Life of Lead Acid Batteries

[grandads_shed]

interesting post ,,
i was wondering if any one has one of these .. do they work ??

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Auto-Pulse-De ... 51b662ab66" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[techman]

I dont know about this specific brand but I have heard that pulsing lead acid batteries will help recondition the batteries by breaking up the sulfation on the plates.

I do the same thing with my Bedini motor which pulses the battery with high voltage spikes. This breaks up the lead sulfate on the battery plates and converts it back into lead and sulfuric acid.

[grandads_shed]

thanks troy ,, i have ordered one, will see how it go on some old 22ah batts that i have, the plates are good in them ,, they just had not been charged for a few years before i got them

[techman]

Have you tried it yet? How is it going?

[ViKARLL]

Hi Gentlemen,

I need some advice and hope I am on the correct thread.

About two years back, I purchased an old-style ebonite (probably the last to be manufactured here) EXIDE 6V lead-acid battery for my classic car. I could not drive the car for more than two weeks thereafter, owing to some other problem. The battery lied there dormant (with terminals disconnected) for nearly two years. When I checked recently, I found that the electrolyte level has dropped to perhaps half, due to water evaporation. Naturally, the voltage shows 0V.

My question is, would I be able to top it up with distilled water, recharge and use it again? Or is it possible that the concentrated Acid solution has ruined the bottoms of the lead plates?

Cheers,

ViKARLL

[techman]

FIRST - Try topping it off with distilled water. Let it sit a bit. Shake it gently a little to mix the fluids some.

Put a charge on it. Boil it nicely to mix in the acid with the water.

See if it works.

If not, under conventional means, it is generally ruined. The commercial desulfators like the one mentioned in this post can sometimes bring them back to life again. But it takes time. Sometimes weeks or months.

[ViKARLL]

Thank you for your advice.

I did exactly that and now it is on charger. Shall revert with the result in a day or two, after a slow charge.

[ViKARLL]

Thank you for your advice.

I have topped it with distilled water and charged it for 48 hours and the SG of two cells are normal now. But the third is still in the “Red” zone of the hydrometer, though the voltage of that cell reads 2.24 (sorry, I don’t have a load tester)

Now, my questions are these;

1. Should I put some additive to that cell alone and recharge?
2. What should the additive be? Is it EDTA or Epsom or Alum?
3. If I manage to revive the battery, should I empty the whole thing and fill it back with electrolytic, proper?

Cheers,

[techman]

I do not believe in additives myself. I wonder if you can cycle it through a few times and see if that helps first.

Discharge the battery a bit with a load such as a light bulb or fan.

Then recharge the battery again.

Repeat a few times.

If that fails then go ahead and experiment with additives.

Let us know how it goes.

[ViKARLL]

OK, I’ll try that first.

But if it fails, it looks like I am against a blind wall. As I suspected, the battery manufacturers in my country have completely stopped producing 6V batteries. They have also stopped repairing cells of hard-rubber batteries altogether. Mine is 6V, 90Ah - old style hard-rubber battery that has tar-sealed individual cells with external links.

Some time, I misread DIY as “Dare-It-Yourself”. I am an ICT engineer, with only elementary knowledge in the Electrical field. But I have access to a blowtorch, hot air guns, soldering etc.

What do you think of the possibilities of cutting out a new 12V plastic shell battery of similar capacity with a rotary tool, extracting the pack of plates in one cell (or 2 or 3) and rebuilding my 6V battery?

Is it doable?

Thanks,

NB: My next option would be to switch to 12V electrics but that is going to cost me an arm and a leg. All starter, wiper motor, ignition coil, fuel pump, meter gauges, dynamo, semaphore trafficators, bulbs, clock etc. have to go.