Bongo Fury

My dad let me have an 85 amp leisure battery,that had not been used for over a year! I charged it for 24 hrs

but it didn't charge! I checked the water level inside the battery,and it was dry!! I've filled it up with nearly 3

litres of de-iodnised water and now my question is;have I damaged it by charging it dry? Or can I charge it again,now it's

'watered'!? Ta very much,Lee.

You need more than water - you need to fill it with battery acid.

Water alone won't work, drain it again, take it to a battery specialist and ask them to fill it with acid - it shouldn't cost much.

Or send me a plastic bag with your address on and I'll send you some through the post as I got a drum of it in the garage.

i am no expert but i would say its cooked

If it was dry, nothing should have happened as there was no completed circuit, so it's worth trying topping up with acid and trying another charge.

I think you will find that as the water evaporated the concentration of sulphuric acid will go up to the point where you get corrosion of the lead plates from simply chemistry!
I wouldn't spend to much money or time trying to get it going again, as its very unlikely to accept a full charge or last any length of time. The normal procedure for storage is fully charge them and then store for 6 months , repeat charge and store as required.

g8dhe wrote:I think you will find that as the water evaporated the concentration of sulphuric acid will go up to the point where you get corrosion of the lead plates from simply chemistry!
I wouldn't spend to much money or time trying to get it going again, as its very unlikely to accept a full charge or last any length of time. The normal procedure for storage is fully charge them and then store for 6 months , repeat charge and store as required.

Chees Geoff,that's all I need to know..........Job done.

drain em & flog the lead

g8dhe wrote:I think you will find that as the water evaporated the concentration of sulphuric acid will go up to the point where you get corrosion of the lead plates from simply chemistry!
I wouldn't spend to much money or time trying to get it going again, as its very unlikely to accept a full charge or last any length of time. The normal procedure for storage is fully charge them and then store for 6 months , repeat charge and store as required.

Did it dry out? or was it drained for some reason?

I had a spare one on my motor home and took it off before I sold the motor home ,left it in the garage and forgot about it for about a year when I tried to charge it up again it only read about 6volts and it wasnt dry. Kaput,

scanner wrote:

g8dhe wrote:I think you will find that as the water evaporated the concentration of sulphuric acid will go up to the point where you get corrosion of the lead plates from simply chemistry!
I wouldn't spend to much money or time trying to get it going again, as its very unlikely to accept a full charge or last any length of time. The normal procedure for storage is fully charge them and then store for 6 months , repeat charge and store as required.

Did it dry out? or was it drained for some reason?

Valid point - it seems unusual for one to dry out like that

scanner wrote:Did it dry out? or was it drained for some reason?

Yes that is true if it was drained then it could be simply refilled with water and battery acid and it would come back close to normal.
Its simple to check, ask your Dad did he replaced his trousers or shoes a year or so ago because they had holes in them

g8dhe wrote:

scanner wrote:Did it dry out? or was it drained for some reason?

Yes that is true if it was drained then it could be simply refilled with water and battery acid and it would come back close to normal.
Its simple to check, ask your Dad did he replaced his trousers or shoes a year or so ago because they had holes in them

Cheers Geoff!! My dad lives in a caravan,on our paddock,and this battery came from his van. It

hasn't been drained,just dried out I'll take it to the recycling centre later!...Cheers.

Question answered.

It's taken me a long time to learn, and I still ocasionally live in hope, that when a battery is ****ed you get rid of it.

I've tried all the tricks but all that happens is that you end up giving house room to something which will never be reliable again.

Same goes for NiCads that have been zapped back into life. Just get some new ones. Lifes too short for unreliable batteries.

Frank

Diplomat wrote:It's taken me a long time to learn, and I still ocasionally live in hope, that when a battery is ****ed you get rid of it.

I've tried all the tricks but all that happens is that you end up giving house room to something which will never be reliable again.

Same goes for NiCads that have been zapped back into life. Just get some new ones. Lifes too short for unreliable batteries.

Frank

Too right! Life is too damn short! Cheers Frank.........And everybody else