Outer Limits 4x4 Board

hey guys asking for a friend his battery went flat today and his dad reckons u can put normal tap water in to the battery but everything i heard says only use distilled water so i was wandering wat is the truth ?

Distilled water is the go.

Impurities in tap water will affect the acidity of the sulphuric acid affecting battery perfortrmance (esp Calcium and Fluoride as well as other water softeners that may be included in local supplies).

Only use distilled water

Tap water has dissolved minerals in it which affect the chemical reaction in batteries, the biggest culprit being dissolved calcium carbonate. Distilled water is pure H2O.

+1, but if your are really stuck you can use it

so if it is an emergercy u can use it how fair can u drive before u have to replace it

My experience is that when you put the tap water in it will either survive the process, or be dead as a doornail right away.

You know what I found surprisingly good was a specific battery top-up fluid from KMart. It was only cheap but it actually brought a really rooted battery back to life for me, it lasted a good year or so after I put that stuff in too. I can't recall what was in it.

gqmudder91 wrote:so if it is an emergercy u can use it how fair can u drive before u have to replace it

in an emergency you have to do what you have to do

But then later you will have to replace the battery, not just the water, because the calcium will coat the plates

INOX makes a battery conditioner, a mate of mine swears by it.
I have never used distilled water in any battery i ever owned and always got good life out of them, but yes its a top idea to have distilled water in the shed for those occasions where it needs a topup.

I think the term is demineralised water.
It slowes the calcification on the plates and the buildup of crap on the terminal post.
Other than that is personal choice, from experience and reading.

or ask a battery shop for a bottle of acid. The battery guy that serviced the car yard gave me a bottle great for top ups etc.

I have used tap water lots of times for top ups always worked for me

Wozza244 wrote:INOX makes a battery conditioner, a mate of mine swears by it.

I think that might be the one I used. I was surprised how much life it put back into an old battery.

I have used tap water for the past 37 years and get 3-5 years from my batteries.

Foo on patrol wrote:I have used tap water for the past 37 years and get 3-5 years from my batteries.

I've been driving 31 yrs and only ever bought 2 batteries. Treat them well and you will get 5-7 yrs easy, quite often more. Years ago the Mazda RX-2 I had needed a replacement battery soon after I bought it. Subaru I had for 9 yrs never had it's battery changed (ps. Driving lights, CB left on, fridge overnighters etc. Not being "easy" on the battery). Suzuki (11 yrs) no new battery. Kia new battery bought for higher capacity to run fridge.

tap water works for me

I guess if you live in somewhere with really crap hard water you may do some damage, but I have only ever used tap water and suffered no obvious ill effects.