Arizona republican., 1919-01-05
ELECTRICAL EXPERT
 WARNS MOTORISTS
 CARE FUR BATTERIES

Rabbit Brothers' electrical expert says the number of storage batteries destroyed by the cold weather and inn proper treatment every winter is sim ply appalling More motorists hay, battery trouble-more or less severe in winter than at any other time The reasons for this are obvious.
 In the first place. the average mo- torist works his battery much harder in winter than in summer. The days are shorter and he uses his lights more. Starting is difficult. The increased viscocity of his lubricating oil makes every turn of his flywheel more stiff and difficult. His gasoline refuses to Naporize because of the low tempera- ture. Yet day after day we see motor- ists spin their cold motors for d long time without realizing the terrific strain on their storage batteries. Per- haps they do not know that their bat terles are operating with about one half of their midsummer capacity and are doing at least four times as much work.
 The motorist should not submit his battery to a strain of this sort. He should use a lubricating oil of lighter body than his summer oil Thus he will escape the terrific stiffness of his motor. It is advisable also to race his motor before stopping so as to flood the cylinders with rich mixture ot gas and to check the air supply in starting. Sonic motorists stop their motors, not by throwing off the switch. but by choking off the air. thus filling the cylinders with q very rich mixture ! that will explode more readily in a cold motor.
 A well known remedy for cold and rebellious motor is to pour hot water on the carburetor. There is no danger of the water getting into the carburetor and mixing with the gasoline. But the heat instantly makes the gasoline more volatile and an explosive mixture read fly results.
 On most cars the gear set is located behind the clutch. Therefore. the clutch should be thrown out of engagement before trying to start as merely put ting the lever into neutral does not ! disenGage the gears from turning and the stiff cold transmission grease adds material assistance to the action of ! the battery These and other simple ! remedies should be resolted to in or { der 10 spare the storage battery as much as possible.
 Many motorists still lay up their cars l in the winter It is a common mis- ! take to suppose that simply because q i battery isn't doing any work, it cannot come to any harm. Nothing could be further from the truth
 A storage battery that stands idle will discharge itself through what is known as local action" and a dis charged battery is on the road to ruin
 In the first place. it is subject to freezing. The electrolytic of fully charged battery consists largely of sul- phuric acid. This will not freeze al any temperature We are likely to get But when the battery is discharged ] the sulphuric acid in the solution is absorbed by the plates. and leaves the electrolyte almost pure water. Now water, as We all know. freezes at 3- 1 degrees r. and when it freezes in a | confined space it's expansion causes great damage. In q battery freezing breaks the rubber parts. pulls off the | covers, splits the plates and smashes ! things up so thoroughly that the bat | tery is absolutely worthless. It hap pens just the same way in which the water pipes freeze and spring leaks.
 And if the water in the solution evaporates. and leaves part of the plates exposed to the air, the exposed part will harden and lose it's capacity to store electricity.
 In short, whether you use your cal