Manual

3.6 Cleaning cell covers
• Cell covers can be dusted with a clean cloth or clean dry paintbrush.
• Cell covers may also be cleaned with clear water and a small
amount of baking soda and dried after cleaning.
• If residual acid appears on the cover surfaces it may be neutralized
with a solution of one pound baking soda and one gallon of clear
water. Rinse with water following neutralization and air dry.
CAUTION
Never use solvents other than water to clean battery containers.
Many solvents will damage the plastic materials causing the
materials to crack or fail. A neutralizing solution of baking soda
and water may be used to clean acid spills.
3.7
Tap connections
Tap connections on the battery electr
ically unbalance the battery and
should never be used. Installing a tap will result either in partial or
complete discharge of the group of cells that are furnishing current to
the auxiliary load. In addition an o
vercharge is imposed on the
untapped cells that will materially decrease their useful lif
e. Tap con-
nections most often inadvertently occur during initial installation when
installers ma
y be tempted to use a portion of the battery to po
wer their
equipment, par
ticularly prior to installation of electrical service. The
use of tap connections will void the warranty.
3.8 Putting batteries into storage
A batter
y on float charge provides maximum service life and, therefore,
should not be stored on open circuit unless it is unavoidable, but in
such cases only for a very limited time as discussed earlier in Part 1,
Section 2.
In such cases
, follow these recommendations before
de-energizing:
• Provide an equalize charge as described in Part 2, Section 1.3 and
Section 2.2.
• De-energize battery only after it is fully charged, typically 12 to 16
hours.
•
Disconnect batter
y terminals or remove battery system fuses, so
there is no possibility of discharge through the electrical circuits. As
an added precaution, open one intercell connector on each row of
batter
ies.
• Store the battery at approximately 77°F (25°C) in a horizontal
position. When returning the battery to service, restore all open
connections
, replace fuses, and treat as a new battery by providing
an initial charge.
3.9 Recor
d keeping
At a minimum, annual measurement of unit voltages should be taken
and recorded. On occasion, if a long discharge has been experienced,
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