battery caps

[ronnien]

hi all, i use a car battery 4 my boat, pretty sure that u leave the caps off while charging but would u leave them off when it is fully charged & on storage charge (trickle ).

ron.

[TheRealAndy]

There is no need to take the caps off at all

[Robbo_Townsville]

I used to take them off when charging but as someone stated you have them on when the battery is being charged by the outboard. Had no problems so far charging with the caps on.

[Roughasguts]

I take my caps off after about an hour just to see if every cell is bubbling away nicely, if one isn't then the battery is soon to be stuffed.

If you leave the caps off the acid bubbling will spatter all over the place.

Also if you use a car battery get some sponge rubber like the rubber ground mats for camping. (5 bucks at the cheapie shop) Cut that to the size of your battery and put it underneath to take away some of the vibrations.

That way your light duty battery plates may last longer like the more robust marine battery.

[johnny roger]

well after reading all the posts to this thread, i would have to disagree. if you look at the instructions that came with your battery charger, it clearly states to remove the caps. it also states that if you are charging a battery that does not have caps, to refer to the chart and see the corrosponding battery that you have. most of them state that you should only charge a battery that doesn't have caps for no more than an hour.
one would assume you take the caps off during charging at home just in case your charger is faulty.
i am a firm believer in 'do what the manual says' your ass is covered then.
John

[Noelm]

I think the old take the caps off is a carry over from way back days, kind of like putting your Battery on a Concrete floor will bugger it up!, but as mentioned, you do not remove the caps when it is in your Car/Boat that is charging at about 30 times the rate of even the best Chargers, but if in doubt or worried, just take them off, pretty simple really.

[FNQCairns]

I always took the caps off because that was what my father used to do, lot's of the old timers ideas are still applicable today and often a shelf higher than manufacturers advice I believe but at some time since I recognised my car charges batterys and the caps are fitted at all times, lots of cars on the road all doing the same thing, since then I have never removed even 1 for charging unless of coarse to check on something but it goes back in again as soon as possible.

No bad experiences from it yet, saves lots of acid I noticed.

cheers fnq

[Roughasguts]

I always took the caps off because that was what my father used to do, lot's of the old timers ideas are still applicable today and often a shelf higher than manufacturers advice I believe but at some time since I recognised my car charges batterys and the caps are fitted at all times, lots of cars on the road all doing the same thing, since then I have never removed even 1 for charging unless of coarse to check on something but it goes back in again as soon as possible.

No bad experiences from it yet, saves lots of acid I noticed.

cheers fnq

Yes saves lots of acid from spattering out, Now that's interesting.
So hopfully the battery will last longer as you never top up with Acid do we ? only water cause the acid doesn't evaporate but will spatter out! with the water, so we top it up but actually start diluting down the acid content. and weakening the battery.

[Noelm]

not really so, when the Battery is being charged, the "water" is made into Acid (H2SO4)

[TheRealAndy]

The problem with this, as with many myths about cars and boats and batteries etc. it it was once true and has probably been carried on through generations of mechanics and the like. The truth however is a different story. These days, modern batteries are manufactured with venting caps, therefore there is no need to remove the caps. IF a charger states that you should remove the caps, then it was probably designed by someone who does not fully understand lead acid batteries.

[coucho]

don't most battery caps now have an air breather?

[tunaticer]

99% of the reason for removing caps was to vent the hydrogen buildup inside the battery to avoid explosion from ignition. Todays batteries have very little room for air to accumulate and therefore less room for hydrogen. To be an explosive gas it also need oxygen to support the detonation. Less room for air = less room for explosive gases. Nearly every lead / acid wet cell battery these days is vented, even maintenance free ones.

Jack.