Percival P. Cassidy wrote:
On 08/20/05 01:37 am ehsjr tossed the following ingredients into the
ever-growing pot of cybersoup:

Regarding my comment that there is strong evidence that your
charger is bad: the electrolyte level didn't go down due to
leakage. The alternative is that it went down due to evaporation,
which is a result of heat, which in turn can be caused by
overcharging. As you point out, we don't know how much of the
electrolyte loss was caused by the charger - but the only
possibility that can be linked to what you have posted thus far
is overcharging. Perhaps there are other factors you haven't
mentioned?


But won't an unsealed (i.e., NOT "maintenance-free") battery lose water
by evaporation even if it's not overcharged? Otherwise why the need to
check the electrolyte level regularly?

Because the battery may get overcharged in service. But
I've had a number of cars over the years that had "regular"
batteries (non maintenance free). The batteries rarely
needed water - maybe once or twice a year - and were
never even close to a pint down. I have 2 non-maintenance
free batteries that were picked up at the side of the road.
I've had them for almost a year, and the electrolyte
level has not dropped. These batteries are not on a charger,
they just sit there. I have another that is on a float
charger for 100% of the time, and has been for almost
2 years. The electrolyte level has not dropped.

Ed




Perce