Questions regarding adding water to FLA batteries

[Silver_Is_Money]

After their first month in use I just added water to my batteries for the first time. I added roughly 1/3 cup of water to each cell. For 4 x 6V deep cycle 420 AH batteries (L16 type) wired in series to achieve 24V, does this quantity of water added sound about like the norm?

So I can improve the process in the future:

How frequently should I be adding water? (When I purchased them, I was told once a month should suffice)

What is the best way to gauge when the water is 1/2" above the plates (which is where I was told to maintain them by the people I purchased them from)? (This time around I guessed at the fill depth)

Without getting exotic, what sort of equipment do you old timers use to add the water to the cells? (I poured it in through a funnel and experienced no issues)

Any other pointers?

[Sunking]

I can help you out. Pardon the lack of formatting. 1/3 of a cup in a month on L-16 is just fine and within norm. So no worries there............................................. .................................................. ......... You add water AS NECESSARY. If normal is 1/2-inch above the plates, then refill when it drops to 1/4-inch. The line you DO NOT CROSS is to let the plates become exposed to air............................................... .......................... As for frequency anything more than once per moth indicates there might be a problem. Most likely problem either being charged too fast, or over charged. Gassing begins at roughly 2.4 volts per cell depending on temperature. Any voltage above gassing voltage that is going to gas your cells, and gassing is an over charge. Having said that gassing on a Solar System is rare as it means your system is able to fully charge your battery, and not many systems can do that on a regular basis............................................. .................................................. .......................... As for how to water is really easy and worth the money IMO. Just about every major battery player like Trojan, Rolls, US Battery all make Watering Systems for their batteries, and there are accessory manufactures that make them. All use the same concept of replacing the Fill Caps with their Fill Caps that are linked with a tube. You just elevate a jug of Distilled Water, turn on a Valve, and wait until the flow stops. Done.

[Silver_Is_Money]

Thanks much Sunking!