Distilled water for batteries

General Discussion
1

Do batteries really need distilled water?

2

Yes……………….

3

You shouldn’t need to add water to modern maintenance free batteries.

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4

It depends on the quality of your water supply/. I have never bought didtilled water for a battery, but I have never lived in the South.

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5

I’ve always used distilled water for topping off batteries, but never did the experiment to make a comparison either. I use maybe 1/2 cup a year max for battery purposes, and distilled water is, what $1 per gallon?

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6

I live in the south & never used distilled water in any batteries either & have never had any problem’s.

7

As Mustangman said, moot point, you shouldn’t need to add water to a modern battery. The caps are sealed.

8

For me personally I don’t care if the battery says maintenance-free or not if I can get to the water I check it if I can’t then I can’t. But if I can see the water and it needs water I use distilled water most of the time from my dehumidifier

9

Ground water has minerals. Minerals are not good for the longevity of a battery.

Distilled or even RO water removes any material that’s NOT pure H2O.

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10

From your room dehumidifier? lol

11

Sure do, you can’t get any more pure water than evaporated water

12

I use distilled water in batteries (where possible, most are sealed) and I use distilled water in the windshield washer because I don’t like water spots on my car, and I use distilled water in the coolant.

13

Uhmm… you do realize that has airborne dust and stuff… at
least mine does.

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14

If you have a dehumidifier in the house, use that water.

15

What kind of battery are you using that isn’t sealed and maintenance-free?

The only batteries that I’ve used the past 20 years that weren’t sealed were motorcycle batteries that came with battery acid to be put in them, and if they need to be refilled, it won’t be with water of any kind.

16

Somehow every automobile battery I’ve ever purchased starting in the 1960’s up until just last year had some sort of lid on it that allowed the battery fluid to be topped off. And every time I’ve checked at least one of the cells needed topping off, most of the time they all needed topping off. the last one I purchased was a WalMart battery, cost around $50 as I recall. It’s been working perfectly so far, but I did need to top the fluid level off once. For the most part the brands have been: Sears Die-Hard, whatever brand they sell at Costco, and this last one, from Walmart. I seem to recall I had a Motorcraft battery in my truck for a while. If I wanted a sealed battery I don’t know where I could find one.

17

George, you should stop buying batteries at Walmart, and this is why . . .

Near as I can tell, Costco and Walmart sell roughly equivalent batteries, same bci group size, same cold cranking amps, same size, same warranty

However, when it comes time to honor the warranty, that is where Costco shines and Walmart treats you like a criminal and won’t stand behind their product, making you pay for a new battery, when they should be warrantying it because it’s within the free replacement period

I saw my brother get treated badly like this at Walmart, but at Costco, all they did was swipe his membership card, see that the battery was within the free replacement period and warrantied it at no cost to him, as they should

If a battery treats me badly . . . or even if I observe that they treat somebody else badly . . . chances are they’ll lose me as a customer

18

I’ve had good luck with the Costco warranty policy on batteries too. Usually I buy Costco batteries, but this particular time Walmart was more convenient. Walmart had two choices, one for $100, one for $50. Like I say the $50 version has been working perfectly. Whatever I purchase at Walmart, I just accept the fact that unless I return it in 30 days I own it. I don’t even try to get any warranty help there.

19

Well, at least you’re willing to accept Walmart’s “policies” . . . warts and all

I’m not a fan of Walmart . . . I’m not going to mention the reasons, because this would turn into an ugly discussion . . . and it’s not even close to my house, for that matter

20

I never bought a battery from walmart but last time I got tires there, they gave me a nice prorated discount on the tires. No questions or fuss at all.