. Unless you have a sealed battery or a "hydration" system on a normal deep cycle they will all loose some acid over time. All you need is normal distilled water. You will not loose any capacity. You only loose capacity when you are low on "water" or Acid" (once again, the water turns into acid thru the chemical reaction caused by charging the battery). When you buy a new battery they normally supply acid as a "kick start" so that you have a fully charged battery right from the start, however, if you were to fill a new battery with plain distilled water and put it thru an equalizing charge it would still work perfectly fine.
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Old 05-05-2013, 06:45 AM   #8
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x2 djkarau is right.
if you read in the battery tech manual, it says that you should never add acid to a battery, only distilled water. The battery will do the rest while charging.
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Old 05-05-2013, 06:56 AM   #9
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x3. Distilled water is all you need. Add just enough to cover the plates and then charge. Check the water level when done and fill as needed to the "max" line.

Note, I probably would check the SG and equalize as needed. The Trojan battery manual has a description of that process if you need it or see this guide
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Old 05-05-2013, 07:44 AM   #10
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Lots of info here. Most of it "enough right" to be troubling.

The state of your electrolyte depends on the charge state of the battery in question.

If the battery is dead, the sulphate from the acid is stuck to the lead plates and the electrolyte is mostly distilled water (about 2% acid and 98% distilled water). Just top off the battery with distilled water.

If the battery is FULLY charged, there is NO sulphate on the plates and the electrolyte is mostly Sulphuric acid (SG 1.277) of a 36% acid 64% distilled water concentration.

https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=h...onversions.pdf

At 50% charge (1.172 SG), the ratio of acid to water is 24% acid and 76% distilled water.

ANY loss of acid will effect the fully charged capacity to some unknown degree. Only by doing a fully charged specific gravity test will determine the capacity reduction you have experienced.

Adding ONLY distilled water is the safest method unless you have titration facilities to calculate the exact amount of acid to replace for full functionality.
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Old 05-05-2013, 07:46 AM   #11
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never add acid to a battery in service. per our Gill battery manufacture rep, the NAVY battery shop, or Boeing. I was taught 30 years ago to never do it when i was in the military and our airline does not do it. just distilled water. the batterys in our planes cost upwards of 1k for a led acid 12v. so they have to last and operate in -60 degree temps @ 24k feet in the winter.
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Old 05-05-2013, 07:50 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by djkarau View Post
if you were to fill a new battery with plain distilled water and put it thru an equalizing charge it would still work perfectly fine.
If that is true, where does the sulphur come from to make the acid?
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Old 05-05-2013, 07:54 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by djkarau View Post
When you buy a new battery they normally supply acid as a "kick start" so that you have a fully charged battery right from the start, however, if you were to fill a new battery with plain distilled water and put it thru an equalizing charge it would still work perfectly fine.
Not even close...
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Old 05-05-2013, 08:00 AM   #14
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Herk, as always, you provide all the diagrams and explanation required.
Unfortunate that others are not so thorough.
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Old 05-05-2013, 08:04 AM   #15
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Thank you all, as all the plates are still covered I will charge then add water as required to reach the fill line,
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Old 05-05-2013, 08:15 AM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by buzzmonster View Post
Thank you all, as all the plates are still covered I will charge then add water as required to reach the fill line,
You will be fine then. Most likely not enough acid was lost to make much difference in your run times between charges even if they were fully charged..
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