battery advice?

[wingreen]

My deep-cycle battery tipped over, went unnoticed for a few days, and an unknown amount of the acid drained out. It was laying about 30 degrees from upside down, so it's possible most of the acid drained out. So, I read on battery maintenance websites that it says to never add more acid to a battery, only distilled water. But that doesn't make sense - it seems to me that if the acid came out, then more acid should go in? Does anybody know anything about this?

[M. R. Bober]

Did the spilled acid drain into the bilge? If so you need to neutralize it, the sooner the better.

Mitchell Bober
Sunny Lancaster (Where an acid and a base yield a salt an water. Just like where you live.) VA

[wingreen]

All in all, there was only a small pool on the floor of the cabin, perhaps only a two or three ounces at most. After using baking soda to neutralize the acid, I noticed there was a small amount of liquid in the bilge. So, I put a little baking soda on the tip of an oar, dipped it in the bilge, and...

... no fizzing.

I used a towel to dry the bilge.

Do I simply put more water in the battery, or do I try to replenish the spilled acid?

[Leo MacDonald]

Hi Win,
I am leaning toward replacing the spilled acid with replacement battery acid.
However, I would recommend contacting Ample Power <http://www.amplepower.com/primer/index.html. and or Blue Sea <http://www.bluesea.com/> for their recommendations.
And, as Mitch pointed out, clean up all spilled acid pronto. Wash and re-wash everything effected with water.
F/W, Leo