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Low cost battery bank

Posted: Sat Apr 14, 2012 5:59 pm
by howard
Hi all. If you are producing electricity, you will make the best of it by storing any surplus for later use. I have converted old car batteries to alkaline electrolyte with pretty good success. There is a Yahoo group titled Battery Conversions, from which I got the idea. Briefly, I took an old 12 volt battery that I found upside down in a field. No telling how long it had been there. I rinsed the battery with water and baking soda two or three times, till it stopped bubbling. Then I made a solution of Epsom salts and distilled water, refilled the battery, and began charging. The battery recovered nicely over time, and was starting a friends truck reliably (When he sold it). I also did the same to another newer, but weak battery. Same results. I tried this method on a couple of sealed computer UPS batteries of unknown lineage. These failed to respond. So, I conclude that flooded lead acid batteries that are not physically damaged by freezing, dropping, etc. are good candidates for resurrection by this method. And if the junk batteries are free, you can hardly go wrong. Give it a try, and post your results. Howard in NM.