Lead Acid Battery Desulfators

Try this...

https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=pulse-type+desulfator+review

Thanks. Been there. All feedback is consumer, not a rigorous evaluation based on measured variables of device function compared to battery recover rate, amount, etc. I am looking for the sort of thing that Consumer Reports would do, except they have not done it, as far as I have been able to determine from an inquiry.

This type of product is still in the "does it work or not" stage....and if so, is it worth the time and effort....I don't think it is unless you have a lot of lead acid batteries in use....like a golf cart rental or solar installations...It seems to me these are all pretty much the same....like asking what is the best battery charger...the best one is the cheapest one that works reliably...

http://www.superstreetonline.com/how-to/interior-electrical/impp-1105-battery-desulfators-fact-fiction/

Thanks. This is the kind of info I was looking for. I will present a full report on the results in the weeks ahead.

Somebody's gotta ask.

Why?

When I had boats, I just used a solar charger on each battery.

Even the Vette that never gets driven doesn't have battery issues.

With the regular drivers, I plan to spend about $120.00 on a new battery about every 4-5 years here in AZ.

A decent battery zapper will cost $100.00.

Is it worth it?

I'll second the "why?".

I have a 96 Dodge Dakota Pkup, that I've changed the battery once on. It sits in the garage. Only 24Kmiles, so very long time between uses. Garage gets down to 32F during the coldest winters.

The bigger problem I've had are the aluminum alloy wheels, where corrosion causes air loss. In one month pressure goes from 45 PSI to 8 PSI. That I've fixed with inner tubes.

But one battery change in 18 years......The Walmart Champion brand has outlast the OEM.

No, The garage is insulated. The concrete floor is delivering the heat from the ground. So when outdoor temps (I live in Iowa, about 50 miles south of the snow line where the weather is freeze thaw, and generally snow is short lived) hovers +10F to +20F through the winter. So the garage is stabile around +32F with no heat source, other then the earth. This week looks worse as this morning it was -3F outside.

If ozzb comments are correct, then there is no value in a desulfator on 6 cells in series. I think it's more a gimmick to sell a "special" trickle charger. The batteries I've had issue with all had some load that discharged them to zero, causing permanent damage.

I've also played around with trying to desulfate batteries and I would say that maybe 1 in 10 can be reasonably rejuvenated.

The rest tend to have more than just sulfation issues that killed them like having the plates physically fall apart or break away from the buss baring that connects them from one cell to the other. No desulfator device is going repair that.

On top of that is the time it takes to just find out if a battery was fixable or not. I just don't have the time or patience to wait for up to a month to find out if there is a 1 in 10 chance my battery is truly dead or not especially just for a generic application general purpose battery.

Is it really worth the effort?

Like others, I had a 1986 Mitsubishi Montero, small SUV also know as Dodge Raider. OEM battery failed at 20K miles. It was winter so I stuck one of my boats deep cycle battery in it till boating season started. That battery lasted longer than the auto at 125K miles. The Montero weren't supposed to last more than 60K miles when the trannie was supposed to fail due to soft shaft metal. Mine, with care and prayers, went to 125K miles. I shelved the battery, when I junked the vehicle, with a maintainer charger till I needed another battery for a car and it worked like it was new.

Truly the battery outlasted the car!

Good Luck, Old Salt

http://leadacidbatterydesulfation.yuku.com/topic/1246/Simple-Direct-Drive-Desulfator-PCB-thread

It is a work of a weekend after having the parts and you can assemble one.

Gajanan Phadte

I have seen this circuit layout before. Back in my Radio Shack/Heathkit days, I found myself going nuts on a regular basis with trouble shooting boards to find out of spec components, frequently going out of spec on a transient basis, usually due to heat, and, as a result, bolloxing other components. Plugging stuff into a motherboard is about all I am willing to take on any more. But I will pass it along to a young geek friend who sleeps with his soldering iron.

Other then an industrial battery most cell connection are internal. For any equipment to change sulfated state of a battery cell the voltage and current has to be controlled. That is impossible as most battery cells are connected in series. Each cell will have a different resistance depending on the state of deterioration. So some cells will drop a greater voltage and some less. For it to be done correctly it needs to be done on an individual cell bases. This can be done on industrial batteries as the connections are external. I have done this to many industrial batteries with a charger that has controls for voltage and current. Not a pulse type. Still with pulse type the you have no control over which cell is dropping to much or to little voltage.

Very good points. My understanding is that the small commercial gadgets try to work around the internal cell issue by hitting the entire battery with a barrage of varying pulse frequencies and amperages to over time saturate the battery with whatever will work for whichever cell. The process is not thermodynamicly efficient or chemically complete, but does a decent job of recovery if you can wait for the process to play out.

I appreciate the input by all on this subject. Extending lead acid battery life is a big deal, getting bigger every day.

One of my buddies makes his living rejuvenating used batteries.

He is adamant about the subject as follows:

Test the battery and make sure none of the cell are "shorted" before attempting the following procedure.

1. Drain all liquid out of the battery.

2. Install new electrolyte.

3. Charge the battery at 40% overvoltage for the first 60 minutes then reduce the charging voltage level to 20% overvoltage for a period of 10-12 hours.

4. Monitor the battery for overheating during the process.

5. If the battery does not pass a standard battery current draw test after this procedure it is not salvageable.

His logic is sound as the new electrolyte combined with a higher charging rate normally strips the lead sulfate coating off the plates and if there are no other issues, the battery should work for a reasonable period of time afterwards.

Good points. My SG checks have sought to peg the SG at 1.3 to 1.35, but I have heard arguments for and against both living with keeping it at 1.25 to 1.3 and even boosting it as high as 1.5 for a bit higher performance at the expense of a shorter life in recuperating a battery. Does your battery guru have any thoughts on the SG (sulfuric acid purity) on this issue?