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Old 09-07-2007, 12:18 PM   #1
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In the past I have filled my batteries while my coach is in storage and the batteries are somewhat discharged. Later, as the batteries charge and heat up will the water boil out? Possibly, it is better to check the water when the batteries are fully charged.
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Old 09-07-2007, 12:18 PM   #2
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In the past I have filled my batteries while my coach is in storage and the batteries are somewhat discharged. Later, as the batteries charge and heat up will the water boil out? Possibly, it is better to check the water when the batteries are fully charged.
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Old 09-07-2007, 12:32 PM   #3
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Lk23;
I have always checked the water before charging. IMHO it is most important that the plates are properly covered with water especially while charging.

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Old 09-07-2007, 12:42 PM   #4
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Hi Rex - the battery water shouldn't boil out with good batteries and a charger that will go into a proper float mode. When my coach was was new with the Demented, oops I mean the Dimensions inverter/charger and new batteries, the house batteries showed obvious signs of the batteries being overcharged with battery water being splattered all over the tops of the batteries.

I solved my problem by throwing lots of money at it - Xantrex RS2000 and AGM house batteries.

The short answer to your question is to keep the batteries always topped off with distilled water.
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Old 09-07-2007, 03:20 PM   #5
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I agree with John's advice...fill the batteries before charging. If you charge a low water/dry battery you might end up with bulging of the battery case or, at the extreme, battery death.

We had this happen last year when our new fifth wheel (traded that sucker in for the wonderful Winne Sightseer we now have) sat in the dealership's service lot for three months and they let the batteries go parched, then charged them up. We ended up with two bulging batteries and two other "toasted" batteries. We also found battery fluid (i.e. acid) splattered all over the area where the two bulged-case batteries were sitting.
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Old 09-07-2007, 03:53 PM   #6
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i recently bought 2 brand new batteries. i made the mistake of filling them before charging them. once the charger was on for about 3hours, i had battery fluid all over the place as the fluid level rose (not boiled) and came out the tops of the batterys.
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Old 09-07-2007, 03:55 PM   #7
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The prescribed way if you're really anal about it is to look at the batteries to make sure the plates are covered, then charge the batteries, then fill if necessary.

I'm hoping to not go through the same thing as John with his Demented charger. Mine works perfectly (knocking on wood), although the microwave gets pretty angry.
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Old 09-07-2007, 03:58 PM   #8
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Per my local Interstate battery distributor, top off the cells in a battery only after it is fully charged (assuming the plates were covered before charging).
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Old 09-07-2007, 04:08 PM   #9
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I have always been told to make sure the plates are covered, charge to full charge. After it is at full charge, top it off to the proper level with distilled water.
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Old 09-08-2007, 01:04 AM   #10
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Question from a novice..

If you keep the coach plugged in at home at all times, If you check the batteries and they are low, add distilled water..Aren't the batteries fully charged then?
So bottom line is if you are plugged into shore power at home, add water whenever you want??

Question from a dummy. Thanks
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Old 09-08-2007, 02:21 AM   #11
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Jim - if the battery was discharged when you added the water, that won't bring it to full charge. Never *ever* let the plates be uncovered. Word I have is that once the plates are uncovered, that portion of the uncovered plate will never be useful in the chemical charge/discharge process.
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Old 09-26-2007, 11:54 AM   #12
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I use a 6 deep cycle battery system.

Just an observation: IF you "top off" the batteries after they are fully charged, where do you suppose that water goes as the batteries are being employed, and charged as you go ??

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Old 09-26-2007, 12:25 PM   #13
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">where do you suppose that water goes as the batteries are being employed, and charged as you go ?? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

The electrolyte doesn't go anywhere.

There are only two ways to loose electrolyte (sulfuric acid in a lead acid battery) in normal battery use. One is by evaporation, with is almost non-existent in modern batteries, and the other is by over charging where the loss is due to excess conversion to hydrogen gas.

Outgassing may cause splattering which blows off electrolyte. Excess charging currents may cause heating which can then cause a steam explosion.

But, in normal use, it is overcharging as in an excessive float voltage that boils a battery dry over time.

Charging shouldn't cause any rise in electrolyte level except perhaps for that due to heat expansion. - am I missing something here?

If you find you need to add water to keep you battery electrolyte up more than once a year or so, then you might want to look at your maintenance charging system.

As noted, many converter/chargers supplied with RV's don't do well at either of those jobs. The best thing you can do for your batteries is to replace it with something like the intellipower with charge wizard or equivalent.
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Old 09-28-2007, 06:42 PM   #14
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Hi Ho: Hope nobody takes offense, but filling the battery does not mean to the top.Batteries normally have a plastic sleeve that shows how full they should be. It is normally about an inch from the top. One way to ruin batteries would be to continually fill them all the way to the top with water. This would surely overflow and eventually dillute the acid electrolyte. Good luck.
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