Part 7 (1/2)
In hot countries or states, the atmosphere may have such a high temperature that evaporation will be more rapid than in temperate climates, and this may necessitate more frequent addition of water.
If one cell requires a more frequent addition of water than the others, it is probable that the jar of that cell is cracked. Such a cell will also show a low specific gravity, since electrolyte leaks out and is replaced by water. A battery which has a leaky jar will also have a case which is rotted at the bottom and sides. A battery with a leaky jar must, of course, be removed from the car for repairs.
”Dope” Electrolytes
From time to time within the past two years, various solutions which are supposed to give a rundown battery a complete charge within five or ten minutes have been offered to the public. The men selling such ”dope” sometimes give a demonstration which at first sight seems to prove their claims. This demonstration consists of holding the starting switch down (with the ignition off) until the battery can no longer turn over the engine. They then pour the electrolyte out of the battery, fill it with their ”dope,” crank the engine by hand, run it for five minutes, and then get gravity readings of 1.280 or over.
The battery will also crank the engine. Such a charge is merely a drug-store charge, and the ”dope” is generally composed mainly of high gravity acid, which seemingly puts life into a battery, but in reality causes great damage, and shortens the life of a battery. The starting motor test means nothing. The same demonstration could be given with any battery. The high current drawn by the motor does not discharge the battery, but merely dilutes the electrolyte which is in the plates to such an extent that the voltage drops to a point at which the battery can no longer turn over the starting motor. If any battery were given a five minutes charge after such a test, the diluted electrolyte in the plates would be replaced by fresh acid from the electrolyte and the battery would then easily crank the engine again.
The five minutes of running the engine does not put much charge into the battery but gives time for the electrolyte to diffuse into the plates.
Chemical a.n.a.lysis of a number of dope electrolytes has shown that they consist mainly of high gravity acid, and that this acid is not even chemically pure, but contains impurities which would ruin a battery even if the gravity were not too high. The results of some of the a.n.a.lyses are as follows:
No. 1. 1.260 specific gravity sulphuric acid, 25 parts iron, 13.5 parts chlorine, 12.5, per cent sodium sulphate, 1 per cent nitric acid.
No. 2. 1.335 specific gravity sulphuric acid, large amounts of organic matter, part of which consisted of acids which attack lead.
No. 3. 1.340 specific gravity sulphuric acid, 15.5 per cent sodium sulphate.
No. 4. 1.290 specific gravity sulphuric acid, 1.5 per cent sodium sulphate.
No. 5. 1.300 specific gravity sulphuric acid.
If such ”dope” electrolytes are added to a discharged battery, the subsequent charging of the battery will add more acid to the electrolyte, the specific gravity of which will then rise much higher than it should, and the plates and separators are soon ruined.
Do not put faith in any ”magic” solution which is supposed to work wonders. There is only one way to charge a battery, and that is to send a current through it, and there is only one electrolyte to use, and that is the standard mixture of distilled water and chemically pure sulphuric acid.
7. The specific gravity of the electrolyte should be measured every two weeks and a permanent record of the readings made for future reference.
The specific gravity of the electrolyte is the ratio of its weight to the weight of an equal volume of water. Acid is heavier than water, and hence the heavier the electrolyte, the more acid it, contains, and the more nearly it is fully charged. In automobile batteries, a specific gravity of 1.300-1.280 indicates a fully charged battery.
Generally, a gravity of 1.280 is taken to indicate a fully, charged cell, and in this book this will be done. Complete readings are as follows:
1.300-1.280--Fully charged.
1.280-1.200--More than half charged.
1.200-1.150--Less than half charged.
1.150 and less--Completely discharged.
[Fig. 33 and Fig. 34: battery hydrometers]
For determining the specific gravity, a hydrometer is used. This consists of a small sealed gla.s.s tube with an air bulb and a quant.i.ty of shot at one end, and a graduated scale on the upper end. This scale is marked from 1.100 to 1.300, with various intermediate markings as shown in Fig. 33. If this hydrometer is placed in a liquid, it will sink to a certain depth. In so doing, it will displace a certain volume of the electrolyte, and when it comes to rest, the volume displaced will just be equal to the weight of the hydrometer. It will therefore sink farther in a light liquid than in a heavy one, since it will require a greater volume of the light liquid to equal the weight of the hydrometer. The top mark on the hydrometer scale is therefore 1.100 and the bottom one 1.300. Some hydrometers are not marked with figures that indicate the specific gravity, but are marked with the words ”Charged,” ”Half Charged,” ”Discharged,” or ”Full,” ”Half Full,”
”Empty,” in place of the figures.
The tube must be held in a vertical position, Fig. 35, and the stem of the hydrometer must be vertical. The reading will be the number on the stem at the surface of the electrolyte in the tube, Fig. 36. Thus if the hydrometer sinks in the electrolyte until the electrolyte comes up to the 1.150 mark on the stem, the specific gravity is 1.150.
[Fig. 35 Using hydrometer for reading specific gravity]
For convenience in automobile work, the hydrometer is enclosed in a large tube of gla.s.s or other transparent, acid proof material, having a short length of rubber tubing at its lower end, and a large rubber bulb at the upper end. The combination is called a hydrometer-syringe, or simply hydrometer. See Figure 34. In measuring the specific gravity of the electrolyte, the vent cap is removed, the bulb is squeezed (so as to expel the air from it), and the rubber tubing inserted in the hole from which the cap was removed. The pressure on the bulb is now released, and electrolyte is drawn up into the gla.s.s tube. The rubber tubing on the hydrometer should not be withdrawn from the cell. When a sufficient amount of electrolyte has entered the tube, the hydrometer will float. In taking a reading, there should be no pressure on the bulb, and the hydrometer should be floating freely and not touching the walls of the tube. The tube must not be so full of electrolyte that the upper end of the hydrometer strikes any part of the bulb.
The tube must be held in a vertical position, Fig. 35, and the stem of the hydrometer must be vertical. The reading will be the number on the stem at the surface of the electrolyte in the tube, Fig. 36. Thus if the hydrometer sinks in the electrolyte until the electrolyte comes up to the 1.150 mark on the stem, the specific gravity is 1.150.