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Battery water


Buick35

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Distilled water is better but tap water will work. I did some calculations a long time ago and typical tap water will shorten the life of your battery about 2 weeks. If you top it up every month. This should not be a big concern. Of course today you can buy distilled water at supermarkets and drug stores, it is not expensive or hard to get, but in a pinch tap water will do.

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1 hour ago, Shipping reccomendations said:

I’ve always used battery acid to add to a battery. Was always available from Napa or auto parts store. Flexible plastic container with attached hose encased in a cardboard box. Just pull out hose from box and pour out how much battery acid you need directly into the battery.

Water evaporates from the battery but the acid stays behind. By adding more acid you make it too strong. Might not do any harm in the short run but if you have to add water regularly it adds up.

There is another thing. In the thirties it was common to check and top up a car battery weekly. Today it shouldn't need attention for life.  If you are only topping up once a year or less the quality of the water is negligible unless it is very hard indeed.

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Batteries die when the plates get sulfated or coated with deposits.Hard water increases the deposits like the inside of an old tea kettle. The battery will die that much sooner BUT there is not much lime or deposits in the small amount of water used to top up a battery. So the effect on battery life is negligible unless you are boiling it dry all the time and using very hard water. In the thirties, with poorly controlled voltage as with a 3d brush generator, and the primitive batteries, you had to check and possibly top up the battery weekly. By the sixties you had better voltage control and batteries and might need to top up 2 or 3 times a year. By the 80s batteries were sealed for life. So, it's all according. The idea that hard water is bad for your battery was certainly true in the thirties, today not so much. Because you are not adding  water all the time.

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This is one of those questions that may not have a right answer.    Depending on where you live and the water there tap water may be fine or terrible. 

Distilled water is the safe thing to use for most people.    If you have a place to safely keep "battery acid" then that is the best,  but few people have that option 

and you cannot get a small amount,  seems like it comes at the minimum a half gallon container. 

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27 minutes ago, jp1gt said:

I take care of 30 batteries. Electric carts, cars, genie boom and other stuff. I collect the condensate out of the house A/C unit. No minerals and slightly acidic. Not good for radiators

Interesting.Our a/c has been working overtime.I might start collecting the water.

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