Pop quiz: When should you water your lead acid battery?
A. When Bill Lumbergh asks me
B. Before charging
C. After charging
D. Oh crap – do they need water?
If you answered C you are correct. If you answered anything else… we can send you a quote on a replacement forklift battery 😉
Why do I need to water my battery?
Watering a battery is an essential step in correct battery maintenance. If the electrolyte level is too low then the internal plates become exposed to air, causing them to degrade prematurely (the active paste dries out and crumbles off). If the electrolyte level is too high, battery acid may come up and out of the vent caps damaging the battery, it’s metal tray and the forklift.
Plan A: Water to the correct level after charging
The goal is to keep your lead acid battery healthy and only water it to it’s correct level after a full charge.
During charging the density of the electrolyte solution increases and the volume expands. If you fill your battery to it’s correct level with water before charging, then during the charging process the electrolyte levels will expand and there is only one route of escape left for the electrolyte: to overflow out the vent caps.
This is why it is imperative that you first fully charge your battery, thus raising it’s electrolyte level to it’s highest point, and then topping up with any required additional water to raise the level up to your batteries correct water level.
Plan B: Recovering a neglected battery
If you’re worried that you haven’t been giving your battery the tender loving care it needs then follow these steps to attempt recovery:
- Wear appropriate PPE
- Carefully remove a vent cap and look inside your cell (Note: Vent caps may be push-in, screw-in or bayonet)
- If your battery plates are exposed then carefully add just enough water using a funnel (don’t use your single point watering kit yet) to just cover the battery plates with liquid.
- Repeat for every cell in your battery.
- Fully charge your battery.
- Discharge your battery during it’s normal work shift.
- Repeat the charge and discharge cycle another two to three times.
- After it’s next full charge use your batteries Single Point Watering Kit to fill your battery up to it’s final correct level.
- Continue to monitor the fluid level in your battery and it’s ability to retain full charge. Fingers crossed you’ve saved your battery, but if you need to organise a replacement please reach out and we’ll send you a quote.
How often should I water my battery?
How often you add water to your battery will depend on how often you use it. A golf cart battery that is only used on the weekends may only require once a month watering. A forklift used all day, every day, may need to have its battery watered every week. Hot weather also increases the need for watering.
So how do I fill a battery to the ‘correct level’?
A single point watering kit is the simplest and most accurate way to maintain the correct water level inside your lead acid battery. We recommend the German made Aquapro kits as in our experience their push in vent caps offer the best engagement and retention in the cell openings. Aquapro components are also cleverly designed to incorporate filters and flow indicators within their coupler housings. This reduces the total number of components in a kit, which reduces installation time and increases reliability.
Floats
A = Electrolyte Level
Distance between the correct electrolyte level and the cell opening
B = Float Length
Distance from the cell opening to the bottom of the float
C = Internal Space
Distance between the cell opening and the plates/separator/moss shield.
As water flows into your battery the floats will rise with the electrolyte level. When the correct electrolyte level is reached the floats will shut off the vent cap valves. Water pressure holds the valves against their sealing rings keeping the vent caps closed thus preventing any overfilling from the Single Point Watering Kit.
Each individual cell will independently reach it’s correct level and once all vent cap valves are closed across the battery the operator will observe that the Single Point Watering Kit Flow Indicator has stopped moving and will know that it is time to disconnect the water source.
We understand that your forklifts, and their batteries, are the ‘heart’ of your business and are essential to keep your operations moving. We will partner with you to ensure that your equipment is operating in peak condition.
We are here to provide helpful advice to ensure your battery is being watering correctly. Whether you need help determining what style of vent cap you have, what float length you need or you’d like to know the what options are available to present water to your battery.
We can create a simple solution to make things better.