Adding water to a Wet Cell Battery?

Question

Things you should know:
1. The battery in question is for my riding lawnmower, but its not much different then a motorcycle battery... that's why I'm asking this question in the motorcycle forum.
2. The battery is nearly dead. I have to put a battery charger on for 10-15 minutes to get it to turn over the engine.
3. I bought a new battery today and it works like a champ.
4. The old battery is not that old. About 6 yrs old.
5. It does not have fill caps but it does have two perforated plastic covers that I think I can wedge a flat-tip screwdriver (or two) into and force it open.

Now here is my questions:
A. Do you think my battery is low on electrolyte acid?
B. Is this kind of battery refillable?
C. If it is, should I use distilled water or de-ionized water?
D. Will I get a couple more years of reliable service out of this battery or should I just say forget it, and take the battery back to Sears for an $8 core refund?

Answer 1

You have what is called a "maintenance free" battery.
The sealing strip was never meant to be removed after it's initial charge.
Since it's sealed, there's no way for the acid to escape, so it won't need refilling.
6 years is twice the average battery life.
Forget about it.
Don't throw it in the garbage. It's illegal.
Battery's should be recycled because of the short supply of lead.
Bring it to a recycling station, gas station, motorcycle shop, or auto parts dealer.

Answer 2

If it does not have fill caps then it is obviously the sealed type or perhaps the dry cell type. Either way I don't believe they can be refilled.
You might try using a motorcycle trickle charger and leaving it on overnight at least. Better still is the Optimate type of charger which will diagnose problems with the battery ( deep discharage, sulphation etc) and attempt to recover it. Ordinary 12v chargers can easily overcharge these types of batteries with a resultant shortening of battery life.
Motorbike and lawnmower batteries benefit by being left on constant trickle charge when not being used. Leaving them for ages till they get flat to the point of having to give them a big charge just ruins them.
Hope this helps.
Nick

Answer 3

a) It may be low on e-acid, but the plates have probably had it anyway...so no gain there.
b) Based on your description, if it doesn't have filler holes, then it wasn't designed to be refilled.
c) Always use distilled water for refilling batteries.
d) Go for the $8. Good batteries usually last 5 years (if taken care of properly) on average anyway. It's just not worth the trouble.

Hope it helps. :)

Answer 4

You can try to bring the battery back to life if it is fill able fill it with deionized or distilled and put it on a low charge no guarantee though depending how the battery was taken care of in the past depends how long it may last after you did this .the question is it worth your time .

Answer 5

If you have batteries in parallel, check the wiring. There is a way to wire them diagonally so that they all have equal wire lengths and participate equally. In the worst case, if the 4 batteries are wired straight across in parallel, the one that is nearest to the load is doing all the work during discharge, and is the one charging up during the day. It doesn't seem like a length of fat wire should make much difference, but it does.

Answer 6

These little batteries don't last very long and you have about three years service over the limit. Just take it back to sears and consider your self lucky that you got that much use out of it.

Answer 7

After 6 years it's more than likely shot. Since you already have the new one, take the old one in. No use hanging on to it. If you could get it to work, it won't last. What would you put it in anyway? BTW, lead is considered hazardous. You can't just throw it out.

Answer 8

If you got 6 years out of a lawnmower battery,consider yourself very lucky.Toss it,it's dead.

Answer 9

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