g necessary when the battery stands absolutely
idle.

Overcharge. Charge the battery as near as practicable at the rate
prescribed by the manufacturer. If the manufacturer's rate is not
known, then charge at a rate which will not allow the temperature of
the electrolyte to rise above 110 deg. Fahrenheit, and which will not
cause gassing while the specific gravity is still considerably below
its maximum value. One ampere per plate in each cell is a safe value
of current to use. A battery having eleven plates in each cell should,
for example, be charged at about 11 to 12 amperes.

Watch the temperature of the pilot cell carefully. This cell should
have an accurate Fahrenheit thermometer suspended above it so that the
bulb is immersed in the electrolyte. If this thermometer should show a
temperature of 110 deg., stop the charge immediately, and do not start it
again until the temperature has dropped to at least 90'. Feel the
other cells with your hand occasionally, and if any cell is so hot
that you cannot hold your hand on it measure its temperature with the
thermometer to see whether it is near 110'. A good plan is to measure
the temperature of the electrolyte in every cell during the charge. If
any cell shows a higher temperature than that of the pilot cell, place
the thermometer in the cell giving the higher reading, and be guided
by the temperature of that cell. You will then know that the
thermometer indicates the highest temperature in the entire battery,
and that no other cell is dangerously hot when the thermometer does
not read 100 degrees or over. Another point in the selection of a pilot
cell is to determine if any particular cell shows a gravity which is
slightly less than that of the other cells. If any such cell is found,
use that cell as the pilot cell in taking gravity readings while the
battery is on discharge and also on charge. No cell will then be
discharged too far.

When all cells are gassing freely, continue the charge at the same
current until there is no rise in the specific gravity of the pilot
cell for one to two hours, and all cells are gassing freely throughout
the hour. Then stop the charge.

After the overcharge is completed, take gravity readings of all the
cells. A variation of about eight to ten points either above or below
the fully charged gravity after correction for temperature does not
mean that a cell requires any attention. If, however, one cell
continually reads more than 10