Battery advice

@BlueT, I dunno if I does is old-fashioned, but I do top up my electrolyte from time to time with distilled water - the shortest life I've had from a conventional lead acid battery in recent history was my OEM battery from my tacoma at over 6 years old - no issues other than it failed load testing and was replaced for reliability reasons. Changed the car battery at 9 years this past summer, had one go 11 years too.

 

It's .org not .com. Lots of info there. Thanks for sharing.

 

hahaha....opps......I can't internet today.

 

Yeah in old days nobody was buying new battery every time battery got hiccup. I see many people are tossing money on new batteries but I dont see anybody really trying to keep them running. I would say a lot of time battery needs TLC to keep it runing, and unless plates itself are screwed up all it needs is electrolyte.

The most common problem with batteries, they dry out because they are constantly in either charge/discharge circle, under the hood in Hot environment. Water evaporates, and what does not evaporates gets broken down to Hydrogen and oxygen during high Amp Charge.
majority of batteries now they go dry. Days are broken plates are long gone because quality of batteries greatly imporved.
Also Toyota vehicles for some reason love to boil the batteries. Which makes dry battery problem even worse.
To me tossing battery because gets dry is like tossing a car out because tank is empty.

 

Any concerns with the weight of that battery?

 

I completely agree with you there is no reason we shouldn't add distilled water to the battery when the levels are down, that was something I've been doing for decades, but if the problem is sulfation which is now the most common cause of premature battery failure then adding water will not help. My stock battery did not die due to drying out. I didn't need to add any water and I live in a hot climate. Adding sulfuric acid (concentrated so at least a 6molar solution) is only a temporary fix since it will only make the Lead Sulfate (PbSO4) into an aqueous solution of Lead Sulfate now with 2 sulfate ions attached as the discharge cycles intensify the sulfation will as well. The battery is not good and you've put a bandaid on a problem, for those folks who do off roading or solo type treks, this is a very bad idea and the battery should just be replaced to a reliable source.

 

I think you are over thinking this. Lead Sulfate is always there because its natural by product of Battery operation. The trick is to get that back to being what was originally.
Water and patience is a key here. If there is too much acid and not enough water there will be no conversion back, If you have too much water than battery is going to be weak.
So you add water to level first, than charge battery slowly (low amps down to 1 -1.5 AMP) over long period of time while keeping water level above the plates, with little stir alogn the way. It will revive a lot of batteries.
Now if your battery has a short, broken plate or is completely out of acid because flipped over and drained out, this will not help.
But in other cases, it will work.
This worked on many batteries. Try it..

 

Hahahah...I always think things too in-depth but after all the college chemistry prior to my present career (inorganic, Organic, Biochem, Physical Chem) its hard not to, its my job to analyze the shit out of stuff.

There shouldn't be a need to add any acid unless it was spilled since the recharge cycles take most but not all the lead sulfate and turn it back into it's original constituents but this is not a 100% reversible process. Manufacturers add extra 'electrolyte' to the batteries knowing this is going to happen. There is always sulfate left over with more build up each time it is converted back. It can be slowed but it can't be stopped no matter what you do with charging or leaving it on a charger or a conditioner, etc. The lead sulfate crystals go from the soft crystals to hard crystals and those hard crystals don't go back to their constituent parts.

The problem is when you add acid without knowing what the specific gravity is or the pH you can mess up your battery even you adding a 3molar solution vs a 6 molar solution will give you radically different results it is not something I would tell anyone on here to do even with pH meters, refractometers and the knowledge of battery chemistry I'm not even going to do that. While I have no doubt that it can 'revive' an old battery, that is an old battery that isn't chemically sound and something I personally wouldn't do on something I need to be reliable.

But.....it is still an interesting idea all the same for someone who might be strapped for cash and needs to try to make their battery work a little while longer.

 

yeah I am not saying people are goign to be able to revive 30 year old battery, eventually they all are to far gone, but they will last longer than 5 years.
Actually Auto stores sell kits with explanation on how to refill acid in battery, not saying anybody can do it but if you follow directions it will save you $150.
For those that are afraid, they can buy new battery and refurbish old one to use as secondary or winch battery. or experiment on lawnmower/atv battery first.
I am cheap plus use winch to take down trees around property so I re-use my batteries Aventually they end up with broken plates because I keep draining them and they bump around to get to location but until than they work.

 

If you ever show up to my ER with burns, I am going to just assume they are chemical in nature and start putting baking soda on them. HAHAHA

I've enjoyed our little banter.

 

Probably
I had my fair share of close calls, I guess it comes with territory.
Also instead of Baking Soda please use crushed Tums, they work way better, believed or not regular Milk is one of the simplest methods, or that milk of magnesia for Stomach acid and you can easily pour on splash wound.

I enjoyed that too.

 

Milk of Magnesia also doubles as an Anti-Seize.

 

That I did not know, I know powdery version works great as fire suppressant especially if you tend to start fires while welding. Puts down the fire and does not screw up the surface that was welded.

 

The MOM would be the strongest of the neutralizers I can't say I've ever poured that on someones burn haha. Do you realize how long its going to take Pharmacy to send that calcium carbonate up when I can just squirt that burning wound with the sodium bicarb quickly.

 

This thread just keeps getting better. Contributing to my nursing and automotive battery knowledge at the same time.

 

Not really - it is a bit heavier than a 27F I suppose, but far less than a dual battery setup. When I need to use my winch, I'd definitely not worried about the weight of my battery, if you know what I mean.

 

hahaha....well.....I am a Critical Care Med NP

 

True, but you can make Milk of Magnesia on your own. All you need is take ......
"Knock, Knock....... Who is there ? .... Homeland security"

Ah never mind how you make milk of magnesia ...

Probably becoming one of the best threads

 

Since we are on topic of batteries, did anybody considered pulling one of the Li Ion batteries from some junked hybrid car to use as primary battery?
they store much more power that Acid batteries and weight fraction.

 

I had actually looked at replacing mine with a lithium ion battery......that is until I saw the cost of one.

Aren't the LiIon batteries that are in those hybrids huge. And I thought they used Lead Acid batteries as starter batteries still???