Maybe a great technique for restoring old military batteries instead of buying the very expensive replacements of the same type.
yep it works but have to be REAL careful about the hydrogen gas situation .. Years before trying the welder method (and only on weak batteries that don't have shorted plates) , I used to do a 5 or 10-minute high-amp charge to see if the weak cell(s) would start to clear themselves out .. Sometimes a battery would desulfate itself and recover , at which point I would dump it , flush it several times to get any loose matter out, and then new acid .. I had about a 60% success rate .. The welder method, with a lot of patience, can recover most "clogged" batteries.. Another thing we have done is drain and dry them inverted for months, tap them to get the flakes out, flush many times, and new acid .. That works sometimes too .. But overall I find it more convenient to go to certain junkyards and buy batts for $40ea , some of these places have 1-year free replacement guarantee , some places have life replacement .. Remember, two enemies of lead/acid batts are Physical Shock (internal/external damage) and Time (sulfation)