Guest Posted June 20, 2001 Share Posted June 20, 2001 I had to replace the 6V battery in the '39 Chevy the other day. Before I installed it I checked to acid with a hydrometer. It measured 1240. So I connected the charger and after about 4,5 hours at 10 amperes the battery warmed up to about 90F and the hydrometer read about 1265. The extra temperature adds 4 points, so the battery was at about 1270, which is the bottom of a fully charged battery. The question I have is I can't ever remember seeing any battery charged to higher that 1270 or so. Seems that most books state that a fully charged battery should be between 1275 and 1300. I tried a couple of different hydrometers (no difference in reading) and the battery was gassing at the 1270. I don't want to over do the battery and it works fine, but I am a little puzzled. Should I charge it some more or just let it be? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasBorchers Posted June 22, 2001 Share Posted June 22, 2001 Hi Mike.<BR>A fully charged Battery shows 1280, half charged shows 1200 and empty shows 1140.<BR>If you have a brand new battery sometimes it could be that it takes a bit time until it has its full power. I had this sometimes.<BR>You should check also the voltage at the battery.<BR>Full: 6,36 V<BR>Half: 6,12<BR>Empty: 5,94<BR>It is not so important if you have 1270 or 1280. More important is, that you have at all cells the same amount. Max difference between cells should be 20. That means if one cell would have 1270 and the next has 1230, this cell is probably broken.<BR>I often had with new 6 V batteries first just 6.30 V as they were new and a bit later the full voltage. Sometimes even 6.40 V. But it is important to wait a while after you have charged the batterie. Like one or two hours before you check the voltage with a voltmeter.<BR>Hope this helps<P>Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill_38Buick Posted March 3, 2020 Share Posted March 3, 2020 Hello, I am having issues with a 6 Volt Deka batteries and have been in contact with the supplier of the battery and the supplier of the charger. I Would appreciate any advise on what is causing the venting of the battery? The battery has been sitting idle and maintained by a 6V Ctek charger. I have had the charger disconnected for over a month but this venting is still occurring? If anybody can shed some light on this issue it would be much appreciated. Regards. Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_Mereness Posted March 4, 2020 Share Posted March 4, 2020 On 3/2/2020 at 11:05 PM, Bill_38Buick said: Hello, I am having issues with a 6 Volt Deka batteries and have been in contact with the supplier of the battery and the supplier of the charger. I Would appreciate any advise on what is causing the venting of the battery? The battery has been sitting idle and maintained by a 6V Ctek charger. I have had the charger disconnected for over a month but this venting is still occurring? If anybody can shed some light on this issue it would be much appreciated. Regards. Bill Is it too full and atmospheric pressure ? Usually, they only do this when they are overcharging or you just made a panic stop. hard cornering, a huge bump, or ..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloo Posted March 4, 2020 Share Posted March 4, 2020 Yes. All of that. ^^ Also, some batteries have a ring inside or "fill to triangle" or something to indicate what the water/acid lever should be. If you fill to that, water/acid is going to slop out. The battery needs the plates to stay completely covered to avoid plate damage. Any more than that, like filling up to the fill mark, and it is going to slop acid everywhere and make a huge mess. I don't know how it could continue to leak out after the charger was disconnected. That part makes no sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill_38Buick Posted March 5, 2020 Share Posted March 5, 2020 Hi, Thanks for your quick response. I have load tested which is good and checked the voltage at 6.4 volts the SG is 1300 in each cell so the only conclusion is the supplier overfilled the cells as there is just under an inch of electrolyte covering each cell. Can anybody advise to what a good level should be? Thanks for the advise much appreciated. Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill_38Buick Posted March 5, 2020 Share Posted March 5, 2020 There is no guide/level indicator in the cell itself to follow when topping up etc.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloo Posted March 5, 2020 Share Posted March 5, 2020 I just barely cover the plates. If I had a car that tended to abuse the battery and need water all the time I guess I would put more in, but I would prefer to just barely cover the plates. Optima 6 volts don't make a mess like that, so thats an option, but I am still currently using a conventional 6v battery like you are. A little acid does get up on top, but not near as bad as what you are getting. I clean it up semi-regularly, and use anti-corrosion washers to help protect the terminals from the acid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pmhowe Posted March 5, 2020 Share Posted March 5, 2020 I think the standard for '30s, '40s, '50s and '60s batteries was that one should keep the water level just above the plates. I always filled to just below the bottom of the filler holes. That worked for me. Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A. Ballard 35R Posted March 5, 2020 Share Posted March 5, 2020 We always fill with distilled water to concave cavity just below threads for battery caps. Never had any problems. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFranklin Posted March 5, 2020 Share Posted March 5, 2020 2 minutes ago, A. Ballard 35R said: We always fill with distilled water to concave cavity just below threads for battery caps. Never had any problems. Same here, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill_38Buick Posted March 5, 2020 Share Posted March 5, 2020 Thanks When I purchased my 38 Buick the battery box and associated parts where badly corroded from the original battery. So have always been on guard with leaking batteries. I use my Optima most of the time but like to keep everything as original as possible. Thanks again - great advise. Bill 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PFitz Posted March 5, 2020 Share Posted March 5, 2020 (edited) Remove the caps and watch the water for any bubbles. If you see it bubbling long after the charger was disconnected, there may be a problem with the plates, or water contaminated with something that is causing a reaction to form a gas. Paul Edited March 5, 2020 by PFitz (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill_38Buick Posted March 5, 2020 Share Posted March 5, 2020 Thanks Paul, I did notice very very small bubbles on the top edge of the plates last time I checked a week after I disconnected the charger. And thought is was strange that there was activity going on with nothing connected? I have not added any electrolyte to the battery since purchasing it. Ninety nine percent of the time it sits idle on the bench on maintenance charge. I did lend it out to a guy for his concours day. So that he had every detail original on the car. I'll ask him if he topped the battery up? Thanks good pick-up Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
19tom40 Posted March 13, 2020 Share Posted March 13, 2020 The old battery filler basters had a hole drilled about 3/8" away from the end. When you filled the cell, you squeezed out water and then let the bulb expand sucking up the extra water until the hole was above the water and the bulb sucked air, leaving the correct amount of water above the cells. Check with the supplier of the battery for the correct amount of fluid above the plates and make your own filler. The level indicators that showed up in the early 1950's did away with all of the old fillers, we just added water until the indicator (circle or triangle) made the water take on a concave look. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloo Posted March 13, 2020 Share Posted March 13, 2020 That is the correct way. and I am not disputing it. The only thing is if you do that you get quite a bit of acid leaking out on top of your battery, messing up the terminals, running down, rotting the battery tray, etc. If you just cover the plates completely you get less acid coming out, and the battery will never know the difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill_38Buick Posted March 13, 2020 Share Posted March 13, 2020 Thanks - all good advice. I tested out my Cteck trickle charger on my backup Optima battery just to eliminate it from the equation and it was working to spec. So I am investing in a battery load tester to make sure all the cells are OK on the lead acid battery. And I will drop the acid level down to just above the plates. Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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