Hello, dear visitors of the site.
Today I want to tell you about a very simple, but at the same time, very convenient homemade product.
I'll start in order ... We all drive cars, and we all know that in car there is a rechargeable battery.
In order for the battery to serve faithfully for many years, several steps must be performed:
1. Monitor the electrical equipment of the car.
2. Avoid "deep discharge" of the battery.
3. Monitor the electrolyte level in the battery.
To fulfill the first condition, you just need to measure the voltage supplied to the battery terminals from the generator from time to time. (At idle with the “stove” and dipped headlights turned on, it should be at least fourteen volts!)
You can forget about the second condition, if after starting the engine, it works for you for more than half an hour each time. (This is exactly the time it takes for the battery to compensate for the capacity spent on starting the engine from the generator). If you drive mostly “short dashes” around the city, then, from start to start, your battery confidently moves to the so-called “deep discharge” - a sharp avalanche-like discharge of the battery to critically low values. Experiencing the battery "deep discharge" is not always. And certainly, it will never pass without consequences - even if the battery is restored, part of the capacity will be lost! Therefore, even if your battery at first glance seems to be “fully charged”, and “smartly” turns the starter, it is still necessary to remove it and charge it about once every six months on a stationary charger.
But the third condition is very easy to observe ... You just need to unscrew the plugs from the battery from time to time and, having looked inside, make sure that the liquid level is higher than the package of plates in each "jar" ... (This, of course, does not apply to more expensive , “maintenance free” batteries, in which there are no plugs, and in which the vapors are condensed by a special design and sent back to the battery).
And with this, at first glance, a very, very simple action, we often have problems ...
For the simple reason that battery plugs have a specific groove, through which, at first glance, you can unscrew the plug "anything" ...
In fact, this “anything” is just not at hand ... You can, for example, use a coin ... But there is acid !!! And after use, it’s advisable not to put the coin in your pocket ... Ehh ... Sorry for the coin ...)))
Many people try to make it a screwdriver ... Most often it does not work out even with a very wide screwdriver, since the plastic of the corks is very soft and the groove is cross-shaped (which further weakens the cork). Usually, a screwdriver rotates, deforming the plastic ....
Below I will describe the manufacture of a very simple and very convenient key that will allow you to unscrew the plugs from the battery eliminating the contact of hands with acids, and without tearing the splines of the plugs.
For this we need:
1. The M8 washer increased.
2. Cork from a plastic bottle.
Once, in search of this very “anything” (about which I wrote above))), I noticed that the enlarged washer M8 fits very tightly into the groove of the battery plugs, and it is most convenient to use it.
As you know, flat washers according to GOST are divided into ordinary and enlarged (in which the outer diameter is three internal)
So, on its basis, I decided to make a key.
To make a convenient “handle”, I decided to use the usual cork from a plastic bottle:
The puck is placed in the cork "on the edge":
And fix, completely filling the cork with hot glue:
All!!! That's the whole homemade !!!
After hardening, we get a very convenient key.
Now, without touching our hands on the battery housing, on the surface of which there may be acid, we insert our key into the groove of the plug and unscrew it:
At the same time, our key fits into the groove so precisely that it is fixed tightly in it so that the plug remains on it after being turned out:
After checking the electrolyte level, we wrap the cork back without touching it with our hand:
That's all ... Such a key will not take another place in the car and will always be at hand.
And finally, I want to say that to add to the battery, if the level is low, you can only distilled water! (Not electrolyte!)
If you fulfill the three conditions I mentioned above, even the batteries of inexpensive manufacturers will last you a long time. At least, I did not have a case that even a cheap battery left less than seven years!