Do I leave caps off of the batteries for my backup solar system ?
Answer:
It certainly sounds like you got a problem there. For water to be spilling out of the batteries they must be over charging. You say it's a back up system . If you aren't using them all the time, you shouldn't need to have them on charge all the time. If you have them on charge all the time then you should have a regulator in the circuit to shut down the charging system once the batteries are fully charged. Warning...In case you aren't aware , but the gas coming off a battery while charging is Hydrogen , so don't cause a spark if you don't want the whole lot to go bang if you are in an enclosed area.
Most batteries these days have some form of indicator to tell you what the water level should be. That can be a strip of plastic across the bottom of the filler hole or a tube of plastic that goes down into the cell with two fairly wide slots opposite each other. Fill to to the plastic strip or to the bottom of the tube. The slots up the side allow charging gases out without a boil over. Certainly does sound like you may have overfilled them.
If there isn't any level indicator, then so long as the water is above the plates will be fine.
Hope you haven't had that happen too many times. Every boil over you loose acid.
Here's a tip if you don't already know. If you have an acid spill dissolve teaspoon of baking soda per cup of water and pour it on the spill. Baking soda will neutralize the acid. Be sure not to get any in to the battery.
You have something wrong with your system.
Get an expert in before you blow your head off.
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