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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2011 F150 Ecoboost Screw 4x4 c/w max tow
2010 Roo 21RS
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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2011 Ford F350 Diesel Lariat with Firestone Airbags and Ford installed Reese Elite 18K 5th
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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2011 Ford F350 Diesel Lariat with Firestone Airbags and Ford installed Reese Elite 18K 5th
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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2000 Cherokee 29BH with 6V batteries, LED lights & 400 watts of solar power, flipped axles and raised. 2007 Tundra 5.7L DC-LB with lots of mods. C-co, 8/158th AVN Maint.
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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Scott
DW, 3 Kids and our Goldens
2012 Shamrock 233S
2008 Toyota Sequoia 5.7L 4WD
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.
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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Lou & Freya the wonder dog
2008 GMC Sierra 3000HD Allison Duramax
2019 Flagstaff 8529FL
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.
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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Lou & Freya the wonder dog
2008 GMC Sierra 3000HD Allison Duramax
2019 Flagstaff 8529FL
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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Lou & Freya the wonder dog
2008 GMC Sierra 3000HD Allison Duramax
2019 Flagstaff 8529FL