Lead Acid Battery Restoration

[GunnyM1009]

Lead Acid Battery Restoration (Experiment)

So a couple of years ago I bought a large D8 1000CCA battery for Gunny. This was when I was having alot of Gen2 issues. After about a year of being drained and charged I couldn't get it to hold a charge again. Well I pulled it out and put it on the ground by a tree where it has been for over a year. Most of that time it has had a large ant bed built up around it. So I had been seeing things here and there about different ways to rejuvenate batteries so I began to study on the subject. I got the battery and brushed all the ants off of it and used it to test my knowledge. I popped the caps off and poured out a little of the liquid and replaced it with some Epson salt and distilled water. The epson salt was dissolved already in the distilled water. I replaced the caps and put the battery on a cheap desulphator that I bought online. Then for 3 weeks I would trickle charge the battery for 24hrs then let the desulphator run for 24hrs. At the end of the three weeks I left the trickle charger on the battery for 4 days. Its a smart charger so it told me when it was done. I pulled the charger off and after several hours the battery settled to 12.75 volts which was promising. I had a blinker fixture that had recently been removed from a motorcycle. I hooked it up and the battery only dropped to 12.52 under a small load. Well lets go for broke I put it in the forward battery position on Gunny held the GPs for about 8secs and he turned over strong and crunk up. I have ran it for a couple days now and all seems well. I will keep updating over time to see how this works. If all keeps going then I saved a $190 battery for about $20 dollars thats with the purchase of the desulphator. This is not an instructional how to this is just what happened for me. If you would like to try it do the research and take proper safety precautions you are messing with lead acid batteries still.

 

[Guyfang]

Gunny, this sounds interesting. I need to get smart about this.

 

[GunnyM1009]

Gunny, this sounds interesting. I need to get smart about this.

There are several videos about it online. I figured for $20 in materials and some time it was worth a shot. I am in the process of doing the same thing to a battery that is about 8yrs old that was in my wifes car. Its cells were almost empty and the voltage before the process started was only about 9.2v. I will update on how that one goes as well.

 

[GunnyM1009]

Well after only 48hrs the 8yr old battery is showing alot of promise just checked the charge status on it and it was reading fully charged. Let it sit for an hour and it settled to 12.81v put it under a small load and it dropped to 12.12v. I think after a few more cycles of charging and desulphating this one may be saved as well.

 

[Rvitko]

I researched the heck out of this a few years back and it doesn't really work. All the Epsom salt does is accelerate the reaction, so the bit of good lead left is working double time, you can squeeze a bit more life out of them but at high risk, at most you are buying 12 months depending on the condition they were in. There really is no valid way to restore a battery the desulfators basically crack and shock the plates exposing fresh lead, but you still have less lead to work with and sulfated lead building up on the bottom to short the plates. Basically, it Is something you could do if survival was at stake, but if a battery store is still open near by, it is taking a risk you don't need to and a lot of hassle for 3-12 months of nursing a dead battery. I will see if I can find some of what changed my mind on this, i saw all the rednecks on you tube too and I don't say that disparagingly, my wife says she married me because I redneck enough to get things done, but there are real articles on these topics from chemists and engineers that explain in detail why it cannot work.

 

[Rvitko]

http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/can_batteries_be_restored

 

[Rvitko]

http://www.bwlet.net/?p=623

Still trying to find the one that explained all the details

 

[GunnyM1009]

I researched the heck out of this a few years back and it doesn't really work. All the Epsom salt does is accelerate the reaction, so the bit of good lead left is working double time, you can squeeze a bit more life out of them but at high risk, at most you are buying 12 months depending on the condition they were in. There really is no valid way to restore a battery the desulfators basically crack and shock the plates exposing fresh lead, but you still have less lead to work with and sulfated lead building up on the bottom to short the plates. Basically, it Is something you could do if survival was at stake, but if a battery store is still open near by, it is taking a risk you don't need to and a lot of hassle for 3-12 months of nursing a dead battery. I will see if I can find some of what changed my mind on this, i saw all the rednecks on you tube too and I don't say that disparagingly, my wife says she married me because I redneck enough to get things done, but there are real articles on these topics from chemists and engineers that explain in detail why it cannot work.

That is why I stated this is not a how to. This is an ongoing personal study with old batteries that I had laying around. As far as the Epson salt portion I used very little 1Tsp to a gallon of distilled water. The desulphator part I would not suggest doing it more than a couple times. I have not yet determined that this is a long term solution. That is why the post will be updated as new results are found. This is something you try at your own risk.

 

[rustystud]

I researched the heck out of this a few years back and it doesn't really work. All the Epsom salt does is accelerate the reaction, so the bit of good lead left is working double time, you can squeeze a bit more life out of them but at high risk, at most you are buying 12 months depending on the condition they were in. There really is no valid way to restore a battery the desulfators basically crack and shock the plates exposing fresh lead, but you still have less lead to work with and sulfated lead building up on the bottom to short the plates. Basically, it Is something you could do if survival was at stake, but if a battery store is still open near by, it is taking a risk you don't need to and a lot of hassle for 3-12 months of nursing a dead battery. I will see if I can find some of what changed my mind on this, i saw all the rednecks on you tube too and I don't say that disparagingly, my wife says she married me because I redneck enough to get things done, but there are real articles on these topics from chemists and engineers that explain in detail why it cannot work.

This is the same information I was told by the "Odyssey" battery rep who taught a class at work on batteries. There is no "magic" pixy dust solution to a bad battery.

 

[GunnyM1009]

This is the same information I was told by the Optima battery rep who taught a class at work on batteries. There is no "magic" pixy dust solution to a bad battery.

Well after doing more research on my end the reason people believe this works is because many times the batteries are not truly dead they just need maintenance. Take the battery from my wifes car for instance. The cells were depleted of electrolyte solution there for it would not hold a charge. Fill the cells back up and a good slow charge and it seems that you fixed a bad battery,

 

[FloridaAKM]

I'll try this on a 24v 4hn battery that won't hold a charge, but can be charged up & used for a one time deal!

 

[jasonjc]

" There is no "magic" pixy dust "


NO ! Say it's not so, I just bought a 5 gal pail of it on ebay.

 

[GunnyM1009]

I'll try this on a 24v 4hn battery that won't hold a charge, but can be charged up & used for a one time deal!

Give it a shot the way I look at it. If the battery is trash anyway then you cant hurt anything

 

[swbradley1]

" There is no "magic" pixy dust "


NO ! Say it's not so, I just bought a 5 gal pail of it on ebay.

I hope you used PayPal and got protection.

 

[jasonjc]

It's on here some where and I read it in MV magazine. About some stuff you clean the old battery out with. Flush, add this stuff, soak, drain ,flush and refill with new acid. Has anyone tried this? I got some of the stuff years ago, but have never gotten around to trying it. If I remember right David Dolye wrote the article.

 

[rustystud]

It's on here some where and I read it in MV magazine. About some stuff you clean the old battery out with. Flush, add this stuff, soak, drain ,flush and refill with new acid. Has anyone tried this? I got some of the stuff years ago, but have never gotten around to trying it. If I remember right David Dolye wrote the article.

Your basically removing a layer of sulfated lead on the plates. By flushing it out your also removing all the old lead that has dropped off the plates and any other debris that has gotten into the battery. This will help an old battery, but for how long is the question. For all the time and money for new acid just buy a new battery that you can depend on for at least another 5 years.

 

[Tinstar]

Give it a shot the way I look at it. If the battery is trash anyway then you cant hurt anything

Until the buildup on the bottom is enough to finally reach and short the plates.

Then you have a battery that explodes.

 

[FloridaAKM]

I remember an oldtimer told me that you could take an almost dead battery & short the terminals with a large wrench till there was no power left (yes I know it is dangerous). Then you reverse the charge on the terminals & have a serviceable battery. No, I never did it because it seemed to be workable, but slightly insane!

 

[swbradley1]

I remember an oldtimer told me that you could take an almost dead battery & short the terminals with a large wrench till there was no power left (yes I know it is dangerous). Then you reverse the charge on the terminals & have a serviceable battery. No, I never did it because it seemed to be workable, but slightly insane!

I'm not sure how would know for sure the battery was almost dead, well, maybe a load tester and even with that I have a wrench floating around the barn that fell across a battery once. Once.

 

[Guyfang]

I remember an oldtimer told me that you could take an almost dead battery & short the terminals with a large wrench till there was no power left (yes I know it is dangerous). Then you reverse the charge on the terminals & have a serviceable battery. No, I never did it because it seemed to be workable, but slightly insane!

Have I got a bridge for you to buy!