CHAPTER 15REBUILDING THE BATTERYHow to Open a BatteryFig. 190 Battery to be openedA battery is open when its plates have been drawn out of the hard rubber jars. All parts are then exposed, and accessible for inspection and repairs. In an assembled battery, the top of each cell is closed by a hard rubber cover. Leakproof joints are made between these covers and the rubber jars and the wooden case by means of sealing compound which is poured in place while in a molten condition, and joins the covers to the jars and which hardens as it cools. The joints between the covers and the posts which project through the covers are in many batteries made with sealing compound. The cells are then connected to each other by means of the cell connectors, also called "top-connectors," or simply "connectors." These connectors are joined to the lead posts, to which are connected the plate groups by fusing with a flame, and melting in additional lead to make a joint.In opening a battery, we must first disconnect the cells from each other, and then open the joint made by the sealing compound between the covers and the jars and case. The plates may then be lifted out of the jars, and the battery is open. The steps necessary to open a battery follow, in the order in which they must be taken.1. Clean the Battery.Set the battery on the tear down rack. See that the vent plugs are all tight in place. Then clean the outside of the battery. Remove the greater part of the dirt with a brush, old whisk-broom, or a putty knife. Then put the battery in the water, using a stiff bristled brush to remove whatever dirt was not removed in the first place. A four-inch paint brush is satisfactory for this work, and will last a year or more if taken care of. If water will not remove all the dirt, try a rag wet with gasoline.2. Drilling Off the Connectors and Terminals.When you have cleaned the outside of the battery as thoroughly as possible, set the battery on the floor near your work bench. Make a sketch of the top of the battery, showing the exact arrangement of the terminals and connectors. This sketch should be made on the tag which is tied to the battery. Tic this tag on the handle near the negative terminal of the battery or tack it to the ease. Then drill down over the Center of the posts. For this you will need a large brace with a heavy chuck, a drill the same size as the post (the part that goes down into the battery), a large screw driver, a center punch, and a hammer.Fig. 191 Drilling post and cell connectorWith the center punch, mark the exact centers of the tops of the posts and connectors. Then drill down about half way through the connectors and terminals until you cut through the part of the connector which is welded to the post. When you can see a seam between the post and connector you have drilled through the welded part. See Figs. 191 and 192.Now pry off the connectors with the screw driver, as shown in Fig. 193. Lay a flat tool such as a chisel or file on the top edge of the ease to avoid damaging the ease when prying off the connectors.If any connector is still tight, and you cannot pry it off with a reasonable effort, drill down a little deeper, and it will come off easily, provided that the hole which you are drilling is exactly over the center of the post and as large as the post. There are five things to remember in drilling the connectors and posts:Fig. 192 Connector drilled to correct depth(a) Be sure that the hole is exactly over the center of the post.(b) Do not drill too deep. Make each hole just deep enough so that the connector will come off easily. Fig. 192 shows a cross section of a post and connector drilled to the proper depth. Notice that you need not drill down the whole depth of the connector, because the bottom part is not burned to the post.(c) Be sure that the drill makes the right sized hole to permit the connectors and terminals to be removed easily when drilled half way through. An electric drill will do the work much faster than a hand brace.(d) Protect the edge of the battery box when you pry up the connectors with a screw driver.(e) Remove your drill after the hole is well started and see whether the hole is in the center of the post. Should you find that it is off center, tilt the drill, and with the end of the drill pointing the center of the post as you drill, gradually straighten the drill. This will bring the hole over the center of the post.Having removed the connectors, sweep all the lead drillings front the top of the battery into a box kept for lead drillings only. Fig. 194. When this box is full, melt the drillings and pour off in the burning lead mould.Fig. 193 Prying off cell connectorPost Seal.If the post seal consists of a lead sealing nut, this may be removed now. With some types of batteries (Willard and U. S. L.), drilling the connectors also breaks the post seal. With other batteries, such as the Vesta, Westinghouse, Prest-0-Lite, Universal, it is more difficult to break the post seal.Fig. 194 Brushing lead drillings into boxOn these batteries, therefore, do not break this seal before drawing out the plates. You may find that it will not be necessary to separate the groups, and the post seal will not have to be broken at all, thereby saving yourself considerable time on the overhauling job.3. Heating Up the Sealing Compound.Having disconnected the cells from each other by removing the cell connectors, the next step is to open the joint made by the sealing compound between the covers and jars. Fig. 195 shows the battery ready for this step. When cold, the compound is a tough substance that sticks to the cover and jar, and hence it must be heated until it is so soft that it is easily removed. There are several methods by means of which compound may be heated. These are as follows:Steam.This is the most popular, and undoubtedly the best means of heating the compound, and in the following instructions it will be assumed that steam has been used. The battery is either placed in a special box in which steam is sent, or else steam is sent directly into each cell through the vent tube. In the first method the compound is heated from the outside, and in the second it is heated from the inside of the cell.Fig. 195 Battery ready for steamingFig. 196 Drawing up an elementIf the battery is placed in the steaming box, about ten minutes will be required for the steam to heat up the sealing compound. For batteries which use but very little compound, less time is required. if steam is sent directly into the cells through the vent tubes, five to seven minutes will generally be enough. The covers must be limp and the 1 compound must be soft before turning off the steam.Hot Water.The electrolyte is poured out of the battery, which is then inverted in a vessel of hot water. This method is slower than the others, and is more expensive because it requires a larger volume of water to be heated.Hot Putty Knife and Screwdriver.The compound may be dug out with a hot putty knife. This is a slow, unsatisfactory method in most instances, especially in those batteries which use a considerable amount of sealing compound. With some batteries using only a small quantity of compound, a heated putty knife may be run around the inside of the jar between the jar and the cover. This will break the joint between the cover and the jar, and allow the plates to be lifted out. The compound is then scraped from covers and inside of jars, heating the knife or screwdriver whenever it cools off.Lead Burning Flame.Any soft lead burning flame may be used. Such a flame may be adjusted to any desired size. Where steam is available, a flame should, however, never be used. The temperature of the flame is very high, and the covers, jars, case, posts, and vent plugs may be burned and made worthless. Even for the expert repairman, a flame is not as satisfactory as steam.The Gasoline Torch.This is the most unsatisfactory method, and should not be used if possible. The torch gives a hot, spreading flame and it is difficult to prevent the covers, jars, case, etc., from being burned. Do not use a gasoline torch if you can possibly avoid doing so. Alcohol torches are open to the same objections, and are not satisfactory, even in the hands of a highly skilled workman.If a flame is used for heating the compound, be sure to blow out with a hand bellows or compressed air any gas that may have gathered above the plates, before you bring the flame near the battery.Electric Heat.Special electric ovens for softening sealing compound are on the market. The heating element is brought close to the top of the battery. Where electric power is cheap, this method may be used. Otherwise it is rather expensive.Fig. 197 Resting element on jar to drainWhen the sealing compound has been softened,place the battery on the floor between your feet. Grasp the two posts of one cell with pliers, and pull straight up with an even, steady pull. If the battery has been steamed long enough, the plates will come up easily, carrying with them the cover (or covers, if the batter has upper and lower covers) to which the compound is sticking, as shown in Fig. 196. Do not remove the plates of the other cells until later.Rest the plates on the top of the jar just long enough to allow most of the acid to drain from them, Fig. 197. If you have removed the post seal, or if the seal consists of compound (old Philadelphia batteries), pry off the covers now with a screw driver. Otherwise, leave the covers in place while cleaning off the compound.While the plates are resting on the jars to drain, scrape the compound from the covers with a warm screw driver or putty knife, Fig. 198. Work quickly while the compound is still hot and soft, and comes off easily. As the compound cools it hardens and sticks to the covers and is removed with difficulty. If the battery has sealing compound around the posts, this should also be removed thoroughly, both from the cover and from the post.When you scrape the compound from the covers, do a good job. Do not scrape off most of it, and then leave pieces of it here and there. Remove every bit of compound, on the tops, edges, sides, and bottoms of the covers. If you need different sized putty knives or screw drivers to do this, use them. The time to remove all the compound is while it is still hot, and not after it has become hard and cold. If the battery has single covers, the compound can be removed very quickly. If the battery is of the old double-cover type, the job will take more time, since all the compound should be scraped from both top and bottom covers, Fig. 199.Fig. 198 Removing compound from coverAs soon as you have removed the compound from the covers of the first cell, serape away the compound which may be sticking to the top and inside walls of the jar, Fig. 200. Here again you must do a good job, and remove all of this compound. If you do not do it now, you will have to do it when you try to put the plates back into the jar later on, as compound sticking to the inside walls of the jar will make it difficult, and even impossible to lower the plates into the jar.Now draw up the plates of the next cell. Rest the plates on the top of the jar just long enough to drain, and then lift off the covers, and remove all of the compound, from cover, posts, and jar, just as you did in the first cell. The third cell, (and the others, if there are more than three cells) are handled just as you did the first one.Remember that you should lose no time after you have steamed the battery. Hot compound is soft and does not stick to the covers, jars, and posts and may therefore be removed quickly and easily. Cold compound is hard, and sticks to the covers. Draw out the plates of only one cell at a time, and clean the compound from the cover, posts and jar of that one cell before you draw out the plates of the other cells. In this way, the compound on the covers of the other cells will remain hotter than if all the plates of the battery were drawn out of the jars before any of the compound was removed from the covers. You should have all the plates drawn out, and all the compound removed within five minutes after you draw up the plates.Fig. 199 Removing sealing compound from double coverThrow away the old compound. If is very likely acid-soaked and not fit for further use.What Must Be Done with the Battery?The battery is now open, and in a condition to be examined and judgment pronounced upon it. The question now arises, "What must be done with it!" In deciding upon this, be honest with your customer, put yourself in his place, and do just what you would like to have him do if he were the repairman and you the car owner. The best battery men occasionally make mistakes in their diagnosis of the battery's condition, and the repairs necessary. Experience is the best teacher in this respect, and you will in time learn to analyze the condition of a battery quickly.Handle every cell of a battery that comes in for repairs in the same way,even though only one dead cell is found, and the others are apparently in good condition. Each cell must be overhauled, for all cells are of the same age, and the active materials are in about the same condition in all the cells, and one cell just happened to give out before the others. If you overhaul only the dead cell, the others cells are quite likely to give out soon after the battery is put into service again.Fig. 200 Removing compound from top of jarIt is absolutely necessary for you to have a standard method in working on battery plates. You must divide your work into a number of definite steps, and always perform these steps, and in the same order each time.If you have a different method of procedure for every battery, you will never be successful. Without a definite, tangible method of procedure for your work you will be working in the dark, and groping around like a blind man, never becoming a battery expert, never knowing why you did a certain thing, never gaining confidence in yourself.It is impossible to overemphasize the importance of having astandard method of procedureand to stick to that method. Careless, slip-shod methods will please your competitor and give him the business which belongs to you.1. Examine plates to determine whether they can be used again Rules for determining when to discard or use old plates follow.2. If all plates of both positive and negative groups are to be discarded, use new groups.The question as to whether the old negatives should be used with new positives has caused considerable discussion. If the negatives are old and granulated, they should of course be discarded. Remember that the capacity of negatives decreases steadily after they are put into service, while the capacity of positives increases. Putting new positives against negatives which are rapidly losing capacity is not advisable. However, trouble often arises in a battery whose negatives still have considerable capacity, and such negatives may safely be used with new positives.If you feel that a battery will not give at least six months more service after rebuilding with the old negatives, put in all new plates, or sell the owner a new battery, allowing him some money on the old battery. But if you really believe that the negatives still have considerable capacity, put in new positives if required. If all new plates are used, proceed as directed in this chapter, beginning at page 348.3. If you find that only some of the plates are to be discarded, or if you are not certain as to the condition of the plates, eliminate any short circuits which may exist, and give the battery a preliminary charge, as described later, before you do any work on the plates. Plates that are fully charged are in the best possible condition for handling, and you should make it an ironclad rule thatif some of the plates can be used again always to charge a battery before you work on the plates, no matter what is to be done to them.If both positives and negatives are to be discarded, the preliminary charge should not, of course, be given, but if only the negatives, or the negatives and some or all of the positives are to be used again, give this preliminary charge. Very few batteries will come to your shop in a charged condition, and an exhausted battery is not in a good condition to be worked on. Charge the whole battery even though only one cell is in a very bad condition.This is a method that has been tried out thoroughly in practice, not in one or two cases, but in thousands.Batteries in all sorts of conditions have been rebuilt by this method, and have always given first class service, a service which was frequently as good, if not better than that given by new batteries.Examining the PlatesPlace an element on a block of wood as shown in Fig. 201. Carefully pry the plates apart so that you can look down between them and make a fair preliminary examination. Whenever possible, make your examination of the plates without separating the groups or removing the old separators. This should be done because:(a) Very often the active material is bulged or swollen, and if you pull out the old separators and put in new ones before charging, the element spreads out so at the bottom that it cannot be put back into the jars without first pressing in a plate press.Pressing a complete element with the separators in place should never be doneif it can possibly be avoided. If it is done the separators should be thrown. away after you have charged the battery, washed and pressed the negatives, and washed the positive.Fig. 201 Element on block for examination(b) If you put in new separators before giving the battery the preliminary charge, the new separators may pick up any impurities which may be on the plates, and will probably be cracked by forcing them between the bulged and sulphated plates. If, however, the old separators are covered with sulphate, it is best to throw them away and put in new separators before giving the battery its preliminary charge, because such separators will greatly hinder the flow of the charging current. In batteries using rubber sheets in addition to the wooden separators, remove all the wooden separators and leave the rubber sheets in place between the plates. Where only wooden separators are used in a battery, these may be thrown away and perforated rubber separators used for the preliminary charge. Rubber separators may be used again. See (a) above about precautions against pressing a complete element.Fig. 202 Separating the groupsIf you are not absolutely certain as to the condition of the plates, draw out a few separators. If separators stick to the plates, loosen them by inserting a putty knife blade between them and the plates. Removing a few separators will permit you to separate the groups before removing the rest of the separators. To separate the groups, grasp a post in each hand, as, in Fig. 202, and work them back and forth, being careful not to injure the posts, or break off any plates. With the groups separated, the remaining separators will either fall out or may be easily pushed out with a putty knife. Ordinarily, the groups may be separated in this way if the elements have thirteen plates or less.The natural thing to do at this point is to decide what must be done to the plates, and we therefore give a number of rules to help you determine which are to be junked, and which are to be used again. Study these rules carefully, and have them fixed firmly in your mind so that you can tell instantly what must be done with the plates.Fig. 203 Positives from frozen vehicle cell, showing active material sticking to separatorWhen to Put In New Plates1. If one or more jars are cracked and leak, and positive plates have been ruined by freezing,as shown in Fig. 203, and if upon drawing out the separators, and separating the positive and negative groups the active material drops out of the grids, the only way to put the battery in a good condition is to put in new positives, and new jars and case if necessary.Make a careful estimate of(a) Cost of new jars.(b) Cost of new plates.(c) Cost of new case if needed.(d) Cost of labor required.Try to have the owner present while you are opening his battery. If, however, he could not wait, and has left, call him up and tell him what the total cost will be, and if he has no objections, go ahead with the job. If he is not entirely satisfied with your price, try to get him to come to your shop. Show him the battery, explain its condition, tell him just what must be done with it, and explain how you made your estimate of the cost of the whole job. If you do this. there will never be any misunderstanding as to cost. Tell him the cost of a new battery, and let him decide if lie wants one. If the cost of repairing is almost as much as the price of a new battery. advise him to buy a new one, but allow him to make the decision himself. He will then have no cause for complaint.Fig. 204 Examples of diseased negativesFig. 205 Examples of diseased negativesFig. 204 and 205, Show Diseased Negatives. The Large Ones Only Eight Months Old. Active Material, Granulated and Blistered.2. If the battery is more than two years old,and the active material on the negative plates is granulated (grainy appearance), Figs. 204 and 205, and somewhat disintegrated; if the plates are weak and brittle around the edges, and several grids are cracked, Fig. 206, and the plates have lost a considerable amount of active material; and if the case has been rotted by the acid, the battery should be junked.Fig. 206 Weak and cracked positivesCall up the owner, and tell him he needs a new battery. If he does not seem pleased, ask him to come to your shop. Then show him his battery, and explain its condition. If you are courteous and patient, you will sell him a new battery. Otherwise he will never return.Fig. 207 Buckled platesFig. 208 An unusually bad case of buckling3. If the positive plates are badly distorted from buckling,as in Figs. 207 and 208 discard them, for they will cut through new separators, if put into commission again, ill from two to six months.4. A battery which has has been dry and badly sulphatedat some past period of its life will have the dry portions covered with a white sulphate, the acid line being clearly distinguishable by this white color, as shown at A and B in Fig. 201. If the plates are otherwise in good shape and you wish to use them, give them the "water cure" described on page 349.Fig. 209 Corroded, bulged and sulphated negatives, disintegrated, rotten positivesFig. 210 Disintegrated positives5. Rotten and disintegrated positive plates,Figs. 209 and 210, must be replaced with new plates. The plates have fallen to pieces or break at the slightest pressure. Disintegrated plates are an indication of impurities or overcharging, providing the battery is not old enough to cause disintegration normally,--say about two years. The lead grid is converted into peroxide of lead and becomes soft. As a result, there is nothing to support the paste, and it falls out. Better put in new negatives also.6. Batteries with high gravity or hot electrolytehave burned and carbonized separators, turning them black and rotting them, the negative paste becomes granulated and is kept in a soft condition, and gradually drops from the grids on account of the jolting of the car on the road. Fig. 211 shows such a battery.7. Dry, hard, and white, long discharged, and badly sulphated plates,Figs. 201 and 209, are practically ruined, though if the trouble is not of long standing, the plates may be revived somewhat by a long charge at a very low rate, using distilled water in place of the electrolyte, and then discharging at a current equal to about one-eight to one-tenth of the ampere hour capacity of the battery at the discharge board. Charge and discharge a battery a number or times, and you may be able to put a little "pep" into it. In charging sulphated plates, use a low charging rate, and do not allow gassing before the end of the charge, or a temperature of the electrolyte above 110°F.Fig. 211 Side and end view of element from traveling salesman's battery8. If a battery case is not held down firmly,or if the elements are loose in the jars, the plates will jump around when the car is in motion. This will break the sealing compound on top of the battery, and cause the battery to be a slopper. The active materials will be shaken out of the grids, as shown in Fig. 212, and the plates will wear through the separators. New plates are required.9. If Battery Has Been Reversed.Often the plates of such a battery disintegrate and crumble under the slightest pressure. If the reversal is not too far advanced, the plates may be restored (See page 81), but otherwise they should be discarded. This condition is recognized by the original negatives being brown, and the original positives gray.From the foregoing explanations, you see that most of the trouble is with the positives:(a) Because the positive active material does not stick together well, but drops off, or sheds easily.(b) Because the positives warp or buckle, this causing most of the battery troubles.(c) Because the positive plate is weaker and is ruined by freezing.When the Old Plates May be Used Again1. If one or more plates are broken from the plate connecting straps,or the joint between any strap and the plate is poorly made. If plates are in good condition, reburn the plate lugs to the straps.Fig. 212 Element from a "Slopper."Fig. 212. Element from a "Slopper." Element was Loose in Jar and Jolting of Car Caused Paste to Fall Out2. Straight Rebuild.If the general condition of the battery is good, i.e., the plates straight or only slightly buckled. only a slight amount of shedding of active material, no white sulphate oil either plate, the grids not brittle. active material adhering to and firmly touching the grids, the positive active material of a dark chocolate brown color and fairly hard (as determined by scratching with blade of a pocket knife), the negative active Material dark gray in color and not blistered or granulated, and the plates not too thin, make a straight rebuild. To do this, charge the battery, remove any sediment from the bottom of the jar, wash and press the negatives, wash the positives, clean the parts, insert new separators, and reassemble as directed later. The only trouble may be cracked sealing compound, or a broken jar. Broken jars should, of course, be replaced.Fig. 213 Badly bulged negatives. Such plates must be pressed3. Badly bulged negative plates,Fig. 213, cause lack of capacity because the active material is loose, and does not make good contact with the grids. If the active material is not badly granulated (having a grainy appearance) the plates call be used again. Sulphated negatives have very hard active material, and will feel as bard as stone when scratched with a knife. Hard negatives from Which active material has been falling ill lumps Oil account of being overdischarged after having been in in undercharged condition may be nursed back to life, if too much of the active material has not been lost.4. The formation of an excessive amount of sulphatemay result in cracking the grids, and the active materials falls out in lumps. Such plates may be put in a serviceable condition by a long charge and several cycles of charge and discharge if there is not too much cracking or too much loss of active material.5. Positives which are only slightly warped or buckledmay be used again.6. When the only trouble found is a slight amount of shedding.Positive active material must be of a dark chocolate brown color and fairly hard. Negatives must be a dark gray.7. When the plates are in a good condition, but one or more separators have been worn or out through, or a jar is cracked.If the battery is one which will not hold its charge, and plates seem to be in a good condition, the trouble is very likely caused by the separators approaching the breaking down point, and the repair job consists of putting in new separators or "reinsulating" the battery.What To Do With the SeparatorsIt is the safest plan to put in new separators whenever a battery is opened, and the groups separated. Separators are the weakest part of the battery, and it is absolutely essential that all their pores be fully opened so as to allow free passing of electrolyte through them. Some of the conditions requiring new separators are:1. Whenever the pores are closed by any foreign matter whatsoever. Put in new separators whether you can figure out the cause of the trouble or not. The separator shown in Fig. 201 is sulphated clear through above the line B, and is worthless. The separator shown in Fig. 203 should not be used again.2. When the separators have been cut or "chiseled off" by the edge of a buckled plate, Fig. 214.3. When a buckling plate or plate with bulged active material breaks through the separator, Fig. 214.Fig. 214 Worn separatorsFig. 214. Separators Worn Thin and Cut Through on Edges by Buckled Plates. Holes Worn Through by Bulged Active Material, Center One Shows Cell Was Dry Two Thirds of the Way Down.4. When a battery has been used while the level of the Fig. 214. Separators Worn Thin and Cut Through on Edges by Buckled Plates. Holes Worn Through by Bulged Active Material. Center One Shows Cell Was Dry Two Thirds of the Way Down electrolyte has been below the tops of the plates, or the battery has been used in a discharged condition, and lead sulphate has deposited on the separators, Fig. 201.Fig. 215 Rotted separators5. When a battery has been over-heated by overcharging or other causes, and the hot acid has rotted, burned and carbonized the separators, Fig. 215.6. When a battery has been damaged by the addition of acid and the separators have been rotted, Fig. 215.7. Separators which are more than a year old should be replaced by new ones, whether plates are defective or not.When you have put in new separators, and put the battery on charge, the specific gravity of the electrolyte may go down at first, instead of rising. This is because the separators may absorb some of the acid. If the battery was discharged when you put in the new separators, the lowering of the specific gravity might not take place, but in most cases the specific gravity will go down, or not change at all.Find the Cause of Every TroubleThe foregoing rulesmustbe studied carefully and be clearly tabulated in your mind to be able to tell what to put into commission again and what to discard as junk. It will take time to learn how to discriminate, but keep at it persistently and persevere, and as you pass judgment on this battery and that battery, ask yourself such questions as: What put this battery in this condition? Why are the negative plates granulated? Why are the positive plates buckled? What caused the positive plates to disintegrate? Why are the separators black? Why is the case rotten when less than a year old? Why did the sealing compound crack on top and cause the electrolyte to slop? Why did one of the terminal connectors get loose and make a slopper? Who is to blame for it, the car manufacturer, the manufacturer of the battery, or the owner of the car? Why did this battery have to be taken off the car, opened up and rebuilt at 5 months old, when the battery taken off a car just the day before had been on for 30 months and never had been charged off the car but once? There is a reason;findit. Locate thecauseof thetroubleif possible,removethecause; your customer will appreciate it and tell his friends about it, and this will mean more business for you.Eliminating "Shorts"If you have decided that some or all of the plates may be used again, the next thing to do is to separate any plates that are touching, and put the battery on charge. It may be necessary to put in new separators in place of the defective ones. Examine the separators carefully. Whenever you find the pores of the separators stopped up from any cause whatsoever, put in new separators before charging.1. Sometimes the negative plates are bulged or blistered badly and have worn clear through the separators, Fig. 214, and touch the positives. In cases of this kind, to save time and trouble, separate the groups, press the negatives lightly, as described later, assemble the element with new separators, and it is ready for charging.2. There is another case where the groups must be separated and new separators inserted before they will take charge, and that is where the battery has suffered from lack of water and has sulphated clear through the separators, Fig. 201. The separators will be covered with white sulphate. Chemical action is very sluggish in such cases.If you find that the separator pores are still open, leave the separators in place and proceed to separate the plates that are touching. How? That depends on what insulating material you have available that is thin enough. If nothing else is available, take a piece of new dry separator about 3/8 inch to 1/2 inch square, or a piece of pasteboard the same size. Use a screw driver or putty knife to separate the plates far enough to insert the little piece of insulation as in Fig. 216. Free all the shorts in this way, unless you have some old rubber insulators. In this case, break off some narrow strips 3/4 inch wide or less, put two together and repeat the operation as above, using the rubber strips instead of the pieces of separator. Insert down 1/2 inch or so and bend over and break off. Occasionally the Lipper edges of the plates are shorted, in which case they must be treated the same way.Fig. 216 Clearing short circuitsFig. 217 Cleaning scale from posts before replacing connectors temporarily for chargeChargingWhen you have in this way cleared all the "shorts" in the elements place the elements back in the jars in the same position as they were when you opened the battery, and add enough distilled water to the electrolyte to cover the plates to a depth of one-half inch.If the negatives are badly sulphated (active material very hard), they will charge more quickly if all the old electrolyte is dumped out and the cells filled with distilled water before putting the battery on charge. This "water cure" is the best for sulphated negatives and will save many plates that could otherwise not be used again. Make it a rule to replace the old electrolyte with distilled water if negatives are sulphated.Fig. 218 Tapping connectors in placeFig. 218. Tapping Connectors in Place.Preparatory to Charging After BatteryHas Been Opened and Shorts RemovedThe next operation is to put the battery on charge. Grasp each post in the jaws of a pair of gas pliers and work the pliers back and forth, Fig. 217, so as to remove the scale and allow the connecting straps to make good contact. Now take a knife and cut off the rough edges left in the connecting straps by the drill. Taper the edge, if necessary to go on post. Turn the connectors upside down and pound gently in position, Fig. 218, to make a good connection. Temporary charging connections may also be made by burning lead strips on the posts. This being properly done, the battery is ready for charging. Check up the connections to be sure they are correct.Now put the battery on charge, and charge at a low rate. Do not allow the temperature of any cell to rise above 110°F. Continue the charge until the electrolyte clears up, and its specific gravity stops rising and the plates have a normal color over their entire surface. Fully charged positive plates have a chocolate brown color, and fully charged negative plates have a dark gray color. By holding an electric light directly over a cell, and looking down, the color of both negatives and positives may be determined. Do not take the battery off charge until you have obtained these results, although it may be necessary to continue the charge for two, three, four, or five days. In this preliminary charge it is not necessary to bring the gravity up to 1.280, because the electrolyte is not to be used again, and the plates will become charged completely, regardless of what the gravity is. The essential thing is to charge until the electrolyte becomes perfectly clear, the gravity stops rising, and the plates have the right color. The Cadmium test may be used here to determine when the plates are charged. If the gravity rises above 1.280 during the preliminary charge, adjust it to 1.280 by drawing out some of the electrolyte and adding distilled water.The battery must stay on chargeuntil you have the desired conditions. If one cell does not charge,--that is, if its specific gravity does not rise,--you have probably not freed all the shorts, and must take the element out of the jar again and carefully inspect it for more shorts.Right here is where one of the most important questions may be asked about rebuilding batteries. Why must you free the shorts and put the battery on charge? Why not save time by putting in all new separators, sealing the battery, burning on the cell connectors, and then putting it on charge? If you have ever treated a battery in this way, what results did you get? Why did you have a badly unbalanced gravity of electrolyte? How could you know what specific gravity electrolyte to put in each cell? Perhaps one was charged, one only half charged, and the other dead. Suppose the dead cell had impurities in it. How could you get rid of them? Suppose the battery showed poor capacity on test, what would you do?Washing and Pressing the NegativesTo continue the actual work on the battery. The battery being fully charged,—the electrolyte clear, the plates of normal color, the specific gravity no longer rising,— remove it from the charging bench and put it on the work bench. Draw each element and let drain as in Fig. 197.Fig. 219 Nesting platesHere again the labeled boxes described on page 183 come in handy. Separate one group, remove the separators, and put one group in each end of box to keep clean. Separate another group, And nest the plates, Fig. 219, the negative with the negative, and positive with positive. Separate the third element and put groups in the boxes. Pour the old electrolyte out of the jars, and wash out the jars as described on page 360. You now have the plates in the best possible shape for handling. Take the boxes containing the plates to the sink. Have the plate press and the plate press boards ready for use.If, for any reason, you are called away from your work at this point to be gone for five minutes, do not leave the fully charged negatives exposed to the air, as they will become very hot. Cover them with water. A one-gallon stone or earthenware jar will hold the negative plates of a 100 ampere hour battery if you nest two of the groups. You may also put negatives back in jars from which they were taken, and fill with water.Now hold a negative group under the faucet, and let a strong stream of water run down over each plate so as to wash it thoroughly, and to remove any foreign matter from the plate surfaces. All negative groups must be handled in exactly the same way so as to get the same results in each case.After you have washed the first group, place it on edge on a clean board with the post down and pointing away from you, and the bottom of the group toward you. Now insert plate press boards which are slightly larger than the plates, and of the exact thickness required to fill the spaces between plates, Fig. 113. For the standard 1/8 inch plates, a 5-16 inch board, or two 1/8 inch boards should be placed between plates.The 1/8 inch boards are actually more than 1/8 inch thick, and will give the proper spacing. For thin plates, use 1/4 inch boards. Do not push the plate press boards more than 1/8 inch above the tops of the plates, and be sure that the boards cover the entire plates. Put a board on the outside of each end plate of the group. In this way insert the plate press boards in each of the three negative groups.Then place each negative group on the lower jaw of the plate press with the post of each group pointing toward you. Three groups may be pressed at one time. Bring the top edges of the transite boards flush with the front edge of the lower jaw of the press, so that no pressure will be applied to the plate lugs. See Fig. 114. Pressure applied to the plate lugs will break them off.Now screw down the upper jaw of the press as tightly as you can with the handwheel, so as to put as much pressure on the plates as possible. Leave the plates in the press for about five minutes. Then remove them from the press, take out the boards, and replace the plates in the battery jar from which they were removed, and cover with water. They may also be placed in a stone or earthernware jar and covered with water, especially if there is any work to be done on the jars or case of the battery. If the spongy lead of the negatives is firm, they may be reassembled in the battery as soon as they have been pressed. If, however, the spongy lead is soft and mushy, keep the negatives covered with water for 12 to 24 hours. This will make them hard and firm. Then remove them from the water and dry them in the air. In drying, the plates will become heated and will steam. As soon as you notice any steaming, dip the plates in water until they are cool. Then remove them from the water and continue the drying process. Each time the negatives begin to steam as they dry in the air, dip them in the water until they are cool.When the negatives are dry, they are ready to be reassembled in the battery and prepared for service. Negatives treated in this way will give good service for a much longer time than they would if not treated in this way. The spongy lead has been made firm and elastic. If you have other negatives in your shop which are not in use, treat them in the same way and put them away for future use, to use as rental batteries. Always put them through the same process:1. Charge them fully.2. Press them in the plate press to force the spongy lead back into the grids.3. Soak them in water, if the spongy lead is soft and mushy, for 12 to 24 hours, or even longer until the spongy lead is firm. Dry them in the air, dipping them in water whenever they begin to steam and become heated. This will give you negatives that will give excellent service and have a long life. Many negatives treated in this way will be good for fifteen months to two years of additional service. The rental batteries should be assembled in the same way as those you are rebuilding for the owners.The importance of pressing negatives cannot be exaggerated. Always press the negatives of the batteries which you rebuild. Do not do it to half, or three-fourths of the negatives, but to all of them. The work takes but a few minutes, and the time could not be put to better advantage. The spongy lead of the negatives swells and bulges out and makes very poor contact with the grids as a battery becomes discharged. This results in a loss of capacity, gradual sulphation of the loose active material, corrosion of the grids, failure of the gravity to rise high enough on charge, overheating of the battery on charge, gassing before the sulphate is reduced to active material with breaking off and roughening of the active material, and makes the battery lazy and sluggish in action. The spongy lead must make good contact with the grids if the battery is to have a long life and give good service.No amount of charging will cure a negative with bulged, swollen active material. Once this material becomes bulged nothing but pressing will put it back where it belongs, and until it is pressed back into the grids the plates are in a poor condition for service. Even if the bulging is but very slight, the plates must be pressed.Washing PositivesIf you intend to use some of the positives, they should now be washed. If you intend to use all new positives, throw away the old ones, of course. The positives should not be held under the faucet as the negatives were, because the stream of water will wash out much of the positive active material. Rinse the positives a number of times in a jar of clean water by moving them up and down in the water. This will remove impurities from the surfaces of the plates and wash off any foreign or loose materials. After rinsing each positive group, replace it in the box.Never attempt to straighten badly buckled positives, as the bending cannot be done successfully, and the active material will not have good contact with the grids. Positives cannot be pressed as negatives can, because the positive active material lacks the elasticity and toughness of the negative spongy lead. Slightly buckled positives may sometimes be straightened by bending them lightly all around the edges with a pair of thin, wide nosed pliers. This should be done very carefully, however, and the straightening done gradually. If the plates cannot be straightened in this way and the separators do not lie perfectly flat against them without pinching at the corners, the plates should be discarded, and new ones used in their place.This is all the work to be done on the old plates, and those which are to be used again are ready to be reassembled in the battery. The process of treating the plates should be followed in every battery that you rebuild, and the same steps should always be taken, and in the same order. With one Standard method of rebuilding batteries you will do uniformly good work and satisfy all your customers. The essential thing for the success of your battery business is to learn the Standard method and use it. Do not rush a battery through your shop, and leave out some of the steps of the process, even though the owner may be in a hurry. If you have a good stock of rental batteries you can put one on his car and keep it there until you have done as good a job of rebuilding on his battery as you possibly can. Remember that the Standard method which has been described has not simply been figured out as being a good method. This method has been worked out in the actual rebuilding of thousands and thousands of batteries of all makes and in all conditions, and has produced batteries full of life and power, ready to give one to two years more of good, reliable service.Burning on PlatesWhen you put new plates into a battery, or find some of the plates broken from the connecting strap, it will be necessary to burn the plates to the strap. Frequently you will find plates which are otherwise in a good condition broken from the connecting straps. This is most likely to happen when the plates have been cast on to the connecting strap instead of being burned on. These plates must be burned on.New plates are frequently necessary. From pages 339 to 346 you see that new plates are required under the following conditions:(a) Positives. Ruined by freezing; weak and brittle from age, large part of active material shed; badly buckled; rotten and disintegrated by impurities; reversed. Positives in a reasonably good mechanical condition can be restored to a good electrical condition by charging.(b) Negatives. Active material granulated, bulged and disintegrated; charged while dry; positives disintegrated by impurities; ruined by overcharging; badly sulphated because allowed to stand idle, or used while discharged; much active material lost, and that which is left soft and mushy; negatives reversed by charging battery backwards.When making plate renewals, never install plates of different design in the same group. Always use plates of the type intended for the battery. The battery should first be fully charged, as already explained. If all the plates in a group are to be discarded, clamp the post in a vise, being careful not to crack the hard rubber shell if one is on it, or to damage the threads on Posts such as the Exide or to draw up the vise so tightly as to crush the post. Then saw off all the old plates with a new coarse toothed hacksaw, a sharp key hole saw, or any good saw which has a wide set, close to the post. This separates the entire group of plates from the post in one short operation. This method is much better than the one of sawing the plates off below the connecting strap, and sawing or punching the old plate ends out of the strap. See page 217 for instructions for welding plates to the straps.Work on the JarsThe work on the jars consists of removing any sediment which may have collected, washing out all dirt, and replacing leaky jars. The removal of sediment and washing should be done after the preliminary charge has been given and the old electrolyte poured out unless the preliminary charge was given with distilled water in the jars. The old electrolyte need not be poured down the sewer, but may be kept in stone or earthenware jars and used later in making electrical tests to locate leaky jars.Testing JarsRemove all sealing compound from the jar by means of a hot putty knife, finishing by wiping with a gasoline soaked rag. Inspect each jar carefully under a strong light for cracks and leaks. If you know which jar is leaky by having filled each cell with water up to the correct level, when you made the first examination of the battery, and then having it allowed to stand over night to see if the electrolyte in any cell has dropped below the tops of the plates, no tests are necessary, but if you are in doubt as to which jar, if any, is leaky, you must make tests to determine which jar is leaky. If you know that there is no leaky jar, because of the bottom of the case not being acid eaten and rotted, it is, of course, not necessary to test the jars.One test consists in filling the jar within about an inch of the top with old or weak electrolyte, partly immersing the jar in a tank which also contains electrolyte, and applying a voltage of 110 or 220 between the electrolyte in the jar and the electrolyte in the tank in which the jar is partly immersed. If current Vows, this indicates that the jar is leaky.
CHAPTER 15REBUILDING THE BATTERY
Fig. 190 Battery to be opened
A battery is open when its plates have been drawn out of the hard rubber jars. All parts are then exposed, and accessible for inspection and repairs. In an assembled battery, the top of each cell is closed by a hard rubber cover. Leakproof joints are made between these covers and the rubber jars and the wooden case by means of sealing compound which is poured in place while in a molten condition, and joins the covers to the jars and which hardens as it cools. The joints between the covers and the posts which project through the covers are in many batteries made with sealing compound. The cells are then connected to each other by means of the cell connectors, also called "top-connectors," or simply "connectors." These connectors are joined to the lead posts, to which are connected the plate groups by fusing with a flame, and melting in additional lead to make a joint.
In opening a battery, we must first disconnect the cells from each other, and then open the joint made by the sealing compound between the covers and the jars and case. The plates may then be lifted out of the jars, and the battery is open. The steps necessary to open a battery follow, in the order in which they must be taken.
1. Clean the Battery.Set the battery on the tear down rack. See that the vent plugs are all tight in place. Then clean the outside of the battery. Remove the greater part of the dirt with a brush, old whisk-broom, or a putty knife. Then put the battery in the water, using a stiff bristled brush to remove whatever dirt was not removed in the first place. A four-inch paint brush is satisfactory for this work, and will last a year or more if taken care of. If water will not remove all the dirt, try a rag wet with gasoline.
2. Drilling Off the Connectors and Terminals.When you have cleaned the outside of the battery as thoroughly as possible, set the battery on the floor near your work bench. Make a sketch of the top of the battery, showing the exact arrangement of the terminals and connectors. This sketch should be made on the tag which is tied to the battery. Tic this tag on the handle near the negative terminal of the battery or tack it to the ease. Then drill down over the Center of the posts. For this you will need a large brace with a heavy chuck, a drill the same size as the post (the part that goes down into the battery), a large screw driver, a center punch, and a hammer.
Fig. 191 Drilling post and cell connector
With the center punch, mark the exact centers of the tops of the posts and connectors. Then drill down about half way through the connectors and terminals until you cut through the part of the connector which is welded to the post. When you can see a seam between the post and connector you have drilled through the welded part. See Figs. 191 and 192.
Now pry off the connectors with the screw driver, as shown in Fig. 193. Lay a flat tool such as a chisel or file on the top edge of the ease to avoid damaging the ease when prying off the connectors.
If any connector is still tight, and you cannot pry it off with a reasonable effort, drill down a little deeper, and it will come off easily, provided that the hole which you are drilling is exactly over the center of the post and as large as the post. There are five things to remember in drilling the connectors and posts:
Fig. 192 Connector drilled to correct depth
(a) Be sure that the hole is exactly over the center of the post.
(b) Do not drill too deep. Make each hole just deep enough so that the connector will come off easily. Fig. 192 shows a cross section of a post and connector drilled to the proper depth. Notice that you need not drill down the whole depth of the connector, because the bottom part is not burned to the post.
(c) Be sure that the drill makes the right sized hole to permit the connectors and terminals to be removed easily when drilled half way through. An electric drill will do the work much faster than a hand brace.
(d) Protect the edge of the battery box when you pry up the connectors with a screw driver.
(e) Remove your drill after the hole is well started and see whether the hole is in the center of the post. Should you find that it is off center, tilt the drill, and with the end of the drill pointing the center of the post as you drill, gradually straighten the drill. This will bring the hole over the center of the post.
Having removed the connectors, sweep all the lead drillings front the top of the battery into a box kept for lead drillings only. Fig. 194. When this box is full, melt the drillings and pour off in the burning lead mould.
Fig. 193 Prying off cell connector
Post Seal.If the post seal consists of a lead sealing nut, this may be removed now. With some types of batteries (Willard and U. S. L.), drilling the connectors also breaks the post seal. With other batteries, such as the Vesta, Westinghouse, Prest-0-Lite, Universal, it is more difficult to break the post seal.
Fig. 194 Brushing lead drillings into box
On these batteries, therefore, do not break this seal before drawing out the plates. You may find that it will not be necessary to separate the groups, and the post seal will not have to be broken at all, thereby saving yourself considerable time on the overhauling job.
3. Heating Up the Sealing Compound.Having disconnected the cells from each other by removing the cell connectors, the next step is to open the joint made by the sealing compound between the covers and jars. Fig. 195 shows the battery ready for this step. When cold, the compound is a tough substance that sticks to the cover and jar, and hence it must be heated until it is so soft that it is easily removed. There are several methods by means of which compound may be heated. These are as follows:
Steam.This is the most popular, and undoubtedly the best means of heating the compound, and in the following instructions it will be assumed that steam has been used. The battery is either placed in a special box in which steam is sent, or else steam is sent directly into each cell through the vent tube. In the first method the compound is heated from the outside, and in the second it is heated from the inside of the cell.
Fig. 195 Battery ready for steaming
Fig. 196 Drawing up an element
If the battery is placed in the steaming box, about ten minutes will be required for the steam to heat up the sealing compound. For batteries which use but very little compound, less time is required. if steam is sent directly into the cells through the vent tubes, five to seven minutes will generally be enough. The covers must be limp and the 1 compound must be soft before turning off the steam.
Hot Water.The electrolyte is poured out of the battery, which is then inverted in a vessel of hot water. This method is slower than the others, and is more expensive because it requires a larger volume of water to be heated.
Hot Putty Knife and Screwdriver.The compound may be dug out with a hot putty knife. This is a slow, unsatisfactory method in most instances, especially in those batteries which use a considerable amount of sealing compound. With some batteries using only a small quantity of compound, a heated putty knife may be run around the inside of the jar between the jar and the cover. This will break the joint between the cover and the jar, and allow the plates to be lifted out. The compound is then scraped from covers and inside of jars, heating the knife or screwdriver whenever it cools off.
Lead Burning Flame.Any soft lead burning flame may be used. Such a flame may be adjusted to any desired size. Where steam is available, a flame should, however, never be used. The temperature of the flame is very high, and the covers, jars, case, posts, and vent plugs may be burned and made worthless. Even for the expert repairman, a flame is not as satisfactory as steam.
The Gasoline Torch.This is the most unsatisfactory method, and should not be used if possible. The torch gives a hot, spreading flame and it is difficult to prevent the covers, jars, case, etc., from being burned. Do not use a gasoline torch if you can possibly avoid doing so. Alcohol torches are open to the same objections, and are not satisfactory, even in the hands of a highly skilled workman.
If a flame is used for heating the compound, be sure to blow out with a hand bellows or compressed air any gas that may have gathered above the plates, before you bring the flame near the battery.
Electric Heat.Special electric ovens for softening sealing compound are on the market. The heating element is brought close to the top of the battery. Where electric power is cheap, this method may be used. Otherwise it is rather expensive.
Fig. 197 Resting element on jar to drain
When the sealing compound has been softened,place the battery on the floor between your feet. Grasp the two posts of one cell with pliers, and pull straight up with an even, steady pull. If the battery has been steamed long enough, the plates will come up easily, carrying with them the cover (or covers, if the batter has upper and lower covers) to which the compound is sticking, as shown in Fig. 196. Do not remove the plates of the other cells until later.
Rest the plates on the top of the jar just long enough to allow most of the acid to drain from them, Fig. 197. If you have removed the post seal, or if the seal consists of compound (old Philadelphia batteries), pry off the covers now with a screw driver. Otherwise, leave the covers in place while cleaning off the compound.
While the plates are resting on the jars to drain, scrape the compound from the covers with a warm screw driver or putty knife, Fig. 198. Work quickly while the compound is still hot and soft, and comes off easily. As the compound cools it hardens and sticks to the covers and is removed with difficulty. If the battery has sealing compound around the posts, this should also be removed thoroughly, both from the cover and from the post.
When you scrape the compound from the covers, do a good job. Do not scrape off most of it, and then leave pieces of it here and there. Remove every bit of compound, on the tops, edges, sides, and bottoms of the covers. If you need different sized putty knives or screw drivers to do this, use them. The time to remove all the compound is while it is still hot, and not after it has become hard and cold. If the battery has single covers, the compound can be removed very quickly. If the battery is of the old double-cover type, the job will take more time, since all the compound should be scraped from both top and bottom covers, Fig. 199.
Fig. 198 Removing compound from cover
As soon as you have removed the compound from the covers of the first cell, serape away the compound which may be sticking to the top and inside walls of the jar, Fig. 200. Here again you must do a good job, and remove all of this compound. If you do not do it now, you will have to do it when you try to put the plates back into the jar later on, as compound sticking to the inside walls of the jar will make it difficult, and even impossible to lower the plates into the jar.
Now draw up the plates of the next cell. Rest the plates on the top of the jar just long enough to drain, and then lift off the covers, and remove all of the compound, from cover, posts, and jar, just as you did in the first cell. The third cell, (and the others, if there are more than three cells) are handled just as you did the first one.
Remember that you should lose no time after you have steamed the battery. Hot compound is soft and does not stick to the covers, jars, and posts and may therefore be removed quickly and easily. Cold compound is hard, and sticks to the covers. Draw out the plates of only one cell at a time, and clean the compound from the cover, posts and jar of that one cell before you draw out the plates of the other cells. In this way, the compound on the covers of the other cells will remain hotter than if all the plates of the battery were drawn out of the jars before any of the compound was removed from the covers. You should have all the plates drawn out, and all the compound removed within five minutes after you draw up the plates.
Fig. 199 Removing sealing compound from double cover
Throw away the old compound. If is very likely acid-soaked and not fit for further use.
The battery is now open, and in a condition to be examined and judgment pronounced upon it. The question now arises, "What must be done with it!" In deciding upon this, be honest with your customer, put yourself in his place, and do just what you would like to have him do if he were the repairman and you the car owner. The best battery men occasionally make mistakes in their diagnosis of the battery's condition, and the repairs necessary. Experience is the best teacher in this respect, and you will in time learn to analyze the condition of a battery quickly.
Handle every cell of a battery that comes in for repairs in the same way,even though only one dead cell is found, and the others are apparently in good condition. Each cell must be overhauled, for all cells are of the same age, and the active materials are in about the same condition in all the cells, and one cell just happened to give out before the others. If you overhaul only the dead cell, the others cells are quite likely to give out soon after the battery is put into service again.
Fig. 200 Removing compound from top of jar
It is absolutely necessary for you to have a standard method in working on battery plates. You must divide your work into a number of definite steps, and always perform these steps, and in the same order each time.If you have a different method of procedure for every battery, you will never be successful. Without a definite, tangible method of procedure for your work you will be working in the dark, and groping around like a blind man, never becoming a battery expert, never knowing why you did a certain thing, never gaining confidence in yourself.
It is impossible to overemphasize the importance of having astandard method of procedureand to stick to that method. Careless, slip-shod methods will please your competitor and give him the business which belongs to you.
1. Examine plates to determine whether they can be used again Rules for determining when to discard or use old plates follow.
2. If all plates of both positive and negative groups are to be discarded, use new groups.
The question as to whether the old negatives should be used with new positives has caused considerable discussion. If the negatives are old and granulated, they should of course be discarded. Remember that the capacity of negatives decreases steadily after they are put into service, while the capacity of positives increases. Putting new positives against negatives which are rapidly losing capacity is not advisable. However, trouble often arises in a battery whose negatives still have considerable capacity, and such negatives may safely be used with new positives.
If you feel that a battery will not give at least six months more service after rebuilding with the old negatives, put in all new plates, or sell the owner a new battery, allowing him some money on the old battery. But if you really believe that the negatives still have considerable capacity, put in new positives if required. If all new plates are used, proceed as directed in this chapter, beginning at page 348.
3. If you find that only some of the plates are to be discarded, or if you are not certain as to the condition of the plates, eliminate any short circuits which may exist, and give the battery a preliminary charge, as described later, before you do any work on the plates. Plates that are fully charged are in the best possible condition for handling, and you should make it an ironclad rule thatif some of the plates can be used again always to charge a battery before you work on the plates, no matter what is to be done to them.If both positives and negatives are to be discarded, the preliminary charge should not, of course, be given, but if only the negatives, or the negatives and some or all of the positives are to be used again, give this preliminary charge. Very few batteries will come to your shop in a charged condition, and an exhausted battery is not in a good condition to be worked on. Charge the whole battery even though only one cell is in a very bad condition.This is a method that has been tried out thoroughly in practice, not in one or two cases, but in thousands.Batteries in all sorts of conditions have been rebuilt by this method, and have always given first class service, a service which was frequently as good, if not better than that given by new batteries.
Place an element on a block of wood as shown in Fig. 201. Carefully pry the plates apart so that you can look down between them and make a fair preliminary examination. Whenever possible, make your examination of the plates without separating the groups or removing the old separators. This should be done because:
(a) Very often the active material is bulged or swollen, and if you pull out the old separators and put in new ones before charging, the element spreads out so at the bottom that it cannot be put back into the jars without first pressing in a plate press.Pressing a complete element with the separators in place should never be doneif it can possibly be avoided. If it is done the separators should be thrown. away after you have charged the battery, washed and pressed the negatives, and washed the positive.
Fig. 201 Element on block for examination
(b) If you put in new separators before giving the battery the preliminary charge, the new separators may pick up any impurities which may be on the plates, and will probably be cracked by forcing them between the bulged and sulphated plates. If, however, the old separators are covered with sulphate, it is best to throw them away and put in new separators before giving the battery its preliminary charge, because such separators will greatly hinder the flow of the charging current. In batteries using rubber sheets in addition to the wooden separators, remove all the wooden separators and leave the rubber sheets in place between the plates. Where only wooden separators are used in a battery, these may be thrown away and perforated rubber separators used for the preliminary charge. Rubber separators may be used again. See (a) above about precautions against pressing a complete element.
Fig. 202 Separating the groups
If you are not absolutely certain as to the condition of the plates, draw out a few separators. If separators stick to the plates, loosen them by inserting a putty knife blade between them and the plates. Removing a few separators will permit you to separate the groups before removing the rest of the separators. To separate the groups, grasp a post in each hand, as, in Fig. 202, and work them back and forth, being careful not to injure the posts, or break off any plates. With the groups separated, the remaining separators will either fall out or may be easily pushed out with a putty knife. Ordinarily, the groups may be separated in this way if the elements have thirteen plates or less.
The natural thing to do at this point is to decide what must be done to the plates, and we therefore give a number of rules to help you determine which are to be junked, and which are to be used again. Study these rules carefully, and have them fixed firmly in your mind so that you can tell instantly what must be done with the plates.
Fig. 203 Positives from frozen vehicle cell, showing active material sticking to separator
1. If one or more jars are cracked and leak, and positive plates have been ruined by freezing,as shown in Fig. 203, and if upon drawing out the separators, and separating the positive and negative groups the active material drops out of the grids, the only way to put the battery in a good condition is to put in new positives, and new jars and case if necessary.
Make a careful estimate of
Try to have the owner present while you are opening his battery. If, however, he could not wait, and has left, call him up and tell him what the total cost will be, and if he has no objections, go ahead with the job. If he is not entirely satisfied with your price, try to get him to come to your shop. Show him the battery, explain its condition, tell him just what must be done with it, and explain how you made your estimate of the cost of the whole job. If you do this. there will never be any misunderstanding as to cost. Tell him the cost of a new battery, and let him decide if lie wants one. If the cost of repairing is almost as much as the price of a new battery. advise him to buy a new one, but allow him to make the decision himself. He will then have no cause for complaint.
Fig. 204 Examples of diseased negativesFig. 205 Examples of diseased negatives
Fig. 204 and 205, Show Diseased Negatives. The Large Ones Only Eight Months Old. Active Material, Granulated and Blistered.
2. If the battery is more than two years old,and the active material on the negative plates is granulated (grainy appearance), Figs. 204 and 205, and somewhat disintegrated; if the plates are weak and brittle around the edges, and several grids are cracked, Fig. 206, and the plates have lost a considerable amount of active material; and if the case has been rotted by the acid, the battery should be junked.
Fig. 206 Weak and cracked positives
Call up the owner, and tell him he needs a new battery. If he does not seem pleased, ask him to come to your shop. Then show him his battery, and explain its condition. If you are courteous and patient, you will sell him a new battery. Otherwise he will never return.
Fig. 207 Buckled platesFig. 208 An unusually bad case of buckling
3. If the positive plates are badly distorted from buckling,as in Figs. 207 and 208 discard them, for they will cut through new separators, if put into commission again, ill from two to six months.
4. A battery which has has been dry and badly sulphatedat some past period of its life will have the dry portions covered with a white sulphate, the acid line being clearly distinguishable by this white color, as shown at A and B in Fig. 201. If the plates are otherwise in good shape and you wish to use them, give them the "water cure" described on page 349.
Fig. 209 Corroded, bulged and sulphated negatives, disintegrated, rotten positivesFig. 210 Disintegrated positives
5. Rotten and disintegrated positive plates,Figs. 209 and 210, must be replaced with new plates. The plates have fallen to pieces or break at the slightest pressure. Disintegrated plates are an indication of impurities or overcharging, providing the battery is not old enough to cause disintegration normally,--say about two years. The lead grid is converted into peroxide of lead and becomes soft. As a result, there is nothing to support the paste, and it falls out. Better put in new negatives also.
6. Batteries with high gravity or hot electrolytehave burned and carbonized separators, turning them black and rotting them, the negative paste becomes granulated and is kept in a soft condition, and gradually drops from the grids on account of the jolting of the car on the road. Fig. 211 shows such a battery.
7. Dry, hard, and white, long discharged, and badly sulphated plates,Figs. 201 and 209, are practically ruined, though if the trouble is not of long standing, the plates may be revived somewhat by a long charge at a very low rate, using distilled water in place of the electrolyte, and then discharging at a current equal to about one-eight to one-tenth of the ampere hour capacity of the battery at the discharge board. Charge and discharge a battery a number or times, and you may be able to put a little "pep" into it. In charging sulphated plates, use a low charging rate, and do not allow gassing before the end of the charge, or a temperature of the electrolyte above 110°F.
Fig. 211 Side and end view of element from traveling salesman's battery
8. If a battery case is not held down firmly,or if the elements are loose in the jars, the plates will jump around when the car is in motion. This will break the sealing compound on top of the battery, and cause the battery to be a slopper. The active materials will be shaken out of the grids, as shown in Fig. 212, and the plates will wear through the separators. New plates are required.
9. If Battery Has Been Reversed.Often the plates of such a battery disintegrate and crumble under the slightest pressure. If the reversal is not too far advanced, the plates may be restored (See page 81), but otherwise they should be discarded. This condition is recognized by the original negatives being brown, and the original positives gray.
From the foregoing explanations, you see that most of the trouble is with the positives:
(a) Because the positive active material does not stick together well, but drops off, or sheds easily.
(b) Because the positives warp or buckle, this causing most of the battery troubles.
(c) Because the positive plate is weaker and is ruined by freezing.
1. If one or more plates are broken from the plate connecting straps,or the joint between any strap and the plate is poorly made. If plates are in good condition, reburn the plate lugs to the straps.
Fig. 212 Element from a "Slopper."
Fig. 212. Element from a "Slopper." Element was Loose in Jar and Jolting of Car Caused Paste to Fall Out
2. Straight Rebuild.If the general condition of the battery is good, i.e., the plates straight or only slightly buckled. only a slight amount of shedding of active material, no white sulphate oil either plate, the grids not brittle. active material adhering to and firmly touching the grids, the positive active material of a dark chocolate brown color and fairly hard (as determined by scratching with blade of a pocket knife), the negative active Material dark gray in color and not blistered or granulated, and the plates not too thin, make a straight rebuild. To do this, charge the battery, remove any sediment from the bottom of the jar, wash and press the negatives, wash the positives, clean the parts, insert new separators, and reassemble as directed later. The only trouble may be cracked sealing compound, or a broken jar. Broken jars should, of course, be replaced.
Fig. 213 Badly bulged negatives. Such plates must be pressed
3. Badly bulged negative plates,Fig. 213, cause lack of capacity because the active material is loose, and does not make good contact with the grids. If the active material is not badly granulated (having a grainy appearance) the plates call be used again. Sulphated negatives have very hard active material, and will feel as bard as stone when scratched with a knife. Hard negatives from Which active material has been falling ill lumps Oil account of being overdischarged after having been in in undercharged condition may be nursed back to life, if too much of the active material has not been lost.
4. The formation of an excessive amount of sulphatemay result in cracking the grids, and the active materials falls out in lumps. Such plates may be put in a serviceable condition by a long charge and several cycles of charge and discharge if there is not too much cracking or too much loss of active material.
5. Positives which are only slightly warped or buckledmay be used again.
6. When the only trouble found is a slight amount of shedding.Positive active material must be of a dark chocolate brown color and fairly hard. Negatives must be a dark gray.
7. When the plates are in a good condition, but one or more separators have been worn or out through, or a jar is cracked.
If the battery is one which will not hold its charge, and plates seem to be in a good condition, the trouble is very likely caused by the separators approaching the breaking down point, and the repair job consists of putting in new separators or "reinsulating" the battery.
It is the safest plan to put in new separators whenever a battery is opened, and the groups separated. Separators are the weakest part of the battery, and it is absolutely essential that all their pores be fully opened so as to allow free passing of electrolyte through them. Some of the conditions requiring new separators are:
1. Whenever the pores are closed by any foreign matter whatsoever. Put in new separators whether you can figure out the cause of the trouble or not. The separator shown in Fig. 201 is sulphated clear through above the line B, and is worthless. The separator shown in Fig. 203 should not be used again.
2. When the separators have been cut or "chiseled off" by the edge of a buckled plate, Fig. 214.
3. When a buckling plate or plate with bulged active material breaks through the separator, Fig. 214.
Fig. 214 Worn separatorsFig. 214. Separators Worn Thin and Cut Through on Edges by Buckled Plates. Holes Worn Through by Bulged Active Material, Center One Shows Cell Was Dry Two Thirds of the Way Down.
Fig. 214. Separators Worn Thin and Cut Through on Edges by Buckled Plates. Holes Worn Through by Bulged Active Material, Center One Shows Cell Was Dry Two Thirds of the Way Down.
4. When a battery has been used while the level of the Fig. 214. Separators Worn Thin and Cut Through on Edges by Buckled Plates. Holes Worn Through by Bulged Active Material. Center One Shows Cell Was Dry Two Thirds of the Way Down electrolyte has been below the tops of the plates, or the battery has been used in a discharged condition, and lead sulphate has deposited on the separators, Fig. 201.
Fig. 215 Rotted separators
5. When a battery has been over-heated by overcharging or other causes, and the hot acid has rotted, burned and carbonized the separators, Fig. 215.
6. When a battery has been damaged by the addition of acid and the separators have been rotted, Fig. 215.
7. Separators which are more than a year old should be replaced by new ones, whether plates are defective or not.
When you have put in new separators, and put the battery on charge, the specific gravity of the electrolyte may go down at first, instead of rising. This is because the separators may absorb some of the acid. If the battery was discharged when you put in the new separators, the lowering of the specific gravity might not take place, but in most cases the specific gravity will go down, or not change at all.
The foregoing rulesmustbe studied carefully and be clearly tabulated in your mind to be able to tell what to put into commission again and what to discard as junk. It will take time to learn how to discriminate, but keep at it persistently and persevere, and as you pass judgment on this battery and that battery, ask yourself such questions as: What put this battery in this condition? Why are the negative plates granulated? Why are the positive plates buckled? What caused the positive plates to disintegrate? Why are the separators black? Why is the case rotten when less than a year old? Why did the sealing compound crack on top and cause the electrolyte to slop? Why did one of the terminal connectors get loose and make a slopper? Who is to blame for it, the car manufacturer, the manufacturer of the battery, or the owner of the car? Why did this battery have to be taken off the car, opened up and rebuilt at 5 months old, when the battery taken off a car just the day before had been on for 30 months and never had been charged off the car but once? There is a reason;findit. Locate thecauseof thetroubleif possible,removethecause; your customer will appreciate it and tell his friends about it, and this will mean more business for you.
If you have decided that some or all of the plates may be used again, the next thing to do is to separate any plates that are touching, and put the battery on charge. It may be necessary to put in new separators in place of the defective ones. Examine the separators carefully. Whenever you find the pores of the separators stopped up from any cause whatsoever, put in new separators before charging.
1. Sometimes the negative plates are bulged or blistered badly and have worn clear through the separators, Fig. 214, and touch the positives. In cases of this kind, to save time and trouble, separate the groups, press the negatives lightly, as described later, assemble the element with new separators, and it is ready for charging.
2. There is another case where the groups must be separated and new separators inserted before they will take charge, and that is where the battery has suffered from lack of water and has sulphated clear through the separators, Fig. 201. The separators will be covered with white sulphate. Chemical action is very sluggish in such cases.
If you find that the separator pores are still open, leave the separators in place and proceed to separate the plates that are touching. How? That depends on what insulating material you have available that is thin enough. If nothing else is available, take a piece of new dry separator about 3/8 inch to 1/2 inch square, or a piece of pasteboard the same size. Use a screw driver or putty knife to separate the plates far enough to insert the little piece of insulation as in Fig. 216. Free all the shorts in this way, unless you have some old rubber insulators. In this case, break off some narrow strips 3/4 inch wide or less, put two together and repeat the operation as above, using the rubber strips instead of the pieces of separator. Insert down 1/2 inch or so and bend over and break off. Occasionally the Lipper edges of the plates are shorted, in which case they must be treated the same way.
Fig. 216 Clearing short circuits
Fig. 217 Cleaning scale from posts before replacing connectors temporarily for charge
When you have in this way cleared all the "shorts" in the elements place the elements back in the jars in the same position as they were when you opened the battery, and add enough distilled water to the electrolyte to cover the plates to a depth of one-half inch.
If the negatives are badly sulphated (active material very hard), they will charge more quickly if all the old electrolyte is dumped out and the cells filled with distilled water before putting the battery on charge. This "water cure" is the best for sulphated negatives and will save many plates that could otherwise not be used again. Make it a rule to replace the old electrolyte with distilled water if negatives are sulphated.
Fig. 218 Tapping connectors in placeFig. 218. Tapping Connectors in Place.Preparatory to Charging After BatteryHas Been Opened and Shorts Removed
Fig. 218. Tapping Connectors in Place.Preparatory to Charging After BatteryHas Been Opened and Shorts Removed
The next operation is to put the battery on charge. Grasp each post in the jaws of a pair of gas pliers and work the pliers back and forth, Fig. 217, so as to remove the scale and allow the connecting straps to make good contact. Now take a knife and cut off the rough edges left in the connecting straps by the drill. Taper the edge, if necessary to go on post. Turn the connectors upside down and pound gently in position, Fig. 218, to make a good connection. Temporary charging connections may also be made by burning lead strips on the posts. This being properly done, the battery is ready for charging. Check up the connections to be sure they are correct.
Now put the battery on charge, and charge at a low rate. Do not allow the temperature of any cell to rise above 110°F. Continue the charge until the electrolyte clears up, and its specific gravity stops rising and the plates have a normal color over their entire surface. Fully charged positive plates have a chocolate brown color, and fully charged negative plates have a dark gray color. By holding an electric light directly over a cell, and looking down, the color of both negatives and positives may be determined. Do not take the battery off charge until you have obtained these results, although it may be necessary to continue the charge for two, three, four, or five days. In this preliminary charge it is not necessary to bring the gravity up to 1.280, because the electrolyte is not to be used again, and the plates will become charged completely, regardless of what the gravity is. The essential thing is to charge until the electrolyte becomes perfectly clear, the gravity stops rising, and the plates have the right color. The Cadmium test may be used here to determine when the plates are charged. If the gravity rises above 1.280 during the preliminary charge, adjust it to 1.280 by drawing out some of the electrolyte and adding distilled water.The battery must stay on chargeuntil you have the desired conditions. If one cell does not charge,--that is, if its specific gravity does not rise,--you have probably not freed all the shorts, and must take the element out of the jar again and carefully inspect it for more shorts.
Right here is where one of the most important questions may be asked about rebuilding batteries. Why must you free the shorts and put the battery on charge? Why not save time by putting in all new separators, sealing the battery, burning on the cell connectors, and then putting it on charge? If you have ever treated a battery in this way, what results did you get? Why did you have a badly unbalanced gravity of electrolyte? How could you know what specific gravity electrolyte to put in each cell? Perhaps one was charged, one only half charged, and the other dead. Suppose the dead cell had impurities in it. How could you get rid of them? Suppose the battery showed poor capacity on test, what would you do?
To continue the actual work on the battery. The battery being fully charged,—the electrolyte clear, the plates of normal color, the specific gravity no longer rising,— remove it from the charging bench and put it on the work bench. Draw each element and let drain as in Fig. 197.
Fig. 219 Nesting plates
Here again the labeled boxes described on page 183 come in handy. Separate one group, remove the separators, and put one group in each end of box to keep clean. Separate another group, And nest the plates, Fig. 219, the negative with the negative, and positive with positive. Separate the third element and put groups in the boxes. Pour the old electrolyte out of the jars, and wash out the jars as described on page 360. You now have the plates in the best possible shape for handling. Take the boxes containing the plates to the sink. Have the plate press and the plate press boards ready for use.
If, for any reason, you are called away from your work at this point to be gone for five minutes, do not leave the fully charged negatives exposed to the air, as they will become very hot. Cover them with water. A one-gallon stone or earthenware jar will hold the negative plates of a 100 ampere hour battery if you nest two of the groups. You may also put negatives back in jars from which they were taken, and fill with water.
Now hold a negative group under the faucet, and let a strong stream of water run down over each plate so as to wash it thoroughly, and to remove any foreign matter from the plate surfaces. All negative groups must be handled in exactly the same way so as to get the same results in each case.
After you have washed the first group, place it on edge on a clean board with the post down and pointing away from you, and the bottom of the group toward you. Now insert plate press boards which are slightly larger than the plates, and of the exact thickness required to fill the spaces between plates, Fig. 113. For the standard 1/8 inch plates, a 5-16 inch board, or two 1/8 inch boards should be placed between plates.
The 1/8 inch boards are actually more than 1/8 inch thick, and will give the proper spacing. For thin plates, use 1/4 inch boards. Do not push the plate press boards more than 1/8 inch above the tops of the plates, and be sure that the boards cover the entire plates. Put a board on the outside of each end plate of the group. In this way insert the plate press boards in each of the three negative groups.
Then place each negative group on the lower jaw of the plate press with the post of each group pointing toward you. Three groups may be pressed at one time. Bring the top edges of the transite boards flush with the front edge of the lower jaw of the press, so that no pressure will be applied to the plate lugs. See Fig. 114. Pressure applied to the plate lugs will break them off.
Now screw down the upper jaw of the press as tightly as you can with the handwheel, so as to put as much pressure on the plates as possible. Leave the plates in the press for about five minutes. Then remove them from the press, take out the boards, and replace the plates in the battery jar from which they were removed, and cover with water. They may also be placed in a stone or earthernware jar and covered with water, especially if there is any work to be done on the jars or case of the battery. If the spongy lead of the negatives is firm, they may be reassembled in the battery as soon as they have been pressed. If, however, the spongy lead is soft and mushy, keep the negatives covered with water for 12 to 24 hours. This will make them hard and firm. Then remove them from the water and dry them in the air. In drying, the plates will become heated and will steam. As soon as you notice any steaming, dip the plates in water until they are cool. Then remove them from the water and continue the drying process. Each time the negatives begin to steam as they dry in the air, dip them in the water until they are cool.
When the negatives are dry, they are ready to be reassembled in the battery and prepared for service. Negatives treated in this way will give good service for a much longer time than they would if not treated in this way. The spongy lead has been made firm and elastic. If you have other negatives in your shop which are not in use, treat them in the same way and put them away for future use, to use as rental batteries. Always put them through the same process:
1. Charge them fully.
2. Press them in the plate press to force the spongy lead back into the grids.
3. Soak them in water, if the spongy lead is soft and mushy, for 12 to 24 hours, or even longer until the spongy lead is firm. Dry them in the air, dipping them in water whenever they begin to steam and become heated. This will give you negatives that will give excellent service and have a long life. Many negatives treated in this way will be good for fifteen months to two years of additional service. The rental batteries should be assembled in the same way as those you are rebuilding for the owners.
The importance of pressing negatives cannot be exaggerated. Always press the negatives of the batteries which you rebuild. Do not do it to half, or three-fourths of the negatives, but to all of them. The work takes but a few minutes, and the time could not be put to better advantage. The spongy lead of the negatives swells and bulges out and makes very poor contact with the grids as a battery becomes discharged. This results in a loss of capacity, gradual sulphation of the loose active material, corrosion of the grids, failure of the gravity to rise high enough on charge, overheating of the battery on charge, gassing before the sulphate is reduced to active material with breaking off and roughening of the active material, and makes the battery lazy and sluggish in action. The spongy lead must make good contact with the grids if the battery is to have a long life and give good service.
No amount of charging will cure a negative with bulged, swollen active material. Once this material becomes bulged nothing but pressing will put it back where it belongs, and until it is pressed back into the grids the plates are in a poor condition for service. Even if the bulging is but very slight, the plates must be pressed.
If you intend to use some of the positives, they should now be washed. If you intend to use all new positives, throw away the old ones, of course. The positives should not be held under the faucet as the negatives were, because the stream of water will wash out much of the positive active material. Rinse the positives a number of times in a jar of clean water by moving them up and down in the water. This will remove impurities from the surfaces of the plates and wash off any foreign or loose materials. After rinsing each positive group, replace it in the box.
Never attempt to straighten badly buckled positives, as the bending cannot be done successfully, and the active material will not have good contact with the grids. Positives cannot be pressed as negatives can, because the positive active material lacks the elasticity and toughness of the negative spongy lead. Slightly buckled positives may sometimes be straightened by bending them lightly all around the edges with a pair of thin, wide nosed pliers. This should be done very carefully, however, and the straightening done gradually. If the plates cannot be straightened in this way and the separators do not lie perfectly flat against them without pinching at the corners, the plates should be discarded, and new ones used in their place.
This is all the work to be done on the old plates, and those which are to be used again are ready to be reassembled in the battery. The process of treating the plates should be followed in every battery that you rebuild, and the same steps should always be taken, and in the same order. With one Standard method of rebuilding batteries you will do uniformly good work and satisfy all your customers. The essential thing for the success of your battery business is to learn the Standard method and use it. Do not rush a battery through your shop, and leave out some of the steps of the process, even though the owner may be in a hurry. If you have a good stock of rental batteries you can put one on his car and keep it there until you have done as good a job of rebuilding on his battery as you possibly can. Remember that the Standard method which has been described has not simply been figured out as being a good method. This method has been worked out in the actual rebuilding of thousands and thousands of batteries of all makes and in all conditions, and has produced batteries full of life and power, ready to give one to two years more of good, reliable service.
When you put new plates into a battery, or find some of the plates broken from the connecting strap, it will be necessary to burn the plates to the strap. Frequently you will find plates which are otherwise in a good condition broken from the connecting straps. This is most likely to happen when the plates have been cast on to the connecting strap instead of being burned on. These plates must be burned on.
New plates are frequently necessary. From pages 339 to 346 you see that new plates are required under the following conditions:
(a) Positives. Ruined by freezing; weak and brittle from age, large part of active material shed; badly buckled; rotten and disintegrated by impurities; reversed. Positives in a reasonably good mechanical condition can be restored to a good electrical condition by charging.
(b) Negatives. Active material granulated, bulged and disintegrated; charged while dry; positives disintegrated by impurities; ruined by overcharging; badly sulphated because allowed to stand idle, or used while discharged; much active material lost, and that which is left soft and mushy; negatives reversed by charging battery backwards.
When making plate renewals, never install plates of different design in the same group. Always use plates of the type intended for the battery. The battery should first be fully charged, as already explained. If all the plates in a group are to be discarded, clamp the post in a vise, being careful not to crack the hard rubber shell if one is on it, or to damage the threads on Posts such as the Exide or to draw up the vise so tightly as to crush the post. Then saw off all the old plates with a new coarse toothed hacksaw, a sharp key hole saw, or any good saw which has a wide set, close to the post. This separates the entire group of plates from the post in one short operation. This method is much better than the one of sawing the plates off below the connecting strap, and sawing or punching the old plate ends out of the strap. See page 217 for instructions for welding plates to the straps.
The work on the jars consists of removing any sediment which may have collected, washing out all dirt, and replacing leaky jars. The removal of sediment and washing should be done after the preliminary charge has been given and the old electrolyte poured out unless the preliminary charge was given with distilled water in the jars. The old electrolyte need not be poured down the sewer, but may be kept in stone or earthenware jars and used later in making electrical tests to locate leaky jars.
Remove all sealing compound from the jar by means of a hot putty knife, finishing by wiping with a gasoline soaked rag. Inspect each jar carefully under a strong light for cracks and leaks. If you know which jar is leaky by having filled each cell with water up to the correct level, when you made the first examination of the battery, and then having it allowed to stand over night to see if the electrolyte in any cell has dropped below the tops of the plates, no tests are necessary, but if you are in doubt as to which jar, if any, is leaky, you must make tests to determine which jar is leaky. If you know that there is no leaky jar, because of the bottom of the case not being acid eaten and rotted, it is, of course, not necessary to test the jars.
One test consists in filling the jar within about an inch of the top with old or weak electrolyte, partly immersing the jar in a tank which also contains electrolyte, and applying a voltage of 110 or 220 between the electrolyte in the jar and the electrolyte in the tank in which the jar is partly immersed. If current Vows, this indicates that the jar is leaky.