Well water in a battery?

[widetrax]

Due to a really recent knee replacement, I asked a family member to check my battery water in a 3 month old CC. I had checked them before, they were fine, but the buggy was only a month old then. All batteries were low and I had only a quart of distilled water--- he used approx. another quart of tap water---- we have a deep well here without too many minerals, I assume, as the water is really soft. Doing the water analysis they said, ''You are fortunate, this water is perfect, not many get water this good''----whatever that meant......
Any harm in using tap water,,,,,,all I have EVER used in autos all my life [ 72 yo ] and always wondered about the distilled vs. tap.. The batteries are the Trojan 875 BTW.

[scottyb]

If your water is not high in mineral content then it can be used so long as it complies with the guidelines below.

[Volt_Ampere]

Use distilled water. No tap water is as clean and mineral free as distilled water.

[jjance]

There might not be any immediate effect but years down the road you might be saying. " I wonder why my batteries went bad so early". Distilled water is so cheap why take chances. I ever throw the remainder of the gallon away that I don't use. I don't want algae growing in there and then pouring it into my batteries.

[scottyb]

really? it's all right there and he has the water analysis to make an informed decision. Get off the worry bus.

[thetoddjohnson]

Hey Widetrax,

Hakuna Matata dude. What's done is done. It's not something you would have done on purpose, but there is no sense in worrying about it now.

Welcome to BGW.

TJ

[scottyb]

Really there conditions were well or tap water qualify as okay. Stop and read the analysis before you panic - none of us has the analysis to make an informed remark.

[tag50]

Originally Posted by jjance

There might not be any immediate effect but years down the road you might be saying. " I wonder why my batteries went bad so early". Distilled water is so cheap why take chances. I ever throw the remainder of the gallon away that I don't use. I don't want algae growing in there and then pouring it into my batteries.

OK, I'll bite. Where does the algae come from and how long does it take to become visible?


.

[55BigBlock]

I've been told by a reliable source golf courses don't bother with distilled water. They use regular tap water. Their carts are usually leased and replaced every couple of years so they are not worried about the long term effects. I was able to get 6 years out of a set of original batteries in a formerly leased cart. That was probably better than most. I sure wouldn't worry about it.

[scottyb]

I have never heard of a golf course using distilled water. Sure it's a safe bet if you don't have the proper analysis on your water chemistry but, if you have the breakdown you can compare to the chart I posted and make your own decision.