Accidentally Overfilled My Battery...

[Brian Owens]

So I went to refill my battery with distilled water this evening and overfilled a bit...Enough so that the water rose above the cap level...Not wanting to touch the liquid because of acid concerns, I put the tops back on and closed them.

 

I put the battery on the charger and 2 weird things happened. 

 

1.) The battery charged super fast...What would normally take a few hours took less than 5-10 minutes

 

2.) The water under the cap began bubbling

 

Immediately I turned off the charger. 

 

Any advice on how to proceed? Should I attempt to take some of the water out? If so, how? If not, should I just charge as usual and put a pan or a towel under the battery in case it overflows?

 

Any advice much appreciated. Thanks!

[lmoore]

Overfilling won't directly cause performance issues, but it will make a mess. Losing battery acid from a cell will lower the capacity.

I'm on a phone so I can't see where you're from, but if you won't be out anytime soon I'd charge it up, clean up any spill, and leave it sit while some of the water evaporates.

[Wayne P.]

So I went to refill my battery with distilled water this evening and overfilled a bit...Enough so that the water rose above the cap level...Not wanting to touch the liquid because of acid concerns, I put the tops back on and closed them.

 

I put the battery on the charger and 2 weird things happened. 

 

1.) The battery charged super fast...What would normally take a few hours took less than 5-10 minutes

 

2.) The water under the cap began bubbling

 

Immediately I turned off the charger. 

 

Any advice on how to proceed? Should I attempt to take some of the water out? If so, how? If not, should I just charge as usual and put a pan or a towel under the battery in case it overflows?

 

Any advice much appreciated. Thanks!

The "overflow" will creat a circuit between the battery cells or posts and cause it to discharge.

Take a straw, dip it into the cell, put you finger on the end to hold the fluid in the straw, and remove the straw to dispose of the excess. Do that until the level is at the indicater in the cell.

Clean up the spilled fluid so the battery is dry. Rinse the caps with water and shake out the excess so they can "breathe".

Keep plently of water nearby to dilute what you spill.

Wearing rubber gloves is a good idea when handling battery acid.

 

If you have one, a battery hydrometer can be used for the fluid extraction instead of the straw.

 

"Been there, done that, have the T-shirt"

[zeth]

syringe from walgreens the big plastic wound irrigation type.

[Smokinal]

The "overflow" will creat a circuit between the battery cells or posts and cause it to discharge.

Take a straw, dip it into the cell, put you finger on the end to hold the fluid in the straw, and remove the straw to dispose of the excess. Do that until the level is at the indicater in the cell.

Clean up the spilled fluid so the battery is dry. Rinse the caps with water and shake out the excess so they can "breathe".

Keep plently of water nearby to dilute what you spill.

Wearing rubber gloves is a good idea when handling battery acid.

 

If you have one, a battery hydrometer can be used for the fluid extraction instead of the straw.

 

"Been there, done that, have the T-shirt"

This is the answer op^^^

[Brian Owens]

The "overflow" will creat a circuit between the battery cells or posts and cause it to discharge.

Take a straw, dip it into the cell, put you finger on the end to hold the fluid in the straw, and remove the straw to dispose of the excess. Do that until the level is at the indicater in the cell.

Clean up the spilled fluid so the battery is dry. Rinse the caps with water and shake out the excess so they can "breathe".

Keep plently of water nearby to dilute what you spill.

Wearing rubber gloves is a good idea when handling battery acid.

 

If you have one, a battery hydrometer can be used for the fluid extraction instead of the straw.

 

"Been there, done that, have the T-shirt"

 

Thanks a million. Don't know why I didn't think of using a straw but that's a brilliantly simple solution. Much appreciated. Thanks everyone for the help!

[scbassin]

Go to a auto parts store & buy a syringe that is used to fill your battery when it is low. It also can be used to extract some if you over fill it. They are not very expensive..