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mlts22's avatar
mlts22
Explorer II
Apr 09, 2016

Batteries and acid shipped in different containers?

Right after each other, both the recoil rope broke and the starter battery of my 3000 watt Yamaha generator died. Rather than disassemble the darn thing to get a new pull rope added, I went and replaced the battery with a Yamaha motorcycle battery, which fit in perfectly, and had the same amp-hours as the old one.

Oddly enough, the box shipped with the battery, and a row of six vials of acid attached to each other. To get the acid in the battery, one pulled a sticker off the battery, turned the acid vials upside down, placed it over the row of holes on the battery, pressed to punch the foil seal on the vials, squeezed the bottles so the acid drained completely into the cells, then yanked off the row of vials, and then pressed a cap that spanned all six holes into place.

Took a few minutes to do, and even though the operation was fairly safe, playing with battery acid in the middle of the woods isn't my idea of a good time, even with making sure I had access to water and was wearing eye protection.

Is shipping acid separately from the battery something new that battery makers are doing? This is the first time I've seen this.

25 Replies

  • jerseyjim wrote:
    I agree that pouring acid from one container to another can be kind of intimidating....requiring absolute concentration, but that is the way, at least for motorcycle batteries forever. I might guess batteries for ATVs, etc., are the same.
    Be careful and don't get distracted...you'll be OK
    The last few that I have bought came with the vial system that the OP described. No more single container of acid that has to be poured into the cells one at a time. It is premeasured and every cell gets the exact same amount. It is about as safe and fool proof as it can be. It is also available in the AGMs
  • I agree that pouring acid from one container to another can be kind of intimidating....requiring absolute concentration, but that is the way, at least for motorcycle batteries forever. I might guess batteries for ATVs, etc., are the same.
    Be careful and don't get distracted...you'll be OK
  • That's the way batteries for bikes come in my experience, well until I switched to agm.
  • mlts22 wrote:
    Right after each other, both the recoil rope broke and the starter battery of my 3000 watt Yamaha generator died. Rather than disassemble the darn thing to get a new pull rope added, I went and replaced the battery with a Yamaha motorcycle battery, which fit in perfectly, and had the same amp-hours as the old one.

    Oddly enough, the box shipped with the battery, and a row of six vials of acid attached to each other. To get the acid in the battery, one pulled a sticker off the battery, turned the acid vials upside down, placed it over the row of holes on the battery, pressed to punch the foil seal on the vials, squeezed the bottles so the acid drained completely into the cells, then yanked off the row of vials, and then pressed a cap that spanned all six holes into place.

    Took a few minutes to do, and even though the operation was fairly safe, playing with battery acid in the middle of the woods isn't my idea of a good time, even with making sure I had access to water and was wearing eye protection.

    Is shipping acid separately from the battery something new that battery makers are doing? This is the first time I've seen this.

    This is pretty common. You can buy the ATV batteries dry or wet. When buying wet batteries the date of manufacture is very important as the battery starts to degrade from the day the acid is added.
    Dry batteries can be stored indefinantly.

    I carry spare dry ATV batteries with me.My ATV batteries have a nasty habit of failing on a trip.
    Since I am usually in a remote location when that occurs, having a new battery on hand at all times is the best solution for me.
  • ATV batteries come that way all the time when you order them. I think motorcycle and snowmobile batteries are the same. I've never seen one with separate acid bottles. Everything I ever ordered came with 1 big bottle you had to pour out of.