$0 battery water calibration tool

[Guest]

I'm sure I'm not the first one to try this, but I had to add water to my battery this afternoon so, at my friend's suggestion, on the way home I stopped by Walgreens and they gave me a syringe used for baby medicine.

It served double purpose in that it allowed me to fill the cells without making a mess, but I could also use the plastic neck/nipple on the tip of the syringe to remove excess water when I overfilled any of the cells.

Too easy and no cost, so I thought I would pass it along in case somebody else needs it.

—Chris

[JEEPRUSTY]

Any solution that has the word nipple is grand.

I use a lavage syringe from my dentist to draw brake fluid etc. only for extraction but it is useful.

It seems that the drug store types get leery when I ask for syringes.

[Gibbelstein]

Well, I couldn't put the bike in danger by sharing one of my needles. Lord knows what it might catch from me...

Also, I'm sure they are pretty liberal with them, but using the phrase "the kind that is used for baby medicine" may have helped with getting it for free. I suppose the bike could be my baby.

[SVSooke]

No most drug stores will give you small needleless syringes free.Bigger ones my wife had to pay for.Very handy.

[SqDancerLynn1]

So hard to tell the water level on the bike, I usually take the battery out. I use a 5cc syringe to refill the battery with distilled water.

[Gibbelstein]

Good point HG

Batteries lose water but not acids. You replenish the water and dilute the mix. By removing some you take some of the acid away.

I hadn't even considered that. I'll definitely keep that in mind if I have to do this again. However, this is the first "maintenance required" battery I have seen in quite some time. I thought they had been completely phased out.

I didn't remove very much from any cell, but I don't think this instance is a fair test because I think I ran it too low on water for too long and this battery's turn is up. Bike will start with a jump and run indefinitely, but it won't hold a charge. Looks like I need a new one.

[Roadkill2]

I use the syringe as well, but the trick is to use a torch to see the water level, shined from behind the fuel cells,

[bwringer]

Why on earth are you cheap &@&%$#@!s still using old-fashioned "wet" batteries?

Sealed AGM batteries are where it's at... a few bucks more and there's no more water to check, no more acid burping out to eat your bike's frame, and the battery lasts longer than a year or two. You save money and avoid a lot of trouble in the long run...

Skip a few smokes or lattes and step into the 21st century, my friends. It's nice here in the future...

[nastyjones]

Skip a few smokes or lattes and step into the 21st century, my friends. It's nice here in the future...[/QUOTE]

Love it. Great quote

Cheers, Paul

[Zafe]

Why on earth are you cheap &@&%$#@!s still using old-fashioned "wet" batteries?

Sealed AGM batteries are where it's at... a few bucks more and there's no more water to check, no more acid burping out to eat your bike's frame, and the battery lasts longer than a year or two. You save money and avoid a lot of trouble in the long run...

Skip a few smokes or lattes and step into the 21st century, my friends. It's nice here in the future...

what agm model battery are you using?

[bwringer]

I've been VERY impressed with Motobatt batteries.

Here's where I got my last Motobatt. They got pretty scarce last year, but There are several vendors that stock these now. Poke around and you might even find one $5 or $10 cheaper. Impact Battery was the only one I found that listed inventory -- I hate waiting on stuff that's out of stock.

http://www.impactbattery.com/brands/motobatt/motobatt-mbtx14au-replaces-ytx14ahl-ytx14ah.html

I love the extra terminals and the fact that one battery can be adapted to many other bikes.

There are many others that are excellent as well -- Big Crank batteries are well-regarded by many GSR members. Just make sure you double-check and are comfortable with your vendor's warranty policies.

If you're nervous ordering online, or need a battery fast, Advance Auto sells a nice AGM battery, and of course, Batteries Plus has locations just about everywhere.

Make sure you properly dispose of your old battery...

[whereiwannabe]

>Skip a few smokes or lattes and step into the 21st century, my friends. It's nice here in the future...

LOL, well noted. I'm buying one today for my bike.

[Gibbelstein]

Funny enough, I bought one a month or so ago. It needed replaced anyway, and the Motobatt did a much better job flinging the starter over. Luckily I got the new battery in just a few weeks ahead of putting it up for storage.