Plain, boiled and filtered water into the accumulator. Can I fill in and what will happen? Adding water to the car battery, proper maintenance of the battery What can be filled into the battery instead of distilled water

Quite often, novice motorists are worried about what distilled water is and why it should be added to a car battery at any time of the year. That being said, some people point out that there may be more harm than good from the distillate, although this information has not been proven.

It is worth trying to figure out what will happen to the battery if you pour ordinary tap water into it, and how much distilled water will have to be poured for the unit to work properly. Professional drivers who are well versed in all the intricacies of the composition of electrochemical liquids in a battery.

Distilled water is a part of the electrolyte, without which it is impossible to prepare an electrochemical type liquid, since it can create a composition of the required density and add useful properties. In the event that you do not add this water to the battery, the unit will not work as correctly as possible.

The fact is that the electrolyte consists of thirty percent sulfuric acid and sixty-five percent distillate. Of course, it is clear that pure acid would simply corrode the lead plates and disable car battery... It is distilled water that helps to significantly reduce the concentration of sulfuric acid, allowing the battery to work properly.

Find out the charging time of your battery

According to the school chemistry course, it can be understood that distilled water is the purest substance in which there are no impurities and salts. It is worth noting that tap water should not be poured into the battery instead of distilled water, since it is far from ideal. In such a liquid, there are not only many impurities and salts, but also a dangerous element - chlorine.

If you pour tap water instead of distilled water, the impurities will settle on the lead plates, and the battery capacity will significantly decrease. This means that tap water is destructive for the battery, and pouring it into the unit means finally ruining it.

How to calculate the amount of water to be added

To ensure the correct operation of the car battery, it is worthwhile to understand how much distilled water you need to fill. According to the technical documentation, the ratio of acid to distillate is no more than 1: 2. To find out how much to add distilled water to a car battery, it is worth understanding how much acid is in it.

Why it will be important to correctly calculate the amount of water to be added:

there should be a lot of acid, since it is consumed when the battery is discharged, contributing to a drop in the electrolyte level and the appearance of salts on lead plates;
in the event that the battery is charged, the level of distilled water drops, increasing the density of the acid, so the density of most batteries is 1.27 g / cm3;
if there is not as much acid as necessary, then the electrolyte at a low air temperature will turn into ice;
if you add more acid than water at home, it will destroy the plates.

The ratio of acid to water, like 1 to 2, was derived many years ago experimentally, therefore it is strictly forbidden to change it in any direction. Every car owner must know how much distilled water is in the battery in order to top it up with his own hands to the required level in a timely manner.

Rules for adding distillate to the battery

You should familiarize yourself with the rules for adding distillate using the video in order to add distilled water to the battery correctly and not harm the vehicle:

In order to add distilled water correctly, it is necessary to determine what level of electrolyte in the battery, using a special tube, the diameter of which is at least five millimeters.

To achieve the required electrolyte level, distillate should be drawn into a twenty-cube syringe and five or ten milliliters of liquid should be added to each section of the battery.

After distilled water is topped up, the battery will have to be charged without covering the cans' caps at least four times to restore capacity. Then the covers are closed, and the battery is settled for about twelve hours.

Do not forget what safety precautions should be applied in the process, so you need to stock up on protective goggles and gloves, and not come close to open sources of fire.

Very often I am asked a question about a car battery, namely, why does it need distilled water? Why is it generally poured, what is the benefit or harm from it? Why not pour the usual from the tap, what will happen? YES, and in general how much it needs to be poured. As you can see, despite the prostate, the design of the questions is just a lot, and they are all associated with this fluid. To be honest, people who understand a little about the composition of the electrochemical liquid of a battery will not ask such questions, but for beginners this information will be very useful, so read on ...

First, a little definition.

- this is an indispensable part of an electrochemical liquid, simply an electrolyte, which plays a very important role, namely, creates a composition of the required density and properties. If there was no water in the composition, then the battery did not work as it should.

What does it mean? YES everything is simple - the electrolyte consists of 35% and 65% distilled water. If you simply pour in sulfuric acid, then its “crazy” concentration would simply melt everything (even if not immediately, but she would have done it for sure). Water lowers the concentration to the desired limit, then the acid begins to work in creation, and not destruction. Also, with this ratio, the processes of accumulation of electricity in the electrolyte begin to occur during charging. What then allows this charge to be spent.

What is distilled water?

And really, what is it? To be honest, this is a question for the 6-7th grade of a comprehensive school, where they begin to delve deeply into physics and chemistry.

This is nothing more than just "H2O" - that is, the pure composition of water, only two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen. There are no impurities or salts - absolute purity.

If you answer the question - why it is impossible to fill the battery with ordinary water from the "tap", then the answer is very simple:

The composition that flows with you from the tap can hardly be called a "distiller" because it contains not only the notorious H2O, but also a bunch of all kinds of impurities, especially salts, lime (in low concentrations), chlorine, etc.

If it is poured into a battery, then these impurities will inevitably settle on the lead plates of the battery, which will lead to a decrease in the battery capacity. Thus, ordinary water will simply destroy your battery, so it cannot be poured.

Why exactly this ratio?

Now many may ask the question - why exactly such a ratio of acid and distilled water? THEN there is one mass fraction of acid and two mass fractions of water.

This is done for several reasons:

There should be enough acid, because when the battery is discharged, it is consumed, the density of the electrolyte drops - salts are released onto the plates. And when charging, on the contrary, water is consumed, the density of the acid increases. If there is not enough acid, then the process of charging and discharging will not be as efficient. Therefore, now the density of many batteries is approximately 1.27 g / cm3.
If there is not enough acid, the electrolyte will simply freeze at sub-zero temperatures. A discharged battery can turn into ice already at - 3, - 5 degrees.
If you pour in a lot of acid, much more (for example, 2 mass fractions, and one mass fraction of water), then it can negatively affect the plates. More salts will settle, and this concentration will destroy the plates faster.

This combination was derived empirically, through a fairly large number of tests.

Why is water being poured into the battery, and not electrolyte?

Everything is also simple - during operation, the battery heats up (it also heats up in the summer, in the heat), and when charged, the banks can boil. At these moments, distilled water evaporates from the battery - after all, this is its normal state (evaporation when heated, simply turns into steam). But the acid remains, it is not "volatile" - accordingly, the concentration of the acid increases, and the concentration of water decreases. The density can grow up to 1.4 g / cm3. In order to bring the electrolyte inside the battery to a normal state, you need to replenish this evaporated water, so we add it, the acid is in the right proportion.

If you add electrolyte, then you simply mix, say - 1.4 and 1.27 (which you purchased) and you get about 1.33 g / cm3 - which is already a lot! We remember about the precipitation of salts and the destruction of the plates.

So you need to add just distilled water, for the desired density, and not electrolyte! When mixed, it forms the density required for work.

Remember this rule! In fairness, water was added only to the serviced batteries, because the evaporation there is simply huge. But maintenance-free batteries do not require such careful attention, because there it is in a closed sealed case - the liquid evaporates, rises and then precipitates again - the cycle is closed.

How much water to add to the battery?

As we have already figured out, if there is a maintenance-free battery, then practically not how much, you can ride for at least five years and never look into it - this is normal! But if your battery is serviced, that is, the plugs are unscrewed from above, you need to constantly monitor the level.

How much distilled water to add is a difficult question - after all, in each case, it will have its own value. It can fluctuate from, because the larger the battery, the more electrolyte it contains, which means you need to add more water.

I advise you to always have a liter bottle in your car (on my old cars it took me 1.5 - 2 months - in the summer, in the winter for 3 - 4 months) - remember if the electrolyte level has dropped and your cans are bare, this is a critical condition, an urgent need to understand the level to close the platinum. Otherwise, they may heat up and crumble.

A short video of what level should be.

We all heard that you can only fill the battery with distilled water and nothing else! But why? Why is it impossible to pour, say, the usual one from the tap, or boiled, driven through a filter, and so on? This is a very elementary question - if you drop into a high school chemistry course, everything will be resolved right away. For those who skipped this lesson, or forgot, today I want to tell you in detail why the "usual" one cannot be poured from the tap, there will be an interesting video at the end, so we read and watch ...

The battery, despite all its simplicity, requires a certain precision both in and in service in general. One of these conditions is, it is precisely when it is present that correct operation is guaranteed, if something else is flooded, then the battery may not work at all

Electrolyte subtleties

I would like to remind you a little how the battery works and what is the role of the electrolyte here. Let me remind you briefly that there are minus (lead) and plus (lead dioxide) plates. Between them is poured special liquid electrolyte - it consists of about 65% distilled water and 35% sulfuric acid (this corresponds to a density of 1.27 g / cm3).

When the battery begins to thin out (we connect the load), then, when lead oxide and sulfuric acid interact, lead sulfates begin to form in the form of salts on the plates. The density of the electrolyte drops.

The process is reversed when charging. - sulfates are destroyed, the density rises again to the prescribed 1.27. BUT if you start the battery and discharge to zero (), the sulfates may no longer collapse (the crystals of these salts will become strong), the battery will lose capacity - this process.

There are also additions of "calcium" - if, again, of this type, discharge to zero, then in addition to lead sulfates, calcium sulfates are formed.

It is worth remembering that any substances, whether in plates or in an electrochemical liquid, under certain conditions can have certain effects on the final battery

In simple words - the cleaner the better, inside should only be what chemists and engineers have laid

Plain, boiled and from under the filter water in the battery

Before talking about ordinary water, I would like to say a few words about distilled water. We need to remember the physics course that it tells us - distillate practically does not conduct electricity , it is very clean, there are few (practically no) salts, metals, minerals and other things in it - THIS IS IMPORTANT!

Thus, we realized that only pure liquids should be poured inside. But ordinary water cannot be called that. I rummaged on the Internet and found what the drinking (ordinary, which flows from the tap) liquid consists of - I was a little shocked.

About 30 - 33 types of various minerals, metals, salts, etc. I am inserting a screenshot for you

As you can see, the minerals alone are about 1000 mg / l (about 1 gram). Such a liquid perfectly conducts electric current, it precipitates.

But most importantly, we do not know how it will behave - with sulfuric acid, lead, calcium, which compounds will be formed. After all, let's say minerals (1000 mg / l) it just might be calcium, and it forms sulfates during discharges (which are practically insoluble in water and sulfuric acid).

All this has a very negative effect on the operation of the battery, mineral sulfates are formed on the plates, metals can increase resistance and contribute to destruction.

In simple words - ordinary water, it will simply kill your battery, in a short time, usually a couple of months, how you will operate your car

Boiled water - it differs from the usual one only in that there are no organic compounds in it (usually these are bacteria that die during boiling), but the rest of the elements do not disappear anywhere. Therefore, it also CANNOT be filled!

Pass through the filter - now there is just a bunch of different filters (including household ones), I now do not presume to talk about industrial filters, perhaps from under them almost distillate actually comes out. But household ones are also not able to purify water 100%, some of the substances will definitely remain. So after the filter, you also CANNOT pour it into the battery!

In simple words, only distillate - AND NOTHING MORE!

BOTTOMLINE - what will happen to the battery?

Well, let's, in conclusion, summarize the points (so to speak, a memo), what will happen if you fill in ordinary, boiled, filtered (with an ordinary household filter) water:

Acceleration of the electrolysis process - rapid loss of water
Sediment formation (minerals), possibly sulfates on the plates - reduced capacity
Destruction of plates, from admixture of metals - failure of the battery
Accelerated self-discharge - due to metals
Increasing the resistance of the plates
Change in electrical conductivity as working fluid and metals
An increase in the density of the electrolyte (some substances may contribute to this)
Precipitation, may bridge elements

Separately, I would like to say to those who write that ordinary water will overlap the plates, this is not true, the battery will not work as it worked, only the electrolysis process will accelerate, that's all.

All this will lead to the output of your, even a fresh battery. REMEMBER THIS! It's not worth experimenting like that. However, some dishonest sellers pour ordinary tap water instead of distilled water, thus deceiving you. Here it is already very difficult to defend yourself - it is worth looking at the bottle so that there is no sediment in it, or buying from pharmacies (here everything is more closely monitored), BUT YOU CAN DO IT YOURSELF EVEN IN HOME CONDITIONS, there is nothing complicated here, and you will be sure 100% (we'll talk about this in the next article).

Many novice motorists have the question of how to add distilled water to the battery if it is from the category of serviced batteries. Accordingly, the second question arises, how much liquid needs to be added and whether it can be done independently at home.

Purpose of distilled water

Distilled water is an important constituent in automotive fluids. battery, ensures its full functionality, maintains the required electrolyte density, which contains 65% of it. And the percentage of sulfuric acid is only 35%.

Sulfuric acid is a fairly highly concentrated chemical compound that, in its pure form, is dangerous for the battery. To reduce its concentration, purified water is needed. The ratio H2O / H2SO4 = 65/35 provides the accumulation of electrical energy at the time of charging the battery, which is subsequently used for starting and driving vehicle.

Distilled water (DW) is ordinary water purified from organic compounds (waste products of vegetation and animals, bacteria, viruses) and inorganic impurities (salts, mineral additives, other substances). It consists of two chemical elements: hydrogen (H) and oxygen (O).

Before you know how much to add distilled water to the battery, it is important to understand that ordinary water is not suitable for such a procedure. It contains a large amount of various impurities (salt, chlorine, lime and others), which contribute to the rapid failure of a car battery. Do not pour boiled water into the battery, as ordinary boiling does not distill (purify) the liquid in full.

Why is not electrolyte used?

During the operation of the battery, especially in summer, the battery heats up, as a result of which the cans can boil. The DV evaporates at this moment. Acid is a non-volatile liquid; accordingly, it remains and the concentration of water decreases. The density of the mixture sometimes grows up to 1.4 g / cm 3. Therefore, in order to bring the electrolyte to a normal density, it is necessary to add DV.

If the electrolyte is poured, the density will decrease, but not enough.

It is important to remember about the precipitation of salts and the destruction of the plates. Therefore, in order to reduce the density of the liquid to the established norm, only DV is added. This rule must always be remembered!

It is also worth remembering that water is topped up only in serviced batteries, which differ in maximum evaporation. Maintenance-free batteries are equipped with a molded sealed case, the evaporated liquid does not come out, it precipitates inside the can. In this case, a closed cycle occurs, there is no need to add water.

When battery charging is required

Most experts believe that a car battery Maintenance not required. Accordingly, adding water to it is irrelevant, but subject to the operation of the battery under normal conditions. It is imperative to check the liquid level for motorists who travel long distances in their own car. In this case, the greatest probability of transformation of the liquid into a vapor state. And also the active process of water evaporation is carried out in case of failure of the relay-regulator.

The main indicators of the breakdown of the relay-regulator:

during the operation of the vehicle, the battery gets very hot;
electrolyte drops are observed on the battery case;
Strong steam comes out of the filler openings.

It is necessary to take into account the design variant of the battery. Serviced models have much more H2O evaporation. Therefore, it is for them that it is worth knowing how much water to add to the battery. On maintenance-free models, liquid evaporation to the environment is prevented by the hermetically sealed die-cast housing. Such batteries do not require additional maintenance.

Checking the electrolyte level

The presence of electrolyte is checked exclusively in the serviced batteries. They are most often equipped with a transparent body, so the inspection is carried out visually. For this, special marks are made on the surface, corresponding to a certain volume of liquid.

Serviced batteries with an opaque casing are also available. To determine to what level to add water to the battery in this case, the vehicle owner will need a special transparent tube with a diameter of 0.5 cm.

Liquid level check sequence:

the battery cover is unscrewed;
the transparent tube is lowered into the liquid, while it should rest against the bottom of the jar;
its outer hole is clamped tightly with a finger;
then it is removed from the battery to determine the electrolyte level.

Such a tube has a division of a minimum and a maximum. Accordingly, if the accumulated liquid is within these limits, the electrolyte volume is normal. If the liquid is below the minimum, it is necessary to top up the DV.

How much water needs to be added

In batteries of a modern type, it is easier to figure out how much DV to add to the system. Their body is often made of transparent plastic, on which the scale of the liquid volume is broken. You just need to visually monitor its level in the system. It should not be less or more than the permissible norm.

In some models of batteries, a plastic (metal) "tongue" is installed slightly below the neck of the can. It is necessary to fill in the liquid 0.5 cm above it.
If there are no marks in the jar, add water 1.5 cm above the lead plates.
If it is impossible to visually determine the presence of electrolyte in the battery, then it is recommended to use a specialized glass tube with a scale.

It is important to properly top up the DV so that the density of the electrolyte meets the established standards. At higher concentrations, hydrochloric acid will destroy the lead plates.

If it is lacking, you can defrost a car battery at significant subzero temperatures.

How to add liquid correctly

If the density of the electrolyte in the car battery has increased or the battery does not provide the required voltage, then the reason is the evaporation of the DV. Normally, the electrolyte consists of: H2SO4 (sulfuric acid) - 35%; H2O - 65%.

Instructions for refilling DV into the battery:

Topping up liquid is carried out only on a horizontal surface, otherwise the level will show the wrong volume. And also it is worth considering the fact that the density of the electrolyte differs in different climatic conditions. For example, in Russia:

in the south of the country - 1.25 g / cm 3;
in the central regions - 1.27 g / cm 3;
in the northern territories - 1.29 g / cm 3.

To accurately measure the density of a liquid, the hydrometer must be strictly free, upright and not in contact with the walls of the container. Having carefully lowered the hydrometer into the liquid, you need to wait until it completely stops oscillating, then take the readings on the scale at the point of its intersection with the electrolyte surface. This is the density of the liquid.

Getting a distillate at home

There are motorists who do not go to the store for DV. They produce it on their own at home. These are mainly the older generation, who have faced times of shortage, and people living in settlements remote from the city, where many products are simply not supplied.

If you want to cook DV on your own, you should understand that it will not be of high quality, since for this you need to have special expensive equipment - a distiller. But as an alternative, a regular moonshine still without a coil is suitable. The performance of DV when using this option will be approximately 1 glass in 3-4 hours.

The formula for distilled water is H2O. A high-quality liquid should not contain foreign impurities. In domestic conditions, it is impossible to achieve such a result, a small content of metal salts will still remain.

If you urgently need to add water to the battery, you can draw it from the tap into a plastic bottle and put it in the freezer for 2-3 hours. You only need to use ice that is previously melted. Unfrozen water is drained into the sink. The DV obtained in this way will cause minimal damage to the battery.
Another way is to collect rainwater in a plastic container, thoroughly filter it, and then use it as intended.

Important! The collected water for the battery must not come into contact with iron objects. For example, water flowing down from a metal roof of a house is not suitable for this purpose.

Sitting in a car and turning the ignition key, many do not even realize that at this moment complex chemical processes are taking place under the hood. For a long and efficient operation of the battery, the chemical purity of the internal components of the battery is important. Distilled water is the key to a long and trouble-free battery life. If you follow all the rules and do not add ordinary water to the battery, you can avoid many problems with the car.

The role of the electrolyte in the battery

The liquid electrolyte consists of sulfuric acid and pure distilled water. Pure sulfuric acid is capable of melting lead, so it must be diluted to a ratio of about 1.27 g / cm³. Over time, it evaporates and the percentage of acid increases. The battery starts to malfunction, and if this situation is not corrected, the battery will become unusable.

Define, how much water to add into the battery by checking the electrolyte level.

How to check the level at home:

We turn off the corks
With a transparent plastic or glass tube we collect the electrolyte covering the plates. (The body of a simple ballpoint pen is ideal)
The liquid level should be approximately 1.5 - 2 cm.
Different control marks are provided depending on the battery manufacturer.

Important! You need to top up only if the level has dropped in at least one of the cans.

Causes low level electrolyte:

Evaporation of water overcharged and hot weather. It easily turns into steam, but acid does not. In this case, you need to top up with distilled purified water to bring the density to the desired parameter.
Crack in the case. In this case, you will need to solder the case (if it is made of polypropylene) or dispose of the battery. After restoring the tightness, you will need to top up the ready-made electrolyte.
Rollover. At the ends of the body there are special drainage holes intended for the escape of vapors and hydrogen during "boiling". If the battery is turned over, some electrolyte will leak out. You will have to raise the level by adding electrolyte.

Specifications

A universal natural thinner - H2O, or water. Due to its universal properties, it is practically impossible to find pure water without impurities in nature. In any case, it naturally occurs in the form of solutions of salts or oxides.

Water can be purified in various ways, the most popular is evaporation and subsequent condensation. In nature, this process occurs within the cycle of evaporation - precipitation. People have accelerated this process through distillation. The distiller device is known for its use in moonshine stills - a heating cube, intermediate tanks, a cooler.

Distilled water is an excellent dielectric. Most cleanliness instruments use the principle of measuring the resistance between electrodes immersed in a liquid. For relatively pure water, electrodes lowered by 1 cm with a distance of 2.5 cm between themselves have a resistance of 33 Ohm.

What to replace?

Usually, motorists do not have a question - where to get distilled water? - after all, it is sold in almost every household or auto chemistry store. Industrial purified water is the purest. The quality of the product is checked on sophisticated expensive equipment, the factory conditions are close to ideal.

What can be refilled if there is no distilled water?

Important! Lying snow is not good- melt water during thaws penetrates lower, carrying impurities in the thickness.

Distillation. It is quite possible to carry out cleaning in any kitchen. You can buy a compact distiller, or build it yourself.

The simplest distiller can be prepared in the kitchen with your own hands, for this you will need:

Two glass bottles, one of which will have a curved neck.
Scotch.
Pot with a volume of 20 liters.
Ice pack.

Do not fill the bottle with a straight neck to the end, so that thirteen centimeters remain to the top. Tape the necks of both bottles with tape. The pot that the water bottle will drop into must be filled to completely cover the bottle. Ice should be on the empty bottle. The water will begin to evaporate and as soon as the second bottle is full of distillate, the process can be completed.

It is impossible to achieve high quality, but relatively clean water can be obtained.

Useful video

A very interesting video with distillation and testing of water at home:

Why you can't fill in plain water

Diluting the electrolyte with plain water can significantly reduce the efficiency of the battery.

Natural water cannot be clean. The amount of impurities ranges from 0.01% to 0.1%. There is dirt and dust in rain and melt water, in ordinary and boiled water there are salts and minerals that will settle on the plates and destroy them. The resistance will increase, and the battery capacity in the meantime will decrease, the electrical conductivity will change.

Can I pour boiled water into the battery? - No!

Doing this is strictly prohibited. Impurities will settle on the lead plates and interfere with their redox reactions. The contact area between lead and electrolyte is reduced, and the battery is damaged.

It is possible to "kill" the battery by charging it with water with a high content of impurities in one discharge-charge cycle.

Battery maintenance features

The battery in cars is a consumable item - it breaks down over time. The service life can be significantly extended by proper maintenance, which is carried out according to the following rules

The battery must be charged before servicing.
By charging and checking the density of honey, it should take 5-7 hours to stop the processes of sulfation of the plates.
Before topping up, it is imperative to check the density with a calibrated hydrometer!
After refilling, charge the battery again. This will mix the electrolyte faster.
After use, check the electrolyte density and battery capacity again using the load plug.

If the battery capacity drops sharply and the electrolyte becomes cloudy, then it is out of order and it is time to change it.