refurbishing batteries

[wb1895]

I have 4 of the 6TL batteries that wont take a charge. I have checked the fluid in them and they are good.

I spoke with an old miitary airplane mechanic who told me that the lead acid batteries can be refurbished by dumping out the old acid, turning the battery upside down and rinsing it out with water. After making sure that the battery is clean and dry add new acid and place on the charger.

He told me that they used to do this all the time with aircraft batteries and it would work just fine.

Has anybody out there done this? I am not sure if it will work, and I am not wanting to ruin a battery by this procedure.

Any ideas????

 

[4x4 Forever]

I have one that I got from my battery supplier that was a brand new surplus unit. At first it would not hold a charge. I then hooked it up to a 10amp charger and left it hooked up for 28 days and left for offshore. When I returned the battery was good.

You might want to do a search for the 6tls on SS, there is a thread concerning recharging these. The main thing is to use higher than usual amperage to 'rejuvenate' it.

 

[phil2968]

Your plates have sulfated for sitting discharged. The battery will need to be desufated. Goggle search "desulfator". Here's one from a place we all know and love,
BatteryMINDer Charger/Maintainer/Desulfator — 1.3 Amp, 12 Volt, Model# 12117 | Battery Maintainers| Northern Tool + Equipment.

 

[gungearz]

Where's sparky...? You have to use distilled water. The minerals in regular water are to corrosive to use and will deteriorate and the battery making charging less likely but it is possible to save a battery by flushing it. Unfortunatly it only last a little while. You won't get a lot of time with the battery after. Once the battery drains and the cells cook. There pretty much done for... Hope this helps.

 

[islandguydon]

I agree with phill, refill to the mark, desulphate then run a equalize charge to get each cell in sync. You should be OK. Remember to keep the caps loose because pressure and heat will build up on the equalize charge.

 

[MarcusOReallyus]

You have to use distilled water.

Absolutely right. This is critical!

The minerals in regular water are to corrosive to use and will deteriorate and the battery

Well, not corrosive, but they get in the way of the chemical reactions that make a battery work. You don't usually kill a battery right away by using tap water, but you will shorten its life considerably.

 

[O.D. Fever]

Batts

I have recover a lot of batteries by useing Epsom salts. Remove some acid out of the battery if it is full, heat up distilled water to almost a boil and add the salts to it. Put in as much as will desolve by stirring.Add to all the cells and put on the charger. It will start to charge after a short time. This works about 50% of the time. The epsom salts remove the sufide build up on the plates.

 

[builderboy]

I'm in the same boat... batteries where marginal when I bought the truck...left the **** battery switch on for about three weeks with dash lights on.... now I got four dead batteries. Any ideas? and has anyone acutally done something that worked???

Thanks !!!

 

[markmontana]

I gave up screwing around with bad 6TL batteries. Big waste of time for me.

 

[cbvet]

I've done exactly as you describe, with about a 50 percent success rate.
And for several years I've used common "civilian" batteries with no problems.

 

[juanprado]

Battery

My truck took 3 attempts by GL to slave it with 2 different vehicles and it finally cranked and ran. On my way home it showed the amp gauge in green but I let it run all the time as I had a 4 hour drive and did not want to take a chance. I broke down and threw a water pump belt. With the flashers on by the time I got it parked after the tow, everything was deader than a door nail. Zero, nada, totally discharged.

My battery meter showed 2 batteries bad and 2 marginal. I picked up a quart of acid and topped all of them off. they were each missing maybe 6 ounces or so. I disconnected all the cables, Cleaned the top terminals with a battery brush, took off the caps, and gave them each an individual 12v 10 amp charge. Most of the batteries took a long, long time maybe 10-24 hours each before the charger "green" light came on.

I let them all sit a day and did a load test. All 4 were OK with a load. Hooked them up and we got juice!

These were the plain old jane 6lt military. I am not sure who make them as they had the brown ribbed case. Definitely not hawkers or sealed.

They have given me no problem at all over the last 8 months.

Best of Luck!

 

[wb1895]

Thanks for the ideas guys. I will have to look into the battery desulfinator.

 

[4x4 Forever]

Here ya go wb1895,

http://www.steelsoldiers.com/electrical/19163-hawker-armasafe-agm-battery-info.html

 

[SCSG-G4]

Once you get the batteries charged up, keeping them on the desulphater will considerably lengthen their lives. Disconnect the dogbone and one BatteryMinder will keep two or three on desulphate at the same time.

 

[islandguydon]

This is the unit I use for all 12V battery's. Sorry for the bad lighting.

I stand behind them, plug it in and forget about, they are waterproof so you can leave it exposed to the elements. Just remember to remove it before you take the vehicle for a drive, thats another story.

 

[islandguydon]

I found this picture of the unit I hard wired to the M-109 and 2 Deuces. These you do not have to plug in, you wire it to the + & - and forget about it. The technology has changed for the better the last few years. This unit measures the battery's state of charge and will not discharge the battery. When you start the engine it turns into a SUPER DESULFATER..!

 

[wb1895]

Well, I decided to try and replace the acid in one of the batteries that wouldnt take a charge.

I started by wearing the proper protective equipment, and dumping the old acid into a 5 gallon bucket. I used a large amount of baking soda to neutralize the acid after I dumped it. I used a garden hose and rinsed out all of the old acid dumping the contaminated water into the bucket. I let the battery dry to a couple of hours and the refilled it with new acid. I left the tops off of the battery and placed it on a 10 Amp deep cycle battery charger. After 5-6 hours the battery was showing 12.97 volts.

I think it might be working........I will know for sure tomorrow

 

[4x4 Forever]

I'd like to know if this works, I was always told not to renew the acid. I was told by an old timer that the old acid and the sulphated plates were 'balanced' and that adding new acid would eat the plates out. I am really curious to see if this works! Please keep us posted!

 

[quickfarms]

I do not like to play with acid so I just replace the batteries

 

[swbradley1]

With my luck one of two things will happen with me playing with batteries.

1. I end up in the emergency room with acid burns.
2. I end up in the emergency room with injuries due to explosion.

Really that's only one thing with two triggers. Either way I'm in an emergency room and I have spent enough time in one.

I'll buy new.