Usage
Because you depend on your battery every time you are ready to head back home after your time out on the water, battery maintenance should be something you monitor at least once every weekend during the boating season. Battery maintenance is quite simple and is something every boater needs to know how to do. To do this you will need three things: a charger, a good battery terminal tool and NAB MARINE Battery Acid Cleaner and Neutralizer.
There are generally two reasons why a battery is hard to start: a poorly charged battery or poor battery connections. An important step you can take to prevent starting problems while out on the water is to inspect and charge the battery prior to each outing. This is especially true if you don’t use your boat regularly. If you are a boater who gets out on the water every weekend, you will only need to check and charge the battery once a month to prevent it from getting weak. Checking, cleaning and retightening your boat’s main battery connections is something every boat owner should learn how to do. You should clean and retighten your battery connections at least every month because your boat is subject to an extremely moist environment that invites corrosion. The time you use to take care of your battery will be worth it when you spend more time enjoying your boat than fixing its problems. If you maintain your battery properly, there is no reason it shouldn’t last at least as long as the advertised warranty period, and possibly even longer. Using NAB MARINE Battery Acid Cleaner and Neutralizer as part of your routine maintenance will help you reach that goal!
9 Steps for Charging a Battery and Cleaning and Retightening Your Boat’s Main Battery Connections
- For safety reasons, and to protect the expensive boat alternator that keeps your battery charged when operating the motor, be sure to disconnect the negative battery terminal before hooking up your battery charger to charge the battery.
- Better yet, just make a habit of disconnecting BOTH the positive and negative battery connections to the boat when charging.
- Make sure the positive connections are clearly marked red, with either red colored plastic or red electrical tape to prevent hooking things up wrong when reassembling connections.
- If you see any sign of white or green powdery substances on or around the battery terminals, loosen these connections. Most batteries have wing nuts that make the connections, so use a set of slip-joint pliers to loosen or tighten them.
- Once the battery is completely disconnected (safety glasses are always recommended when working around battery acid), spray or pour on NAB MARINE Battery Acid Cleaner and Neutralizer to completely clean the battery positive and negative posts. Clean with a brush if corrosion is severe. A simple color change of the solution (the unique feature of our product) from red to yellow lets you know the battery acid has been neutralized.
- Rinse the residual debris with water, which has now been chemically changed to a harmless salt water solution.
- Clean and brush each cable going to the battery with NAB MARINE Battery Acid Cleaner and Neutralizer. Again, a “simple color change from red to yellow” lets you know the battery acid has been neutralized.
- Rinse the residual debris (now a harmless salt water solution) with water as you did with the battery posts.
- Allow the battery to completely dry before reconnecting it.
Our Unique Color Change Indication
Why is the color change important when using a battery cleaner and neutralizer? NAB MARINE’s proprietary battery solution is primarily a liquid acid neutralizer along with a surfactant package and color indicator, which neutralizes acid on contact. If there is acid present, it is uniquely indicated by a color change from red to yellow. By using NAB MARINE Battery Acid Cleaner and Neutralizer, you will eliminate the questions of what was neutralized and if the task was indeed completed because our color indicator makes the user aware of exactly when the acid has been neutralized. This step also prevents any excessive or unneeded cleaning. Once the acid is neutralized, the solution is transformed to salt water; and combined with the surfactant, NAB MARINE Battery Acid Cleaner and Neutralizerleaves the battery clean and free of process soils ALL IN ONE STEP! After a thorough wash down with water, it can safely be disposed.
Why It Is A Smart Idea to Use NAB MARINE Battery Acid Cleaner and Neutralizer:
Using “makeshift” products for your neutralizing needs is not advised.
A common misconception is that enough water will neutralize battery acid. It will not. In order for neutralization to occur, an acid and a base must react together. Cleaning only with water will never produce a clean battery.
One of the most common “makeshift” products used to clean a battery is baking soda. What many boat owners don’t know is that neutralizing acid on batteries with baking soda will form a conductive paste that won’t rinse free. After repetitive use, the paste can harden between the cells of the battery. Once dry, the hardened paste is another “alternate mode” for electric current to create a short, shock, fire or explosion.
Some of the other cleaners and neutralizers on the market contain caustic soda. When caustic soda is applied to battery acid, an exothermic reaction “spit” will occur.
The physical properties that perform the cleaning function in many of the other neutralizing cleaners on the market consist of glycol ethers, alcohol or petroleum-based products. Products with these cleaning agents often warp and crack the battery casing. Alcohol and petroleum based products can be flammable and potentially increase an individual’s exposure issues.
An alternate choice for your routine boat battery maintenance program is our environmentally friendly, NAB MARINE Battery Acid Cleaner and Neutralizer.
Special Formulation
What is the history behind NAB Battery Acid Cleaner and Neutralizer? North American Bioindustries (NAB) recognized a need in the marketplace for an environmentally safe battery acid cleaner. We felt if our chemists could design a liquid product that would prolong the life of the batteries boaters relied on, by maintaining clean battery surfaces and neutralizing all in one step, we would help boat owners meet that need — and that is exactly what we did. As soon as our product is applied it starts removing dirt, oil and corrosion from terminals, connectors and trays. These things are not always visible to your eyes. Our battery acid cleaner and neutralizer is completely safe and will not harm the environment. It is also safe for the individual working with it.
Where to Use NAB MARINE Battery Acid Cleaner and Neutralizer:
- Boats, Ships and Marinas
- Any boat repair shops that service marine batteries
Battery Maintenance
Click Here to View or Download the “NAB 1-2-3 Step Approach to Neutralize and Clean Batteries” Information Sheet.
— STEP 1: Battery Acid Cleaning and Neutralizing.
Battery and Battery Acid Maintenance Program
Click Here to View or Download Brochure.
