Thread: Battery Discounts for Aulro members

The discount is only for the Melbourne outlets but maybe if the club contacts them they might. worth a try.

Bellaposs, can I tap into your expertise for a bit - have an Exide deepcycle at about 3 year old. Noticed at Xmas is seemed to run out of puff quicker than previous times. Only gets used a few times ayear. You reckon its sulphated up or jus " gettin old" . Fair trip coming up so may be replacement time!

Miker

three years is not bad out of a battery, i have never done it but i believe you can break down the sulphation by hitting it a big charger 20+ amps

I have seen a few plans on the net for home made desulfators. They look fairly easy to make, but I haven't done on yet . They appear to need to be left on the battery for an extended period though. Has anybody had any experience with them?

Andrew

Originally posted by weeds
three years is not bad out of a battery, i have never done it but i believe you can break down the sulphation by hitting it a big charger 20+ amps

my battery in my 130 is still the original from new Oct 2000

hows that for lucky

now i've mentioed that its sure to die now 8O

Originally posted by weeds
three years is not bad out of a battery, i have never done it but i believe you can break down the sulphation by hitting it a big charger 20+ amps

<span style="color:blue">there are different methods of desulfating a battery......</span>

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE</div><div class='quotemain'>16.3. How do I recover sulfated batteries?

Here are three methods to try to recover permanently sulfated batteries:

16.3.1. Light Sulfation

Check the electrolyte levels and apply a constant current at 2% of the battery's RC or 1% of the AH capacity rating for 48 to 120 hours at 14.4 VDC or more, depending on the electrolyte temperature and capacity of the battery. Cycle (discharge to 50% and recharge) the battery a couple of times and test its capacity. You might have to increase the voltage in order to break down the hard lead sulfate crystals. If the battery gets above 125° F (51.7° C) then stop charging and allow the battery to cool down before continuing.

16.3.2. Heavy Sulfation

Replace the old electrolyte with distilled, deionized or demineralized water, let stand for one hour, apply a constant current at four amps at 13.8 VDC until there is no additional rise in specific gravity, remove the electrolyte, wash the sediment out, replace with fresh electrolyte (battery acid), and recharge. If the specific gravity exceeds 1.300, then remove the new electrolyte, wash the sediment out, and start over from the beginning with distilled water. You might have to increase the voltage in order to break down the hard lead sulfate crystals. If the battery gets above 125° F (51.7° C) then stop charging and allow the battery to cool down before continuing. Cycle (discharge to 50% and recharge) the battery a couple of times and test capacity. The sulfate crystals are more soluble in water than in electrolyte. As these crystals are dissolved, the sulfate is converted back into sulfuric acid and the specific gravity rises. This procedure will only work with some batteries.

16.3.3. Desulfators

Use a desulfator also known as a pulse charger. A list of some of the desulfator or pulse charger manufacturers is available on the Battery References and Information Links List athttp://www.batteryfaq.org.[/b][/quote]

...bloody hell...interesting tech stuff Defenderzook. If i could grasp all that first read NASA wouldn't have knocked back my last application!

It is always interesting to read peoples thoughts and ideas on batteries. I have been working with batteries for 17 years and over this time I have heard some good stories and ideas. Sulpahation for example is one that is often misunderstood. Sulphation is almost always caused by a battery not being used, or let sit till it goes flat, or a discharged battery left and not recharged. Has anyone ever done that? If a battery is being used, it is contantly being recharged and sulphation does not occur, but if let sit then the paste on the plates starts to crystalise and the sponge like material starts to harden. Charging at high amps and even flushing can help to revive a sulphated battery depending on its state, but once it has started to sulphate it has lost some or all of its capacity. Basically if you have a battery that has sulphated dont waste time on it because your fighting an up hill battle. I probably think differantly to most because I have been around batteries all my life ( Dad was a battery man) but it is not worth being let down in the middle of no where because of a stupid battery!! Seriously dont believe stories about additives that if you add to your battery will increase its life and make your lights brighter etc.. these additives will void your warranty and then its up to the manufacturer of the additive to cover your warranty.
To answer the question re: the 3 year old deep cycle battery, it has had a good run and is most definatly running out of puff, nothing can help it, I would keep it for the camp lights and keep it charged up. All batteries not being used should be charged one a month for at least 12 hours. I work as a wholesaler and we let batteries sit on the shelf at outlets for 3 months then we return them to recharge them, but once a battery has been in service it must be recharged monthly to prevent sulphation.
I hope I havnt bored you guys too much with all that, cya.. Brad