The Washington times., 1917-06-16
STORAGE BATTERY
ALMOST HUMAN
Must Be Fed and Watered or
Trouble Is Encountered.
MOST ABUSED PART OF CAR
600 Service Stations Have Been
Established in Country.
MOST ABUSED PART OF CAR
BY q. II. HINES,

ny Ne HhAHbep
w ashIn Eton PrestOlite Representative.
Every automobile owner recognizes
the fact that unless he oils his motor
regularly and keeps his radiator Allied
for cooling, his engine is going to
"burn up" and refuse to do its work
Also he realizes that unless the
gears and bearings are fabricated Pc
riodically, they will surely be put out
OF commission in short order. There
fore, he supplies oil and grease TO the
mechanism and water to the radiator
in q regular way a. . matter OF
course.
It Is a peculiar fact, however. that
many OF these same motorists abso-
Iutely ignore the storage battery
until 1t dies an unnatural death. They
, seem to look upon It as an mex
haustible magic box" which in some
way Is supposed to take care OF itself.
As a matter OF fact II requires as
careful and regular attention as the
rest of the car. and IL accorded this
attention. most battery Ills would be
prevented
Like Human Beings.
Storage batteries are like human
beings in that they must have food"
and drink" regularly, or they will
weaken and their lives be shortened
By food Is meant the current which
must be put back by the generator.
Generators are designed to meet aver
age driving conditions. often mi
city driving where the starter is used
frequently and short trips made, the
generator does not recharge the bat
terry in proportion to the current dis
charge demanded. On the other hand.
long and fast cross-country driving
with little use of the starter and
lights overcharges the battery. which
hastens evaporation OF the water in
the cells.
Regular inspection will tell you
the condition OF your battery. II II is
undercharging the specific gravity of
the electrolyte will be 1880 or less;
IL II is overcharging. the evaporation
OF liquid will be excessive as q result
of excessive heat and spraying.
The most common abuse OF the
battery, and one OF the most ruinous.
Is allowing It TO go dry The cleo
trolyte solution must always COM
pletely cover the plates in all cells.
In order to maintain the proper level
and MIXTURE OF the solution. distilled
water must be added regularly-once
a week in warm weather-to replace
the water which has evaporated. The
acid does not evaporate. therefore,
none must be MISUNDERSTANDING OF
the distilled water brings the solu-
ton back to the proper mixture. This
Is just as Important as adding iubri-
eating oil TO the oiling system. II Il
10 not done, something IL bound to
happen.
Service stations.
For the purpose OF helping motor
SITS take care OF their batteries. the
Company. Inc, has es-
more than 900 special bat
cry service stations all over the
where inspection and filling
ervice OF expert character Is pro-
Tided for all car owners. This service
$ to be had at our service station
It 14o5 Fourteenth street northwest
Every battery user, regardless Of the
make OF battery he uses. 10 uCged to
Use Il as ofen as he desires. Our ex-
,erts can detect irregularities and
'ectify them before they work serious
lamage to the battery. This service /
s maintained for the general good OF /
battery users, and the motorist who |
loes not avail himself Of IL regularly |