ck - putting water in coach house batteries - how often?

[Mary]

How often should the house batteries be checked for low water?

Is there anything that should be unplugged before touching the house batteries?

Are there safety things to use before working with the house batteries?

Is there a line inside that you use to fill to and is it distilled water that is used?

My thanks for your comments.

Mary

[Steve W]

Mary

I am sure you will get numerous replies to your questions and all will be informative. I will pass on the following: one; wear very old clothes or a throwaway apron when checking the batteries. Over the years, due to my carelessness, I have lost several shirts and pairs of pants due to battery acid getting on my clothes, regardless of how careful I was. two; it is as important not to overflow as it is to cover the battery plates. We use Interstate batteries, and using only distilled water I keep the water level just above the minimum ring. three; I check the batteries prior to each trip, though if on an extended trip, will check after approx. two weeks. four; when adding distilled water, it makes the job much easier if you can use a plastic container with a narrow spout of some sort.

[bcope01]

Mary, when you extend your battery tray out are all the filler holes exposed? If so, try using one of these plastic squeeze wash bottles filled with distilled water. An added benefit is that they store nicely in your refrigerator door filled with distilled water for when needed.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/16-oz-Deionized ... 35e537c195

Bill

[Dallas Baillio]

Similar to bcope's suggestion.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Mainstays-Dis ... e/14964974

[whemme]

Mary,

If you have an older Born Free coach that has the single stage Parallax 7345 charger/converter in it, that particular unit is not friendly to your coach batteries. It is relatively slow at recharging coach batteries that are discharged but when the batteries are finally fully charged, then that single stage unit will start to over-charge the batteries causing water in the battery cells to boil out causing the need to add water to the batteries frequently. If you have the Parallax 7345 charger/converter in your coach, then what you should do is that when your are in a campground plugged into shoreline power and you think your batteries are fully charged, you should then shut off you coach battery master switch to stop the over-charging. Doing this will greatly reduce the need to keep adding water to your battery cells and will extend the life of those batteries.

I have always recommended that the Parallax 7345 charger/converter be removed and replaced with a more modern 3-stage charger/converter such as the Progressive Dynamics PD4655. This unit will recharge your batteries much faster and when fully changed will automatically switch down to a trickle charging mode that will not over-charge your batteries and prevent cell water loss. I have converted my coach over to such a 3-stage unit and many other Born Free owners have also. In March this year I finally had to add water to just one cell in my pair of Interstate SRM-29 batteries that I installed back in July 2010 - almost 5 years ago.

And yes, when you add water to your batteries, always use distilled water. If you look down into the hole into a battery cell you will see the parallel lead plates and the water level should always be high enough to cover the top of these plates. Again looking down into the fill hole, on the sides of the hole you will see slots on both sides of the hole. Fill each cell until the water level comes up and just touches the bottom of those pair of slots. The surface tension of the water will cause the top surface of the water so show like a curved surface when it touches the bottom of those slots.

Now if interested in replacing your Parallax 7345 charger/converter with the Progressive Dynamics PD4655 unit, you can read about the conversion process at the topic titled Converting Parallax 7345 Charger/Converter to PD4655 system located in the Coach Modifications section of this forum. You can also click on this link http://www.bornfreervclub.org/bulletin_ ... =14&t=2482 to go directly to that topic.

[tomzleapin]

Another idea from Walmart:
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Plews-75-033- ... r/16550914

[stevek]

I use a Fleet Enema bottle
Very cheap at walmart. Empty out, and fill with distilled water.

[randallrae]

You can always trust a guy that knows his s--- !

[Mike Jean Bandfield]

Mary,
We did this subject to death about 10 years ago with Trisha when she was a newbie. It may not be the most orderly and you may need to ask for clarification on some points but overall there is a lot of good, and still relevant, info here: http://www.bornfreervclub.org/bulletin_ ... r&start=15

Since you have a 2000 model which may or may not have had the charger/converter upgraded you will want to determine what model is currently installed. This will dictate how you will need to operate and monitor your converter/charger and batteries.

[Mary]

I'd like to thank each and every one who so kindly shared their knowledge and hints for taking care of the flooded cell coach batteries. You guys are great.

Will the cell caps pry up easily? Would a stiff piece of plastic be safe to use or an old screw driver? Is using something metal a no no?

I admit I'm a bit afraid of handling the flooded cell batteries. Now that I know what I need to do, will give it a go.

If I feel I cannot handle them properly, I will consider putting in AGM batteries.

The coach has had the new style battery tray installed and I believe I can get to all of the cells quite easily. It has also had the house converter/charger replaced with the recommended 3 stage so maybe this process won't be necessary too often. The plastic bottles are an excellent idea for refilling and for storing the distilled water. I'm assuming not a lot of distilled water is needed at each top off. The idea of keeping the little bottle in the fridge is a great one.

I do use the search feature of this forum and find so much helpful information that way. I don't know how I missed the link Jean provided to me. Thank you for taking time to look up and provide the link. Excellent information there, too.

Mary

[whemme]

Mary,

Use a medium size flat blade screwdriver to carefully pry up the cap that covers 3 cells on each battery. The fact that you already have a 3-stage charger/converter installed means that once the water level in each cell is brought up to the bottom of the slots in each fill hole, you should have to check the water level only once a year.

[Mary]

Thank you, Bill, will do. And thanks for helping me.

Mary

[Dallas Baillio]

When crossing the street look both ways. And ALWAYS ask a Boy Scout for help!

[Mary]

OK, I finally got up the nerve to pry up a cover on one of the batteries and look inside. The batteries are black plastic and I'm not certain where the water level notch or mark I'm supposed to find is located in these little tubes. I can see what looks like a cut out in the side of each tube. Is that what I'm to see in order to know where to bring the water level to? I'd guesstimate the water level is maybe about an inch below the top edge of the battery case. Does this sound about right?

The water level in one tube might be a tiny bit lower than the other two (under this one cover) but they look pretty much the same level. The water surface looks sort of like water with oil on the surface. As long as I can see the surface of the water, do you think there is enough water in each tube?

These batteries are Interstate batteries. Maybe I can find a photo of this process somewhere on line.

Mary

[bcope01]

Mary, the lead plates in each of the battery fill holes should be completey covered with water. Never fill above the Max Level fill indicator.

Bill