Battery leaked...fill with acid or water?

[Wakko47]

Bought a new set of Trojans for SWMBO's cart and on the way home one of them fell over and leaked acid all over the place. Should I refill with acid or water? I'm thinking acid.

[PingEye3]

Needs to be acid, available at Auto stores. But also need to check specific gravity with hydrometer, and add water as necessary. 1280 is fully charged, but I would use hydrometer on one of the others first to see what the SG is for it. New batteries are not usually sitting with full charge, and try to match it by diluting as needed with distilled water only. Then give full pack a charge.

That's my 2 cents, though some may comment otherwise.

[Wakko47]

I think you’re as expert as possible about batteries, I’ll take your word as canon. These were installed in a cart and charged, but removed a month later for lithium, so technically they’re used. I’ll check the others first. Today was the stripping of the pickup bed carpet and cleaning all the acid out.

[simicrintz]

Pickup beds don't have carpet!

[Wakko47]

Mine does.

[camaroluvz28]

Originally Posted by Wakko47

Mine does.

You mean DID!

[Wakko47]

Nah, this is really good stuff. Nothing hurts it, including acid. I had leather lined straps for motorcycle handlebar tiedowns and the acid ate the leather away, but the carpet is good. Fortunately no acid got on the actual bed of the truck.

[camaroluvz28]

That's good that stuff is brutal...I can't tell you how many pairs of pants and shoes have been ruined over the years doing battery jobs almost daily...

[Wakko47]

I can imagine!! I'm glad I didn't get any on my clothes! My driveway, on the other hand, looks a little worse for wear...

[Fairtax4me]

Imagine the guys car that was behind you when you were driving home with acid leaking out of the back of the truck!

The best way is to fill it back just until the plates are covered with acid, then let them settle for a little while and check the SG. Adjust with water or acid as necessary to get the proper SG.
Like pingeye said, check one of the other batteries for something to compare to. Aim for the same SG. You may have to charge the pack and then adjust some afterwards by removing some acid from each cell an adjusting with acid or water accordingly.