Watering the battery boosts the lifespan of the battery and extends the lifespan of the whole circuit. So now the question is, can you add water to a motorcycle’s battery?
Yes, you can add water to your motorcycle battery. But you need to know that you can’t add tap water to your motorcycle battery. Instead, we recommend adding distilled water only.
So which type of water you need to add to the motorcycle battery? When should you water your motorcycle battery? And how to care for your motorcycle battery?
What Type of Water You Should Add to the Motorcycle Battery:
You can’t use tap water as tap water contains some minerals that corrode battery terminals which ultimately malfunctioned your battery.
Some people think that they can add clean water by using a softener; if you also think the same, you’re mistaken. Such water contains chloride, which ultimately blocks the battery terminal.
Since the distilled water doesn’t contain any minerals in it, there won’t be any corrosion problem with distilled water, and that’s why we recommend adding distilled water to your battery.
It would be best for you not to let your battery dehydrate and keep them hydrated every season.
When You Should Water Your Battery:
The timing of watering your battery depends solely upon your vehicle activity and the outer temperature. For instance, you need to water your motorcycle battery more frequently if you ride it 100 miles per day.
On the other hand, if you ride your motorcycle for a couple of miles per day, you need to water your battery less frequently.
Outside weather also plays a vital role when watering your battery. If you live in hot regions, then your motorcycle battery would need water more frequently. And vice versa.
Like the internal temperature, the outside temperature also contributes to making the battery dehydrated.
Finally, the best way to determine your battery needs is to check your battery water needs weekly.
What’s the Need for Water in Battery?:
So far, you learned the type of water you should add to your motorcycle battery and when you should insert water into the battery.
Now the question is, what is the need for water in the battery?
Before understanding the importance of water in the battery, you need to understand the basic structure of lead batteries. The lead batteries contain lead plates that are immersed in electrolytes.
The electrolytes are made from a mixture of sulphuric acid and water. And this electrolyte is responsible for providing the mechanism to transfer charges from one terminal to another.
The capacity of the battery to store charges solely depends upon the size of the battery and the amount of electrolyte present in it. Thus the water in the battery determines the amount of charge that the battery can store.
Additionally, during the charging phase, electricity passes through the electrolyte. And this electrolyte makes the water (H2O) into their constituents (Hydrogen and Oxygen).
These gases are highly flammable and are also responsible for making your battery dehydrated. Thus adding water to batteries is essential for proper functioning.
Please remember that overfilling your battery harms your battery in the same manner as underfilling.
How to Fill Your Battery with Water?:
We recommend filling the battery when it’s ultimately charged. But you should always note the reading of the current water amount before charging.
When filling the battery, please pay attention that all lead plates are entirely immersed in the electrolyte.
Why You Shouldn’t Overflow the Battery?:
Battery manufacturers never recommended overflowing the battery with water. Do you know why?
It’s because, during charging, the electrolyte becomes denser. In other words, they tend to expand while recharging the battery, just like water expands during freezing.
Another reason you shouldn’t overflow your battery because excessive watering causes additional dilution of electrolytes, which ultimately degrades the battery’s performance.
What to Remember When Watering Your Battery:
There’re tons of things you need to understand when watering your battery. And your safety is the topmost priority that you should focus on. So before watering your battery, we recommend wearing your safety gear, including gloves, eyeglasses, etc.
Please pay attention to your battery; some batteries come with regular maintenance, while others come with maintenance-free batteries.
Please don’t open your battery if it comes with a warning not to open the battery. These batteries don’t require any weekly maintenance; people also named these batteries plug-and-play batteries.
Which Type of Batteries are Good for You:
In the market, there are mainly two types of batteries. The first is one-time maintenance batteries, and the second is lead batteries.
Mainly the batteries only last for two or three years, depending on the maintenance and care. And generally, nowadays, motorcycles come with no maintenance required batteries.
As the name suggests, you don’t need to fill the batteries with water in these batteries as the old lead batteries come with the need to fill them with water.
And this need comes with new dangers; for instance, sometimes the electrolyte in the battery causes skin and clothes to burn. So we recommend washing your body part with cold and distilled water if you ever encounter the electrolyte.
Apart from danger, the lead batteries become dehydrated in the summer or ride a motorcycle too much. And it would be best if you watered the batteries every or two weeks to maintain the health of the batteries.
On the other hand, maintenance-free batteries don’t ever dehydrate, and it doesn’t require much attention.
Now it depends upon you and your needs. If you think you can water your motorcycle battery every or two weeks and efficiently handle the danger, you can go with old lead batteries.
How Long will Your Battery Last?
Well, the answer to this question entirely depends on you. If you treat your motorcycle battery like trash, then it would last for only a year.
On the other hand, if you treat your motorcycle like your baby and their component like their soul. Then it would last for 5-6 years.
The main problem with many riders is that they die entirely of their battery charge and recharge it again.
As mentioned above, doing this would decrease your battery recharging power and its age.
Here are some common reasons people experience dead batteries after they bought a new motorcycle battery.
- Riders stand their motorcycle for more than 30 days.
- They don’t let their motorcycle batteries complete, or they ride their motorbike for a few minutes.
- Many riders constantly run their devices on motorcycles unnecessarily.
- Often, the faulty circuit board and fitting proved to be the main reason behind the faulty motorcycle batteries.
- Overcharging lead batteries also causes the same result as undercharging.
How to Maintain Your Motorcycle Battery Health?
So far, you have successfully learned the importance of battery maintenance. Now it’s high time for you to understand the steps involved in the care of the battery.
| Steps Involved in the Maintenance of Battery |
| Inspect the battery physically. |
| Clean the terminals. |
| Fill the batteries with distilled water. |
| Charge your batteries. |
Inspect Physically:
The very first step of your motorcycle maintenance is the physical inspection. When inspected physically, please pay attention to check any leakage or any corrosion on the battery.
Cleaning the Terminals:
The second step after the inspection is cleaning the terminal if there’s any corrosion on the battery terminal. This corrosion is the main reason why some batteries malfunction too quickly.
Fill the Batteries:
After cleaning the terminals, we recommend filling the batteries with the distilled water as mentioned above. When filling the battery, please pay attention that all lead plates are entirely immersed in the electrolyte.
Charge your Batteries:
After filling the lead batteries with distilled water, we recommend charging the battery completely. Please remember that several discharges and charging of batteries cause the lead battery to decrease its lifespan. And that’s why we always recommend not letting your batteries ever die.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Can you add water to a motorcycle’s battery?
Yes, you can add water to your motorcycle battery. But you need to know that you can’t add tap water to your motorcycle battery. Instead, we recommend adding distilled water only.
What type of water you should add to the motorcycle battery?
You can’t use tap water as tap water contains some minerals that corrode battery terminals which ultimately malfunctioned your battery.
Some people think that they can add clean water by using a softener; if you also think the same, you’re mistaken. Such water contains chloride, which ultimately blocks the battery terminal.
When you should water your battery?
The timing of watering your battery depends solely upon your vehicle activity and the outer temperature. For instance, you need to water your motorcycle battery more frequently if you ride it 100 miles per day.
Why you shouldn’t overflow the battery?:
It’s because, during charging, the electrolyte becomes denser. In other words, they tend to expand while recharging the battery, just like water expands during freezing.
What to remember when watering your battery?
There’re tons of things you need to understand when watering your battery. And your safety is the topmost priority that you should focus on. So before watering your battery, we recommend wearing your safety gear, including gloves, eyeglasses, etc.
Our Verdict:
Can you add water to a motorcycle’s battery? Yes, you can add water to your motorcycle battery. But you need to know that you can’t add tap water to your motorcycle battery. Instead, we recommend adding distilled water only.
You can’t use tap water as tap water contains some minerals that corrode battery terminals which ultimately malfunctioned your battery.
Some people think that they can add clean water by using a softener; if you also think the same, you’re mistaken. Such water contains chloride, which ultimately blocks the battery terminal.
Also, we don’t recommend overflowing the battery with water. Again, it’s because, during charging, the electrolyte becomes denser. In other words, they tend to expand while recharging the battery, just like water expands during freezing.
