Does Century still make batteries with exposed filler caps or are they all maintenance free now. Need a battery that I can top up myself and not have to spend $200+ on a new battery every 2 years.
Good question mate, I went through this a month ago when this battery was replaced under warranty. I think the short answer is that they're going more and more Maintenance Free. Supercheap only had an updated Maintenance Free version which I ended up getting, but Autobarn still listed the LM version and still do at the moment: autobarn.com.au/ab/Autobarn-Category/Shop-our-Full-Ranges-by-Brand-%7C-Autobarn/Century/Century-N70ZZLXHD-Overlander-4x4-Battery---122121/p/BA00655. Don't know if that's just an old photo or if they actually still have stock, but these of course are the Overlander batteries which are for 4WD use, I think the smaller ones now would be all MF. Hope you can find one!
@@TheMusingGreg Thanks for the heads up mate. I will check out autobarn in the next couple of days. There are YT videos out there where you can rejuvenate (de sulphate) old maintenance batteries with a DC inverter welder. One guy claims he has got 20+ years out of a battery by following his method. Well worth the watch when you have some time.
My sf Sonic battery is 12.6v and all water levels fulled. However, the eye indicator is still showing WHITE colour meaning recharge. But I have no difficulty in starting the car even if it is parked for continuous 7 days. Even after using it extensively for straight 3 hrs drive, still ut js showing WHITE. What's the reason behind this? Should i remove the eye indicator and add distilled water into it?
It sounds like the indicator is faulty. If the car starts fine and cranks quickly the battery doesn't recharging. No need to add water directly to the indicator, it's measuring the fluid in one of the cells so it already has fluid in it. However make sure you haven't added too much water. When you said all water levels are filled, I assume you mean filled to the correct level as shown in the video? If you filled it to the top the battery acid will be too diluted.
Hey mate, I have a Supercharge battery and have just noticed under its label it has those tabs you can twist open like this battery. There's a mention of the warranty being void if removed which you have to do in order to access do you think that means anything? Just recharged it 7 days ago and now its completely flat again with a red indicator so i have a feeling the water might be low.
Hi mate, how old is the battery and is it still under warranty? If it's not holding a charge and is under warranty I would take it back. If it's out of warranty you have nothing to lose by removing the label and checking the water level. If it's been low on water for a while or may be permanently damaged, especially if it's more than a few years old it's probably close to dead, but again nothing to lose by trying topping them up!
Interesting! I've heard that some of the first MF batteries were simply low-maintenance ones with a sticker covering the six fill plugs. Is that what you've got, or smaller little filling holes? MF batteries do still have a vent, but it's at the end of a small condenser to try to recondense the water vapour and reflux it back into the battery (which is why they tend not to lose water).
Basically don't touch the sticker if that's the case. The sticker is not just a sticker usually it has small passage ways for gas to escape, be careful if you remove the sticker and decide to tape it back up it might cause a pressure buildup and possibly fire...
Hi Kyle, you need to add water to each cell. They are not all sharing the same tank. Some may have more water than others so they each have to be filled to the right point.
a doubt i followed the same process, i noticed that there is some "exposed Lead" in some of the cells which is above the Fluid is it oky to fill distilled water to cover that "exposed lead" also? & is it oky to charge battery when distilled water is added! (reading 12.44V)
I'm pretty sure the lead plates are all supposed to be covered. On the batteries I've used, the fill line is at the plastic markers I showed but if your plates are still exposed then add a little more distilled water. Yes it's fine to charge the battery once the plates are covered, 12.44V is a little low but should still charge up OK if it's not damaged.
@@TheMusingGreg an update. after the top up and charge car started (the very first start) very soft and fuel range climbed up 🤓 it was so nice i was delighted. >opened hood the noticed battery fluid overflew😥out of the vent hole on the front and rear of the battery, may be that extra bit of lead is oky to be left exposed (like a Iceberg)
@@suipful Perhaps so though that's unusual. Maybe it wasn't lead plate that was showing, maybe it was something else? Make sure you wash all the spilt acid off as it will eat away at your paintwork.
@@TheMusingGreg cleaned it using baking soda n water, there was a lot of fizzzzzz all around the battery area, once it dried up lot of brown formation which i am unable to find where it's from. Also i touched up painted surface where paint was eaten away due to spill.
Maintenance free battery is a scam I think. Both of them are gaseous at 14.6V, so it loses water. It's just the maintenance free means throw it away instead of refill.
Not exactly. The vents in well designed maintenance free batteries run through a maze in the lid of the battery which allows the water to condense back to a liquid and distill back into the battery. It's not perfect as the battery body will still be quite warm, but it should recapture most of the water.
I wouldn't think so, there's nothing in the maze to degrade. It would only decrease in effectiveness as it warms up, so over time in a hot engine bay you are probably still going to lose water,nbut nowhere near as much as in a regular battery.
Yes that would be sufficient to make it work, but because it evaporates in use it's best to fill out to the fill mark so you don't have to top it up every second week.
How the hell does an Australian with a European battery end up on American TH-cam and what the hell is demineralized water. Why would I use a 5 or 10 cent piece to open my battery. Jesus Christ
Haha that's a very good question, who knows with the TH-cam algorithm! Maybe you have a different term over there for demineralised water but I'm sure it would be available perhaps under a different name. As far is opening the battery mate you can use whatever works, but those slots are designed for a coin and I reckon a quarter would probably fit! 👍
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Greg, your vids are straight to the point and ez to understand, thats what its all about, thank you for helping me.
My pleasure, glad you've found them helpful!
0:45 thank you for that illustration. Now I get it.
No problems glad it was helpful!
This👆 tgqnknyou so much
Great video, esp the function of the depth gauge
Glad it helped, it's strange they don't tell you this when you buy one! Please share the video with others!
Do I have to take the battery off the + and - cables? Thanks for your video.
No, unless they're in the way. Glad it was helpful!
I always just use a throw away cup to add water, you can control it very easily that way.
Good idea!
Thanks
Ash from Scotland 🏴
My pleasure mate. Greetings from Australia!
Does Century still make batteries with exposed filler caps or are they all maintenance free now. Need a battery that I can top up myself and not have to spend $200+ on a new battery every 2 years.
Good question mate, I went through this a month ago when this battery was replaced under warranty. I think the short answer is that they're going more and more Maintenance Free. Supercheap only had an updated Maintenance Free version which I ended up getting, but Autobarn still listed the LM version and still do at the moment: autobarn.com.au/ab/Autobarn-Category/Shop-our-Full-Ranges-by-Brand-%7C-Autobarn/Century/Century-N70ZZLXHD-Overlander-4x4-Battery---122121/p/BA00655. Don't know if that's just an old photo or if they actually still have stock, but these of course are the Overlander batteries which are for 4WD use, I think the smaller ones now would be all MF.
Hope you can find one!
@@TheMusingGreg Thanks for the heads up mate. I will check out autobarn in the next couple of days. There are YT videos out there where you can rejuvenate (de sulphate) old maintenance batteries with a DC inverter welder. One guy claims he has got 20+ years out of a battery by following his method. Well worth the watch when you have some time.
Wow! Yeah I think I've seen one or two of those but didn't pay much attention. I'll check them out!
My sf Sonic battery is 12.6v and all water levels fulled.
However, the eye indicator is still showing WHITE colour meaning recharge.
But I have no difficulty in starting the car even if it is parked for continuous 7 days.
Even after using it extensively for straight 3 hrs drive, still ut js showing WHITE.
What's the reason behind this?
Should i remove the eye indicator and add distilled water into it?
It sounds like the indicator is faulty. If the car starts fine and cranks quickly the battery doesn't recharging. No need to add water directly to the indicator, it's measuring the fluid in one of the cells so it already has fluid in it. However make sure you haven't added too much water. When you said all water levels are filled, I assume you mean filled to the correct level as shown in the video? If you filled it to the top the battery acid will be too diluted.
Hey mate,
I have a Supercharge battery and have just noticed under its label it has those tabs you can twist open like this battery. There's a mention of the warranty being void if removed which you have to do in order to access do you think that means anything? Just recharged it 7 days ago and now its completely flat again with a red indicator so i have a feeling the water might be low.
Hi mate, how old is the battery and is it still under warranty? If it's not holding a charge and is under warranty I would take it back. If it's out of warranty you have nothing to lose by removing the label and checking the water level. If it's been low on water for a while or may be permanently damaged, especially if it's more than a few years old it's probably close to dead, but again nothing to lose by trying topping them up!
@@TheMusingGreg It is just over 1 year old. Thanks for the suggestion.
Mine is maintenance free but has 6 holes hidden under the sticker
Interesting! I've heard that some of the first MF batteries were simply low-maintenance ones with a sticker covering the six fill plugs. Is that what you've got, or smaller little filling holes? MF batteries do still have a vent, but it's at the end of a small condenser to try to recondense the water vapour and reflux it back into the battery (which is why they tend not to lose water).
Basically don't touch the sticker if that's the case. The sticker is not just a sticker usually it has small passage ways for gas to escape, be careful if you remove the sticker and decide to tape it back up it might cause a pressure buildup and possibly fire...
I am confusing about this. Do i need to add water one by one? Or are they all sharing a same tank?
Hi Kyle, you need to add water to each cell. They are not all sharing the same tank. Some may have more water than others so they each have to be filled to the right point.
a doubt i followed the same process, i noticed that there is some "exposed Lead" in some of the cells which is above the Fluid is it oky to fill distilled water to cover that "exposed lead" also?
&
is it oky to charge battery when distilled water is added! (reading 12.44V)
I'm pretty sure the lead plates are all supposed to be covered. On the batteries I've used, the fill line is at the plastic markers I showed but if your plates are still exposed then add a little more distilled water. Yes it's fine to charge the battery once the plates are covered, 12.44V is a little low but should still charge up OK if it's not damaged.
@@TheMusingGreg an update. after the top up and charge car started (the very first start) very soft and fuel range climbed up 🤓 it was so nice i was delighted.
>opened hood the noticed battery fluid overflew😥out of the vent hole on the front and rear of the battery, may be that extra bit of lead is oky to be left exposed (like a Iceberg)
@@suipful Perhaps so though that's unusual. Maybe it wasn't lead plate that was showing, maybe it was something else? Make sure you wash all the spilt acid off as it will eat away at your paintwork.
@@TheMusingGreg cleaned it using baking soda n water, there was a lot of fizzzzzz all around the battery area, once it dried up lot of brown formation which i am unable to find where it's from. Also i touched up painted surface where paint was eaten away due to spill.
fill all the levels evenly
Correct, but you also need to know to what level to fill them, which this video answers. It's no good having them all equally low or overfilled.
perfect video 0:47 - best instruction
Thanks glad it was helpful! 😁
Maintenance free battery is a scam I think. Both of them are gaseous at 14.6V, so it loses water. It's just the maintenance free means throw it away instead of refill.
Not exactly. The vents in well designed maintenance free batteries run through a maze in the lid of the battery which allows the water to condense back to a liquid and distill back into the battery. It's not perfect as the battery body will still be quite warm, but it should recapture most of the water.
@@TheMusingGreg I didn't know that. Does the maze lose its ability to condense water over time?
I wouldn't think so, there's nothing in the maze to degrade. It would only decrease in effectiveness as it warms up, so over time in a hot engine bay you are probably still going to lose water,nbut nowhere near as much as in a regular battery.
Water just has to flood the electrodes.
Yes that would be sufficient to make it work, but because it evaporates in use it's best to fill out to the fill mark so you don't have to top it up every second week.
How the hell does an Australian with a European battery end up on American TH-cam and what the hell is demineralized water. Why would I use a 5 or 10 cent piece to open my battery. Jesus Christ
Haha that's a very good question, who knows with the TH-cam algorithm! Maybe you have a different term over there for demineralised water but I'm sure it would be available perhaps under a different name. As far is opening the battery mate you can use whatever works, but those slots are designed for a coin and I reckon a quarter would probably fit! 👍
Cheers mate, just what I needed to know. 👍 Subscribed :)
Glad it was helpful, and thanks for the sub!