Acid Battery Question

[Coyote]

I bought a battery on eBay last night. Couldn't pass it up for $28 and free shipping. I think all these batteries come out of the same basement in Taiwan Just different brands
Anyway, the battery is shipped dry. It includes a separate acid pack like most all of them do. My question is will these batteries last indefinitely until the acid is added, or do they have a shelf life anyway? I don't want to activate it till my current battery throws in the towel.

[GT750Battleship]

Hi,supposedly it's the acid being added that starts its life cycle ? I bought a Mottobat battery last November....no more acid to worry about,no more adding distilled water.... But there must be a shelf life...just like tyres they do degrade past their effective life,used or not
Cheers,
Roger.

[akendall1966]

From the Yuasa power sport technical manual

Activating a Battery
Yuasa batteries come from the factory in one of two ways:
Factory Activated (FA) where the battery is filled with electrolyte, sealed and charged at the factory. These batteries must be used within a period of time and cannot be stored indefinitely. The other type of battery is shipped dry and can be either a Conventional or AGM type of battery. These batteries are sometimes referred to as Bottle Supplied (BS) because they are shipped with the electrolyte stored in a plastic container. The battery is fi lled with electrolyte from the container when it’s ready to be activated. These types of factory sealed, dry batteries have an indefinite shelf life as long as they remain sealed (filler caps and red sealing cap in place on a Conventional battery and foil sealing strip in place on an AGM battery). Once it’s unsealed, a battery should be activated, charged and installed. The plates of an unsealed battery will begin to oxidize making it more diffi cult to charge later.

So will depend on how well sealed the dry battery is

[Coyote]

Thanks akendall!. That's exactly the info I was looking for! I'll let you all know what I get. Supposedly this battery company, located in Wisconsin has been in business for 80 years Never heard of them before. Company name is Remy. Battery brand is Superlex.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/12N11-3A-1-Batt ... 79&vxp=mtr" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Craig380]

Also, apologies if you already know this but the battery does need charging after being filled, and before fitting to the bike. The battery lasts a lot longer AND holds more charge this way.

I only mention it because the people that I usually buy bike batteries from have previously told me that it's not necessary to charge after the fill.

[pearljam724]

I bought a battery on eBay last night. Couldn't pass it up for $28 and free shipping. I think all these batteries come out of the same basement in Taiwan Just different brands
Anyway, the battery is shipped dry. It includes a separate acid pack like most all of them do. My question is will these batteries last indefinitely until the acid is added, or do they have a shelf life anyway? I don't want to activate it till my current battery throws in the towel.

I like your theory on them all being made in the same basement. Lol ! As Craig mentioned, you have to charge after fill. The battery if not filled has a very long shelf life. The manually acid filled batteries we speak of. Will have a shorter life span if you don't keep up on keeping it filled to the suggested max line. It's very common that they lose acid. The only flaw with non sealed batteries, the acid is not available anywhere separately. I save my old batteries to have spare acid. Other than that. They're just as good as any sealed battery. When the acid gets far below that line, it will dry out the cell. Causing that cell to become dead. Wanting you to send it back to some basement in Tiawan.

[yeadon_m]

Not commenting on battery use as such, but a 'fact-let' I read recently that I thought was interesting.

Lead / acid batteries are in some ways surprisingly 'green tech' in that something like 99% of every part of it is recycled into.....new batteries!

They re-use the plastic cases to make new ones, and all the lead is stripped out and recycled.

SO....please DO recycle your battery when its knackered....should be a local muni place which will accept them.

Far better than chucking them into landfill!

Mike

[pearljam724]

I agree. In my case. I keep the old battery around to use the acid if need be. There is no time frame on recycling the old battery. I just keep one or two around the garage to hold the acid for storage. I've been in situations though. That I had to exchange the old battery for a core charge. So, I just put the acid in sealed container first.

[Coyote]

The only flaw with non sealed batteries, the acid is not available anywhere

My local cycle shop (where I got this current 550) must ave a 55 gallon drum of the stuff. He can fill a dry battery any time. You can buy all you want at Amazon and most auto supply storees.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_ ... lectrolyte" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[pearljam724]

The only flaw with non sealed batteries, the acid is not available anywhere

My local cycle shop (where I got this current 550) must ave a 55 gallon drum of the stuff. He can fill a dry battery any time. You can buy all you want at Amazon and most auto supply storees.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_ ... lectrolyte" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Interesting. That's the first I have seen that available online. Not in my area can you buy it. No auto stores, etc. I believe auto stores are not likely to carry it or they sell less batteries. If I have to spring a fair amount for acid. I would just buy a new battery.

[Coyote]

Be careful adding extra acid when the level is low. You should only add distilled water. I rebuilt a Triumph back in the late 70's. The battery that came with it was nearly totally dry so I filled it with fresh acid. Took it for a nice long test run. When I got home and shut down, I heard something hissing. Flipped up the seat and the battery was 1/3 again it's normal size and burning HOT.. It wasn't an electrical malfunction. I got a new battery and never had any trouble after that. I'm just lucky the thing didn't explode.

[Coyote]

The battery came yesterday. It is 100% sealed. The acid bottle is in a box. The box and battery are sealed together in one single unit. Should last a long time and come to life when I need it.
Now I wish I had searched (on eBay) by battery number 12N11 -3A-1. I could have gotten a Yuasa for $2 more.

[GT750Battleship]

Hi,my fairly recent purchase of a Mottobat cost me a whole $8:00 dollars more than a Yuasa,& no more filling with distilled water every so often
Cheers,
Roger

[parksie]

You should NEVER use acid to top up a battery. Batteries don't lose acid they lose water hence why you top them up with distilled water. If you use battery acid to top them up you will increase Sulphur content in the battery and considerably reduce its life.

[Coyote]

I noticed today that my battery isn't looking very good. Starting to get wet around the filler caps and even around the top seam of the case itself. I figured it was time to retire it and use the one I bought back when I started this thread.
I got it out and unwrapped it. It was all sealed really well. It's a good thing as the date embossed on the battery is 12-11 79! I guess I shouldn't expect much out of this one as it is already 35 years old. I haven't filled it yet because the original charge time is supposed to be 11 hours. I'll be sleeping 11 hours from now so I guess I will fill it in the morning. Weird, when I pulled the little red vent cap off, it went Woooooosh!. Like it had a build up of pressure in it. Who knows? It may be the best battery I ever owned -- but I seriously doubt it.