d entirely.

The greatest loss of charge in an idle battery results from conditions
arising from the processes of manufacture, internal troubles, and
leakage between terminals. The grids of a cell are an alloy of lead
and antimony. These are mixed while in a molten condition, and are
then allowed to cool. If the cooling is not done properly, or if a
poor grade of antimony is used, the resulting grid is not a uniform
mixture of antimony and lead. There will be areas of pure lead, with
an air hole here and there. The lack of uniformity in the grid
material results in a local discharge in the grid. This causes some
loss of charge.

If the active material completely fills the spaces between the grids,
the acid formed as the cell is charged may not be able to diffuse into
the main body of the electrolyte, but forms a small pocket of acid in
the plate. This acid will cause a discharge between paste and grid and
a coating of lead sulphate forms on the arid, resulting in a certain
loss of charge.

In general any metallic impurity in a cell will cause a loss at the
lead plate. When a cell is charged, the current causes the metals to
deposit on the lead plate. Local cells are formed by the metallic
impurity, the lead plate, and the acid, and these tiny cells will
discharge completely, causing a loss of charge. This has already been
described on page 76.

Another cause of loss of charge in an idle cell is leakage of current
between the terminals on the outside of the battery. During charge,
the bubbles of gas which escape from the electrolyte carry with them
minute quantities of acid which may deposit on the top of the battery
and gradually form a thin conducting layer of electrolyte through
which a current will flow from the positive to the negative terminals.
This danger may be avoided by carefully wiping any moisture from the
battery. Condensation of moisture from the air, on the top or sides
and bottom of a battery will cause the same condition. This will be
especially noticeable if a battery is kept in a damp place.

The tendency for crystals of lead to "tree" over from the negative to
the positive plates is well known. An idle battery is one in which
this action tends to take place. Treeing will occur through the pores
of the separators and as there is no flow of electrolyte in or out of
the plates, the lead "trees" are not disturbed in their growth. A
freshening charge causes this flow to take place, and break up the