battery water filler

[ORIF]

Basic question but this has been annoying me:

When filling my flooded lead acid 8D's I've been using a battery water filler which automatically shuts off flow at the appropriate level.

Or does it?

Seems that when I top off, the cells will "spit" a little bit for a week or so.

Operator error is possible - If you have a slight tilt to the nozzle it will overfill. But even being careful about this I feel like the bottle dispenses a little too much.
Seems that mine dispenses to a level that's right at the bottom of the fill tube. If I'm off with the angle it can be a little above the fill tube. I think ideal is a little below...

Is anyone aware if different bottles have different length nozzles?

Is the distance from the top of the plates to the bottom of the fill tubes a standard length?

 

[SteveK]

I find the 8D overfill a bit as compared to the 6v

 

[rgano]

So find a way to extend the filler's tube a tad?

 

[C lectric]

I never used one of those filler jugs. I was well aware of them.
I used a 2 litre plant waterer/sprayer which was pump pressurized. I removed the spray tip and simply used the open flexible tube as the filler.

A few seconds to pump it up and it was ready. I did have to pump it a couple of times over the filling time but no cell overfilling. The only time it spit was from my own handling goofs.

I could easily not quite fill the cells by observing how much I put in.

 

[High Wire]

They can and will overfill. Do not blind faith trust them. Fill, check, repeat. You will get a feel for how long pretty quickly.

 

[Flatswing]

Jim Healey has a good article on his web site about automatic battery fillers. I was having similar problems to what you describe. Following Jim's advice, I replaced the caps with the auto watering system in 10 minutes. Now I just clip on the squeeze bulb, put the end of the tube in a gallon jug of distilled water and a few squeezes later -batteries all filled. Little indicators pop up on each cell as a visual that it is full. $100 but worth it.

One caveat: The watering caps come in different sizes for some types of batteries. Specifically, Trojans use different caps than my Deka/East Penn-made GC2's & L18's, so check what you have before ordering and be mindful when you replace the batteries in future.

 

[O C Diver]

I never used one of those filler jugs. I was well aware of them.
I used a 2 litre plant waterer/sprayer which was pump pressurized. I removed the spray tip and simply used the open flexible tube as the filler.

A few seconds to pump it up and it was ready. I did have to pump it a couple of times over the filling time but no cell overfilling. The only time it spit was from my own handling goofs.

I could easily not quite fill the cells by observing how much I put in.

When I had open lead acid golf cart batteries, this is what I used. Works extremely well without the spray nozzle and only $10!

https://www.homedepot.com/p/HDX-1-Gal-Pump-Sprayer-1501HDXA/307766754

Ted

 

[Jeff F]

I read somewhere recently that they should only be topped off at full charge, as the electrolyte expands as the charge increases. The claim was that topping up at low SoC risks overfilling.

Sorry I don't remember the source.

 

[O C Diver]

I read somewhere recently that they should only be topped off at full charge, as the electrolyte expands as the charge increases. The claim was that topping up at low SoC risks overfilling.

Sorry I don't remember the source.

Yes, that's correct. The water expands during the charging process.

Ted

 

[foggysail]

I use latex gloves and a paper/plastic cup filled with varying amounts of distilled water. Also wear glasses. I have enough trouble keeping track of my battery hydrometer without trying to locate other things needed to put water into batteries.

 

[BruceK]

I use latex gloves and a paper/plastic cup filled with varying amounts of distilled water. Also wear glasses...

Pretty much my method when I had unsealed LAs, except the gloves and glasses. A plastic beaker with a little spout, like comes with a domestic iron, is good(ignore calls at home like "where is the iron filler beaker?") or paper cup tweaked to form a spout. If vision is an issue, a little mirror, maybe the dentist type, would help.

 

[kthoennes]

I use a plastic ketchup bottle, like this. Works really well, doesn't squirt or spill or dribble until I squeeze it, even held horizontally because I have to be a contortionist to get to some of the batteries. Walmart.

 

[catalinajack]

Enema bulb along with a flashlight to see the fill point.

 

[Capt Jack]

I use a clear tube turkey baster. Easy to control and see thru if needed.

John

 

[syjos]

I use a small plant watering jug too. I attach a length of clear vinyl hose to the spout to extend it's reach.

I would check the battery water level on an automatic battery filling device often. I had an automatic watering device on my golf cart batteries years ago. It did not maintain the water level in the battery well. Found the level below the plates on several checks.

 

[Marco Flamingo]

Google "Water Miser battery caps." They have a little chamber that stops the "spitting" around the caps. Supposedly reduces regular water loss. They seem to work for me. Because they sit proud of the battery top, that might cause some automatic fill jugs to overfill. I generally fill with my hydrometer, but I can see that a catsup container might be faster depending on the amount of loss.

 

[Xlantic]

Jim Healey has a good article on his web site about automatic battery fillers. I was having similar problems to what you describe. Following Jim's advice, I replaced the caps with the auto watering system in 10 minutes. Now I just clip on the squeeze bulb, put the end of the tube in a gallon jug of distilled water and a few squeezes later -batteries all filled. Little indicators pop up on each cell as a visual that it is full. $100 but worth it.

One caveat: The watering caps come in different sizes for some types of batteries. Specifically, Trojans use different caps than my Deka/East Penn-made GC2's & L18's, so check what you have before ordering and be mindful when you replace the batteries in future.

I bought this a couple of years ago and it is great, particularly in my case where my batteries are challenging to reach:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001FCAXT0/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I have a distilled water jug connected to this through a bulb (fuel line bulb as used on outborads). A few squeezes every few weeks and it's good to go.

 

[Bob M]

Looks like a terrific solution: flashlight in one hand and the wand in the other.

 

[chriscritchett]

All this is exactly why I just replaced the perfectly good batteries in my ‘new’ boat with AGM’s. At least with me, maintenance hassle drives laziness, and that can get more expensive than extravagance, at more inopportune times. And fortunately my boat doesn’t have many batteries.

 

[jgwinks]

I've used the Pro-Fill system on three boats now. On all of them at least some of the fill caps were hard to get to so the system made it a lot easier. A few squeezes on the bulb and they're all full to the correct level.
And as said earlier, only fill after charging. I once had a job tending forklift batteries in a large warehouse and our procedure was to top off just before putting the battery back in the truck after charging. Get it wrong and they'd puke all over the floor. Hell of a mess with those huge batteries.

 

[SteveK]

Is there a shut off to prevent overfilling?

 

[Xlantic]

Is there a shut off to prevent overfilling?

Yes, each cap has a float that shuts-off the flow to the cell at the correct level.

The hand bulb becomes noticeable harder when all the cells are filled.

 

[SteveK]

Yes, each cap has a float that shuts-off the flow to the cell at the correct level.

The hand bulb becomes noticeable harder when all the cells are filled.

I saw a system with a tank gravity feed. so why not do that? at a glance you can see if reservoir needs water

 

[Xlantic]

I saw a system with a tank gravity feed. so why not do that? at a glance you can see if reservoir needs water

Yes, but I would not fully trust the float valves operating unattended. It could get messy if one malfunctions.

Doing it manually let’s one see and feel that it is filling and not spilling.

 

[contingensea]

Battery charge rate too high?

Basic question but this has been annoying me:

When filling my flooded lead acid 8D's I've been using a battery water filler which automatically shuts off flow at the appropriate level.

Or does it?

Seems that when I top off, the cells will "spit" a little bit for a week or so.

Operator error is possible - If you have a slight tilt to the nozzle it will overfill. But even being careful about this I feel like the bottle dispenses a little too much.
Seems that mine dispenses to a level that's right at the bottom of the fill tube. If I'm off with the angle it can be a little above the fill tube. I think ideal is a little below...

Is anyone aware if different bottles have different length nozzles?

Is the distance from the top of the plates to the bottom of the fill tubes a standard length?

I’ve been using the same type of auto filler container for about the last 6 months on my 8D’s. The fiberglass battery boxes are now filled with electrolyte. I assume when you say “spit” you are referring to “boil over”. I suspect my MagnumEnergy Inverter/Charger charge profile is set too high for these Interstate MHD 8D’s. BTW, these MHD’s make lousy house batts as they are Start batts not deep cycle.

 

[FF]

There is always a plan B, dont fill them as often.

hydrocapcorp.com

A HYDROCAP VENT replaces a battery's regular cell cap. When the cell is gassing, the hydrogen and oxygen gasses are vented into the HYDROCAP. Inside a HYDROCAP, hydrogen and oxygen gases are catalytically recombined into pure water which is returned to the cells virtually eliminating explosive hydrogen gas concentrations, and washing acid fumes and vapors back into the battery cell.

 

[Dwk]

TF member using Hydrocaps

If your batteries are a pain to access the Hydrocaps seem like a good solution. I'd like to hear experiences from TF members that have them installed.

 

[Bmarler]

If your batteries are a pain to access the Hydrocaps seem like a good solution. I'd like to hear experiences from TF members that have them installed.

i have a good friend with a grand banks 36 that uses them. he's got those rolls batteries and is a complete geek when it comes to batteries and electrical systems. he loves those caps, and i'll probably get some too, but i've got 16 trojans to do. it'll take a few bucks.
the only thing to remember is, keep the old caps for when you equalize, otherwise you'll ruin them.
my friend says it all but eliminates the need to top up the batteries. he might add water maybe once a year.

 

[Flatswing]

Another convenient option: "Water my Battery" system is simply a series of interconnected caps replacing the factory original caps. They still vent but allow connection of all cells to a single clip-on fill tubing. Very convenient for batteries that are hard to access to assess proper electrolyte levels. Monthly, get out the squeeze bulb tubing, drop the supply end in a gallon of distilled water, click onto the Water my battery connector and squeeze 'till the little indicators pop up and can't pump any more. Disconnect, done. System takes 20 minutes to install with a pair of scissors to trim the tubing, watering my 8 batteries takes 2-4 minutes. Leave it to a lazy man to find a better way (though in all fairness, Jim Healy gets the credit for this one)!