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| Ubi bene ibi patria | 
				
				Dead Battery Reclamation
			 
			Do any of you folks place any credence in the myriad of 'You-tube' videos touting the various ways one can recover and re-hab a dead 'lead-acid' battery? In my case - the water/acid solution had long dried up. A visual inspection of each cell showed the plates appeared to be in 'good' condition.  I'm wondering if I can clean, replace the water/acid electrolyte solution to get them to a point where I have a 12V power supply for bench testing. I somehow doubt I'll achieve any results approaching the 'cold-cranking' capacity of the original designed output. The batteries themselves are presently sitting filled with a baking soda & distilled water solution in the hopes of possibly cleaning the plates & removing some or any sulphonation that may be present. In reality, it may not be worth the time & effort to try to recover some of their former usefulness, but I am most interested in the opinions & any suggestions members of the board may have. Whadduya think? Cheers JB 
				__________________ “Two possibilities exist: either we are alone in the Universe or we are not - both are equally terrifying” ― Arthur C. Clarke "As soon as laws are necessary for men, they are no longer fit for freedom." - Pythagoras | ||
|  10-29-2024, 03:18 PM | 
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| Registered Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Nevada City, Ca 
					Posts: 2,226
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			I had an old timer tell me to put epson salt into the chambers and then charge it. Never tried it.
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|  10-29-2024, 04:28 PM | 
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| You do not have permissi Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: midwest 
					Posts: 39,997
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			The structure of leaded plates gets sulfated with surface corrosion over time.   There is the urban myth of using a battery charger briefly to 'pop' that off the plates. Sketchy... Be very careful. 2Amp is better. With additional air exposure? IDK. Acid mixture is probably changed . Safest bet is to buy a new battery. 
				__________________ Meanwhile other things are still happening. | ||
|  10-29-2024, 05:24 PM | 
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| Registered Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: North of You 
					Posts: 9,160
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			I've spent 'some amount of time' trying the YouTube fixes.  Zero success, now I just trade the old one in and buy a new battery. What I have not tried is replacing the acid, I will do that eventually, but I also think any 'fix' will give you another year max, so what's the point? 
				__________________ "A machine you build yourself is a vote for a different way of life. There are things you have to earn with your hands." | ||
|  10-30-2024, 05:20 AM | 
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