Battery repair. - Good Old RVs2024-03-28T16:24:25Zhttps://goodoldrvs.ning.com/forum/topics/battery-repair?feed=yes&xn_auth=noHow are they working now? I m…tag:goodoldrvs.ning.com,2014-09-27:2093474:Comment:2343852014-09-27T02:32:43.633ZTas Corvushttps://goodoldrvs.ning.com/profile/TasCorvus
<p>How are they working now? I might have to try this out soon. </p>
<p>How are they working now? I might have to try this out soon. </p> Pretty interesting! Being in…tag:goodoldrvs.ning.com,2014-03-15:2093474:Comment:2030672014-03-15T17:57:10.482ZMatthew Tritthttps://goodoldrvs.ning.com/xn/detail/u_1xuchw22d2r3t
<p>Pretty interesting! Being in the alternative energy business, I've worked with large deep-cycle batteries for > 30 years and only heard of people trying this a few times. Like you said, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.</p>
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<p>On the other hand, when you say "pour out the battery acid", how do you do this without contaminating wherever it is you pour it? We are talking about sulfuric acid and lead here, aren't we? Maybe if you flush with LOTS of water to dilute it down…</p>
<p>Pretty interesting! Being in the alternative energy business, I've worked with large deep-cycle batteries for > 30 years and only heard of people trying this a few times. Like you said, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.</p>
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<p>On the other hand, when you say "pour out the battery acid", how do you do this without contaminating wherever it is you pour it? We are talking about sulfuric acid and lead here, aren't we? Maybe if you flush with LOTS of water to dilute it down to a non-hazardous level it would be OK? I personally would empty and flush the cells into a poly container to allow the really bad stuff to precipitate out and then let the liquid evaporate. Considering the dangerous, poisonous and persistent nature of the lead particles left at the bottom, I would carefully gather them up and take the crud to an approved hazardous waste disposal site. Many landfills have a place that takes it for free.</p>
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<p>Most battery failures happen through vibration or when enough lead oxide sloughs off of the battery plates to form a partial or full bridge between plates, which causes an internal short. The oxide particles are formed as a natural by-product of the charging and discharging process so battery cases have an area below the plates dedicated to accommodating this oxide buildup that eventually fills up to the point that a short can occur. Since the plates lose mass in the oxidation process, they can eventually become thin enough that holding a charge is impossible, or they can crumble and cause a short. Either way, the battery is toast.</p>
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<p>Deep-cycle batteries have extra thick lead plates to stretch out the number of charge/discharge cycles possible. They also (should) have extra capacity in the sump beneath the plates and a strong plate separator (non conductive, of course) that prevents any oxide flakes from bridging the gap and lengthens the number of cycles to far more than a typical starting battery is capable of handling.</p>
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<p>One reason that batteries go dead after sitting around for a long time is that the lead oxide on the surface of the plates, which creates a barrier to the movement of electrons, remains intact instead of sloughing off and falling into the sump through charge/discharge cycles. It also often happens that attempting to fast charge a really dead battery can cause an internal short, so the best approach is to never let the battery get that dead to begin with.</p>
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<p>Another approach is to use an electronic "desulfator" that sends strong pulses through the cells, which can actually stimulate the sloughing process and "fix" batteries.</p>
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<p>I suspect that what you are doing with the "alum" is change the batteries from lead-acid to lead-alkaline batteries, which if done right, can actually be *better* than lead-acid. Still, the actual process is quite dangerous and could lead to acid burns, an explosion or the end of the world as we know it. So I would be VERY CAREFUL.</p>