I got my neighbor’s tractor back home this morning, fueled up and in excellent running condition.
Yesterday’s main chores included an irrigation trench at Landlady’s place…
We always ran flexible pipe overground and it worked fine for years. But now rats have figured out that there’s water in there, and now you can’t keep a pipe intact from one day to the next. So it’s bury all the lines or give up on the trees. None of these trees are ever going to fruit, but some have been around long enough to have sentimental value. So now there’s a trench for the pipe. I had estimated it at 30 yards but got to wondering about that overnight so I paced it out, and it’s more like 40. So I guess that’s why it took so long to do.
It’s also battery day…
Landlady’s batteries have a problem that nobody else’s do, and I’m at a loss to explain it…
The connections corrode like nobody’s business. I’ve tried petroleum jelly, special anti-corrosion grease, stainless steel bolts, and they still do this every time on most (but not all, for some reason) of the positive battery connections.
I brought tools and protective gear over there today at mid-day planning to take the cables off and clean them, only to find that I’m out of sandpaper. So I topped off the electrolyte and left the gear there, and now I’ve got sandpaper on my shopping list for Monday.
Also got the rebar cut for the pier footers, but that’s as much as I did on the addition today. Just a lot of other little chores needed doing, plus that long walk back from returning the tractor. Actually I guess that goes on the list of “addition work,” just so I won’t feel like a slacker. And now the afternoon storm is building. Looks like an early Monsoon this year, though sometimes we get a false start so it might stop in a few days. Also might not.
Here’s a bit of info I found. May apply to your situation. May not.
“Corrosion on the terminals is due to hydrogen gas being released from the acid in the battery. It mixes with other things in the atmosphere under the hood and produces the corrosion you see on the terminals. Generally, if the corrosion is occurring on the negative terminal, your system is probably undercharging. If on the positive side, it is probably overcharging. Most often it will be seen on the negative side because the battery is usually in an undercharged situation. This is just the nature of the beast, I’m afraid.”
My first guess is that the cases are leaking around the terminals. Some sort of sealing goup might help, or paint the terminals with a baking soda-water slurry and repeat monthly. Yep, returning the tractor counts as project work
Are those batteries taking much water?
Joel – the lead terminal (post) coming through the plastic case has a different coefficient of expansion than the plastic. If properly assembled, this gap is so small as to not allow gas or chemicals to migrate there but (remember the old straw in water trick, where the water level in the straw is higher than the glass?) the small gap collects moisture either from the air or from the bubbling electrolyte during charge times and wicks it up by surface tension. For grins, pick up some stainless steel bolts and replace the regular steel ones on the problem batteries. That should minimize the corrosion you see, and do continue to put the grease on the terminals when done cleaning. I use some water and baking soda to clean terminals with a toothbrush, then flush with clean water and pat dry with a paper towel (disposable). Using rags leads to holey rags if any acid remains. Use gloves and eye protection (yeah, I forget that a lot too).
Quite a lot, yeah. Always have.
Have you tried the anti-corrosion felt…washers, I guess that go around/under the terminals? Sold in most auto departments. I thought they were silly,,,until I gave in and put them on the truck’s battery last time I had to replace a terminal lug. Seem to have dramatically reduced corrosion there.
Since they are taking lots of water, I would suspect overcharging. Check the float voltage and/or have the installer check it out. May just need the controller settings tweaked.
Re: felt washers – those are made for automotive battery connections. There’s no place to put them on these.
Check the fill caps, its a long shot but on my caps there is a small vent hole on the side. If I put the caps on with the hole towards the terminal I get corrosion, if I point the hole away, I don’t.