The Washington times., 1918-11-02


Increases in force. 50 that the
driver Is able to direct Swhatsver
amount OF current he may need
for lighting the lamps. starting
the car. or what not.
This chemical action, which gen
crates the current for useful pur-
poses. also produces a peculiar
condition on the plates, sub
stance known as lead sulphate be-
ing deposited thereon. The sui
plate is a white substance, formed
from the sulphuric acid N the
elect=olyte. As the deposit Of lead
sulphate Efows heavier. obviously
the acid content OF the electrolyte'
gets weaker. At the same time
the encrustation on the plates pre-
vents the electrolyte from acting
freely on the. plates to produce
current. So In both ways the ac-
tion OF the battery Is weakened
by this inevitable. condition, Of de-
posit on the plates If The 7aondt-
tion continued long enough, all
the acid would be withdrawn
from the eIectrolyte and deposited
on the plates The battery would
then be completely DISCHARGED and
the fluid would be nothing but
plain water.
The cure for this condition is
very simple, for II happens that IL
electric current from an outside'
source is sent through the battery
it causes exactly The reverse Of
the original process. The lead
sulphRte is driven of the plates
and back into the fluid in the form
OF sulphuric acid. II the charging
operation Is carried out properly
the battery Will be completely re-
stored to full working capacity
and is ready to begin generating
c1rrent with all its accustomed
vigor. -s'
1t is evident thAt the care need
ed by the battery is to keep 1t a.
nearly as possible fully charged
and otherwise able to perform its
appointed task In~the first place
any liquid is subject to evapora-
tion. The electrolyts is no excep-
tion to the rule. indeed, its nature
- and the heat generated in the
4 chemical action make evaporation
E unusually rapid. To keep the elec-
trolyte up to its proper level VIII
be the car owiker's first duty. II
should be a rule to MI up the Jars
with distilled water;or water made
from melting snow, once a month
in winter and once in two weeks
in summer, when. the extra heat
causes excessive evaporation IL
however, some Of the battery liquid
should happen to be spilled. 1t will
be necessary to replenish with
acid and water in the proper pro-
portions, since both will have been
lost, whereas IN evaporation only
the, water viii be lost - -
Every owner ought to learn. to
use the hydrometer. This Is the
instruments that tells you what the
SPECIFIC gravity Of the Selectfolyte
is ssoSthat you Can teli how M kariy
charged or Discharged the battery
is. The hydrometer is a large
glass syringe with a-rubber bulb
on.aone end and a small fioating
cylinder inside. With the bulb a,
little. of the electrolyte is drawn
up into the syringe. the cylinder
floats. in the liquid and by a scale
on the side the specific gravity Is
indicated When the battery Is
! fully charged the electrolyte win
show a specific gravity OF around
l.30, when It nears lis the bat
terry is practically discharged and
must be recharged without delay
or II may be ruined.
Most cars today are equipped
with generator driven from
I some shaft to recharge the bat
terry as II Is exhausted by cur
rent demands. This may be set
so as to charge rapidly or slow
ly. as the service demanded of the
car makes necessary. The car
owner must deterTuinS just how
fast his battery needs to be re-
charged by gradual experiment
and then set the generator for
that rate. This is a great con-
venience and helps make easy
the work OF keeping the battery
up ito the mark. But II, must be
remembered, the generator does
not. put fresh water in the bat
terry. The owner must do this or
have 1t done, and II should be
made a regular "chore," to be at
tended to at fixed intervals: --...
In case a persistent leakage oc-
ours in a battery, an inspection
should be made for a cracked. cell.
II the jars in the battery break
habitually. the chances are that
i the battery is not fastened prop
erly. The unit is held in place
usually by clamps and these may
need Tightening from time to
time. In case the battery dis
charges with undue rapidity, the
assumption Is that a, short cir
cult somewhere, i'm. the line is
draining the current out The