Batteries

[DouginUtah]

Anyone here knowledgeable about batteries?

My wife's car battery died suddenly last night. Wouldn't even keep the radio running. Long story short, it has a new battery in it now and all is well, and I think I know what happened. Poor maintenance. I didn't realize the "covers" on the top of the battery were removable and it is very low on water. :(

Would I be wasting my time to buy some distilled water and fill it up and put it on the charger? Would dumping everything out and putting in new acid be worth considering?

I'm asking this for more than just the car battery. That long beast of a battery on my '86 WoodMizer LT30 is also acting like it wants to go to the recycle center. If I run it every day it will stay up but after a couple of weeks it is dead. (Anyone know what the number is for that battery?)

Suggestions and information appreciated.

-Doug

[Tom]

Cover the plates with water and there is a good chance it may still hold a charge.  No water, no batterey.  Don't drain it and try to replace the fluids.

I wouldn't be too concerned about the battery # on the WoodMizer.  If one fit in the box I'd use it.   Running down after 2 weeks of nonuse isn't too much to worry about either.  Probably a slow drain somewhere.  It may be the battery or it may be a wire or a switch.   Just get in the habit of running the saw every few days and that takes care of that.  You might also look into a Maintenance charger too.  I've seen some little solar chargers that don't really charge they just keep a float on the battery to keep it from going down.  If the mill is near AC  a maintenance charger wouldn't be a problem at all.  Lots of guys with Motorcycles that aren't ridden often use them.

[Paul_H]

There is no alternator on our MD,but we need a battery to run the motor that raises and lowers the mill.Last year we had a solar panel that kept the battery topped up fairly well.It would have been even better if we could have left it hooked up over the weekend.But it would have walked off, for sure :-/

[ADfields]

I'm with Tom in the just add water and see if that works.   If not just trade it in on a new one for the core money is your best bet.   With a lead acid battery every time it releases some charge lead is flaked off the lead plates inside so they have a lifespan and the older they get (the more they have been used) the less lead it has to flake off so the less power they can releases.   Changing the acid wont help it but the plates are not covered in the water/acid mix they cant flake off if so cant releases a charge, the acid is all still in there just the water has evaporated out.   You are right in using distilled water as water with mineral in it will also clog up the plates and also not let them flake.   When you buy a battery you want the most cold cranking amps you can get for the case size you need, thats the bench mark to judge the quality of a starting type battery.   A deep cycle battery is rated by amp/hours and should never be used for starting motors and the like unless they say "starting deep cycle" on them, then you have the best of both.   The bigger the CCA or the more amp/hours you get is like having a bigger gas tank so the longer it will last before running out of lead, at least in theory. :-/   This is more than you ever wanted to know I bet. :   I like to know what makes stuff tick so I pass it on when I know something, :P it's not all that often when I do know something. ???
Andy

[Mark M]

Hi Doug

I would try adding the distilled water and recharging it. If that doesn't work take it over the Wheeler Machinery's Parts department and ask if they can test it for you (we do this free all the time for people). Since it is new there is a chance you might have a dead or shorted cell. This happens without warning and is fairly common. Don't just replace it without getting it tested.

Good luck

Mark

[ADfields]

That's true what Mark sead, I did not see that it was a new battery the first time I read it. :   If it's new and low on water I would take it back to the place it came from.   Also I should have sead this before, did you check that the car is charging?   If you put a good hot new battery in a car thats not charging it will run fine for a day or two before it runs down the new battery.   The fast field test for that is pull the -cable off with the motor running and if it stays running it's charging, this is just a field test and better tests can be done with a meeter.
Andy

[DouginUtah]

Just to clarify....

It is the old battery that is low on water. The new one is just fine.

Thanks for the replies.

Just out of curiosity, what does the N stand for in the battery number--35F-3N. All I could find was 35F-3, but it seems right.

-Doug

[Frank_Pender]

Paul, I use to rotate the bateries that run the track and carrage up and down.  There were threee of them.  I would rotate every other day or so when in heavy use.  In the mean time I would hook a trickle unit to each.  I now have changed to a two way motor and one of my sltudent who is an electrician came by while I was in the process and  rewired the joystick with six wires rather tha the 4.   I began to try and pay him and he said, No thanks.   This is just one for the many times you never gave up one me when I needed help."  I just about lost it all right in front of him.  :P Anyway, if youcan cinvert to an AC system it sure is more fun than worrying about changing batteries all of the time. 8)

[Paul_H]

Frank,
The mill engine is in the shop for a overhaul and I would like to rig an alternator up.The mill has a bit of a shack over it and I was thinking of rigging up a swing arm,or a "clothesline" to run the wires to the battery.

Electric start would be nice one day!

[ADfields]

I though the M/D's had a VW motor for power?   If so why would you not have the alternator with the fan drive on the back and the stock VW starter on it?  

Doug, the numbers you show just denote the size of the box you have and the placement and type of posts it has.   I don't know what the N stands for but it's not at all important.   So long as it fits in the hole you have and you can put the red on the + and the black on the - and it's 12 volt your good to go. ;)  
Andy

[Andre]

Here is a little more detail on charging and discharging lead acid batteries.
http://www.flex.com/~kalepa/technotes.htm

Also a very deeply discharged battery that is low on water should only be filled enough to cover the plates.  Give it some time for the water to settle (traped air) then again fill enough to just cover the plates.  Then charge the battery, the electrolite level will rise some as the battery is charged.  After charging you can then top off the water level.  If you top it off before charging you could have acid running out the vent when you charge.