stupid battery tender!!

[Guest]

So I got my GS a few months ago, with no battery. Got a average one with acid that must be added. Did the whole fill , rest, charge thing. Decided to tear the bike down for a total clean up/resto/mod. Put battery on a 1 amp trickle maintainer. Has been on for about a month.
I go to turn on my big garage fan for some air movement and my battery on the shelf over there is half full. It bubbled? boiled? over! It all came out the overflow tube. I have not put a tester on it to see what kind of charge it may or may not have.
QUESTION** Should I add more acid to top it off and re charge or add distilled water to top off and recharge? It is exactly half full (actually empty )GRRR!!!
Advice? And dont say dump the battery and buy a nice sealed gel one.But I know that wont stop you . ha ha

[hikermikem]

I would use water...

[DanTheMan]

So I got my GS a few months ago, with no battery. Got a average one with acid that must be added. Did the whole fill , rest, charge thing. Decided to tear the bike down for a total clean up/resto/mod. Put battery on a 1 amp trickle maintainer. Has been on for about a month.
I go to turn on my big garage fan for some air movement and my battery on the shelf over there is half full. It bubbled? boiled? over! It all came out the overflow tube. I have not put a tester on it to see what kind of charge it may or may not have.
QUESTION** Should I add more acid to top it off and re charge or add distilled water to top off and recharge? It is exactly half full (actually empty )GRRR!!!
Advice? And dont say dump the battery and buy a nice sealed gel one.But I know that wont stop you . ha ha

Add distilled water. Then, when that battery quits on you, buy a nice AGM, and it'll never boil over.

[earlfor]

NEVER add acid. Acid does not boil or evaporate. Only the water boils.
All of the acid you put in the battery originally is still there.

Earl

[loud et]

Add distilled water. Then, when that battery quits on you, buy a nice AGM, and it'll never boil over.

Hey Dan , thanks for promptly proving my point about the sealed battery suggestion...lol

[loud et]

Water it is! thanks as always fellas.

[Datafive0]

A "Battery Tender" brand charger boiled a battery? 1 Amp is hardly enough to heat a battery to the point of failing, unless the battery is screwed. At any rate I am a Store Manager of a Batteries Plus, we have 2 year free replacement "X2" Power AGM's made here in the US. I have one in EVERYTHING I own, and not sure how to go about it. But I'd like to hook up fellow GS owners if I can. PM me for details and questions.

[cowboyup3371]

Water it is! thanks as always fellas.

Make sure it's distilled water as I've heard about bad things if you try to use regular tap water.

[koolaid_kid]

Now that the immediate question has been answered, I strongly suggest you address the battery "tender". What are you using? Brand and model, please. A true battery tender is regulated and is designed to stop charging when the battery is fully charged. AFAIK, the only way to boil a battery is to continue charging after it is fully charged, which means the regulator is not functioning correctly (or the battery is unable to hold a full charge). Unless you correct this issue, you will continue to have this issue (of boiling the battery) re-occur.

[posplayr]

A "Battery Tender" brand charger boiled a battery? 1 Amp is hardly enough to heat a battery to the point of failing, unless the battery is screwed. At any rate I am a Store Manager of a Batteries Plus, we have 2 year free replacement "X2" Power AGM's made here in the US. I have one in EVERYTHING I own, and not sure how to go about it. But I'd like to hook up fellow GS owners if I can. PM me for details and questions.

Sounds like a great deal; do you have a link and do we just PM you?

http://www.batteriesplus.com/products/558-CC/5171-Motorcycle-Batteries/127975-Suzuki/GS1100E/1100CC-1980-to-1983/1.aspx

[loud et]

Oh Shizz!! this one might be my fault. This is the charger, note I said charger(like it says ont the label, not maintainer). This is only 1-1/2 x 3 inches long, and had the mounting holes like you see on these tiny maintenance chargers. I guess four weeks on this thing is too much? I never tested the batteries charge the whole time, just let it sit there. I am just gonna sh*t can this thing . I dont know why I did not just use my big charger on automatic cycle anyways. This small charger is old. I cannot trust it again.
Getting distilled H2o, will see if it takes full charge. Never meant to mislead that this was a "battery tender" brand. some old POS! my bad. Hong Kong, geez how old is this thing, ha ha .

[koolaid_kid]

Other companies make products that stop charging when the battery is fully charged. They are referred to generically as 'battery tenders". There is a company which has a lock on the name, but my Schumacher performs the same function. Your charger does not. It will continue to charge as long as you have it plugged in. That is why your battery boiled. You need a tender.
You can get them at hardware stores, Walmart, Harbor Freight, etc.

Edit: corrected name of tender. Thanks Steve.

[Steve]

Schumacher makes a decent one that is available at Wal-Mart for about $20.

If you insist on paying more, you can get the same item, but with the Die Hard brand on it at Sears (or K-Mart) for about $30.

.