Method One

Method One:

Like previously mentioned, the cells of an SLA or AGM battery dry out

and this causes several issues. Luckily, there is a way to fix this.

So follow these steps:

Step 1) Typically AGMs and SLAs have a plastic cover over the top of the

battery. Slip a blade in between the cover’s edge and the battery top

and gently drag the blade all around the edge of the cover to help break

the seal of the cover. If you have a box cutter, these work great for this

step.

Description: Gently breaking the seal between the battery cover and casing with a small blade

Step 2) Pop off the top of the battery with a screwdriver or icepick. You can slip the edge of a slot/flat screwdriver under the plastic cover we

just broke the seal to and pop it off like in the following example:

*Note: Once you pop the top off, each individual cell will most likely

have a little battery cap as well. Pop these off also to expose the inside

of each battery cell.

Description: Popping off the top of an SLA or AGM battery

Step 3) Refill the cells with distilled water. Please note that it’s

important to only use distilled water for this step. Tap water will

damage your battery.

We also find it very helpful to use a syringe to fill each cell but you can

also just pour the distilled water into each cell if you don’t have

a syringe.

We recommend filling each cell so the plates are covered with a 1/4” to 1/2” inch of distilled water.

Also, during this step you can also optionally add Epsom salt to each

cell to help with the reconditioning process. We show how to do this in

our main lead-acid battery guide - so please reference that.

Description: Filling each cell with distilled water using a syringe

Step 4) Once the cells are full again, leave the cover of the battery off

(and the cell caps off), and charge the battery with a charger. A

standard 4 stage charger works great for this.

Description: Charging the battery with the top and cell caps off

During this step, excess water may start to run out over the battery

when it's bubbling (like in the following example). Be sure to monitor

this and soak it up.

Description: Water from the cells may bubble up onto the battery during charging. Be sure to clean this up.

This is important: Do not reseal the battery during this step. We want

to ensure each cell is full of distilled water once charging is done (and in

the next step we will continue refilling the cells as the water bubbles

out – and the top must be off to do this).

Safety precaution: During this process the water will eventually start to boil. Please use the precautions discussed in our main lead-acid battery reconditioning guide.

Step 5) During the charging process the cells will start to get low again

because water will bubble and gas out like we discussed in the last step.

So continue refilling the cells with distilled water while it's charging.

To do this, we recommend using a syringe to squeeze the water into each cell in a controlled manner. The distilled water should be 1/4" to

1/2" inch above each cell.

Description: The water level in each cell will start to get low again during charging. When you see this, continue to refill the cells while still charging.

Step 6) Once the battery is charged again, soak up any excess distilled

water and reseal the battery.

At this point, the battery should be working great again! This process

fixes most of the major issues AGM and SLA batteries experience. So

you can now put your battery back into use or test it with a multimeter

to check on its status (*Note: we show how to do this in the main lead-

acid battery reconditioning guide).

Also, remember to always keep the battery in an upright position.

Description: The battery is now reconditioned so you can reseal it and put it back into use!