Ball valves for formation of AGM lead acid batteries for vacuum applications

The invention describes a valve to fill sulfuric acid simultaneously for all cells in lead acid batteries at the beginning of a formation process using a vacuum. The invented valves eliminate the time between filling of acid and start of formation to avoid the appearance of micro-shorts. Also, the valves close after the end of the formation process to avoid oxidation of the negative electrodes. Simultaneous filling of acid for all cells and batteries also allows for homogeneous performance of all cells and batteries. The feature requirements of the valve are to open by applying vacuum, to allow gas and 10 acid exchange during the formation and to close after ending the vacuum to avoid oxygen coming in and oxidizing the negative electrodes.