FORD VAN POINTERS.
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• By R. T. Nicholson (Author of "The Book of the Ford ").
AND NOW let us talk a bit about the battery. So far, we have dealt pretty fully with the working of the generator and the starting motor. We have seen that the generator, driven by the engine, charges, or stores energy in, the battery, and that this energy can be " turned on" by the use. of the foot-switch to run the starting motor, and so to turn the engine over till it fires.
193.—The Power Starter: A Bit About the Battery.
Now let us talk about the battery more in detail, because, after all, that is the source of all your power for starting, lighting, and, if you like, ignition as well.. If the battery goes wrong, there is " nothing
doing" in any of these ways. True, when the battery goes off duty you can still start your engine " by hand," but you will look very foolish when you try to light up your headlamps at night, because you can. no longer run your lights off your magneto if your battery fails you. Then you will have to depend on the oil side lamps—which give just enough light to make the darkness visible ; and you will not have any tail light at all—and then the Bogey Policeman will get you sure 'miff.
194.—A Question of Terms.
But every time I have mentioned the battery—and I have done so pretty often at one time and another— I had a kind of uneasy feeling that I was using the word in a very loose way. In the ordinary, sense of the word, the battery on the Ford is not a battery at all. By a battery, we generally mean an electrical generator that, so to speak, makes electricity out of itself by the chemical action and destruction of the materials in it. A battery consists of two or More chemical cells. The contrivance that 'works your electric bells is a battery, generally of thred cells. It may be a so-called " dry ' battery, or it may be a wet battery: but in either case the electricity produced is due to the action of sal-ammoniae On ,cino. Batteries of this kind make their own output of electricity.
What is an Accumulator?
The source of your electrical power on your new model Ford is more properly called an accumulator' or storage battery. It is true that its action depends upon certain chemical changes that go on inside it.
But those changes are, in the first place, brought about by the Current " pumped" into the cells by the generator (or by some outside source of energy, such as a charging plant), and it is the effort_ of the plates in the cells to change back to their original condition that gives us our current from the " battery" for self-starting, lighting, and ignition. The accumulator, or storage battery, then, depends upon chemical action, too, but only, when that chemical action has been made possible by previous electrical action which we call "charging!' However, we need not split hairs. If we clearly understand that it is an accumulator, or storage battery, with which we are dealing, and not a " primary" battery, like a bell battery, or a dry battery, there is no harm whatever in speaking of it simply as a " battery " ; and as that is what it is generally called, I shall generally call it by that name in future, .as 1 have done in the past..
Attention!
There was a time—when I was a good deal younger, 1 am sorry to say, than I am now—when we had nothing better than an accumulator to rely on for our ignition. There was then no trusty, never-failing magneto—even one of the Ford type. Those of us who remember those days remember them as days— sometimes nights--of. trouble. Our accumulator, or battery, was always letting us down. It was always playing pranks of one sort or another. It ran down unexpectedly—and. there we were, stranded, miles away from anywhere. Or it broke up internally, with the same result. It spilt its acid, and corroded everything up. On a motorcycle, the acid once ate right through the 'battery compartment into my petrol tank, so that the spirit poured out and laid the road dust. Beastly things those batteries were I When the magneto came—even the Ford magneto—we welcomed it (so to speak) with open arms. That worked all the time and every time, and never—well, hardly ever—failed us.
• 195.—Back to the Battery.
And here we are with the " beastly " battery again. Yes ; but you must now drop the word "beastly.' The battery is not beastly to-day. Time has passed since those early experiences of the pioneer motorists disgusted them. Manufacturers have since learnt to make batteries—to make them so strong and sturdy that they will not break down unexpectedly. Why, there are some cars on the road to-day that depend for their engine starting and lighting, and for ignition as well, solely on a battery ; they do not even carry a magneto as a stand-by. The battery to-day must therefore be " something like" if it can be relied upon to that extent.
And it is " something like-." True, I should personally prefer not to rely on it altogether for ray ignition, because, if my ignition fails, I cannot get home at all, except at the end of a rope; and, frankly, I do not think it can yet be claimed that any battery is so entirely dependable as the " mag."
But a battery is absolutely necessary for engine starting, and, for lighting, the battery is good. Having said that, however, I 'do not want to leave you with the impression that it is going to be gobci enough unless you look after it properly. Yoa cannot leave a battery to look after itself. Left alone, it will simply commit suicide. So, attention!
196—Watch the Electrolyte.
The electrolyte is the liquid in the battery. (It is a mixture of sulphuric acid and water ; but more about that presently.) It is important that that liquid should stand at the right height in the cells-and the right height is the level at which it just more than covers the plates. If you do not keep the plates so covered, they will suffer for it.
Now, you ought never to lose electrolyte by spilling. There are only two ways in which you could lose electrolyte in that way—first, by carrying the battery carelessly if you ever take it out of its case, and it slops aver ; secondly, by running the van with the filler caps loose or off the batteryIn those two ways you might lose electrolyte by spilling, but it is up to you to see that those two things do not happen. (If, by accident, you do spill any of the electrolyte, you must make up the loss; but I will talk of that in my next batch of notes).
197.—Loss by Evaporation.
But, however careful you are not to spill any of the electrolyte, you will sooner or later lose liquid by evaporation. Luckily, it is only the water—not the acid—in the electrolyte that passes off in that way ; so that all you have to do is to add enough water to each
c46 cell to bring up the level of the electrolyte to the proper height already named.
" Scientific Water,"
But there's "water, water everywhere." Yes, but that is not necessarily the kind of water that will do for this job. You must have chemically pure water. The best way to get it is to go to the chemist for it, asking for distilled water. A shilling's-worth will last you for quite a long time, if you keep it carefully corked in a clean bottle.
Adding Water.
The best way to add the water to the electrolyte, so as to bring the height of the liquid up to the proper level, Is to squirt it in with the bulb hydrometer—previously well rinsed out. Failing that, pour it in from a jug with a narrow beak. You will have to add the water to each cell in the battery, so that it stands at the same, height in all You pour the water in through the filler-cap openings. You remove a filler cap by giving it a quarter turn to the left •' and after you have finished this job, be sure that each filler cap is well and truly in position again. If you do not see to this, you will find the battery spilling its electrolyte when next the van runs. And be careful to wipethe battery perfectly dry outside, if you have spilled any water on it. The water will be at the right height if it just comes up to the level of the bottom of the filler-cap tubes. As a matter of fact, it is not possible to overfill the Exide battery, because, after you have brought the water up to the right height, no more wilI pa in. But if you fill carelessly, you can make the battery overflow, and that will mean loss of some of the acid in the electrolyte' with the water that flows over. You 'do not .want That to happen. Therefore, pour gingerly.
" How Often ? "
How often ought water to be added? Just as often as it Is needed—that is, whenever the level of the electrolyte lies lower than the tops of the plates—or, what is the same thing, lower than the bottom edge of the filler, captubes. The plates must be kept completely covered ; no part of them must be allowed to become "high and dry."
Exactly how often you will have to give this little bit of attention will depend on circumstances. Evaporation will go on to a much greater extent in sum_ mer than in winter, and on a hot day than on a, cold day. Even in. winterahowever, I should not overlook this job for rnoretha,n a month on end, and in summer I should make it a point to check the height of theelectrolyte once a week, and to add water if it was not high enough.
198.--When You Spill Electrolyte:
If by accident you do spill any of the electrolyte, you will want to know how to make the loss.good.
The electrolyte consists of a mixture of pure distilled water and chemically pure sulphuric acid. The acid should be bought of a chemist, and you should ask for acid of 1.835 specific gravity ; he will know what you mean. Let me warn you, by the way, that sulphuric, acid is nasty stuff to deal with ; and if it gets on to your hands in its " raw " state—that is, before it has had a good deal of water added to it—it can burn badly, and leave very ugly wounds. It is the " oil of vitriol that low-down. skunks throw in the faces of their victims; at least, oil of vitriol is a common sort of sulphuric acid. Therefore, handle sulphuric acid carefully if you value your skin. If by chance you spill any on to your hands, apply quickly a solution of ammonia in water.
In my next batch of notes I will complete my remarks on attention to the battery.